My brandnew flat

Hartmut almost finished doing up my flat. The colour we found for a few walls in living room and bedroom is just perfect - matching wonderfully with paintings, pillows, and my mood. This weekend I'll do some more sorting and moving around of furniture, books, pictures and plants. The weather report said it's gonna be a stormy and rainy weekend, so just right for making my home more comfortable.
Hartmut will be back on Monday for some last painting and fixing. And hopefully then my flat will be fine, for at least a year or two.

Meeting people at work

Work at ver.di can be boring sometimes, especially when I check old websites, and try to improve them by correcting links and such. But working on new topics with interesting people is definitely great, and lately there's a lot more of this. Famous trade unionist and author Udo Achten (on the right, check his books here) was in our office today, we talked on his life and work, and a lot on our new project about the 60s in Germany. He lives in Eller, not far from my former home, and knows my good old friends the Füllners!
In the evening, we went to "Mediengalerie" together, where they had an opening of a new exhibition. I had hoped to meet Michael Hüter there, one of the artists' whose cartoons were shown whom I had worked with in IG Medien in the 90s. But he couldn't come, alas.
Anyway, it was a great end to a great day. More of this! :)

Emil the brave cat

Emil is changing lately. He loves his home more each day, and enjoys looking out the windows, exploring cupboards and tables, and especially climbing up the tree to look down on me. When he's not cuddling up on the chair besides me when 'm surfing the web, or in my lap when I sit on the couch, preferably resting on some papers, and purring. Seems he's more trustful than ever. But he still hides behind the couch when Hartmut is around. Yeah, well.

Nice advice

Been to the doctors today, my new one in Berlin, to check for results of my blood test last week. Everything is quite fine, but cholesterin. Again. Sigh.
So I'm put on a strict diet of veggies, fruit, bread and such. No meat, no milk, no sugar, no eggs. Worst of all: no chocolate. Otherwise he gave me advices regarding my sinusitis and parodontitis. Hardly any medicine to take, but stuff to do and to avoid. Ah well, looks like I found just the right man to restore my long lost health! :)

Simple pleasures: bread and apples

Schöneberg is a great neighbourhood for natural food. Yesterday I went to an oldfashoned, but really quite newly etablished flourshop, "Mehlstübchen" on so called Schöneberger island, selling the most delicious bread as well as the flour and recipes you need to bake them yourself. One of these days I'll have to attend to their baking school.
I had a look into the apple store at Goltzstraße, as well, admired the variety of apples they have, fresh from the farmers', and bought a lot of tasty looking yellow ones, the kilo only 80 ct. I was hoping to find my favourite since childhood, Berlepsch from Düsseldorf, which you can't get in supermarkets, but they were sold. They care for old varieties a lot, those good tasting, small apples with lots of vitamines and lovely smells that can hardly be found nowadays.
I remembered the fruityard my grandfather had planned and cared for with my grandmother in my old home in Düsseldorf. I had loved it, and still have fond memories of early mornings spent working there with them, and picking fruit whenever I felt like having some. After his death my parents had torn the yard down because of too much work. A few trees had been left, and for years we still had apples every day of the year, from very early varietes to those you can store all winter. Ahhhh, those days!
How much biting into a lovely apple can mean bringing back all those memories!

Street art makes my day

Walking the Berlin streets, you can't help noticing the graffiti everywhere. Berlin seems to be one huge open air art gallery. It's fun to discover the gems, stop for a while, admire the artist's work, and go on with your daily routine.
This piece I see every day on my way to work at S-train station Yorckstraße. It always makes me smile!

News from Anna

Whilst people in Berlin enjoy a first weekend of spring, Anna is stuck in deep snow in New York. There had been a heavy snowstorm today, and all the flights had to be cancelled. Hope she'll make it home in time, and for now delights in wintertime pastures in the city that never sleeps.

Night of the red moon

Last night, the moon was beautiful and round, and covered by the shadow of the earth between 2 am and 6 am. I didn't get up to have a close look, and was glad I didn't: too many clouds to see properly.
Maybe next time, June 15th 2011.

Take the challenge!

I had a long day today, getting up at 5 a. m. (five! a.! m.!), cleaning and rearranging the flat (I must have been crazy, or maybe it's the influence of the full moon), going to the doctors before work, walking 45 min. to the office (ok, I took a shortcut with U2), working for more than my usual 7 hours, and afterwards going to Bauhaus and IKEA to check for paint, curtains, carpets, the lot. Hartmut had promised to help me with the flat next week, so I had to have a look and get some ideas. At home, Alex helped me via phone with my internet connection which I had managed to ruin this morning (5 am is way too early).
Anyway, here I am, sitting in front of my laptop, internet is running smoothly again (yippieh! thank you, Alex!), I had an almond cookie and some prosecco to celebrate such a busy day, and all of a sudden I found this great game. Which I had to give a try at once. And then again. And then some more. See for yourself whether you can play Camille Saint-Saën on this cello!

The digital world's most promising pioneers

Guess what? I'm one of them!
Remember the first ever trade unionist protest in the virtual world I participated in last September? We were given an award for it! This is sooooo awesome!
All of us trade unionists that had organized the action in Second Life (our collegues thought it was weird and crazy, and we were as well) are so happy about it, and my friend Christine Revkin from UNI went to Paris to take it. Read more about it here!

New York, New York! And Berlin

Emil and I went back home to Berlin on Friday, whilst my daughter Anna took the plane to Paris and from there to New York to visit her boyfriend Volker. Both cities are buzzing with energy, and (most remarkable these days) temperatures are really low. It's freeeezing cold outside, but sunny and lovely to walk around.
Which I did on Saturday for more than two hours, enjoying my neighbourhood, and buying tulips and more spring flowers to decorate my flat. After two weeks of sorrow and mourning I felt a new spur of energy, went to IKEA, bought a carpet, and moved furniture around to make my home more comfortable and cozy. I even called Hartmut who had helped me with painting and building when I moved in three years ago, and he promised to come this Tuesday and help again. Great guy!
I'm looking forward to my new home, and will do some early spring cleaning to make it even prettier. That reminds me: my couch in Stuttgart is back from the couch doctors, looking better than ever! You can even sit on it now without sinking deep onto the floor. ;)

Nehmt Abschied, Brüder

My father died on February 7th, the day of the new moon. His body was too weak, he couldn't eat nor drink any more, only gasp for breath. The last time he was awake and able to look around, he recognized me, and kissed me good bye.
I had come from Berlin just in time.
The funeral was a ceremony with neighbours and friends, wreaths and flowers filling the small chapel, last greetings. Representatives from the organizations he had been a member of had come and brought their flags. They stood to the side of the coffin, the flags held up.
Many of these groups my father had founded and led in the 50s and 60s, and opened to international meetings in the 70s. A soldier in WW II, and war prisoner in France, he was especially engaged in building up french-german friendship. His assistant of many years in Lierenfeld shooting club reminded us of the work he had done, organizing, setting up new traditions. He bowed to the coffin: "Alfons, danke!"
Anna and I broke down in tears trying to join in the song my father had wished for, "Nehmt Abschied, Brüder", the german version of "Auld lang syne".
The flags were lowered in a last salute, and led the coffin and the mourners to the new part of Eller cemetery. Soldiers from german military and even from France (enemies during the war who had become friends since many years) saluted whilst the coffin was lowered into the grave. A trumpet played "Ich hatt einen Kameraden" as is the tradition with shooting and military comradeships.
After the funeral, family and friends met in my sister's house, his old home, for coffee and cake, talking about him, exchanging stories from his long, rich life.
Father and mother gone, I'm the oldest of our family now. Time to write down the family memories before they're gone forever.

A call from Düsseldorf

My niece Cathy called yesterday. My father is very sick and will die soon. So I left the office, booked a train, and will speed to Düsseldorf today. Hopefully I will still find him alive, though he will be very weak and not able to recognize anybody. I couldn't stay in Berlin, no mind for work, leave alone carneval or Berlinale, when family needs me. I'm off.