Remembering Birgit

On Friday 27 August 2004 Birgit died. On that day this year I went to her family grave to lay flowers and celebrate a very interesting life.

Marga was with me for the first time and very impressed with the graveyard. The flowers we put there were from us and Heike, her sister, who I had been with the day before in Brandenburg.

I showed Marga the area where my ashes will be scattered not far from Birgit's grave, and told her that tomorrow I shall be going to an office to arrange that.

Later we went to the area of the cemetery famous for the graves of the socialists/communists/victims of Fascism. It is most impressive. See it for yourself if you come to Berlin. It is as much a part of Berlin history as the Brandenburg Gate.

Later we cooked a nice meal at my place and talked about many other things. A very interesting time with lots of memories. Just another day in my life here in Berlin - but this one was special!

Heike von Brandenburg

Last Sunday morning I crawled out of bed, after the evening with Angelika and friends celebrating her birthday, to get ready to go to Stadt Brandenburg.

A slow start to the day but I got on the regional train which took me there. I had earlier sent Heike my travel details so she was on the platform to greet me. Unknown to me, there were two other friends of hers on the train.

Alicia and Hector entered the train at Alexander Platz, as I did, but at the rear of train. I sat at the front. I had met Alicia before, and there is a report in my blog history about this. She lives in Brandenburg, but Hector is an old family friend visiting from Chile. He is flying back as I type these words. Safe flight Hector!

Heike played the perfect host - as usual! She took us to her flat not far from the station. After relaxing and a drink we walked all of 4 minutes to her favourite restaurant. We had been there before, so knew the quality of the food and service = Superb! Lots of catching up on news before we went to a Catholic churchyard where a local band was giving a benefit concert to celebrate 25 years of music making.

We sat at the front of the area near a children's playground. I really enjoyed the mixture of music and languages as I watched tiny tots, and bigger kids, play in the sand and enjoy the slides. A very happy and relaxing moment. I watched one child play and told Heike I wanted to take him back to Berlin in my bag! Heike just smiled :-)

In the next area to the churchyard was a Catholic closter. In the yard there was an enactment of a battle from the 30 Years War. You can see some photos here. I thought it interesting that both areas belonged to the Catholic church.

One was celebrating the success of a local band while the other was showing the killing, murder and violence of religion. Unfortunately we have learnt nothing - just listen to your radio each morning to hear about the latest murders/killings in the name of religion.

From the concert, we walked back into town and there our ways parted. Alicia and Hector went one way and Heike and I another as we headed for the railway station. We said goodbye to each other then I got onto my train back to Berlin. Tired but very happy after a day with such nice people and lots of food for thought!

Florida Storms

I think you must know about the storms hitting Florida at the moment. Now they have been classified as hurricanes and typhoons. Shirley lives on the Atlantic side of Florida in the north.

Most of the storms were in the south, then moved into the Gulf of Mexico side and inland. Poor New Orleans being hit again. As you know, I was there a couple of years ago when I stayed with Tony and Rita. I saw all the damage and there is a report and photos on this blog. Just look in the year and month or type New Orleans into the find/search box.

I sent an E-mail to Shirley a couple of days ago expressing concern. So far no reply but this could be down to not being at home, or the internet connection is down. Even so, I shall be much happier when she contacts me to say all are well!

I think Shirley, family and friends deserve some flowers! Here they are.

Good News!

I got some very good news about 10 minutes ago. Heike called to say she had got a message from Christian, who had been in contact with Marcel. What a string of messages!

Marcel had told Christian about the results of his exams on Monday and Tuesday this week. They were in German and English. He got his results today. He got a 1 in German and a 1 in English = highest marks! Well done Marcel!

I thought he would do well in German after his course in Berlin this summer, but I was not sure about his English. I think that only using English when he was with me must have helped him.

The result is that he doesn't have to go to these classes in his final year, which starts next Monday. Instead, he can use the time to focus on the topics he wants to study later in university.

 Let's present him with a flower arrangement to congratulate him on his success!

Angelika's Birthday

Last Sunday I took the S-Bahn to Rahnsdorf Station, then cycle to a house near Muggelsee to celebrate Angelika's 60 Birthday. Before I got there, I had an adventure I had never had before!


I went into the lift to take me and my bicycle to the ground floor. After I entered a women of about 40 and very overweight entered with her bicycle. There was no room to move but I pressed the buttons to descend. We started at a slow, juddering pace, which got slower, and then the lift stopped. We were imprisoned!

I could just move enough to hit the emergency button which set off loud alarms. A voice contacted us from a wall in our prison and asked what the problem was. The large lady took over all communication, having noted that I was not German! She told 'The Voice' that we were stuck in a lift. 'The Voice'  said he would get onto the problem. And that was it for 70 minutes!

Yes, for 70 minutes we sweated in the prison and smiled at lots of passengers, who noted we were in prison. Four Deutsche Bahn security personnel appeared from nowhere and looked puzzled. None thought to call the emergency services until 60 minutes went by.

As they were discussing this, a man appeared with lots of equipment from a security firm, on contract from Thysson who had built the lift/prison. He tried various tools and nothing happened. Then one of the B-Bahn staff said there was a room opposite our prison where all the controls for our lift were. He ran inside and after a few minutes the lift slowly reached ground level.

I told the staff they were a disgrace and if there had been a baby or old/ill man in the lift they could have died. They hung their heads and didn't say anything. The very large lady scowled at me, got on her bike and disappeared. After getting apologies, I got on my bike and headed for Angelika's party. What a way to start a birthday party!

After ten minutes I arrived at the family house. I have always liked going there, partly because it is so close to the water. I showed Marcel the house on our first lake tour. Angelika was then on holiday. This time the house, and garden, was full of people and music. Most of the guests were musicians so there was lots of music from lots of instruments.

Angelika's mother even played a piano duet with another guest. Others played on other instruments and I wished that Marcel could have been there to join in by playing his flute.  As dusk fell, five of the family and guests gave a performance of a children's piece called 'Cuckoo'!

It was very well done and I recorded it on my camera. My first film! I shall burn it to a CD-Rom with the photos then post to Angelika so she will always have it to remind her of a very special birthday, and evening!  Before then we had a delicious buffet-meal and there was lots of things to drink. Very nice!

I took photos. Here you can see just a few so you can share in a very special, happy, homemade, musical evening. I left very late and am pleased to say I did not use the S-Bahn lift. I carried my bicycle up the stairs. Once bitten twice shy ---- as the saying goes!

All Okay

It seems that all is now okay. Below you can see the message I posted yesterday. Thanks for your response Silke. Also big thanks to Ulrich and Thomas.

They responded to my cry for 'HELP.' Thanks to them I pressed the right buttons, and links, and so was able to access my blog. An extra banana to both when we meet in a couple of weeks :-)

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This is a test. Having problems. The Log-in Bar is no longer at the top of the blog. Please be patient. Hope to have problem resolved on Wednesday afternoon - John

Currywurst

I met Andrea yesterday evening on the platform of U-Bahn Eberswaldestr. Under the platform was our destination. It was Konnopke's Imbiß, which is most famous for its 'Currywurst mit Pommes' washed down with a bottle of beer. Berliners eat it at any time of the day - or late night!   

Andrea sent a card congratulating me on my new nationality, and an invitation to Konnopke's to celebrate. She was surprised that I had never been there before. To become a 'real Berliner' I had to eat there. The business was started there by a couple of the same name in 1930, under a tent, with one table and a large pan for cooking the wurst. It has survived many changes, as has Berlin.

It was really nice to see Andrea again and she looked very well. We talked about many things including her recent holiday in Spain, her job, Marcel's visit and my future plans. She also checked and corrected a text I had written in German and said my German had improved!

Some French students were sitting at the same table so I asked one to take photos. He seemed to know my camera very well for I didn't need to tell him what to do, or to press. Here are the results. I took the one of Andrea enjoying a bottle in good old Berlin style :-) and part of the Imbiß under the railway bridge.

Later Andrea went shopping and I dashed off to meet some Oldies with a bottle of sekt to also celebrate my new status. A very pleasant evening. Thanks for the invitation Andrea and let's meet again sooner than later!

I wonder if Marga will comment on Monday that my blog is always full of me eating and drinking? This afternoon I am going to Angelika's birthday party (more eating and drinking), and tomorrow taking the train to Brandenburg to meet Heike (more eating and drinking). Have a nice weekend all - with good food and drinks!!

Na, Prost!

Time to celebrate again. This morning I went to my local Citizen Office and picked up my ID card and Passport. You can see my  number card with the other documents.  The lady who served me was clearly pleased, and even said nice things about my German.

 I later told my German teacher about this and she beamed! Again, I need time to adjust to my status expressed in new documents, but I am looking forward to using them.

Silke is coming over next week so we can cook a traditional German meal. I am celebrating with Andrea on Friday evening at the most famous Berlin-Curry-Wurst-Imbiss. Never been there before and really looking forward to seeing her again.

Next week I shall be meeting Marga to celebrate with her. She has a present for me. I know she showed Marcel. I have no idea what it is but look forward to having a memorable evening with her, and finally discovering what she bought for me to celebrate my new nationality.

As you can see, I have already bought the bottle of Sekt to celebrate. Na, Prost!

Sailing again

I was going to head this post with the words 'Hello Sailor', then remembered I had used them before when I first got  the tiller in my hand! I settled for this less eye-catching title.

I have told you before that Captain Rolf has dropped engine and other parts of his boat onto his foot/hand and ended up in hospital. This time he got it into his head to pick me up and take me to the boat to help him. His wife is now too weak to do that and his sons were at work today, so I came in as first reserve.

And very happy to help. In exchange he let me take the boat out on the lake and taught me the tricks of steering, how to use the tiller, how to interpret changes in wave patterns, changes in wind gusts and things you would never think about if you were not sitting in a boat with a tiller in your hand.


We did the lifting and engine thing fairly quickly so then it was my turn to have fun. Today was either the hottest or second hottest day in Berlin area this year. Nearly 40°C  brought about by winds pushing up from north Africa - or so the weather forecasters told us. It is expected to break this evening and return us to the usual cooler weather.


Rolf let me take the boat out even though there was no wind for the sails. We used the motor and of course I steered. The first photos are of a sign saying we are near the lake. The lake where he keeps his boat is called Wolzigsee (See = lake) and is south of Berlin. I thought there may be wind later but he just smiled in one of those I-know-better-but-I-am-not-saying-anything ways. I just steered and hoped for wind.

One photo is of the way from the small harbour to the lake. You have to steer through two sets of posts and I did it to 'Well done' comments from the captain! There is a photo of me in my new stripey swimming trunks steering the boat.  We stopped in the middle of the lake and waited for the wind...and waited ... and waited. It came later as we were about to leave the lake!

While waiting we sunbathed, had lunch and talked about everything and nothing. As the wind slowly gathered I decided to take a photo of my legs. The reason is a comment left by Ian about a photo sent by Shirley and showing me in the sun at her pool.

Ian said it looked like I was trying to get my legs brown. Correct Ian! I think white is giving way to, 'Get those knees brown!' This was a famous command from sergeants to new soldiers on arrival at far flung bits of the old British Empire. Ah...those were the days Ian, and the Gin 'n Tonics were always at least 3 fingers!

Captain Rolf dropped me home just as the first thunder came with showers indicating a cooler day tomorrow. Even so, it was 39°C on my balcony and very humid after a rain shower. The solution was to pour a very cold beer into a glass and sip it.  I did just that. Mmmmmh....the perfect end to a perfect day!

Lyrik Park

I have just returned from 'Lyrik Park Marzahn 2012' and really enjoyed it. I think I can hear Fran and Barbara asking what it is. I called them last night and it was great to hear their voices again. I hope you have BOTH read my blog posts after our talk. They didn't even know I had taken German citizenship.  I write this blog for them!!

Lyrik Park is a weekend event in the north east district of Berlin called Marzahn. It was the first district I lived in when I moved to Berlin. I have many happy memories of living there and meeting some very interesting people. Top of the list is Jan and Andrea,

As you know, my German teacher is Frau Fox and she lives near the final station on the S-Bahn line to Ahrensfelde. On the opposite side of her flat is a small park area. That is where Lyrik Park Marzahn took place today, and will continue tomorrow.

She told me about it and invited me to attend today. I got there at 1:00 pm and wandered around. Not a lot of people but some interesting presentations on aspects of 'lyrik'. A book reading was taking place and piles of books were in the garden to browse and take away. There was an interesting mural around the bark of a tree and hearts hanging from a tree. I had to have a photo of that.

Herr und Frau Fox arrived. It was the first time I had seen her in an electrically powered chair. We chatted and she introduced me to many people. She is well know in the area, and in this association which includes many Russian-Germans. She was a German and Russian teacher in the GDR.

We relaxed with a 'Bratwurst' eaten in a toasted roll with Bautsen Senf, and in my case with a small beer. Very tasty, but not to match a freshly baked pork pie from the butcher's in Skipton! Mmmmmh! Even so, it was a welcome light lunch and took us into the main event of the afternoon.

The main event was a performance by the local German-Russian Choir. I soon discovered that they were all female, including the keyboard player, and of a 'senior age'. They sang with such feeling and pleasure that it really was uplifting to hear them. They got very well deserved applause for each song. They sang popular folk songs in German, Polish and Russian.

A wonderful start to a weekend forecast to be the hottest this year. I plan a lazy day 'roasting' in the garden, after I have skyped Ian and Birgit, followed by falling asleep over a new book.

Monday I shall be on a boat on a lake south of Berlin helping an 'oldie' sort out his engine and be rewarded by steering the boat around the lake for an hour or two - and getting my legs brown, of course!

Really looking forward to that. Have a nice, relaxing Sunday and Monday no matter where you are. From Monday the forecast is heading for autumn cool weather. What a pity we have only had three days we can call summer!

Old - New

I've just had new router installed in my computer(s)-internet system. It all started a few days before Marcel left when the telephone box from my old splitter stopped working. Result: No telephone calls in or out.


Went to my local Deutsche Telecom shop, all of 5 minutes walk away, and reported the problem. Salesman gave me a new box and said there was a special offer so I could go from 6MB to 50MB speed for the same price. I agreed. I got all the equipment per post and my system was changed to the new IP connection yesterday afternoon.  I had no telephone or internet connection, but no-one noticed for we were all glued to our TVs yesterday evening to sadly see the German national football team lose 3:1 to Argentina!

A very friendly technician arrived at ten this morning to bring me into the world of latest connectivity. I watched with great interest as he did all the things necessary, plus sort out two problems I could not have done. They were problems of compatibility between old and new technology/laptop. He just smiled and said. "We'll find a solution." And he did.

He also put my system onto the latest security, then added my laptops and internet radio onto the system. Now they all work easily. I need less boxes and cables and it really is much quicker. I can also add internet TV to the system, but I need more time to look at the pros and cons of that -- and price!

You can see features of the old system on the left and the only two parts to the new system on the right side of this story. The old system had five components. Now I shall recycle them.

Pity you are not here Marcel, for you could add your laptop and whizz around the internet at new speeds. Marcel sent me a nice SMS and an E-mail from his holiday at/on the Balaton. Nice to get his messages. He wants to talk to me over Skype so I shall organise that per E-mail.


One minute after my new system started, I got a call from Ian in Sydney. Nice timing and a surprise. Because of the technical work we could not chat too long so we are going to Skype on Sunday. Looking forward to catching up on their news. The weather forecast for the weekend is for 30+ degrees and that we shall have the warmest days of the (late) summer. Great - can't wait to get my legs brown!

Home safely

Just opened an e-mail sent by Marcel's 'Mudda und Vadda' sent from home yesterday evening. This is my translation of their message.

On Sunday at 08:35 Uhr Marcel arrived at Budapest-Keleti (Ost Bahnhof/East Railway Station). He had a good journey but couldn't sleep - lots of thoughts in his head.

 Surprise: Ma and Pa were waiting for him at the railway station - and not his sister Bianca. From there they drove to Bianca's flat in Budapest. He then relaxed and had lunch with his family. They went to the hills in the centre of the city with all its monuments and statues.

 At 18:26 he took the train from Budapest to Badacsony, on the north shore of Lake Balaton. He is staying with his grandparents for a week for a holiday and rest.

Thanks for the message. I/we all hope he can sleep, relax and play his flute for a week! Here are a few photos they sent. I have been to the centre of the city you can see in the photos.

Thanks Andrea

Checked my postbox on returning from the institute this afternoon. A nice suprise was waiting for me. A card from Andrea. She sent it to congratulate me on getting German nationality. Thanks Andrea, your card and best wishes mean a lot. I have also got a number of congratulatory e-mails from different readers of this blog. I got a very nice one from Stefan S., so thanks to you as well. I think it is time for a late summer 'Treffening' over a plate and glass. I shall arrange it.

Marcel is very much in my thoughts. Waiting for a call that doesn't come, a voice asking if he can come over, hearing that he is hungry and what there is to eat. Missing the cheeky smile, laughter, questions about German and English grammer as he does his homework. Missing his need to talk about private things in his life, even at 11:00 pm when I am threatening to throw him out! Hope he is catching up on sleep and having a restful holiday. He needs it. I have completed 130 photos of his time here and burned to CD-Rom to send to him, his parents, Marga and Heike as a momento of his stay in Berlin. I know they will value it.

I have a little more time for myself now so I resumed reading a very interesting book. It is called, 'The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason', by Sam Harris. Printed in the UK in 2005 and in the USA in 2004. ISBN:13: 978-0-7432-6809-7. An absolute must for anyone with half a brain and able to think for themself. This excludes most religious believers by definition, but I hope some of them try.

Within my family and closest circle of friends there are many who go to church, mumble what they have been taught, leave some money and go home. There is little, if any, chance of having any conversation about faith, belief, history, evidence, Darwinism, natural selection and why so many people need to believe in mind numbing life threatening mumbo-jumbo. I am spreading the idea that all religious people should be sent to a large island to then kill each other in the name of their religions, and so leave the rest of us in peace. As Richard Dawkins is quoted on the front cover, "Read Sam Harris and wake up."  Just try it!

Goodbye

Yesterday evening Marga and I said goodbye to Marcel. It was at 18:13 in Berlin Hauptbahnhof Gleis 4.

The train to Budapest was waiting as we arrived and found his sleeping carriage. A very nice railway company lady welcomed him/us and said she would look after him, and that we should not worry. She thought we were his parents!  And so he waved us off. You can see a photo I took just as the train began to move.

He found the last part of his course more difficult than the first. No surprise there for it was a level higher and the students had to do more learning for themselves rather than be fed by the teacher.

We talked about this as I tried to get him to understand the differences in learning and teaching at different levels. Even so, he did very well and ended Module 2 with 1:7 to add to his 1:0 for his Module 1. Well done Marcel.

As we moved into his last week he had a lot of things to do for his course, but we found time to meet including celebrating Jerome's 18 birthday on the 8th. We followed this on the 9th by seeing the new Ridley Scott film at the Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz.

 It was in English, but Marcel said he understood about 65%. It was also in 3D and I can only recommend you see this film as soon as it comes to your nearest cinema. I shall buy the DVD/Blu-Ray to add to my collection.

Marcel went to a Farewell Party last Friday so I didn't see him. He got to bed at 2:00am and was rather tired when he arrived at my place for breakfast on Saturday morning. We also had to move his things from the student home to my place. We celebrated with fish for lunch and a final glass of white wine. Within ten minutes his eyes were closing so I made him rest on my bed. A nice photo of the sleeper here.

I woke him in time to shower and put on new clothes...and...for him to give me a final flute performance. He is really talented and it was a pleasure to watch and listen to him play. A photo for you to enjoy. A quick gallop to the S-Bahn, then meet Marga at the main station.

After seeing him off, Marga and I went to a cafe/bar and enjoyed a glass of red wine with a portion of tasty food as we chatted. I then left for home to telephone his parents for I knew they were waiting for news. We had a nice long chat in German and was able to assure them that Marcel was okay and the railway lady would keep an eye on him.


As I am writing this he is arriving at Lake Balaton to stay with his grandparents for a weeks holiday. Then back home for an exam and the start of his final term/semester for his Abitur/'A' Levels/High School Certificate so he can apply for university in September of 2013. It is possible he may study in Berlin. I hope so. Meanwhile, I shall enjoy a holiday with him and his parents at Balaton in July 2013. It has all been agreed!


It will seem strange without him. I had a lot to do today so didn't have time to think about my loss. I shall of course miss him greatly, but look forward to sharing his adventures via skype before we meet next summer. I am just one of a number of people in Berlin who are grateful to have shared part of summer with him - even if the sun did not shine much!

Müggelsee 1 and 2

Since Marcel arrived, I have tried repeatedly to show him Berlin's largest lake. It is called Müggelsee and I have posted more than a couple of stories about my adventures there. Each attempt to show Marcel the lake was foiled by bad weather.

The day after  I became a German citizen the weather continued to be fine and sunny. We hit the S-Bahn then cycled down Bötcherstraße towards the lake. He liked it, particularly the entrance to the tunnel. There you can find lots of beer-gardens and food as you sit near the water and enjoy the views.



Not far away is a playing field for small children. Guess what he did? Yes, he made a straight line for the kids swings and enjoyed five minutes on the swings as the three year olds were trying to work out who this big 'kid' was! Here a couple of pics to make you smile.

Yesterday we planned a final bicycle tour to the east. The weather was mixed but we risked it. We took the S-Bahn east to a final station called Erkner. We cycled north through the woods until we arrived at Woltersdorf. It is a popular place to visit in summer for it is on a lake and river system. There are also lots of good restaurants and hotels.

Marcel wasn't hungry. That was a surprise, but then he had eaten a huge breakfast when he arrived at my place. He loves the eggs I buy from the local farmer and can eat even four at one sitting. Amazing!

 Instead of eating lunch there he decided to get to know the local wild life on the lake. This included lots of Donald Duck's and swans. Here is a good shot of him at ease on the water.

We later cycled through lots of woods until arriving at Müggelsee. We completed a full tour around the lake including a welcome stop for lunch. He was then hungry and happy to stop for a break. I took a few photos of him on the restaurant terrace, where we ate,  then posing at the end of a nearby pier. Just taken to remind him/me of our last visit to Müggelsee together.


On returning home he wanted me to see a Blu-Ray film called, 'Fight Club'. He had bought it for me. Nice!

We settled down in front of 'the box', and I was surprised to note how good the film was, and up-to-date given it was made in 1999. And so ended a very pleasant day.

 The last Saturday before he leaves.