Tasty little tomatoes, cheese and vinegar.

Stencil art on a wall somewhere in central Tehran.

Resalat blvd. on a rainy day.

We had an election watch party. But due to the time difference the party ended before any of the states were called. So I ended up staying up and watching the US elections by myself. The more battleground states Obama won, the more excited I got. What I admire most about democracy is the speed in which the ruling party concedes and accepts defeat. If only...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Obama has won!" That was the text message I send to some friends at the exact moment CNN projected Obama the winner. My text message ended up being featured in this article in Time magazine.

My girlfriend's birthday party as the DJ's music plays on.

Me and a couple of my friends got a gig editing four trailers for a Japanese animation TV series. So I flew out to Cologne, Germany on my way to Berlin, where I will be spending the next seven weeks or so editing -- waiting for feedback from Japan -- and then editing some more.

Considering the amount of Turkish food Germans eat on a daily basis, I really wonder what they ate before Turkish "guest workers" first came over a few decades ago. Sausages?!

We went in to a Smart dealership in Cologne where my cousin leased one. Unlike the US you can't just go to a dealership and drive off with a new car. You have to place an order and wait a few weeks for your car to arrive on the lot. But then again, the US economy is so bad that not many people are buying or leasing new cars to begin with!

Immediately upon arriving in Berlin I had this hunch that I was going to like the city. At first glance, Berlin is a lived city with an infrastructure that looks used and lived-in.

The Fernsehturm (Television tower) in Berlin, located near Alexanderplatz.

A snapshot of a Berlin street from a subway station. I would say Berlin is a cinematic city like New York. But there are only a handful of films that I've seen that feature Berlin as their backdrop.

A gypsy girl eyeying a passerby.

A walk in the park near where my friend JR lives. Almost every inch of Berlin is covered with graffiti. But there is so much that you don't even notice it after a while.

Berlin's nightlife starts at midnight. One night I ended up at this particular house party. A chance to take a peek into a total stranger's bedroom in Berlin! Rent is relatively cheap here. Even cheaper than Tehran. You can get a nice one bedroom in a nice part of town for only 350 Euros.

A surreal angle on a Ferris wheel in central Berlin.

There's a lively music scene in Berlin. Kiki Bohemia playing at Ballhaus Ost. When the announcer introduced her, he said [something in German] ... Yes we can! ... [something in German.] Not sure what he said, but probably something about Obama -- who everyone seems to love here.

This is one of those photos that captures the mood without actually being a good photo. A rainy day in Berlin -- walking back and forth between East and West Berlin.

A bathroom stall serving as a good representative of the gritty side of Berlin. In other news, I am not sure how I can say this politely, so excuse my language for putting it so bluntly. But I have come to realize that home is where you poop well.

At another random house party, "minimal" Berlin music plays as scores of beer is consumed by college students and post-graduate bums! Minimal Berlin music is a series of beats that constantly repeat themselves. So minimal that the DJ just leaves the mixer on auto-pilot and partakes in the debauchery.

A Japanese man preparing Sushi at a restaurant. I am still not sure, is there such a thing as Asian-German?! Is there anything-hyphen-German?

Walking about Berlin you can't help but to wonder if the little details you see were witness to atrocities of Hitler's reign. Surely at the height of World War II and Hitler's madness there were for instance wallpapers. And if these wallpapers could talk, what would they say?

A store dedicated to selling liquorices. I'm still not a big fan!

The German flag outside the presidential compound and the main government building.

Berlin. 11pm. In no time a camel and its luggage will be lost. (That's a Persian saying, it means it'll be super crowded and you can't even spot a camel!)

At a Berlin art show. Many of the paintings, photographs and art installations were very reflective of the graffiti-soaked gritty Berlin outside the maze of the East Berlin building that was hosting the event.

Bagdad Bistro has some tasty doner kababs, Turkish pizza and durum. I never thought I would frequent a joint called Bagdad (Baghdad in English) having lived through the Iran-Iraq war! But here I am every other late night.

Urban Jealousy and The First International Roaming Biennial of Tehran in Berlin. http://www.biennialtehran.com/

A Berlin street corner on a Sunday afternoon.