Friday, September 30, 2011

October 2011

October starts tomorrow with hot sunny weather - just like today. It is forecast to stay sunny until next Tuesday when autumn will arrive.

Tomorrow I am going on a walk to the south-east of the city to look at flora and fauna. On Sunday I am going to the city of Brandenburg to meet Heike and some of her friends. Lot of chat, food and a concert - I think it is music by Bach. Should be nice. Next Monday is a public holiday here to celebrate the re-unification of Germany in 1990. I wonder who and how it will be celebrated?

Life looks like settling into a regular pattern, very much like last autumn. I am still missing life in Beijing and noting how it has affected how I view life back in Berlin. Must avoid falling into a boring routine which looks very much the pattern until the end of the year.

Talking of year end, for the religious in Europe it ends with a celebration called Christmas. I noted this week that all my local supermarkets have now started to sell Christmas products. I think people will be so 'cheesed off' by this that they will increasingly turn away from this religious humbug - it would also be good if they stopped buying this rubbish in protest! Nice idea :-)

Now who has a birthday in October? Nephew Andrew will be 34 on the 5th, which he shares with Birgit in Beijing who will be 49 on that day. Nephew Warren will be 35 on the 12th, his mother ( my sister Frances) will be 65 on the 14th. Back in Berlin, Harro will be 65 on the 17th, Marita hits 60 on the 21st, my ex-neighbour will be 93 on the 22nd, Dianne in Keighley hits the big one of 65 on the 27th and Tanja in London hits 48 on the 31st to end this birthday month. Happy Birthday to each and all and have a great day with your nearest and dearest.

Shopping again

I have slowly got back into life in Berlin and went to my Oldie Fitness Group session this morning. They were all pleased to see me and asked lots of questions as we stretched and relaxed. It was nice to see them again.

Later I went to my Photoshop Gang session to find I was too early and Stefan wasn't there. I talked to Marco, who also works there, about DSLR cameras. We looked around the internet and got more information. My search was prompted by an advertisement for a Canon DSLR camera in one of the big electrical store chains.

I got lots of information from the Wikepedia web page and from linked pages reviewing the camera. I decided to buy it. There were two reasons. First, the special offer price and second, if I did not buy now I would probably waste the money on food and booze :-(

I returned home, got the money from under my mattress and left for the store. Nice help and advice in the store and so I arrived home to open the box. What a surprise. All the operating instructions were in German, French, Italian, Dutch or Spanish. Nothing in English. In addition I got three CDs about the camera .... but not in English.


I think I shall need next week to read all this stuff before I put the bits together and try to take a shot. Watch this space for results. I had been thinking about buying such an entry-to-DSLR-camera for some time, but talking to Ian in Beijing was the catalyst in doing something rather than talking about it.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Back in Berlin

I'm back in Berlin and shaking off jet lag and sleeping problems.

I had a wonderful time in Beijing and area and wanted to stay. Huge thanks to Birgit and Ian for putting me up...and putting up with me!

On arrival they gently took me around the area where they live, got me a travel card and another card to pay for food at a local 'meal market' where lots of local workers dropped in. How well I remember the 'jiaozi' ladies there :-)

After that, I started to organise my daily trips and travels. I started with sights in the city, then in the second week I booked tours to the mountains and countryside. In my last week I saw all the sights in the city I had't seen in my first week.

I saw many amazing places, scenes and buildings, but walking on the Great Wall of China in the middle of the second week was perhaps the most memorable event. Here is a photo to show that I made it to the top of a very high point.

On my return, I bought a wok and have started to cook delicious vegetarian meals. Ian and Birgit gave me the book to guide me in my new cooking adventure. I have already started work on the 465 photographs I took and will post selected ones to this blog during October.

Thursday, September 01, 2011

September 2011

I finished teaching at the institute yesterday and now have a few days for/to myself. I had a Manderin Chinese lesson this morning. Mainly pronunciation and writing down the main words and phrases I shall need to be polite.

My teacher also wrote words on a card to show to people when I need help. Not a bad tip when you visit a land where you can't speak or read the language.

I shall start packing on Sunday. Heike is coming in the afternoon to take me to the airport. My non-stop flight leaves at 7:30 pm and takes almost 9 hours to reach Beijing. Ian and Birgit will be waiting for me and take me to their flat in south-central Beijing. I must remember to take my camera!

I shall not be posting to this blog until my return at the end of September. My nearest and dearest have my e-mail addresses should they wish to tell me how much they miss me :-)

Who has a birthday while I am away? Charlotte will be 20 and about to go to Sussex University on 6 September. A day she shares with Nevand who will be 6. My liebe Andrea will be 26 on the 8th, nephew Stephen in Cambridge will be 41 on the 22nd, Robert 33 on the 23rd and Sylvana 51 on the 25th. Stephen's Papa will be another year older on 27th, nephew Jefferson hits 38 on the 29th and ends this birthday month.   HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EACH AND ALL!


Biesdorf

The evening before I went to Chorin, I went to Schloss Biesdorf. 


I met Johanna and family and Jutta. A friend of theirs was giving a concert to showcase his very talented 19 year old daughter.


She played five instruments from baroque to jazz. Amazing! She is going to university to study music when the next term/semester starts.

The concert was free and many people brought a picnic hamper with them ... and wine! 


It was a pleasant warm evening as the sun went down on a lot of happy people listening to a wide range of music.