Pol Shop

I popped over to Poland this morning. What were you doing at 11.00 this morning? I was on my way to Lichtenberg station to pick up a train. I got a call from Oldie H. a few days ago asking if I wanted to go to Küstrin/Kostrzyn. I replied in the affirmative.

I have been there a number of times and posted details on my blog. The weather promised to be good and I had nothing better to do. We met on the platform and six minutes later jumped into the regional train. We both have travel cards which allow us to travel all over the area on all kinds of public services, so we didn't have to buy a ticket for this journey.

Oldie H. wanted to buy some plants for his balcony and a summer jacket. I didn't want to buy anything but just enjoy the travel and sights. In Kostrzyn there is a special market area selling all kinds of things to mainly German day trippers. Some of the stuff on offer can only be described as tasteless, but then there are always lots of tasteless people to buy it.

I always enjoy looking for a Polish restaurant offering local dishes. I found another one and the food was delicious. Later I talked to the lady who cooked it and she said she always thought about her husband and his tastes when she cooked. Thanks Mr. Husband!

I had to take a pic of the sign advertising the shopping market. I think you can understand it. I bought some plants to put on my balcony. Here is a pic of them. They appear to be happy now they have space to spread their roots.

Cheers and Big Oak

Nothing new happened this week. I did all the things I usually do and you know about. I did get two cards though. One was from Stefan and Melonie sent from Stellenbosch. Yes, the place in South Africa and famous for its wines. I hope they tried a few.

The second was from Barbara who went on holiday with Rachel to Cape(Cabo) Verde. In case you are wondering where it is, you can find a group of islands in the Atlantic off the west coast of Africa and one of them is the Island of Sal. That's where they enjoyed a holiday.

 Barbara told me they were sampling cocktails and even sipping a glass of brandy - or two! Nice. Here is a shot of my supply. I took it when I was removing dust as part of a late spring cleaning attempt this week. So, which one would you like Barbara?

The other news is that my heart is 'playing up' again. It started on Friday morning during training with Kerstin's Oldies. It continued throughout the rest of the day. I called my doc but he had already closed his surgery. I shall go there during the week sooner or later, depending on the intensity of the abnormal heart beats.

I close with a photo I took a week ago when I was on the Muggelsee Walk. It is of the oldest tree in the forest around the lake. It is 317 years old and an oak tree. There is a barrier to stop people getting too close to it. I couldn't get far enough away for a shot of all the tree, but I think you have an idea of its dimensions from my photo.

In Love

I'm in love :-)) It all happened yesterday after  I left the restaurant with the Walking Oldies. We took the once an hour ferry across to Rahnsdorf on the north side of the channel connecting Small and Large Müggelsee.

We walked towards a street on which Angelika and family have a house and then it happened. From out of a house just before Angelika's, a woman stepped in front of me with Big-Dog.

I stared, my heart beat quicker, my eyes almost popped out of my head. I stopped the lady and asked her about Big-Dog. She told me the breed, which I cannot now remember. I told her about Fran and Geoff and Barbara in Silsden who love dogs.

She agreed with my request to photo Big-Dog and share it via my blog. After taking the photo, Big-Dog looked at me and I swear he smiled. I could not resist giving him a big cuddle and stroking his head. Big-Dog clearly liked this.

I told lady owner that I was going to steal him and run away. She just laughed and said I was not the first to say that. I think I shall return and steal him when lady owner is not looking. How could anyone not fall in love with this dog?

Barking Dogs

My dogs were really barking yesterday. I think only the Silsdeners and other Brit readers will understand this phrase. It is an idiom originating in London and associated with Cockney slang. It means my feet hurt/are hurting/are painful.

I can hear you asking why my feet hurt yesterday. The answer is that I did a 19 km hike/walk. No, not on a concrete track but through woods with gravel and stoney tracks. I got an e-mail on Friday to say that the walk was to take place.

It was in doubt for there was a rail drivers strike last week including drivers of the S-Bahn system in Berlin and you need that to get to S-B Grünau where the walk began. Most were Oldies and one arrived with two walking sticks - I was impressed.

We walked to the River Dahme and took the ferry for all of 5 minutes to get to the other side where our track started to take us to Mügglesee, which is the largest lake in/around Berlin. We caught up on news for some of the Oldies I had not seen for a year.

We managed to climb the too many steps to take you to the Müggleturm. This is a tower on a hill on the south side of the lake. The hill was formed X years ago in the last ice age. It is the only one for miles around. Here you can see the steps I climbed and the tower I didn't. We had a relaxing break there.

Off again and we got to the south side of Müggelsee and walked east until we came to a small river which connects to the Klein (Small) Müggelsee. We galloped along and crossed over a large beach then further on until we reached our destination. This was a large restaurant/hotel. We sat outside and relaxed over a meal and drink.

I had a traditional dish called 'Saurbraten' with dumplings and red cabbage, washed down with a large beer from Saxony. Very tasty. Lots of interesting conversation before we took the ferry to Rahnsdorf, tram to Friedrichshagen and S-Bahn back into town.

Another floor

I have posted regularly about the building opposite my flat. Okay, I may have not done so for a while but I left you with images of the ground floor and start of building the first floor above it.

In German the ground floor is the Erdgeschoss. Thanks for the comment which corrects my first text!

Building continued as the weeks ticked by and now we have three stories with the fourth one about to be built.  All I can see from my bedroom window is the wall with gaps where the windows will be.

Gone is the afternoon sunshine as the sun settles into the west. Also gone are the trees, grass and everything green that made this street do pleasant to live in. Thank goodness I still have the big green garden and trees at the back.

I'll keep you posted as the building gets higher and adds windows, water, sanitation system and electricity.  In short, all the things we need to make living between four walls a pleasant experience.

Scharnweber re-visited

On Tuesday I went to my German lesson in the morning - as usual. Maria was there as well as the teacher. Just the three of us. It was a pleasant but intensive session. Maria and I agreed to meet on Wednesday. I then read some Spanish vocabulary before setting off for lunch.

I used to live in that area. It was the end of the 1990's. I set off to explore the streets. I walked along the main road called Frankfurter Allee. There are two big shopping centres opposite the school. I turned to the left and then into a street behind. It is called Scharnweber Strasse.

I hadn't wandered around here for more years than I can remember and have very mixed feelings about my time there. I stopped in a local cafe for a coffee and sandwich. A number of locals were sitting outside and eating when not smoking. Smoking is not allowed in any place where food is served.

From there I wandered further until I came to my old address. I stared at the building. It had not changed. Here is a photo of where I lived. My flat was at the bottom of the building, first floor on the right of the photo you can see my small balcony. What memories came back!

Next day I met Maria. We are a 'Tandem Couple'. She helps me to learn new words in Spanish and with the pronunciation. In exchange I help her with her English. We have been doing this for four weeks now. We meet in the canteen of the Ministry of Education building in Alexander Platz.

She learns German in a building around the corner - where I used to teach many years ago! The canteen offers good food at a reasonable price so I am always happy to go there when I am in the area. I used to work at a college around the corner so I know about this facility.

As Maria helped me, I noticed a picture on the wall behind her head. I decided I had to have this, but I only had the phone in my camera. Even so, I decided to take a shot. Here it is. I really like this image and congratulate the artist/photographer who created the original. Sorry, but I don't know your name.

Maria helped me with my homework and talked about her father who was having an operation for skin cancer on that very day. I think our meeting and discussion stopped her thinking and worrying about him for a few hours. I hope the operation went well.  And that was my Tuesday and Wednesday.

Another Peeee

A couple of posts ago I added a photo of me as a pope/Papst created by Werner. Here is another one created by Jan. I was very surprised to receive it and assumed he had created it by using Photoshop. Not true - he told me he used Powerpoint.

I'm still trying to work out how you can move images around via Powerpoint. It is a famous Microsoft programme to assemble data/charts/images and present to others while talking about the main point. Powerpoint when used correctly is only there to present visual information repeating your audio  information.

I wondered, and still wonder, how Jan did this. I must discuss this further when he visits Berlin in mid-June to celebrate the end of the bachelor part of his life!  As I write these words he is in a plane flying home after completing a work contract in another part of the world.

No details but I can reveal he stopped over for a couple of days in Singapore and sent this photo of his hotel swimming pool. From simply looking at this, I know where it is in Singapore. Notice the grey sky so I think it was taken in the evening - but the pool is relatively full. That can only mean it was warm and humid.

Tomorrow he will be safely at home and can enjoy the long holiday weekend with Milady A. Have a great weekend Jan and thanks for sending information about your travel progress to stop us 'worriers ' from being worried!! :-)

Fotoclub

I joined the 'Fotoclub im Libezem' at the end of last year. I think you will understand what Fotoclub means for it is close to the English words. Libezem is a neighbourhood meeting centre not far from where I live. They offer meeting facilities to many groups and interests as well as a tasty lunch for a relatively small price!

I was introduced to this group by Silke, my then 'camera teacher'. She was a member of the women's Fotoclub for some time. Yes, there are two clubs. One for males and one for females. When I asked why this was so, I was told it was because the men always go on about technical matters and the women want to talk about other things in a photo!  So, there are two Fotoclubs.

We are all over retirement age. I find it interesting to listen to the others talking about a photo projected onto a large screen via a laptop into which a 'stick' has been inserted. One reason is that many of them speak German with a 'Saxon - Thüringa' dialect and others use a strong 'Berlinisch' dialect. It is worth going there just to learn different dialects :-))

We have twelve photo image/topics per year and so are expected to present photos we have made showing these topics. For example: Photos showing reflection or taken into the light. They discuss each one including technical comments and then change the photo via more or less contrast and/or colour. I'm the new boy and so listen to the comments of others. They are happy to comment on mine and offer advice.

The boss is Günter and the secretary is Bernd. Bernd sent me a very nice greeting for my birthday and added a photo of a camera to which he had changed its name to mine! Very nice :-)

Oz News

More news from Ozland via Colin. I was surprised to read his weather report. He says they have rain, strong winds and cold icy mornings. Do you remember seeing me posing in 30+°C in front of The Three Sisters at the start of the Blue Mountains?  There was snow there last Thursday! Not as I remember it!

As you know I went on a walk with his local Oldies and he sent me photos of their latest gallop. Here is his comment and in his words: "Went for another jaunt with the walking group on Thursday, this time on the southern side of the harbour from Martin Place down through the Sydney Botanical Garden, along to Wooloomooloo then over the hill to Elizabeth Bay and Rushcutters Bay for a pleasant lunch in the sunshine accompanied by a cold wind."

Wish I had been there. Please send them my best wishes. He also told me it snowed in Canberra last week. I should not be surprised for the season there is moving from autumn to winter and I only experienced late summer. Even so, dressing in warm winter woolies is not how I remember life in Ozland!


Colin, although you are coming to Berlin in August please send news until then. I am sure many of my readers would enjoy reading about life there and the changing of the seasons. For example, next week he is driving west to spend some time in Willandra National Park and he is active in a model plane association. How about news of that Colin - and photos?

More Mod Com

I've just got an interesting E-Mail from Colin in Ozland. He sent attachments in response to my post about Modern Communication. Here they are and I am sure they will make you smile as much as I did when I saw them.

Nice biting humour about the trend to 'need to be always online via my smartphone'. When recently in Australia I noted the dominance of 'always being there' among the under 30s. I talked to Ian and Birgit about this and Ian drew my attention to the piercing high tones of female under 30s when talking in public on the smart phone.

I checked this and he was right. I could hear them before I could see them!! A bit like Dame Edna Everage but at higher decibels!! I wondered if this had anything to do with the development of Australian English and recent publication of an Australian English Dictionary? Shows how far the languages are drifting apart.

Or perhaps it indicates that more people are going deaf and you have to shout at them regardless of where you are in a public space, And to hell with members of the public standing nearby. I don't think I like this aspect of the future.

Talking of the future: Who pays for the smart phones in the hands of 7/8 year olds used in schools/on the street. What else are they doing with these phones?? Hello Ma and Pa - wake up!

Modern Communication

Today is a public holiday in Germany. I planned an S-Bahn journey to Eggersdorf where there is a Middle Ages Festival with lots of food, drink, kid's games and family fun. The weather changed my mind. Cold, grey, windy and threat of rain.

Instead a couple of Oldies called and we changed plans to a cycle ride in a large park then to their flat for Kaffee und Kuchen. Please notice that I said they 'called' me = a telephone. In both cases phones sitting in a base and with an answer machine function. Not on a mobile/cell phone called a 'Handy' for some strange reason in the German speaking lands.

This form of communication is fast becoming 'old fashioned' and the 'Handy' is  being replaced by a 'smart phone'. I don't know what the machine is 'smart' at, but that is what it is called. It marks a clear generation gap. Anyone under 30 has one permanently to his/her ear - perhaps when they sleep?

This is not only the case in Germany. On my recent travels I noticed everyone under 30 was permanently attached to one. Some doctors in Germany are now talking about it as a sign of a psychological problem. They say it shows behavior of being afraid to be on your own, a need to be in contact all the time, a lack of self-confidence.

I recently got a card from Johanna with a couple of cartoons on this topic. Here they are to make you smile, or if you are so smart phone obsessed then you may cringe in embarrassment :-((  The sun is now shining so off to get my bicycle and hit the road - without a smart phone!

Cholesterin-2

I told you about my cholesterin level problem a few posts ago. This morning I went to my training centre to do the obvious. The owner/trainer is called Bernd and while I was training using my old plan, he was writing a new one for me.

It contains many of the machines from my old training plan. There are some new ones but the main change is the time I have to exercise on cycles. I have to start with a 10 minutes warm up, then to the machines and at the end 30 minutes on a cycle, walking machine or something called a Crosswalker.

We agreed to meet at 10.30am on Wednesday when he will take me through the Training Plan step be step.  Also new in my plan is the section about Ernährung =nuitrition/diet. From 7.00pm no carbohydrates, but I am allowed to have protein after 7.00pm. I wonder if a glass of red wine comes under protein :-))

I am allowed to eat as many vegetables as I like, and preferably unadulterated and not processed. I have to drink at lot of water, tea etc and at least 3 liters/litres a day. I am allowed to eat fat but the recommendation is to only eat fat which is liquid at room temperature = oil/olive or vegetable.

So that is my new regime until the end of July when there will be other tests made to see what progress I have made. The key is to see if my cholesterin level has gone down.

Gin King

Marcel learns very quickly. He had never heard of Gin & Tonic before he came to Berlin to study. I introduced him to the summer drink ritual. He discovered he liked it! I told him about the history of the drink and its social connections to middle class/military/officers mess/summer/lawns/relaxing on the balcony England.

We had arranged to meet yesterday. He arrived late and very tired. He had worked on Saturday evening and only got into bed at 4.00am on Sunday = yesterday. During our call he asked if we could have a G&T when he visited. "Of course," was my reply. We meet to celebrate our birthdays. He was 21 on the 6th May and I promised to take him to a restaurant of his choice as a birthday present.

Just as he rang the doorbell, I was about to jump under the shower. I let him in and told him to make himself at home for he knows where everything is. I showered and duly emerged clean and scrubbed before dressing for the day.

I then entered the kitchen. Marcel had closed the door and I thought nothing of this. As I opened the door I realized why. He had made two G&Ts while I showered and waited for me to emerge. What a shock! Look at this photo of him offering me a G&T! And look at the time!! We sipped and talked about his birthday. He told me the following.

His mother took a train from Hungary and his sister took a plane from England unknown to Marcel. They met in Berlin and went to his university. They found the room where he was having a lecture and walked in as it ended. Marcel was more than surprised to see them. I can well understand that. To take on such a journey for only a day together must say something about how much they value and love him. Wow - amazing!

Marcel chose a local Italian restaurant we had not been to. I had and knew it survived by offering good food and service. We had an excellent  meal with lots of interesting conversation. I met some ex-neighbors I had not seen for a number of years, and then we returned home. Marcel was by then very tired and so he crawled into my bed and dozed off. I hit the internet and caught up on news.

He emerged to suggest we have another 'birthday G&T'. I took these pics of him preparing them. He has learnt/learned to make an excellent G&T hence the title of this post, 'Gin King'. He sprawled out on my sofa as he sipped his glass and the conversation turned to his studies and uni routine. As this developed we talked about the philosopher David Hume.

Yes, G&T with David Hume can be a very interesting mix! I had to explain Hume's ideas but it was interesting how quickly Marcel picked up on key ideas and asked question so taking the discussion further. We did not have another G&T for it was time for him to return home. That is a new flat in Spandau which he shares with a Russian student.

 I look forward to meeting him when I visit at the end of this month. I walked with Marcel to the tram stop and so started a one hour journey home for him and ended a very pleasant and memorable joint birthday celebration. Happy memories!

Gegen Demo

As I chatted to the nice police officer in English, he slowly escorted me to the counter demonstration lines where the SPD members and others were hurling insults at the NPD. I won't repeat them here! There were a lot more of them and they were louder. Many had come with whistles and other things to make a lot of noise and so drown out the NPD.

I was interested to see the kinds of people who had come. Some were locals who were attracted by the noise, other had stumbled on the event while taking the dog out for a walk, and others were just interested in the outcome, such as would there be a fight between the two groups. There wasn't!

The counter demonstrators were content to drown out the NPD and not stop them from having the right to speak in public. The police acted with understanding of the situation and were polite while being firm in dividing the two groups.

I moved around the counter group and found Silke holding up a poster. Really nice to see her again. If you remember she was my 'camera teacher'. We talked about lighting and adjusting the cameras and I learnt more from her about that.



Later we moved to the museum where we met a lot of interesting people, some of whom were my ex-students, so we had a lot to catch up on. Of course, the area around the museum was dominated by booths selling food and drinks.

There were also lots of Russian and Ukrainian Germans there. It was nice to see how people of different nationalities/languages just enjoyed being there and simply talk to each other and share jokes. A fitting end to an interesting birthday.

Busy Evening

Yesterday evening I cycled to the other side of Karlshorst to arrive at the now Museum which was then an officers mess as part of an officers training college/area. The document ending WWII was signed there when I was two years old, and probably filling my nappy! It was signed in the evening so by then it was the 9th May in Moscow hence they celebrate a day later.

I arrived to find the police had separated the NPD and the counter demonstrators. I moved close to the NPD line in time to take a few photos, including one of the main speaker. I could not believe what he was saying about German history in the 1930s. What he was saying was the opposite of what witnesses and news reports tell us today! Are they really so deluded in the head?

A police officer came to me and very politely asked if I would move away from the NPD line. He said it was for my own security. I said I had no problem to move and then he switched into English. We had a little chat and he said it was nice to practice his English with a native speaker. The NPD behind us was forgotten for a few minutes.

I found a lot of SPD members in the counter demonstration and members of die Linke Partei along with members of the public who wanted to protest against the NPD demonstration. The whistled and booooood as the NPD speaker tried to get his message across.

I decided to post pics of the NPD members and a translation of the main poster they had. You can read "Wir feiern nicht!" = We don't celebrate/We are not celebrating. German does not have any continuous tenses :-(  "Deutsche befreit euch" = Germans, free/liberate yourself - denn Wahrheit macht frei! = because (the) truth makes (you) free.

The last phrase must have been deliberately written to provoke people, or draw attention to themselves. If you remember, the sign at the entrance to concentration camp Auschwitz reads, " Arbeit macht frei" = Work makes (you) free!  This is clearly a word play for German speakers .. and a very sick one!!

Busy Day

Today is an extra busy one over most of the world. It marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which is being remembered with due respect in all affected countries. The Brits have a singular reason to be extra, extra busy today. They voted in a General Election yesterday and the results were published today. They swung to the political right!

It also marks a special day for me. Whenever I celebrate my birthday I always think of the two doctors who advised my in Brighton General Hospital many years ago. Those of you who know me also know that story. For those not sure, I was told I would not live to be 65 and I should not wait for retirement to do what was important to me.

Pauline and Lew reacted by buying me a one way flight to Germany (thanks again both) and the rest is history. My day started by watching the BBC News reports about the election results. I was not surprised at the results coming in. The SNP swing in Scotland was also no surprise. I packed my rucksack and headed for my usual training session with Kerstin and the 'Training Oldies'.

We started with a glass of sekt and a few nibbles with lots of good luck greetings. I made an appointment with my trainer for next Monday to get a new Training Plan. I showed him the report I told you about in my last post - about high cholesterol. He said I should just eat what I enjoy and do a little more training!

From there I went to my Photoshop Gang. Most were on holiday so we are taking a break until July when all return. Throughout the day I have had lots of calls wishing me all the best. They came from Max, Beatrix, Birgit, Marita, a special long distance call from Jan and finally from Marcel. I also got 21 cards. You can see them here. I had to include an image of me in an absolutely impossble role sent by Werner and his Photoshop programme!

In a short time I am going to the building where the document ending WWII was signed. It is ten minutes walk from where I live. The SPD has asked for members to meet there to counter a demonstration by the NPD (German Nazi Party). I wonder if I shall be the oldest counter demonstrator there. As I said, the 8th May is a busy day!

Cholesterin

I hesitated about posting this news, then decided to share with you. It also makes life easier than posting the information into many e-mails :-) I went to my doctor's last Tuesday to pick up the results of the laboratory test taken the Friday before.

The story really starts last January when I spent nearly a week in hospital having a series of tests. The beginning of a heart attack was feared. I posted details on my blog, if you remember, so all I am doing now is updating the initial report.

After a number of tests I was allowed home and later cleared to fly to Australia. I did this and returned to an appointment in a local clinic. I passed the test there but with proviso that I report to my Doc and have a specialist test. I did just that and got the result last Tuesday.

On entering the Doc's room he just said, "It is not good." In short my cholesterin levels are not right. The big problem is my High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterin level leading to a high Atherosklerose-Index of 4.4. Five and above is the highest risk level of a heart attack.

In our bodies the heart pumps blood out into the arteries - and returns via the veins. My arteries are blocking. The doc said not to panic and has given me tablets to reduce cholesterol. In addition I have to visit the gym more and talk to my trainer about the problem to get a new training plan. More cycling and walking is also required.

I also have to eat more fibre, reduce weight and eat more fruit and vegetables, including raw carrots.  Tests will be sent back to the laboratory throughout the summer to observe any changes. That's all my news for today!

Prost Pic

I just had to share this pic with you. It is great and captures the 'spirit' of our bicycle ride and picnic yesterday. I got a number of photos from other members of the group and selected this one. I think it was taken by Petra - but not sure.

The heroes are from left to right, Falk, Waldemar and me. We were taking our 'medicine' after the splendid picnic. I think Uli must have wandered off somewhere when the shot was taken. Hope it brings a smile to your face!

I recently got another photo and this was of another very photogenic person. Yes, it is Jan. He looks really well so I decided to share with the Silsdeners, Caslanders and Shirley who all know him. He safely landed at his destination and is now working off the coast of north Australia.

We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him safely back with Arancha in a few weeks. Take care of yourself, Jan!

Mug Gang

I met my Müggelsee Gang yesterday for another 1 May bicycle tour. I met them many years ago when I first came to Berlin. I have always enjoyed being in the company of such a mixed group of multi-talents with many languages.

Yesterday Ulli was the boss and organised a tour. He recently got a book about cycle tours both in and around Berlin. The one he picked started at Erkner. This town is at the end of my S-Bahn line and lies just over the border in Brandenburg.

This time there was only nine of us. Five people had other things to do and could not join in. Warm greetings and catching up on news before we set out with Ulli in the lead. The tour was a circular one to the east and south of Erkner and taking in part of the River Spree.

The weather was right for such a day but it would have been better with a bit more sun! I had dressed appropriately so had no problem with a cool wind.

We stopped half way for a picnic on the side of the Spree and I took a number of photos. Of course there were a couple of bottles of 'medicine', including one from me containing a golden 'medicine' from Ireland!

The area is full of villages with interesting names such as: Hangelsburg, Manchwinkel, Spreewerder, Hartmannsdorf and Neu Hartmansdorf. Spreenhagen and Braunsdorf. The air was fresh and clean and my allergies did not start as we cycled through flat, wooded, green land. They started again on my return home!

Being with such nice people, having a picnic and the exercise of cycling was just what I needed. I hope you enjoyed your 1 May - and the rest of this holiday weekend.