So the institute I'm PhD-ing at (and also where I'm currently staying), is the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology (Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie). It's nestled in amongst two other Max Planck institutes ('gravitational physics' and 'colloids and interfaces') and a couple of Fraunhofer institutes (applied/industry linked places) at Wissenschaftspark (science park), Golm.

It's very modern and beautiful, and they have plenty of room to build greenhouses and do field trials and ultimately I guess, to expand.

But it's pretty much situated in the middle of a field. 

Which I'm actually ok with. 

A lot of people have told me how isolated it is.. and have said that they couldn't bear to live here for more than a week.

They have clearly never been to Perth. 

Because even though it's slightly more country than our suburbs, it's infinitely easier to get around. There's a bus stop right in front of the institute, with buses running every 20 or so minutes (and late into the night) towards Potsdam, and two food stores with bakeries only 5 minutes away. 

Ultimately, we'll live in Potsdam or even Berlin, but for temporary accommodation, I'm not complaining.

Blatantly stolen from Google Maps. The little red bubble on the left is Wissenschaftspark,, and you can vaguely see the suburb-y part of Golm around it (I would describe it as at the 'edge' of Golm). Then Potsdam is the larger city to the right of Golm, and Berlin is that Giant Behemoth up in the top right.

So, to spice up my Saturday, I headed to Potsdam for a wander.

Which started with the obligatory baked good for breakfast:

I'm going to give it a 7.5 out of 10. To get an 8 they really need that carrot to be marzipan instead of icing sugar. Also- I fail to see how a country can flourish without cream-cheese frosting. Game-UP Germany.

Actually, I hadn't realised that nothing opens on Saturday until 10 am, and only the (many) bakery(s) would offer me shelter from the cold, cold (not-literal) snow. Anyway, at 10 am the Oxfam (Opshop) opened, so I immediately homed in on that pigeon-style, and then, with my bags sadly empty, went wandering throughout the rest of the city centre.

Premonition 1) Tegan will be buying many beautiful leather shoes in Germany

Premonition 2) Tegan will be getting fat on cheese and other farmers-market based products in Germany 

(they had this amazing selection of middle eastern dips- babaganoush and hommus and about 20 other kinds)

Also, I bumped into my new boss and his wife... which was a little odd.

Anyway, unlike Berlin, which got fairly well ravaged in the war and is thus 90 % (ok I definitely made that stat up) ugly buildings from the 60s, Potdam has some nice old buildings, and what with Sanssouci and all, is really rather beautiful in parts.

Here are some pictures of Potsdam being beautiful:

Ok I really love those leaves!

I'll admit, these are new apartments not old ones, but still pretty-as-a-picture.

Et Voilà 

On the way home I stopped in at the Netto supermarket. Despite being here for 5 days now, I had yet to buy potatoes, and I was getting worried that if the officials found out about this they would rapidly eject me from the country. One of the girls at the Institute said she always goes to Edeke instead, which is more expensive, because Netto is untidy, and I'll admit that I thought she was being a little bit fussy.

But no.

Netto is pretty much the WA Salvage of supermarkets.

Except that they've managed to put both the food items and 30-40% of the WA Salvage Catalogue into the same messy little store.

Nonetheless, my Father-given instinct (and my equally Father-given nose), drove me successfully towards the Kartoffel.

Also, I found this:

om nom nom nom.