Travel

When you walk into the building complex in Berlin which comprises the German Parliament, you see modern architecture, art and history exhibits, casually dressed staff (young and old), cafés, restaurants, ATMs, solar panels, books, underground tunnels, etc. It’s kinda funny, but the first thought I had as I wandered down the hallway to the History of the Reichstag exhibit was, “This reminds me of Google’s campus in California.

I didn’t see any goats mowing the lawn or communal bikes with Chrome wheels, but German Parliament is pretty hip!

Berlin is chilly in November, but the Reichstag building is fascinating!
Berlin is chilly in November, but the Reichstag building is fascinating!

Weather and Silicon Valley startup culture aside, there appears to be a functioning body of representatives making laws here!

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Pictures, Travel

I had planned to go to for a hiking trip in Ethiopia, but alas, August is apparently not the best time to travel in Ethiopia!

Weather in Ethiopia
Weather in Ethiopia

… and that’s when I started looking for another destination which fit a few core criteria: possibility to issue visa on arrival and relatively cheap flights from Kenya. Beyond that, good food and an active AirBNB footprint were bonus points! ;)

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Travel

I was in Addis Ababa for work last week, and in addition to drinking coffee, eating shiro, and hacking on DSpace, I managed to get out and see a pretty amazing sight outside of Addis: the Koremash Gorge.

Other than being a bit hazy, it was a beautiful day for a panorama…

I don’t know why this thing isn’t more popular… maybe it’s because of all the old things in north of Ethiopia? There’s more to Ethiopia than obelisks and crazy monks living in caves*!

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