Biesdorf

After discovering interesting bottles, I got on my bike to get some exercise. I took my camera and new lens and headed out for Lake Biesdorf. It is only 15 minutes ride from where I live and the temperature was 22°C.

On arrival I found the local council had installed some seats, tables, grill areas since my last visit. I noted a pair of feet enjoying the sun! I had to look closer. I discovered a young man wearing shorts asleep upside-down on a seat.

Other 'dozers' occupied all other seats and likewise soaked up the sun. There was even a gang of Oldies stripped down to beach wear, eating, sipping beer and chatting. A nice way to enjoy  the sun.

I slowly cycled around the lake with stops to take photographs. I experimented with my new lens and learnt more about what it can do, and not do so well. A useful lesson for me. When looking at photographs in my computer programme, I can now clearly see which lens I had used.

Hope my readers who live in Europe also had a sunny warm day and were able to get out and about.

Seek ye

'Seek and ye shall find' is a phrase all children of my generation learnt in the UK. I'm not sure where it comes from but it sounds like 16/17th century to me. Perhaps Mr. William S. wrote it in one of his plays. I found but I did not seek!

I decided to look for an orange 'squeezy' thing. You cut an orange in half and squeeze it onto this thing. It separates the juice from the flesh of the orange. I am sure you now know what I mean. I set out in search after breakfast.

I ended up looking in rarely visited cupboards in my kitchen. At the back I found these treasures. They smiled at me as I pulled them into daylight :-) I can remember buying the red bottle at the end of my stay in Beijing. It is full of rice wine and still untouched.

I can't remember buying the bottle of Jura Turas-Mara single malt whisky. Perhaps in the duty free shop in Beijing when I flew back to Berlin ? The 'blurb' says it is 'Rich and Intensive with black forest fruits and plums'. Now it sound like a strong red wine!

I also discovered a traditional silver mug for drinking beer. The words "To John from E107: Good Luck" are inscribed at the front. This was a present from the Wellingborough trade union branch in September 1979 when I left for university.

What a surprise to find it again. The ideal thing for Jan to drink his beer from on his next visit! Have a look at the back of your cupboards. You may be surprised at what you find!

St Petersburg - 3

The weather has been really pleasant this weekend in Berlin. The next few days should also be good. I wonder what it was like in St Petersburg? I often think about my time there as I wander around Berlin and return to my routine.

Now I have some more images to take with me. I recently got in touch with St. Peter von Longlegs and asked him where the photos were he had taken with his 'smart' phone. I got them today, put them through my Photoshop programme and here are the results.

They were taken on the Thursday afternoon of our stay. We went to the north side of the River Neva and found the famous statue of Lenin. I had to adopt a pose - of course! I took one of Peter with the statue in front of some flowers.

We later wandered around the area and found a very nice cafe. Tasty cakes and coffee. You can see that I look happy outside the cafe.

Other photos are of the famous palaces in the centre and near the river. I must return so I can visit the Hermitage.

Bad Saarow

The day started cold and grey. I woke as the new machines arrived on the building site opposite. The sun tried to shine. At last, a little blue sky and things got better. By the time Marita arrived to pick me up it looked like a classic late summer day.

We drove east of Berlin and finally arrived at Bad Saarow. It is a small town on the north side of Scharmützelsee (Lake Scharmützel). It lies in flatland between Berlin and the Polish border. It forms a chain of lakes and rivers that can take you north to the Baltic Sea, or east into the waterways of Poland.

Marita and I walked along one side of the lake. She wanted to practice her English again. I recently helped her with a presentation she had to give in Rome. She was very pleased at the reception to her speech and wanted me to check a small report she had to send in English.

I did that after lunch. That was enjoyed at Cafe Dorsch. Marita had been there before. She wanted me to be her guest as a way of saying thank you for my help. We sat on the terrace overlooking the lake. The sun smiled again as we ordered lunch.

I had what she recommended. A dish based on fish caught in the lake opposite the restaurant with a glass of a light dry wine from the south west of Germany. Mmmmmh....what a combination!  How was your day?

Close up

I can now get close up from a distance. No, that doesn't mean body to body contact! It means I can see you in close up from a distance. How is this possible I am sure you are asking yourself. Answer: With a new camera lens. On special offer at half price!

I have just bought a Sigma Telezoom - Objektiv (this means a lens) 70-300mm/4.0-5.6 DG Macro Canon. Made in Japan.

Thanks to Silke I now know what this technical jargon means. I think we'll have to meet again so she can show me a few tricks about how to use the lens.

It can expand to over double the length of my standard lens. My basic lens covers 18 - 55mm. Compare this to the new one at 70-300mm, and you can see that I can get up closer from a greater distance. 

Perhaps I can photograph the pork pie shop in Skipton from Silsden on my next visit.  But then I would rather go there to buy some :-)

MugParty - 2

Hans-Dietrich led the grilling. It only took a moment to notice he was a 'Meister' at this. Even so the other 'lads' wandered to the grill to talk, join in and generally help in anyway they could. The ladies let them get on with it and waited to be served. And why not?

The grilled food duly arrived with different salads and side dishes. There was beer, wine, water, fruit juice to drink according to taste and need. I decided on a glass of dry red wine to accompany the food on my plate. The right choice.

Lots of interesting conversation as we finished off our plates and settled back in our chairs with full stomachs. Larissa then did something I liked. She asked us all to stand and think of Peter. He died last summer and I wrote about it on this blog. We toasted his memory and expressed gratitude that he had been a part of the 'Mug-Gang' for many years.

By then it was dark. The dishes were cleared and a range of drinks put onto the table as we moved away to sit around a camp fire. What an atmosphere. Lots more talk, filling of glasses and then the singing started. For me it is always the highpoint of such meetings.

Larissa and Hans-Dietrich had photocopied some texts/songs and they led the singing. They have very good voices and clearly like singing. Most were folk songs from the 1800's. or earlier. They describe rural life and/or contrast with the early experience of industrialisation. .

I wished it would never end, but it did!  Late in the evening we had to say our goodbyes and head off back to Berlin. Our drivers safely dropped us home. I was too animated by the whole day and could not go to bed. We sipped a glass of wine and talked about the day.

This always does the trick of calming you down and getting you ready to sleep. Sometime after 1:00 in the morning we 'hit the sack' = went to bed!  I woke Marcel at 9:30 for it always takes time to get him to move. This time it only took 30 minutes to get him out of bed!

At least he is good humoured in a morning. After finally getting him into motion, we enjoyed a 'solid' breakfast, lots of conversation, and talk about study plans for the next few weeks before he left for his flat. He has two examinations before the start of the new semester so time for preparation is very important.

I relaxed with a cup of coffee, re-lived the events of yesterday and slowly came into the day. I hope you had an interesting and memorable weekend. Here are a few photos to illustrate the day.

MugParty - 1

I had a truly memorable day yesterday. It started with a call from Jan to meet him and Arancha at the restaurant of a local hotel. I knew they were in town for a wedding of a friend in the afternoon at Schloss Friedrichsfelde, which is not far from the hotel. 

They arrived late but we still had time to catch up on news and have a drink. And what news. I shall write another post about this later :-)

 I galloped home to find Marcel sitting on the fence outside my door. Quick greetings and then inside for a quick sandwich. We were both peckish. The word comes from the action of a bird when it 'pecks' at something to eat.

Shortly after we were picked up and set off for the village of Schönow near Bernau. It is north-west of Berlin. The event was the late summer meeting of my 'Muggelsee-Gang'. I think you know them by now. Our hosts were Larissa and Hans-Dietrich. We were the last to arrive.

Lots of warm greetings before we started the event with tea-coffee and a selection of homemade cakes. After that we had our first drink. My contribution was a litre bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey :-)  What else?  Then we decided to go for a walk around the village to counter sitting around and eating.

Schönow is a typical Brandenburg village. Larissa said it was expanding quickly as homes were being built for couples with young families, or couples planning to have families. En route we met a giant mushroom growing from the stump of a tree.

That wasn't the only interesting thing en route. We passed a house to be met by five little yapping dogs. They galloped around us then four of them ran to Marcel, stopped yapping and jumped up to be stroked. They ignored the rest of us! I know he grew up with a nice big dog and I wonder if these little dogs knew/felt something instinctively.

We returned to the house and the next stage of our late summer meeting. This was grilling followed by singing around a fire in the dark. Very nice.  

Marcels Umzug

Yesterday was a very interesting day. It started as usual with my Oldie Breakfast before I left for a station on the SB Ring. I got there early and waited for Marcel who came on time. Greetings and then a short walk to the depot to pick up a small truck. It was time for Marcel's move.

We did all the paperwork then got into my first Mercedes. No, it wasn't a big, fat limousine but a sturdy small truck. Just the thing for Marcel's move to his new flat. It had a diesel motor and was very slow to get from zero to second gear.

We headed for Marcel's old flat and he guided me using an 'App' in his 'chicy' smart phone. I showed it in this blog last May when he bought it as a birthday present to himself. His 'App' worked very well and his instructions were timely and clear. I think he learnt a lot during preparation for his driving test.

We got to his place and started the long process of packing things into boxes etc. The main work was carrying them down the flights of steps to the van and then crawling up the steps again! No thanks. I realised I was getting a bit too old for that type of fun!

Anyway, we did it then drove to my place. There we took a large bag of his books from my cellar to the van plus his guitar. We also took the chance to have a small break. Into my diesel Mercedes again and off to to new flat. It was early 'Rush-Hour' so it took more time that I expected to get there. I also noted how many people drive while using mobile phones. Very dangerous and it is illegal here.

We got to his new flat in an area called Wedding. It is much closer to his university and his new flatmate is also studying the same subject there. I met him when we arrived. He was waiting to help us. His name is Andreas and he is a couple of years older than Marcel. We introduced each other and I liked him immediately.

Within a short time we had everything unpacked and in the new flat. Marcel has his own room and shares the bathroom, kitchen, dining room. An ideal flat and area for two young students. I look forward to visiting them and getting to know Andreas better.

They carried the things into the flat on the second floor. On one of the photos you can see it. It has a towel hanging on the balcony. Quickly back to the Mercedes and through the still slow moving 'Rush-Hour' traffic until we got back to the van hire company. There we did the final paperwork and returned the van. Quick walk to the S-B station and farewell. A good days work well done!!

We are meeting tomorrow afternoon. Then we shall go to Larissa's palace on the outskirts of Bernau for an evening of grilling, eating, drinking. singing and playing a range of musical instruments. Yes, they are all members of my 'Muggelsee Gang' and it is our late summer meeting. Looking forward to it.

Phones

How many phones do you have? Yesterday evening there was nothing of interest on TV until late so I decided to charge the batteries of all the things I have with a battery. I was surprised at the result!

Before then I opened all the computers. Yes, I have four but my excuse is that I had to have machines running three operating systems when I was teaching. I updated the security systems then ran a scan in each machine. Fortunately nothing was found. Having said that two E-mail accounts I had were 'hacked', so I closed them down.

Then it was time to empty the drawer with all the electrical 'things' inside. I was very surprised to discover I had five mobile phones. What!  In addition, I have three fixed line telephone numbers but only one is known to the general public.

I have three Samsung mobile phones, one Nokia and one htc. How did I end up with so many? One was bought for use in the UK, another for the USA and somehow I  picked up three for use in Germany. I generally only use one! Guess which one.

Senior Citizens

Last month I flew to England and spent some time with Alan and Lynne at their home = my second home:-) In the kitchen was hanging a tea towel (used to dry dishes) with a text explaining what a Senior Citizen is.

It made me laugh and then realise how quickly some words had taken on new meanings. Here is the text for you to read and I hope it makes you smile as well. I attach  photos of my 'Oldie Gang' taken yesterday when we visited Potsdam.

What is a Senior Citizen?

A Senior Citizen is one who was here before; the pill, television, frozen foods, contact lenses, credit cards…….. and before men walked on the moon.

For us, “Time Sharing” meant togetherness, not holiday homes, and a “chip” meant a piece of wood. “Hardware” meant nuts and bolts, and “software” wasn’t even a word.

 

We got married first, then lived together, and thought cleavage was something that butchers did. A “stud” was something that fastened a collar to a shirt, and “going all the way” meant staying on a double decker to the bus depot. 

We thought that “fast food” was what you ate in Lent; a “Big Mac” was an oversized raincoat and “crumpet” we had for tea. In our day; “grass” was mown, “pot” was something you cooked in, “coke” was kept in the coal house and a “joint” was cooked on Sundays!

We are today’s SENIOR CITIZENS. A hardy bunch when you think how the world has changed! 

Drinks

Humans have created a very large range of drinks starting from those based on the simplest natural drink. Yes, water. When I arrived at university many years ago I was introduced to drinks I didn't know. I do not come from a Gin 'n Tonic background, or sipping a glass of wine with a meal. Many of my younger fellow students did.

As a child/teenager my main drinks were water and tea without sugar. I developed a taste for coffee only during my 20's, and I mean made from coffee beans and not Nescafe! Two very nice ladies at uni introduced me to Gin 'n Tonic on the first hot summer day and sitting under a tree on a lawn. The perfect place.

I introduced Marcel to the traditional British G 'n T last Friday, as you can see from this photo. It was made from the classic ingredients of Gordon's London Dry Gin, ice cubes, freshly sliced lemon and Schweppes Indian Tonic Water. Mmmmh!  He particularly liked the light tangy, citrus flavours.

As you know, he recently visited his family in Hungary. He also passed his Driving Licence Test. Congratulations Marcel :-) I knew you would do it! He brought a present from his parents. Yes, a bottle of homemade 'Opa's Medicine' = Palinka made from apricots. . Thanks Opa! I shall open it on a special occasion.

On Sunday I went to Angelika's late birthday party. She was playing in a concert at Kiel on her birthday so could not celebrate then. The sun shone as we toasted her with a glass of sekt. In English you say 'sparkling wine'. It is very traditional in Germany to toast someone with a glass of sekt. Another interesting liquid  enjoyed on special occasions. Prost!

St Petersburg - 2

One of the problems we had was to deal with the local bus services. The Metro was no problem. Another problem was to balance the needs and demands of being at events/workshops in the university with those of being a tourist.

We found a balance but it meant we did not have time to visit the Hermitage or other famous museums and galleries. We were told that you need a week just to see the pictures in the Hermitage. The cellars contain works requiring weeks to view assuming you could get in!

Our main tourist event was on Thursday afternoon. We left the university after lunch and landed at Metro Nevsky Prospect. A walk north and we arrived at Troitsky Bridge. Some nice shots of St Peter taken there.

Walk over the bridge and take a turn to the left to get onto the bridge that takes you into the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was built on a small island in the north of the river. It is the original part of the city. Left and right of this island you will find the main palaces and government building that make up the traditional centre of the city.

After leaving the fortress, we went to Lenina Square. Yes, the statue of Lenin is still there and brings lots of tourist there to pose. I did the same but I don't have the photos. They are still in St- Peter's camera/smart phone. I think he has forgotten about this! We ended up in a small cafe with a very wide range of cakes and types of coffee on offer.

Here are a few photos of St Peter on our adventures that afternoon. Nice images of a very interesting city with a famous centre and well worth seeing. Now rush to your nearest tourist shop and book a flight there!

St Petersburg -1

And lo it came to pass that St John von O returned to his abode after wandering in Hungary and drinking The Holy Palinka of Opa at Balaton. After changing of ye underclothes and packing ye new bagge, St John journeyed to ye airport again.

There he met St Peter von Longlegs. They flew into the wilderness in the direction of St Petersburg courtesy of Aeroflot. Good service, and nice fellow travellers made ye journey easier. They emerged into the light of St Petersburg and took ye speedy coach to ye centre and their hotel.

It was not a stable at an inn but a small hospice on Rinaldi Moskowsky near to the Metro station Tekhnologichesky Institut 1-2. All were located in the south-west of the central area of the city. So far so good!

The rooms offered all the usual things a hotel should and we also got an internet password. I had my smart phone so could read all my e-mails. St Peter had his phone plus a laptop so no problem about keeping in touch should that be necessary.

The first adventure was to get to the university. We were guests of St Petersburg State University. They were hosts of the 54th ERSA Congress. An international group of university professors  St Peter von LL was to give a paper/presentation on the at 2.00pm. I was an "Accompanying Person" = someone not giving a presentation!

We finally got to the university. It is housed in Smolny Convent. Despite its name it was never used for religious purposes. In imperial Russia it became the Smolny Institute of Education for Noble Maidens. What a name! What kind of education was on offer if you were not a Noble Maiden?

The complex has a cathedral designed by the Italian architect Rastrelli. I discovered this gentleman also created the Winter Palace, the Grand Palace in Petershof and many of the other palaces you can find on almost each corner in the centre. Clearly a busy architect.

The opening ceremony was held in the Tauride Palace on Potemkinskaya Str. It is said to be one of the biggest and well known palaces in the city. In 1783, Prince Grigory Potemkin of Tauride commissioned the architect Ivan Starov to design a new city residence. The result was considered the grandest nobleman's residence in 18th century Russia and was used as a model for many other buildings across Russia.

In 1906, it was transformed into the seat of the first Russian parliament called the Imperial State Duma. After the Revolution of Feb. 1917 it housed the Provisional Government and then the Petrograd Soviet. From 1990, it has housed the inter-parliamentary assembly of member counties of the Commonwealth of Independent States. What a history! I wonder if Prince Grigory would have built it had he known its later uses?

On Wednesday  27 August, we went to the 'Get-Together-Party'. It was after St Peter's presentation. It was held in the restaurant Moskva which is part of the Moscow Hotel which you can find at 2 Alexander Nevsy Square. A very pleasant evening with lots to eat and drink!

The final event was the Gala Dinner on Friday 29 August at a venue owned by the university called Manege, at 13 Univerity emb. This is right in the middle of the historical part of the old city and built on the north bank of the River Neva. It was recently renovated. There were 900 delegates sitting for dinner in the venue served by lines of waiters from tables at the sides of the hall.

What an experience that was. The food and wines were excellent. So were our fellow guests. They were from Poland and Lithuania. A pleasure to spend a few hours with such intelligent and amusing people. To bed late in the morning for a few hours sleep before the call to get ready for the taxi and flight to Berlin.

Budapest - 2

After filling up on coffee and cakes we wandered around the centre of Budapest before ending up at the Parliament.

 I posted photos of this wonderful piece of architecture after my visit last year. Okay, I'll add one photo in case you have forgotten! Great isn't it?

When wandering we came upon an interesting statue and two protests! The current government led by Viktor Orban is generally labelled as conservative and nationalist. It supported the installation of a statue of Admiral Miklos Horthy in a protestant church not far from the Parliament.

 He is generally known as an authoritarian figure and some call him a fascist. During his rule Hungary was the first European state to join the Axis powers in 1940. He was forced to resign in 1944, when Nazi soldiers marched into the capital.

 Erecting this statue is seen by protesters as provocative and an attempt to re-write recent Hungarian history.


Around the corner was a lively and louder protest. It was against a monument claimed to have been ordered by the government and erected in the night of 20 July 2014 = only a few weeks before my arrival! The memorial commemorates the Nazi occupation on 19 March 1944.



The protesters claim the Nazi soldiers were met with bouquets rather than bullets. I quote from the protesters document: "The central figure is Archangel Gabrial impersonating the innocent Hungary, dropping the country's orb, while the German eagle is preparing to strike."

It further argues that the monument attempts to show that the Hungarian State "bears no responsibility for the genocide following the German occupation, including the deportation of nearly half a million Hungarian citizens to Nazi extermination camps."

When I got to the square behind the Parliament I saw another group of protesters sitting around under tents and sipping coffee. I asked them what the problem was and an elderly gentleman told me they were part of a citizen's movement demanding three things. 1) Resignation of the Orban government.  2) Restoration of the constitution that ended in 2010. 3) New, fair and clean elections.

I told him that at least they could now all protest and so that was a step forward. He agreed before saying they wanted more. I thanked him for the information and wandered off toward Parliament.  Mr V. Orban was not there so I could not ask him for his version of events!