My first Martin Suter book. It came highly recommend.

But hm. 3.5 stars, maybe? Which is little considering that I really wanted to know how it the book ends; it became a page turner (unfortunately only) half way in. The story was solid.

The writing was curious, though. I couldn’t care less aber the main character, Tom; I don’t feel like I properly got to know him on any of the many pages where his actions are described. It’s almost an achievement to write so much about a person without making them interesting or likeable.

Two things I really liked about the book, though. First, the insights into (old) rich men’s lifestyle. It felt authentic, and was new information to me.

Second, that the story came as a Diogenes hardcover book. I like that publisher so much. The quality of the object was great. It even came with a ribbon page marker. It makes me want to read more Diogenes books.

We visited a museum for architectural drawing here in Prenzlauer Berg today — apparently, that’s a thing. It makes me so happy that museums like this exist, for things that are niche enough to make people like me wonder „Huh, I didn’t know that’s a thing.“

The exhibition about the Austrian architect Otto Wagner was small and nice. I found it absolutely wild how much care he and his team poured into these drawings. There were often perfect. Like digital-perfect. But instead of filling the full sky with one click, they had to cover up everything else and apply some color evenly. This alone took properly a day. And somebody — well, the whole company — to say: It’s worth it. Let’s do it. It’ll look better.

I’m glad that such people and institutions exist. That go the extra mile. That don’t do the thing that makes the most sense economically, but makes the most sense aesthetically, or ideologically, or emotionally. Thanks to every one out there who acts this way.

As of today, my site doesn’t have a cookie warning anymore. I still had that annoying banner (cookie banners are always annoying – charming, sometimes, but still annoying) on my site for two reasons: Google Analytics and Disqus comments.

Now I turned off Google Analytics tracking – and for the, what, 20 posts where people left their comments, I offer people to see them in exchange for a cookie.

Yay, no cookies! I want to cut sugar this year anyway.

First we had snow, now we have ice.

This winter delivers.

Visited family in Leipzig over the weekend with my youngest son. We went to the museum of fine arts there, one of my favorite galleries in the world. Not so much because of the art works — although the do feel like lovely old acquaintances by now, that’s how often I’ve seen them — but because of the amazing architecture of the building.

Each floor but the top and bottom one lets see onto the other floors. There’s just a lot of white space everywhere. I love it. And it aged very, very well.

A few years ago, the city decided to make the permanent exhibition of the museum free. So now you can just quickly stop by, and just visit your favourite floor or say hi to individual art works. Visiting a free museum is like visiting a free park: Nourishing for the mind and soul, but without expectations that you need to make „the most out of it.“ It’s beautiful.