Good bye, Hermann!

My former boss at ver.di, Hermann Schmid, is leaving ver.di headquarters to lead a more quiet (?) life with family in Waiblingen. And to travel more, run more, learn how to play a guitar, read more - well, do all the things you got bags of time to do when not working any more. Lucky guy!
We gathered at ver.di gallery to say good bye and party a bit. Lots of presents, lots of speeches, Frank Bsirske - our mutual boss - was there, too, and many, many friends and collegues. We all loved Hermann's speech on his work seen as a marathon run a lot. Pity it's not on youtube...
P. S. But a posting about it is on his blog now. Read more about the great Goodbye here.

Sun and wine in Köpenick

Blue sky, bright sunshine, and temperatures rising to 25 - everybody in Berlin rushed outside to enjoy this first day of summer. The parks were crowded, so were the lakes, and the many festivities: Baumblütenfest in Werder, Winzerfest in Köpenick (one of the many highlights celebrating the 800 years anniversary), Maifest in Neukölln, opening of Landesgartenschau in Oranienburg... What to see? Where to go?
Since Dirk had told me about Köpenick old town and the lovely small french epicerie and bar "Le petit paradis", I chose to go there. And he was right! The cafe and cakes were to die for (see for yourself here), the wines and cheeses and titbits they offer as well, and the walks around the old center and along Müggelsee were just lovely.
I hadn't been here since a few years, and it did change a lot. I was even more astonished to see what Köpenick looked like in the early 60s, before some DDR politicians decided the old buildings had to be torn down. The exhibition in "Gallery Grünstraße" is still on, and well worth a visit.
As is the famous town hall with the monument of the so called Hauptmann von Köpenick, of course. But not that much to me.
Today, all the streets were crowded with people and funfair booths. The wine offers were best inside the castle. But I wasn't tempted at all to drink wine on a hot spring afternoon or eat greasy sausages. Instead, I sat down by the waterside, smiled into the sun, and had some sparkling water and the banana I had brought.
I didn't leave without a souvenir, though. The tourist office had a map with all the information you need when biking through Berlin (hope I can start soon), and just after managing to go past a shoe shop with great offers of "Think!" shoes, I found another one with even better offers since it was closing down. When browsing around idly, I glimpsed the one and only sweater they had, linen, black stripes on light beige, perfect when relaxing on a boat, and it was my size, and not even a fifth of the orignal prize. So I left with a new sweater, instead of with a hangover. :)

Meeting Friends

Saturday is shopping day. And whom did I bump into when strolling along Hauptstraße with heavy grocery bags but Christel, my dear old friend from ver.di. We hadn't seen each other for months, so decided to have a coffee together in one of the many cafes close to Akazienstraße. We had fun, as you can well see.
Later - after a long day of hopping into and out of the flat, getting my household ready at home, and doing more shopping in Schöneberg - I called Susanne from Düsseldorf. We hadn't seen each other for years, so decided to have a coffee in Cologne, when I'll be there for the school celebrations in June. Looking forward to it!
And last but not least I spent as much time as possible with my dear old friend Emil, the travelling tomcat. He loved being back home that much, he purred almost all the time. :)

Greece calling

Actually, it was Peter who called and suggested a meeting of his friends going to Greece together this October. Great idea! I will have to stop in Gelnhausen on my way to Düsseldorf where my classmates from 40 years ago will celebrate our anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long ago...
Well, anyway, I was happy to hear news about our trip. Peter had booked some apartments in Elea, close to Maloi in Laconia, a small fishers' village at the west coast with a beautiful beach. How lovely the sunsets will be with the sun sinking into the sea!
Every morning when changing busses at Potsdamer Platz, I look at this advertisement and smile. I will be there, soon!
In the afternoon, the vet called with news on Emil. His kidneys are really bad, but luckily I had had a feeling that something was wrong, and had insisted on the examinations. So we found out just in time, and Emil will be fine for some more years with a special (and costly) diet, lots of love and patience. All of which I'll gladly provide.

An apple a day - or a lemon

Two recipes to stay or get healthy I was told yesterday, and am glad to pass on to you:
1. No colds any more with lemons in the mornings. First day one, second day two, and so on up to five on the fifth day. Then down again to one on the 9th. To be repeated once in a while.
2. Less cholesterol with a garlic shot. Take some vodka or alike, mix with fresh minced garlic, leave for a while. Take in a glass of yoghurt. First day one drop, second day two, etc. up to ten, then down again. Be careful to take one drop only, not a whole glass! Repeat if you feel like it...
Before going to the vet tonight, I went shopping and bought the required ingredients. Hope it will work!

Emil is sick

Emil and I went to the vet last Monday to check on his heart. It's fine, well, at least a lot better than it used to be. He will have to continue taking his drugs twice daily, but who cares. Not me, I'm quite used to making sure he does swallow them.
But there's something wrong with his kidneys now. The vet wants him to stay in hospital for 24 hrs, so they can do all the examinations required. I'll have to take him there tomorrow evening. Poor dear! Cross your fingers he'll be fine!

Fountain fun

This boy has fun at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz trying to bike across the fountain without getting wet. He was so proud when he managed!
And I had fun watching him on my way home from working out. Twice a week, I do my exercises at rehasport fitness center, sometimes three times. Half an hour only, but my shoulder is a lot better now!

A walk in the park

Daphne, her mother and I took a walk through Botanischer Garten in Zehlendorf Sunday afternoon. Seàn had suggested we went, but couldn't come after all.
This beautiful park is only 15 minutes by bus from my place, but I had only been there once before. And I had missed then to have a very close look at all the different plants and trees, set up in geographical order. So you can stroll along the german seaside, climb up and down the Himalaya, and hike through the Greece mountains, all in one hour.
Daphne and her mother know all the plants, all the walks, and all the most beautiful places, and guided me. The park was so lovely this spring day, with the first flowers, the tree blossoms, and the sun shine.
Unfortunately, instead of taking a photo, I took a very short video. Only by chance did I find a way of cutting this pic from it. Have to have a closer look at my new camera, too, I guess.

One hour with Daphne

Seàn was sick again, poor dear, so Daphne and I decided to make it a short meeting: one hour only. She had to work for her studies, and I had to do more springcleaning.
Still, one hour can be filled with nice talks and two exhibition openings close to Crellestraße, at "18m-Galerie", Akazienstraße, and "Now and Next", Helmstraße. Where we met another couchsurfer, Özlem, living just around the corner from my place.
So we had a good time, but neither red wine nor prosecco - only delighted in the art. Well, more or less so. Both exhibitions were rather, well, hmm, strange. But nice galleries and nice people. And anyway, time spent with Daphne is always well spent.

I missed him!

Gianmaria Testa was in Berlin last night. And I missed him!
Bettina had introduced me to his music by giving me his latest cd for my birthday. So I was excited to know about the singer and songwriter to give a concert at Tipi this Friday. I even pondered on a Tipi dinner as a special treat to make it a really wonderful evening. But when I finished working in the afternoon, I was so tired, I went home to relax and read. What a shame!

More exhibitions

Yesterday, I went to the opening of the new exhibition at "Mediengalerie". The photographies by Oscar Paciencia show life in Columbia, and the problems and terrorism workers and farmers are facing, trade unionists murdered. Not an easy topic at all. But the pictures are beautiful all the same, showing the people proud of who they are, not giving up their rights, fighting.
Tomorrow evening, Seàn and Daphne will join me for two more openings in Schöneberg. I had been thinking about going to the Taz congress at Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Ortwin had told me about it, and the program is rather tempting. But no, I had promised my friends to spend the evening with them.
It's so hard to decide what to do and where to go in Berlin. There's always so much going on here.

Potsdamer Platz at 9 am

This is Potsdamer Platz as well. The two buildings you can see in the painting I bought. I pass them every morning on my way to ver.di.
It's busy even then at around 9 am, and a lot more when all the tourists are up and around. But not so bad early in the morning when the sun is shining warm already on me waiting for my bus.

Potsdamer Platz in my livingroom

Remember I bought a painting at Mediengalerie a few weeks ago? Now the exhibition finshed, and Constanze Lindemann from Mediengalerie got the gallery ready for the next one, that will start tomorrow. Time to collect my painting of "Potsdamer Platz" today.
Constanze had it wrapped up conveniently, and since it was not too big, I could easily take it home my bus.
It's in my livingroom now. Potsdamer Platz. I hate that square. But I had been working there for years, and it's part of my life in Berlin.
Marion Lind, the artist, was astonished I didn't like the place at all. She had seen it at night only, and painted it accordingly. She had a closer look the next day, and understand my feelings a lot better now. It's just too big and made for tourists only, not for people to live there.
But well, I like its painting in my livingroom all the same.

The bus that got me confused

Have a look at the bus I saw at Tauentzienstraße last Saturday. It's from Nantes! That is quite some miles away in France.
I wonder what brought it all the way to Berlin. With the signs saying "Bienvenue à Nantes" and "Nantes City Tour". Hmmm...

Easter 2009: The second day

Today was the second day of Easter holidays. No Easter bunnies for me (as seen at Hertie a few days ago), but lots of Easter walks, around Schlachtensee with Ortwin and Wannsee on my own, on to Daphne in Zehlendorf for some delicious "stone soup", lots of chocolate eggs for dessert, and hanging around with friends.
I had met Ortwin through the internet, and today we finally managed to meet in real life. He was one of the first left wing members in Berlin parliament in the late 70s, when I was still studying and doing political work at university. Being handicapped with bad hearing and a damaged right shoulder(what a coincidence!), working less hours per week ("Altersteilzeit"), and pondering about what to do after working life, we found lots of stuff to talk about.
A nice day, filled with sunshine and joy. I wouldn't mind going on like this..

Happy Easter!

Sean and I met just after lunch for an Easter walk through Britzer Garten, with Easter bunnies, Easter chicken, Easter fire, and last but not least Easter eggs, tulips and tree blossoms. As thousands of Berliners decided to, as well. But the gardens are huge, so we all had a great time.
What a lovely afternoon, with the sun shining brightly and warm, and temperatures almost like summer. We had a bison sausage for lunch, with a beer each, and lots of talks to catch up on each other after a month of only meeting in virtual life. And walked around the beautiful garden for almost three hours that went by fast. To be continued.
Back at home, I found the e-card Anna, Alex and Volker had sent me, and looked for the right card to send back to them. Here's the cat Emil and I chose. Not specifically Easter, but cute.
In the news, I was surprised to hear about the huge Easter march demonstrations all over Germany. So I was mistaken yesterday. Peace is still fought for in this country. Read more here.

All's well that ends well

There are days when everything seems to go wrong. Still, they are fun. Not as you expected, but nice surprises. Well, mostly.
Today was one of these days. I had a meeting with Couchsurfers from Aachen at 11 am at Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz, but somehow they didn't manage to get there in time. Never. We tried three times that day. Duh. Karl from Norway and Ortwin from Prenzlauerberg had asked to see me, as well. So I missed two nice men! Sigh.
What else? Winterfeldt market, as always. Apples from my favourite shop, some beautiful roses from my favourite flower booth. Falafel from Habibi. Some browsing through Gabi's dresses. Too big for me, now. But still nice. I might ask her to do some in my size. Well, no, not today.
On to the Berlin so called Easter march. It's kind of stationary this year, close to Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. Nobody seems to believe in Easter marches for peace nowadays but a bunch of oldies. Maybe that's why they decided to not march or even walk at all. Well, never mind. A few friends, at least. Could have been worse. And the music was great!
Walking on further down Tauentzien shopping area, I found a lovely bright red wool/silk knitted something (sweater? pullover? dress?), but no lipstick. Actually, I had been looking for the lipstick. My longtime favourite Nivea Oriental Red is long gone. I tried some auburn by Mac at Kadewe instead - wouldn't do. Finally, I noticed Chanel. And a very skilful make up artist from Paris, Yannick. I got stuck for almost an hour, and the result is what you can see on the pic.
Nice, huh! Pity there's no chance to show it off tonite, except for maybe at Hauptstraße Easter fun fair. Oh no! I rather prefer staying at home with my dear tomcat. :)

Arts and crafts at Zeughaus

Designer Pia Fischer had invited me to this exhibition at Zeughaus, and of course I had to go and see the design fair. Lovely stuff, I found some very interesting rings, and will have to check for the jewellers later.
And what about Pia's jewellery? Not the everyday piece you'd find anywhere else, is it?!
What else this Good Friday before Easter? I was walking around Berlin center a lot enjoying the sunshine and the warm temperatures. First off to Checkpoint Charlie to take some pics of an exhibition Khaled Jarrar had set up in 2007. I met this palestine artist in HC chat a few evenings ago, and he asked me whether it was still to be seen, and to send him a pic of it. Well, there was no trace any more. Pity.
Last but not least a visit to the exhibition "Die Sprache Deutsch" on German language at Deutsches Historisches Museum. Not bad, but not the best that might have been done. Maybe I'm too strict. I did enjoy the cartoons by Marie Marcks though, a lot, hadn't seen them for years.
I guess, I will have to go and have a second look with Daphne. She's studying German, so she might be interested.

People you meet in Berlin trains

The reading girl in white was sitting close to the door when I entered the s-train at Friedrichstraße. She left at "Unter den Linden" close to Brandenburg Gate. There are lots of artists working as statues there. At least, she was smart and brought her own chair.
The guy next to her did not leave as soon. He was listening to some weird song, repeating the words all the time. Ah well. People you meet in trains. Especially in Berlin.

Listening to great music

The first time I read about Renaud García-Fons was a few days ago in our ver.di magazine "Publik". I knew I had to buy his new cd as soon as it's available in Germany. Today, I bought it at Dussmann (Sunday shopping in Berlin), and I'm listening to "La Linea del Sur" right now. Again and again. It's beautiful!

Pictures of an exhibition

Bright sunshine woke me up this morning, and I decided to get outside as soon and as much as possible today to soak up the longmissed sun beams.
But first, like every weekend, the washing had to be done, and the flat cleaned, and some shopping for my dear tomcat was on my to-do-list as well (at Fressnapf, it filled my backpack to the brim).
Then on to a meeting with Karl, a 65 year old student of psychology from Norway, whom I knew from Couchsurfing. I had suggested we went to see the Grieshaber exhibition together. I had meant to see it since many months, and these are the last days it is on. We both liked it a lot, and bought the posters for our homes. Karl was surprised to hear I had some originals by Grieshaber, and even knew him and some of his friends. Grieshaber is one of my favourite artists, besides Goya. (No chance to have any orginals by the spanish artist, of course. Posters and books will have to suffice.)
Afterwards a leisurely walk through Tiergarten, all blossoms and nature reviving, to "Schleusenkrug" where we spent a few hours chatting and enjoying the afternoon outside, overlooking the Landwehrkanal. Like so many other Berliners. The city is quite filled with happy people lately.
To finish off this pleasant day with even more pleasures, I went up and down Tauentsien shops, and finally found the dress I had hoped to get last week, plus jeans, a cardigan, and some shoes (no high heels, but not too sensible either - Camper, flamencostyle). Guess what colour!
On tv, they showed a movie on the award winning book by Friedrich Ani, one of my favourite crime authors. I watched it with Emil purring besides me. He's so sweet lately, even trying in his shy way to lick my hand to show how much he loves me.
What a lovely day I had!

Yet another place to enjoy greek food

Charalampos, called Babis (so much easier to pronounce), the young student working with us since a few days, told me about yet another great place to enjoy greek food in Berlin: "Berkis". It's just around the corner of Winterfeldtplatz. Now what a surprise, how could I have missed it!
Well, Daphne and I had been there a few days ago to give it a try, and since then I stop by for a snack ever so often. Even today, after having been to "Haarwerkstatt" to brighen up my red curls (not so very red on my birthday, as you might have noticed). The weather was great, and will be all weekend, bright sunshine, and everybody's out eating dinner on the street walks, enjoying the sun at 8 pm (!). Ah, summertime, and the living is easy...

More big fat greek dinners

Another birthday dinner, and greek, as well. My collegues and I had meant to go out for some delicious greek food at "Ousies" for quite some weeks, but hadn't managed to so far.
Even today we hardly made it: Hartmut and I felt rather sick, again. But with the weather changing to the better in the afternoon, our health and mood got better, as well. And we decided to just do it. Another great dinner, lovely starters, and some more dishes. I tried the sepia with spinach - wonderful! To be continued, we decided.