November 2013 things

So far my November looks to be quieter than October. No relief teaching, but you never know how quickly that can change. November is not one of my favourite months. I do not like grey, cold, wet days!

Tomorrow the month starts with a visit from Jan. His is in Berlin for a business conference. I look forward to seeing him post-India. A bonus is that Marcel will also be here tomorrow evening. It will be the first time they have met.

I also look forward to seeing them get to know each other in Hungarian, while I look on and offer more beer! Yes, I filled my fridge with beer this afternoon ready for their visit. I am sure I shall hear more about Jan's India experiences.

What is happening in November? I'm teaching my group to the middle of the month. They then have their exam. After that, no teaching! This Sunday I am going to a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie. Shostakowitsch and Poulence = no sleeping through that! A week later I have another concert at the Kömische Oper. An all Russian programme. There are some special SPD meetings, but I shan't bore you with details!

Who has a birthday in November? Jeff, Rob and Annie celebrate being 58 on the 19th in the Netherlands, Sarah hits 53 on the 22nd in London, Stephen will sip a pure whiskey for his 56th birthday on the 29th, and so end the month of birthday celebrations.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY each and best wishes!

Neologism

Nothing of interest on TV, and I finished my German lesson. I decided to go through my in-tray and found some interesting things long forgotten. Most are now in the waste bin. I found a list of neologisms sent at the beginning of the year.

They made me smile, so I thought you might too. They are from the Washington Post. There are many but I have picked the ones I like.

1. Coffee(n),  the person upon whom one coughs.
2. flabbergasted (adj), appalled over now much weight you have gained.
3. abdicate (v), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. lymph (v), to walk with a lisp.
5. Flatulence (n), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you have been run over by a steamroller.
6. Balderdash (n), a rapidly receding hairline.
7. Circumvent (n) opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Now to recycle that paper and see what is in the fridge = I have already abdicated!

Long words

I've had a couple of lazy days with time to open my books and try to learn more German. I have even done my homework for Frau Fox. I dipped into the book I travel with, my copy of der Freitag and smile time with a satirical magazine called Eulenspiegel.

In all cases I stumbled over looooooooong words! I think this must be why German has never made it as a world language. You think I jest? Try this report taken from Spiegel Online. The government of  Macklenburg-Vorpommern has decided to remove a law and hence the name of the law will no longer be used.

What is/was it? Das Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. It only has 63 letters! There are lots of such things and the story says most are creatures of lawyers working in politics or for government. There is one even better:-

Das Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetzesentwurfsdebattierklub-
diskussionsstandsberichterstattungsgeldantragsformular.  Great isn't it? Next time I go shopping I shall ask for one:-)

English has a monster as well. The Oxford English Dictionary says it is the longest English word with 45 letters. Try this - pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. It from medicine and refers to a lung disease. The German word is much shorter - die Quarzstaublunge.

Back to my books. Happy reading:-)

V.I.P. me

In yesterdays post I got an invitation. It was from the President of the Berlin Parliament. As you may know Germany is a Federal Republic, and Berlin is one of the federal states making up the republic, in addition to being the capital city, and home of the national parliament.

I have been invited to the first central naturalization celebration on Saturday 23 November 2013, starting at 5:00 pm. I am one of three selected from the district of Lichtenberg, where I live, to represent the district and all citizens who have taken German nationality.

Quite an honour, and yes I do feel honoured! I got wind of this a few weeks ago when I got a call from the Mayor's private secretary. She told me I had been selected and would I agree to represent the district at this event. I immediately said, "Yes!".

She said she would forward details and I would get an invitation. Now it is here and I am allowed to take a guest. I'm thinking about who to ask. Who shall it be?

Gerontius

Had I continued to live in Silsden, I would have had to gallop to Bradford or Leeds to see concerts or operas. In Berlin, I just have to gallop to the centre of the city and there I have a choice of three opera houses and a number of concert halls. 


I particularly like the Konzerthaus Berlin on Gendarmenmarkt. It is between the German and French cathedrals next to U-Bahn station Stadtmitte. Visit it the next time you are in Berlin. I like the atmosphere in addition to the architecture and design of the hall.



Angelika contacted me in the week and said she was going to a concert there on Saturday evening and if I wanted to come with her. I said yes. It was a performance of Edward Elgar's, The Dream of Gerontius. It is not performed so often and I had never seen it although I had heard it a number of times.  

It was written  in 1900 and there were problems because of some Catholic texts. The Anglican church did not allow its performance so some changes were made and from 1910 it was performed in its churches and music festivals

Last night the original was used. The performers were interesting. The orchestra was the Staatsorchester Braunschweig  (Jan - this is your old uni town!) and the chorus was made up of the Berliner Domkantorie and the Chor für Geistliche Musik, Ludwigshafen. This is in the south of Germany. The narrative was sung by Michael J. Connaire - tenor. He had a very clear diction and so I could understand nearly every word - from his name I suspect he is Irish. It was sung in English and the level was very high for mainly German speaking singers. Well done all. I really enjoyed the evening. 

For Alan

This post is just for Alan. He is my oldest and dearest friend and you know I spent a wonderful few days with him and Lynne and family this summer. He is learning how to use a computer and all the things you can do with such a machine. In his case, it does NOT mean how to spy on other people:-(

He recently sent me one of his famous 'straight thinking' e-mails and said half the posts on my blog are about eating and drinking. Alan is not a fan of drinking anything with alcohol, and that is okay.

He called me a couple of evenings ago. We had a nice chat and caught up on news. He repeated his comment that my blog is full of food and drink. Yes, Alan you are right, so here is another story and photos :-)

Marcel arrived at 6:00 pm last Wednesday. One hour late. On asking why late, I received the classic student response of, "I fell asleep". Say no more!  He had called earlier to ask if he could visit and cook something. I immediately said, 'Yes'.

The truth is that the main reason was for him to pick up his washing. He had also found a recipe on a Hungarian cooking website and decided to try it.

It was a simpler recipe that before. It was based on chicken legs soaked in a mixture of olive oil, crushed garlic and four spices, to which you add beer made from wheat and then into the oven. With this you eat a fresh green salad and you can choose potato or rice. Marcel went for the former.

Now for the drinks Alan. He drank a glass of beer made from wheat. This is popular in the south of Germany and he likes it. I drank a glass of cold white dry wine. Mmmmh... very tasty Alan!

Summer again

It was summer again today. Blue sky, sunshine and 20°C. I went out with my autumn jacket and soon had to take it off. Then I noticed people wearing summer clothes and even young men in shorts! More sunshine please.

I have been keeping up with Spring/early Summer in Australia. Perhaps you have. I have friends there and so reports of fires threatening towns in the south-east is worrying. Even Sydney is choking from smoke. I hope it rains soon.

As summer returned to Berlin today, I gazed into my back garden and at the tree almost opposite my balcony. I remembered taking a photo of it a week ago as I noted that autumn colours were clearly evident. I decided to take another to see how the same view had changed in a week. See for yourself. It is clear how quickly autumn is on the march even with exceptional days like today.

This morning I got an e-mail from the organiser of the walk last Saturday. I had sent him a series of photos I had taken. He was pleased and shared a few taken with the camera on his phone. I think we shall stop buying cameras in the future as the quality of phone-cameras increases.

The shot of the 'Kalb' made me smile. What is there about such an animal that makes we humans want to stroke it?  I think there must be something from childhood images and memories which linger in later life. We also saw a crane in a field near to water. It looked very suspiciously at us as it kept an eye open for any fish swimming nearby.

I had a quiet morning before seeing Frau Fox for my German lesson this afternoon. I did all my homework which she checked. She explained the meaning, and use of some words and phrases, including who would use them, and in which situation. We are meeting in two weeks. She gave me more homework to do :-(

Things will speed up from tomorrow with more teaching and other appointments. Marcel is visiting tomorrow evening for a cooking session before we watch football. Angelika called to ask me to go with her to a concert on Saturday. Looking forward to that. Have a nice rest of the week to all of you.

Autumn walk.

I've had a busy week. I am standing in for a teacher on holiday, so I had to go to the institute four days a week. This was in addition to all my other activities. Even so, I enjoyed the week.

Next week will be quieter because the teacher returns on Wednesday. I hope to do a bit more at the 'Fitness Centre for Seniors' to get ready for my next adventure starting early December.

Marcel arrived today to bring me up to date on his week, life in his new flat and with student neighbours. We agreed to meet next Wednesday for an evening of chat and cooking another tasty meal.

After he left, I went into the centre of town to the Komische Oper in time to see Verdi's Requiem. I have to admit it is much better in live performance than listening on CD, or on the radio. I noted also that it really is an opera set to a standard latin text.

The whole thing could be set as an opera. I am not the first person to say this but if/when you see/watch it live you will surely agree with me :-) After I had a nice drink and chat with Angelika, so had the chance to catch up with news of holidays and summer trips.

Yesterday I went on an 'Oldie Walk'. We took the ferry to Kladow in the west of Berlin. Then a local bus before starting the walk along the route of the old Berlin Wall. It is well sign-posted and not difficult to follow.

It includes a visit to airport Gatow operated by the British military after the war. It is now a museum and worth a visit. They even have a uniform worn by Herr H. Göring on show. He liked dressing up.  He was also rather large around the girth as the uniform shows!

We walked to the hill and park at Hahneberg before arriving in Staaken. There we visited the local church with its display of times past and ended the walk in a pub/restaurant. Good solid food and beer ended the excursion and I was much the wiser about that part of the area as I headed back to my part of Berlin. Here are a few photos. You can also see that autumn is now advancing.

Bharat

I have always liked the Hindi name for India. I liked breathing out on the B and make sure I attached the H in the breathed sound. It also looks nice in the Hindi script called Devangari. It is closely linked to Sanskrit. I was reminded of this when I got photos from Jan last week.

As you should know, if you read my blog (!) Jan and Arancha had a dream holiday in north India a few weeks ago. I helped Jan to plan the trip mainly through the Delhi area, down to Agra and the Taj Mahal and off to Rajasthan via a visit to Fatehpur Sikri.

From there to Jaipur, where there are lots of things to see. The high point was a few days at Udaipur. This is a town in the south of Rajasthan near the borders to Maharashtra and Gujarat. In the middle of the lake is a palace build on the orders of the local Maharaja about 500 years ago.

It was build on a small island. The material was white marble. What else when you are a Maharaja? It is now a luxury hotel. I advised Jan to book in as a birthday present for Arancha. He did. A perfect break in a travelling holiday. Include it if you ever do this tour. You will never forget it. I never have :-)

I was delighted to get photos from them, and Jan allowed me to post a few to share the experience with you. Many thanks to both. Here is a flavour of what awaits you!

Accident

There was a bad accident on Saturday just after 5:00pm. The main road is being widened as it goes under Karlshorst S-Bahn. The station is also being re-built. The area is closed off and last weekend no trains were running. The station was also closed to the public.

A mobile crane, said to one of the largest in the world, was lifting a 7 ton, 8 metre long section for a new passenger bridge. As it was being lowered into place the crane suddenly gave way and the section fell into the station hall.

Three workers were hit, one of whom died later in hospital. As I returned home on Saturday evening I noticed lots of flashing lights and the sirens of ambulances and police cars. I thought there had been a car accident. I didn't realise it was the bridge. A terrible day for the families of the workers.

Settling in

Yesterday started with talking over skype, shopping, cooking lunch then visiting friends for 'Kaffee und Kuchen'. Rushed home at 7pm just in time to open the door to Marcel.


He had been busy with his new flat, such as finding out the plus and 'things-that-need-to-be-done' minus points. It was nice to see him. We celebrated his change of stutus by drinking the last of Opas Palinka. Delicious!

He told me all about his day and expectations of living in the new flat as we cooked. During the meal I discovered the things he still needed. He was tired so asked if he could stay over. Of course I said he could, and so we settled into a lazy evening of TV and an extra glass.

This morning I collected the things he still needed from my cellar and packed them for him. One thing not there was a pure wool jacket which I have not worn for a couple of years. I asked him to try it on and he looked better in it than I had ever done, so I gave it to him.

Later we travelled to his new flat where I took a number of photos to send to his parents. Then I remembered the jacket and so took a few shots. Here are two of the best. Congratulations Marcel, welcome to another phase of life as a student in Berlin - with a nice pure wool jacket!

New Home

Marcel moved to a new home this morning. At last! We have been looking for a room in a students flat or a small flat for him since he arrived in Berlin to study.

 Here are some photos. Lots of things to do for the building is still in a state of transition. He is happy there for most of the other occupants are students, young musicians or different kinds of artists. All new for him!

He stayed with Johanna, who is a friend of mine, and she found this place via another friend. It is in the north of Berlin, so he has quite a journey to the TU where he studies, but at least he has his own four walls and the independence it allows.

I've had a very busy week with additional teaching to cover for someone on holiday. It all went well, but I am looking forward to relaxing this weekend.

Einheitstag

Yesterday was Einheitstag in Germany. For the Silsdeners, this translates as (Re-)Unification Day. It celebrates the collapse of the Berlin Wall at the end of 1979, and the unification east and west Germany. I am sure you remember this.

Marcel  arrived and we decided to go for a bicycle ride to and around Muggelsee. It is in the south east of Berlin and I have posted many reports about my adventures there on this blog. We took the S-Bahn to Friedrichshagen then cycled down one of my favourite streets.

It is the main road from the S-Bahn to the lake about one mile to the south. It is called Böttcherstrasse. I really like the variety of small shops, bars, a cinema, restaurants and the architecture and atmosphere.

When we got to the lake we found lots of waves created by an easterly wind and lots of sailing boats enjoying the wind on the water. I also liked the sun on the water for it is dropping each day and so you get different light and shadows. A very pleasant relaxed day for us!

October 2013 Things

September was a good month and I hope it will continue into October. Last month was special for my time in Claviers with Hannelore and Peter. After that it was the excitement of working for the SPD on campaigns leading to the General Election on 22 Sept. We lost, but the problems continue so the fight goes on. Nothing new there for I learnt that lesson as a politically active teenager -- many years ago :-)

Jan and Arancha had a great holiday in north India and are now safely home. I look forward to hearing more and seeing lots of photos. Visits from Marcel also made my return a pleasure, particularly the evening he decided to cook. I was surprised at his culinary skills. Here is a photo of me showing him how to test if a knife is sharp enough to use!

Today I had my first meeting in ages with Frau Fox, who you already know is my German teacher. Today I showed her lots of photos of my summer and had to make comments for each one and so practice spoken and descriptive language. She only needed to help me twice and one was with the Genitiv!

In October I have extra teaching at the Institute as I cover for a colleague who is flying to the USA for a holiday. There is also a concert to watch/hear Verdi's Requiem, and a walk along part of the old Berlin Wall. All this as the days get colder and darker. Time to get my winter clothes out of the cellar.

Who has a birthday in October?  Nephew Andrew kicks us off with his 36th on 5 October, followed by nephew Warren on the 12th for his 37th. His mother, my sister Frances, hits 67 on the 14th. Marita in Berlin will celebrate her 62nd on the 21st followed by Dianne B. in Keighley who will be 67 on the 27th. Tanja B. in London ends the month of celebrations with her 49th on the 31 October.

Have a wonderful day wherever you are!