LAST DAY IN BERLIN

Dear VanderFans,

Another missive from Berlin, after having just brought Ann & Jeff to the train station and before work keeps me from writing to tell you how much I enjoyed haveing the VanderMeers stay with us. Yesterday we visited the park of Sanssouci, the Prussian castle in Potsdam a 40 minute drive by S-Bahn out of Berlin. Apart from a little rain it was a wonderful day and we must have hiked through those beautiful gardens for some hours. Then we found a small restaurant in the pedestrian area of Potsdam where Ann & Jeff again tasted a different kind of German beer (besides food, of course).

Back at the apartment we took a nap, which we really needed, Sara and me did some more work on that Star-Wars-translation we should have finished a week ago, and in the end decided to go to a pub nearby and spend the evening shooting some pool. This turned out to be a lot of fun as we all four play at genius level, meaning it takes us quite some time to shoot a ball into a hole. We had some more beer, playfully trying out new titles for the German edition of Shriek (I think Shriek - An Aftershave made it, but I'm not sure) and at one point I remember me running after Jeff around the pool table and screaming at him, but I am not sure what that was all about. Ann this morning at breakfast said that she had not had as much fun in a long time and there is nothing I could add to that ...

All in all I cannot emphasize enough what great guests Ann and Jeff have been, as intelligent people to talk to and have fun with. Both readings here in Berlin went very well, and I am looking forward to visiting the master of Ambra and his wife in Florida some time. I am deeply honoured to have them stay at our apartment, and I think one of the great things about my job as an editor and translator is meeting people like them. I wish them the best on their further journey, and if you live anywhere near the places they come to, try to drop in!

Cheers to you!

Hannes