on the ground in berlin

I just arrived in Berlin. I will be blogging from Germany for the next week. I am embarking on a three-city tour with three other American poets, Matthea Harvey, Kevin Young, and Christian Hawkey. We are doing readings to support an anthology that just came out in Germany and Austria, Schwerkraft, edited by Ron Winkler.
What has happened so far: got a late start leaving my house, massive traffic jam on the way to JFK, on one of those buses from Grand Central. Just made the plane, then we sat on the tarmac for three hours. Fun talking with Kevin and Matthea. 11 hours on the plane. No sleep for me. Lots of Earl Grey tea. Did edit my new poetry manuscript, The Endarkenment. I like editing on planes when everyone else is sleeping. No big problems with the person next to me over personal space or arm rest. Did drop a slice of pizza in JFK. Had eaten half while waiting to pay. It was soo good. Tried to play it off, but I was bummed. That is a hard thing to play off. We have a get together in a few hours with our hosts. Staying in the Hotel Bogota. My room is very dorm-like. Wondering if there is a Pablo Escobar suite. Having a hard time typing--keyboard is different--z and y are switched, plus I cut my fingernails too quickly and too short and have a very tender index finger on my right hand--that is a crucial finger for my primitive typing. Decided against taking a nap and am just trying to power through till tonight. In Prenzlauerberg now, one of the coolest neighborhoods anywhere. I love Berlin, was here last year with my wife, (she has a name: Christine Caballero). Tomorrow we go to Leipzig. Anyone want me to bring back some German pretzel bread?