Prof Peter

I met Prof. Dr. Peter von Long-Legs last Sunday. First meeting this year and just after his 30th birthday. In case you have forgotten, Peter belongs to Jan's school gang. They met as small children and grew up together.

Peter went on to study economics and is now in the final phase of his doctorate. It is only a matter of time before he gets his Dr. title and later will become a Prof. Watch this space for developments. His second name was created by me. Why? As he moved into his early teens I noticed he was growing taller than the rest of the gang. He has long legs so naturally he became Peter von Long-Legs.

I wanted Marcel to meet him. Both are at university and I thought Peter may be able to help/advice Marcel in the future. We met at Friedrichstrasse station and walked a few blocks to an Italian restaurant known to Peter.

It was a good choice and full of family groups enjoying the food. We joined in. Good food and lots of good conversation and jokes. A very enjoyable meeting. Looking forward to the next!

Der Knast

In British English slang this means, the can, slammer, klink or to be in the jug. In official English it means prison. In German this is Das Gefängnis. I went there a couple of weekends ago without knowing it!

I went to a SPD party meeting called a Klausurtagung = a closed meeting. It was rather like a day long retreat where you chose to go into a group to discuss particular topics. The group I joined discussed facilities in the city for disabled people.

I mentioned this to some of the Oldie SPD Gang and last week one of them brought a newspaper report. The building complex where the SPD meeting took place used to be a prison. It is in Rummelsburg which is an area on the River Spree. A nice area for a prison.

The prison was built in the 1880s after Germany was created. It contained many workhouses where prisoners worked/made things. This continued after the creation of the DDR in 1949. The difference was that the prisoners produced things, or provided a service, for companies in West Germany. They made things for sale to the 'Capitalist' enemy!

It was closed after re-unification in 1989-90. It was later rebuilt as a complex of luxury flats for sale with a view onto the water, trees and grass area along the river.

New Palace Potsdam

We continued our walk through Sanssouci Park towards the New Palace/Neues Palais. This is in the western part of the park. With a few stops for deep breathing we arrived at the palace.

It's big! I wondered what it would cost to heat the place if I lived in it. Imagine the bill for a month in deep winter with temperatures under -10°C. It has over 200 rooms, four main reception/banquet halls and a theatre.

Building started in 1763, at the end of the Seven Year War in which 'Frederick the Great' added another large part of Poland to his lands. This was in addition to the ex-Polish area called Prussia. Building was completed in 1769, and it is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace.

Frederick wanted it to show the power and glory of Prussia. The palace has a three story facade and was designed by the architect Carl von Gontard. It has a 200 metre facade with a central section crowned with a large dome. On this was placed the 'Three Graces' which supported the Royal Prussian Crown. Also on the roof are over 400 sandstone statues and figures.

Frederick did not use it as a royal residence. He lived/slept around the corner in Sanssouci in summer. It was used for the reception of important royals and dignitaries. In 1859, it became the summer residence of Prussian Crown Prince, Frederick William.

Later, William II and wife Augusta lived there and renovated/modernised the building. This included steam heating, bathrooms and electricity. After he abdicated in 1918, it became a museum. What else could you do with such a building?

Schloss Sanssouci

After wandering around the Landhaus Brandenburg, Hermann and I set off to wander around Sanssouci Park. starting with Schloss Sanssouci. This is a big tourist attraction in Potsdam and translates in German as 'ohne sorge'. It is in the eastern part of the park.

König Friedrich II had a small summer palace built there in 1745-47, in the 'rokoka' style. The architect was Georg von Knobelsdorf. If you remember from my last blog post, he designed the Stadtpalace in the centre of Potsdam. It is at the top of a garden made up of six vineyard terraces with a central staircase up to the building.

It was designed only for the King and his chosen guests. His wife lived in Schloss Schönhausen to the north of Berlin and never in Sanssouci. He lived there privately and for public life/functions in Stadtschloss Potsdam, particularly in winter.

He died in the chair of his study at Sanssouci on 17 August 1786. He ruled for 46 years and was succeeded by his nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm II. Sanssouci was later re-built. Two wings were added on instructions from King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The architect/builder was Ludwig Persius.

In 1990, the palace and gardens were taken under the protection of UNESCO as part of world culture for all of us to enjoy. See it next time you find yourself in Potsdam!

Landtag Brandenburg

Last Wednesday I went to Potsdam with Oldie Hermann. If you remember, he has recently had a heart operation and I posted about it to this blog. All went better than I or his family thought after the operation. His doctors told him to move around and walk to active his heart and get it properly moving. One such therapy was to spend the afternoon walking in the old part of Potsdam, and later to Sansoucci and the New Palace. He did very well and only needed to stop for deep breaths a few times.

The main attraction was to see the recently opened Landtag Brandenburg. This is the building in which the parliament of the state of Brandenburg takes place. It has an interesting history. Let me try to take you through the main points so you can learn a little more about this part of what is now Germany.

Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg inherited the town of Potsdam in 1660 to add to his other territories. Shortly after he asked the architect Johann Gregor Memhardt to design and build a palace, in the Holland style,  in the central area near the river. It was duly built in 1664 - 1669.

In 1740, Friedrich II of Brandenburg became King of Prussia and decided to expand Potsdam as his 'residence town'. In 1745, he asked architect Georg von Kobelsdorff to redesign the palace. This was done and so it stood until destroyed in an air raid on 14 April 1945. Knobelsdorff's design formed the basis for rebuilding. Its function was not as a palace but to house the parliament of Brandenburg.

The building changed function at the end of WW I in 1918. The new German Republic used it to house government officials, for meetings and receptions. Even as a ruin in 1945, the Sclosscellar underneath remained intact and was used as a dining room for school children in the 1950s. It was not to be for long.

In 1959-60, the ruins were removed and used to build the foundations for the 'Lustgarten'. The empty area was used as a centre for traffic. Things began to change after reunification in 1989-90. In 1990, Potsdam city council decided that any rebuilding in the centre would have to focus on restoring it to pre-1945. In 1999, a foundation was created to promote the restoration of the town centre.

In May 2005, Brandenburg Parliament decided to build a new parliament building on the site of the old Potsdamer Stadtschloss. In September 2009, a contract was signed and building started. It was partly financed by a donation of €20 million from a charitable foundation. More money followed in 2011 to complete building.

In December 2013, MPs and officials moved in and parts of the building were declared open to the public. It is worth a visit the next time you are in Potsdam.

AWO Janos

Janos is the 'Boss' of my AWO centre in Lichtenberg. I have just told you about the history of the organisation, and our Thursday breakfasts. At the end of last year he asked me to help him set up a blog. I obliged and even did a post to my blog to tell you about it. I included a photo of him taking a rest after all his hard work.

Since then I have repeatedly asked him to update his blog. "Yes, okay John, but...ah.. er.". I took my camera to the breakfast this morning and told him I wanted to take a couple of shots for his new update. He agreed and I took the shots.

One is of him in front of a photo taken in the early 90's, when he was in the USA. He looks very muscular in the photo and told me he did a lot of training then. He agreed that I take the shot on the basis of  'Before and After' :-) I then took a shot of him at his desk. So far so good!

We then decided to open his blog and make some changes before I uploaded the new photos onto his blog. Then we hit the BIG problem. Yes, you have guessed right. He couldn't remember his blog name and password. Lots of looking through records and bits of paper on his desk. To no avail!

He said he would systematically go through his papers/records for we both remember he wrote the information out/down. But where is it? I told him I would post to my blog and he said, "Do it".

 Last point about his name. He is from Hungary and when you speak his name you have to say the 's' as 'sh' so Janos sounds like Janosh. Got it? Just like Budapest is not that but spoken as Budapesht!

AWO Breakfast

This morning I went to the Thursday breakfast at the AWO rooms near to Lichtenberg U-S-Bahn and railway station. Usual nice greeting when I entered the breakfast room and the red flask of tea was waiting for me in my regular corner. I think I can hear the Silsdeners asking what the AWO is. Let me explain, then add some pics from this morning.

A Short History:  The Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) was founded 13 December 1919, in the poverty and hardship that followed the end of WW I, and creation of the Weimar Republic under President Friedrich Ebert (SPD). It was founded to meet the needs of the poor in the SPD by Marie Juchacz (1879-1956). She was a SPD member of the National Assembly.

More Short History: In 1919, millions were hungry and without work. It offered free meals and training to help people find work. It later developed into a help organisation for all socio-economic weaker people. After Hitler and his Nazi Party came to power in 1933, the AWO was closed and banned. It was re-formed in Hannover in 1946, but this time for the socio-economic weak regardless of party or religion. In the Soviet Zone, and in the later DDR/GDR, it was not allowed to operate. After re-unification in 1989/90 it moved into the east and now operates throughout the German state.

It now has 401,000 members. One of them is me :-) I joined in November 2013. It has 145,000 workers making it one of the largest employers in Germany. It is one of the top six social welfare organisations in the country. Structurally it is a decentralised organisation based and organised in localities.

Its main function is still to support the socio-economic weaker in society. It is also active in supporting the disabled, seniors, nurseries, public all-day schools, psychiatric clinics, school holiday camps and advice centres for migrants, asylum seekers and people in emergency of any kind. I'm happy to support it.

The Thursday breakfasts are mainly supported by local SPD member who for various reasons live alone, or support sick partners. It offers all a chance to meet and enjoy an hour talking to other people. The topics range far and wide. It is now a very important part of my weekly routine.

 Now for the photos. What do you think of my breakfast? Here is a photo of raw meat with onions - eaten on fresh rolls. Very popular! I find it ...Yuk.. Yuk..and Yuk.  Never!!!!

Mr Piggy

Last Saturday, Marcel arrived late afternoon. I hadn't seen him for three weeks. He looked well and was as lively as always. We caught up on news after we came back from shopping. He was happy about his new 'student job', but not so happy about working hours = late evening/early morning.

He had got written confirmation about starting at the Uni in early March. Here is a shot of him with said letter and looking very happy about it. He said he went to the 'Turkish Market' last Friday. This is held on the banks of a canal in Kreuzberg where you can get good fruit and vegetables for a very reasonable price. A lot of students shop there. Yes, price is key as always for students!

While there he found a non-food stall. Smiling at him was Mr Piggy. Here you can see it for yourself. I asked why on earth he had bought it. He looked puzzled by my question and said," I just liked it". I think the secret is that it keeps his ears warm!

We had supper then watched a film he had on his laptop. We just link it to my TV screen. I often nod off. This time I managed to keep awake. Next day I let him sleep until 1:00 pm. Yes, you did read that correctly. I sometimes wonder if I needed so much sleep at the weekend when I was his age. I think I did.

In the afternoon we went through the theory part of his driving licence examination. It is on his laptop but in Hungarian. He kindly translated it and we generally agreed on the answers. I was more than pleased to note that he got all the questions correct. Well done.

He then wanted to cook another Hungarian dish. I left him to it. It was delicious. Par-boiled potatoes cut into slices, add yoghurt, spices, cream and put in oven. Make a green salad. Cut chicken breast into pieces, add lots of sliced onions, garlic, herbs and spices and stick all in the oven.  Place on table and eat. Mmmmh...tasty!

Pen Moon

Last Friday I took my new 'Smart Phone' pen, with the phone, to Stefan of Photoshop Gang fame. He checked the phone and pen.

We then opened a web page. It was of a company offering low price internet connections for S-Phones. Stefan recommended one.


 We read through all the small print and  I decided to fill in the application form. Within 24 hours I had all the documents, new phone card and a new mobile number. I shall take it all with me on Friday and get the phone to be 'Smart'! 

We did some work with Photoshop and I practiced more cutting out and building up a new picture. I decided to fly to the moon. There I hoisted the German flag and flew back. On my return to Berlin, I parked a blue van three times in the middle of the road. Time was up so I couldn't add anything else.

At home I  put my camera chip into the laptop to transfer some images. Nothing happened. Lots of fiddling around before I had to admit that the chip was damaged. I wondered what was inside. I got a sharp knife and did an operation on the patient.  Here you can see what is in such a chip if you have never seen one before.Doesn't look much, does it?

Secret Service

We all have secrets. Yes, we do! Some of us have more, and some less. Some secrets exist only in the head. Others exist in reality as part of a way of life, or activity.

I was surprised this morning when I went to my breakfast for seniors. One Oldie operates a company with his son. When other Oldies 'pass away', and their families ask for help to clear out the flat or house, then that it just what the do.

 Breakfast Oldie told me they did just that at a flat last week and found some interesting documents. He showed them to me. Here they are. They show my DDR alias passport and some of my medals. He was shocked. So was I!

I told him they were not real and were made when I applied for a part in a James Bond film many years ago. I was turned down, but these film objects survived.

Perhaps the Oldie was a big James Bond film fan and somehow able to get his hands on them as a souvenir. Or perhaps he just liked the passport photo of me!  A fan I didn't know I had :-))

Fight back

I watched a tree fight back this morning. I blogged recently about building new flats on the triangular ground in front of my flat. I showed photos of the area and told you about building plans.

Yesterday, I got a letter from my housing association. It owns the land. It contained news about the next building stage. The 'lads' arrived this morning to continue with land clearance. The snow has gone so time for felling.

Felling comes from the verb - to fell something or someone. You can fell a tree = cut/chop it down. You can also fell a person = in boxing = he felled him with a blow to the chin. You could also fell him with a sword, or battle axe. See some of Mr Shakespeare's texts! He liked some nice bloody felling:-)

I watched them settle down to work. Some chopping, feeding branches into a loud machine, which spewed out (that is a good phrasal verb to add to your vocabulary) the branch as wood chips to increase the growing pile you can see in my photos.

One of the lads, let's call him Fred, advanced into the mini-wood. He chopped down some small branches and trees. Then he advanced to one near the fence, and of a more substantial girth. Fred put his machine-saw into the base of the tree. He cut. The sound of the saw decreased and slowed. The tree was fighting back.

He tried to pull his saw out. He couldn't. The tree had collapsed into the gap and trapped the blade. The machine made a noise, but could not cut further. Fred called a mate/der Kumpel  for help. He arrived with his saw. They pushed the tree. Nothing happened. They pushed again and still the tree fought back.

Fred and Kumpel had a talk then decided to free Fred's saw from the tree. Kumpel attacked tree and made another deep cut. They pushed again. Nothing. Kumpel cut deeper. They pushed more. The tree moved. Kumpel cut further. More pushing. The tree slowly fell over and Fred could recover his saw.

They then cut up the felled tree before going for a coffee break. Poor tree(s) but I really like the way this one fought back. More blog posts about the future of my building site.

Mixed Week

I'm enjoying a really nice lazy weekend, and the sun is shining in almost clear blue sky. Last week was a very mixed one. It was dominated by worries about Hermann's heart operation, and visits to the hospital. I was there on Friday and he looked much better. The docs want him to walk/move about with lots of deep breathing. He is more than happy to oblige!

I'm listing to BBC Radio 3 (Classical Music)  over my internet radio. Micheal Berkeley's Private Passions programme. His guest is the 'beat poet' Michael Horovitz. Really amazing person. He is 78 and uses his voice like a musical instrument. His choice of poems and music is truly interesting, as is hearing about his childhood. Escaped from Germany to England in 1937, talked about learning English and helping his elder siblings to learn the language. He was the youngest of ten children. He has just said that his parents had clearly never heard of condoms :-)

Last Friday, I showed Stefan and the Photoshop Gang my new-old Smartphone. There was some surprise that I was entering this techi-world at my age! Stefan agreed to teach me more in a Smart
lesson before we start next Friday. Meanwhile, I am practicing how to use different functions.

We also did more work on photos of Berlin on the theme of Old and New. I practiced cutting out and moving images then duplication. I put some old churches into a kids playground so they could practice demolishing them :-) I also added  snowmen to the main approach road to Alexander Platz, which is in the middle distance of the photo. Not very artistic, but part of the practice/learning process.

Jan is in town. Actually south of Berlin. There is a meeting of the 'lads' from his class. They are all now 30 years of age so decided to have a special meeting to see how many times they could multiply 30. I can imagine that a not small quantity of beer was consumed! Great that they still keep in touch.

No news from Marcel for two weeks so I have just called him. I got a very sleepy, 'Hello'. He's going to call me back after he has finished sleeping. He has a 'student-job'. This one is washing-up in a restaurant or helping in food preparation. He works until 1.00am so you can understand why he is still asleep early afternoon. Looking forward to catching up on his news.

I've done my lesson prep for next week, the ironing, prepared food to cook later, made a fruit salad and updated the security on my hotmail account. I got a scam/virus this week from someone on my 'trusted sender' list. I am thinking of removing his name! Caused me a lot of problems and I nearly lost the account. Next week looks to be even more varied and busier than last week. Hope your next week is a good one.
 

Fest Platz

I have just returned from a "feierlichen Namensgebung" = a celebratory naming of something. The place was the Stadtplatz in front of Kalshorst Theatre and Music School. It is the large building in the background of the Stadtplatz photo.

The area was created about a year ago and forms the centre of Karlshorst. The S-Bahn station is behind the Theatre and the main shopping area is next to the Platz. I got an invitation from the Mayor of Lichtenberg early January inviting me to attend the ceremony.

I arrived to discover about three hundred other citizens standing in the Platz. I was clearly not the only one to get an invitation. We stood in front of a pillar with a cloth covering its top. In front was a microphone, speakers, a local TV team complete with large camera, and a bevy of journalists either making notes, or taking shots of the event.

The mayor gave a clear speech telling us all about Johannes Fest (1889-1960). The Stadtplatz was to become "Johannes-Fest-Platz". The word Fest has more than one meaning: As a noun = das Fest means a festival, as an adjective it means fixed, and as an adverb it means firmly. Mr Johannes Fest was a fixed and firm opponent of the Third Reich and all it stood for!

He was not a member of the SPD, as some of you may have thought, but an active Catholic and member of the Centre Party. He was a member of its Central Committee from 1925 to 1933. He was also a member of the National Railway Company organisation active in protecting the then republic from its opponents, we could even say enemies.

He was a Schools Inspector in Lichtenberg and kicked out of this job on the 18 April 1933 by the Nazis. He survived economically by giving private lessons to children with learning problems. He was imprisoned by the Soviets at the end of the war, and when released joined the newly formed CDU party.  He returned to local government and the education system.

He married and had two sons. One wrote a book about his father's life and read from it during the naming ceremony. Music was also played. His favourites seem to have been Mozart and Bach! It was all a new experience for me, and pleased to have been invited and shared in the ceremony.

Now I am off to celebrate the evening with Marita and Dorothea over a superb meal and something nice in a glass :-)  Enjoy your evening!

More Music

I have built up a rather large collection of CDs over the years. My music 'cupboard' is full so I shall have to find a new home for fourteen CDs I was recently given. Yes, all are of classical music and include some classic recordings.

Half of them are of piano music. Pianists such as Clara Haskil, Friedrich Gulda, Horowitz's last recording, Balazs Szokolay and Rudolf Serkin play music by Schubert, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Grieg, Scarlatti, Boccherini, Schumann, Liszt, Mozart.

There are also organ works by Bach, songs by Purcell sung by Emma Kirkby, Haydn Symphonies, 18th Century Harpsichord music and music of the Troubadours. A varied and welcome addition to my still growing collection. Happy listening!

New Beer

Jan has created a new beer! I posted news and photos about his plans at the end of last year. Now the beer is ready and we can see he has a logo for his beer.

He has also designed labels for beer bottles and even got it on beer glasses!

I told him to open a brewery and put me down as co-owner! Interesting to see the skills that people have.

 The beer looks more like an English bitter beer than a German type pilsner beer. I'm sure Jan will soon tell me about the taste. I told him to save a bottle for me when I visit them in spring.

Change of subject: UPDATE
No news is good news. I refer to Hermann and his heart operation. His family did not call yesterday evening which means he survived the operation. I plan to visit him in hospital this weekend.

Latest is that his operation was delayed until today/Tuesday. I got a call from his family and later talked to him. The operation was successful. Now he must rest and later go to a rehabilitation centre.

Hospitals

Last Monday, I visited P. in a hospital to the north east of Berlin. Spine operation with a metal plate inserted. He is making slow but good progress.

I have just returned from seeing Hermann in a hospital in the south east of Berlin. He had an operation on his heart last Friday. I reported this on my blog. He was asleep when I entered the room. I sat on the side of the bed. There was no chair. 

I watched him breathe in and out as he slept and noted all the tubes sticking out of his chest and face. I slowly stroked his hand. A blink of the eyes. Stroke again. His eyes slowly opened, focused on me, slow recognition, then a big smile.

Lots of chat and catching up on news for we last met early in December.  I then asked about his operation. He told me. After a pause he said he had to have another tomorrow morning. He added that it did not look good. I just stared. Another long pause then he told me what the doctors had said.

I think you have all been in this situation so you don't need me to tell you anymore. More talking and a tearful farewell. I hope it was not the last. I attach a photo of a dawn offering hope of sun and blue sky. I took it yesterday morning above my garden.

More Rat

Quick responses to my post about the Rotes Rathaus asking for more information for non-Berliners who read this blog. Okay, happy to oblige. Remember that you can always leave a comment on the blog page. You don't have to call, or e-mail me, to contribute.

Let's start with an image of the main entrance to the building. You can clearly see the redbrick construction and, if you have been to Italy, its likeness to some public buildings there. The foundation stone was laid in 1860, the topping-out ceremony was in 1867 and the building was occupied in 1869.

Then followed the Franco-Prussian War leading to the creation of Germany in 1871. In that year it became the official seat of the Mayor of Berlin, and Berlin became the capital of Germany. Many people either do not know, or forget, that Germany is a relatively new state. It still retains strong regional diversity and dialects.

Next is a picture of the Hall of Pillars. This is open to the public and is used for exhibitions. Originally it housed the library of the city government.It was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in a simpler style while retaining its original colour. It also has a gallery at the top of the room.

It is said to be the most beautiful room in the building, is nine meters high, and has three rows of pillars and columns supporting the cross-vaulted ceiling. I wandered through it as I looked at the current exhibition of busts collected from Berlin state museums to create 'Berlin in plaster 1790 to 1850'.

I mentioned that the building is a mixture of rooms with exhibits open to the public, but it also has a private section the public cannot enter. These are mainly at the rear of the building and house the offices of the senators and senior civil servants. Of these the prominent office is that of The Governing Major of Berlin.

The occupant of that office is currently Klaus Wowereit SPD. I think he is in his third term. Berlin is governed by a coalition of SPD with the CDU. For the Silsdeners: This is like a government of Labour and Conservatives - an impossibility in the UK! Before that he formed a government with die Linke Partei. The Left Party, which as the name suggests is left of the SPD.

Here is a pic of his office. It looks rather sparse and functional. Notice the large painting on the wall above a row of statues of the Berlin Bear, which is the symbol of Berlin. The last time I saw him was at the Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin to take part in a debate.

 Before that was at the Kömische Oper where his official car stopped quickly before my nose, his bodyguards stepped out to check if it was safe for him to leave the car. It was, he greeted me, went inside and later gave a good speech!

I hope you have enjoyed this extra post about the Town Hall in Berlin and will add it to your list of places to see the next time you visit Berlin.