It Runs in the Family

So, one of the greatest joys of this trip so far has been snapping photos for my aunt of this apparently very popular German children's character that bears a striking resemblance to my 10-year-old cousin ... If my cousin sported a very nice goatee, that is.

Where's my Joey?  There's my Joey!

 Seriously, this guy is immensely popular in Germany.  In every shop I visit, there are a number of items that bear his image.  The above photo was taken at the fancy KaDeWe department store in Berlin.

Anyway, I took another trip to Potsdam on Sunday and walked past this really cool building (which I later found out was a film museum of some sort):

Right outside of the building was this sign:

Sandmann auf Reisen.  So that's what this character was -- the Sandman.  For the sake of my family, I knew I had to go in.  I was intrigued.

Upstairs (and free of charge) was a little exhibit dedicated to a stop-motion production company, reminiscent of our Rankin-Bass.  Apparently the Sandmann character was created in 1959 and has been appearing in things ever since.  In fact, a new movie was just released this past September.  The exhibit was quite charming and the best part was finding my very own cousin around every corner.

Everything's so cute and tiny!

I'm assuming they did a Snow White short at some point.

Riding a car...

Hang gliding...

Steering a boat...

This was the children's craft corner.  If you look closely, you can see little Joeys everywhere.

Alexanderplatz's Television Tower?

Mail for the Sandman!  (Or Joey.  However you want to look at it.)

Yet another great thing about this museum?  Free bathrooms.  (These are pretty rare around Berlin, you see.)


**Disclaimer -- Joey, if you are reading this (and your mom had better be showing you my blog), don't be upset with me.  Rather, be proud that you look like such an esteemed German figure.  And you'll be happy to hear that I am being very, very safe.**