Sequels Can Be Better: Finishing My Second Quarter-Year in Berlin

Today is my last day in Berlin, as I head home tomorrow after three months in Europe.  My second stint in Berlin was even better than the first.  I knew more people, lived in a better place, and had a better ski trip.  I was actually only in Berlin for 2/3s of the time as I skied the Swiss alps, went to Sweden to do that case study, drove through western Germany to do an interview and see lots of castles along the run, and when went to Sicily with my family.  But I still got a heap of Berlin in.

This time was better because:

• I hung out with Canadian folks who are partway through their stints at the embassy.
• 
  I hung out with my sponsor, Marine Henke, who was in the US last year but here this year.
• I got to participate in a great Hertie event on Democratic Backsliding and the roles of militaries in such stuff
• Being six hours off the East Coast
  's time was more important this year as the Trump mess didn't start every day until midway through the day.
• I, um, ate less German food.  I liked w
  hat I ate of it, but it is not the healthiest food nor is it a better cuisine than Italian or Indonesian (I finally grabbed some of this my last day) or Turkish doner.
• There was less pressure to line up interviews as I had already gotten much of what I needed last year.  I did add a bunch and finally figured out the case and how the contradictions make Germany the exception that proves the rule (If I have the rule figured out).

• 

  hard to get a bad pic
  of the Materhorn

  The skiing was better as the conditions in Zermatt were better, and, well, Zermatt is a much better ski area than Zurs/Lech--more interesting terrain, much more terrain, better views, much better food (thanks to the Italian side), and the town itself was pretty delightful.  Plus I met a number of folks while waiting and had some good chats.

Technically, it was not a sabbatical so there is less of a checklist of things I had to get done, but I did get some stuff done:

• I feel pretty good about the German case study
• The Swedish case study was very interesting and will prove to be a good contrast to Finland (I have an APSA paper I am committed to writing this summer doing exactly this).
• Proofed the Dave/Phil/Steve book several times.



Stockholm

• Got a crash course in German politics since their
  election happened my first month here.
• Got heaps of interesting takes on the moment--that I arrived before Vance's awful speech at the Munich Security Conference (which is organized in part by folks at the Hertie School) so the post-MSC eventat Hertie was most interesting.  I
• I tried my best to convince the Europeans that the Canadian break with the US was quite serious and that the 51st state stuff was quite serious.  
• Recorded more podcasts for BattleRhythm and did a heap of media stuff as defence became a significant issue in the Canadian election (I return just in time for the election itself--Mark Carney is competing in my riding [district]).   
• Had a lot of pretzels and gelato.  

  

  Some White Lotus tourism

 

• Sicily, which was better than last year's Venice and Milan because my daughter joined us.  She, like googly eyes, makes everything better.

  

  Old theaters turned out to be a theme on our
  Sicily trip

I am very grateful--my hosts were terrific, the weather was great, my apartment worked out nicely, and I had a blast.  I am eager to get home to my house, my car, my kitchen, my neighborhood, and my friends.  And then wait to hear about various grant applications (please don't ask me where they stand).  The second half of my career has been wonderful.  The path here was filled with painful job searches, failed interviews, lots of rejections, and a bit of misery.  But I also had a lot of help and terrific friends along the way.  Given the turmoil in academia in the US, Canada, Britain, and elsewhere, I know that am very, very lucky.