Change of Plans

Sometimes we all have to be flexible. In my last post I told you that I was going to Rathenow on Sunday. It is a town of 24 thousand people about 70 kilometres west of Berlin. It is famous for its optical factories in the late 1800s, and close links to Otto von Bismarck, in addition to a big garden/flower show.

I am not going there on Sunday. A couple of the Oldies called to say they were having visits from family = children and grandchildren. We have delayed the visit to Rathenow for two weeks. That means when I get back from my big Spain adventure starting next week.

Instead, I am going to K&K at Muggelsee to celebrate an Oldie birthday. Wonder what kind of cakes will be on offer!  In an hour or so, Marcel will arrive. We have not seen each other for some time so we have lots of news to catch up on. He will be cooking this evening - his wish and I was happy to nod my head in agreement :-))

He is working locally tomorrow so will return to stay over until Monday. Then it is back to uni and maths. I have a document for him to look at. It is about biology but has lots of modeling and mathematical formula. My job is to check the English before it goes for publication. Main problem, as usual, is the use of tenses!

I am sure I shall post about Marcel cooking again and sipping a cool G&T. Come back and read my posts in a few days. Have a nice weekend.

The photos in this post are of my camera with the little and big brother tripods. I got them out and played around with them as preparation for my Rathenow visit. I shall play around with them again in a couple of weeks before I finally make it there.

Relax

I like doing things and I also like relaxing - usually with a book made of paper read in the sun :-)) As you know I go to a German course each Tuesday morning and in the afternoon I return for a Spanish for Seniors Course at Beginner Level. I really enjoy both because of the people I meet. In the German course I met Maria who is now my Tandem Spanish helper.

The Spanish connection goes back many years when my contract ended at Bremen University and I was on my way to Madrid to teach at the British Council School. I stopped over in Berlin, got a job at the British Council School in Berlin and never got to Madrid.

The decision to start again with Spanish was prompted by Jan getting married to Arancha. Yes, in exactly one week I shall be in Ovieda and at their wedding reception. Last week I was asked if I would teach a course for German Seniors at the place where I have my German/Spanish lessons.

I agreed and start in September. I recently got a copy of the advert for my course. It was made by a young Russian man who now lives in Berlin. Well done Mr Designer! I really like your idea. What do you my readers think?

Yesterday I got a call from Marcel. What a surprise for we last met on 10 May. He asked if he could visit tomorrow, cook and stay over. Of course I said, YES! He surprised me by asking if he could make Gin and Tonic for us. Again, I agreed and bought the supplies this afternoon. Need to get all cool in the fridge before we sample the contents and cook the evening meal.

On Sunday, I am going to Rathenau with Oldie H, and a few others, to see a garden/flower show. I shall take my camera and share the event with you via my blog. Have a nice weekend each and all - I shall!

Paper

I confess I am still a paper person. I do not sit in public transport staring at a small phone in my hands. Nor do I walk along the pavement paying no attention to other people, but just staring into a phone. I think I represent a generation division.

I also read books. People have asked me why I don't use a machine containing books/text. My answer is that I control machines and not the other way round. I also like the feel and smell of paper.
I was once asked if I tweet. My reply was that I was not a bird and, therefore, do not tweet but speak!

This week I got a letter from Berlin police. They could have sent me a computer message such as e-mail, tweet or whatever these things are now called. Instead I got words on paper. They wanted to know if I had got the number of the car which hit my bicycle last week. I posted about this.

They also wanted to know how much it would cost to repair my bike. I went to my local repair shop this afternoon and got a quote. The total cost would be €114,70cents!! Unbelievable! Almost as much as the bike cost!! So far, the witnesses have not called to give me the car driver's number plate. Without it the police can't do anything. And....I would have to pay the full cost of repairs!

Staying with the theme of paper: On Thursday I got a present from Christian Kind. He was the Mayor of Lichtenberg throughout the 1990's and we meet each Thursday morning at the SPD Seniors Breakfast. His wife Gabi is 'The Boss' of this group and organizes we Oldies! He gave me a book about the history of the German language. What a nice surprise...... and it is all on paper!!

Ian Oz

Also in Berlin was Ian. He flew in from Ozland which as you know is short for Australia. He actually flew to London and then to the west of Germany. Having sorted out business in both places he arrived in Berlin to stay with friends and play 'Uncle Ian' to their children.

We arranged to meet in Alexander Platz. Ian said he would like to have some time outside the city and in the east. We walked to the S-Bahn and took a train to Strausberg, one of my favourite places. Ian had never been there before and relaxed as we sped through the flat green countryside.

We took a tram to the town centre and went to a restaurant for lunch. Very tasty! We had a slow walk to the north of the lake and returned to have Kaffee und Kuchen at my favourite cafe. It is near the ferry and path leading to the south of the lake.

I always go there for the owner likes to speak English with me. We had strawberry cake with whipped cream and coffee. Delicious! We had showers throughout our time there and as we waited for the return S-Bahn, I changed camera lenses and took a few shots of rain on leaves. Here is the result of one shot.

Ian and I are meeting on Monday afternoon before he leaves for Austria and then back to Australia. Looking forward to seeing him again. Perhaps we'll find some more strawberry cake :-))

Stag Night

Stag night means the evening before a wedding when the groom meets all his male friends and they celebrate the soon to happen change in his status. This is from bachelor to husband. The female equivalent is a 'hen party'.

Jan had his yesterday and Andrea will have hers late in August. Jan flew in on Friday and visited me in the evening. Before then my day started with traveling to the SPD central office. I arrived in time to enjoy a coffee and watch a live debate in parliament.

I was there to attend the Gustav-Heinemann-Bürgerpreis 2015 Veranstaltung. He was a famous SPD politician who ended his career as President in the 1970s. The party gives a prize each year to people who do things for others in the spirit of Mr Heinemann.

This years winners were a group of young people who set up an organisation called Netzwerk Demokratie und Courage. They organise young people to oppose racism, fascism and discrimination. They were certainly lively and entertaining in how they talked about their project and that it has expanded into many other towns and groups.

The guest speaker was Sigmar Gabriel. He is the SPD party president, a minister in the coalition government and, when he has nothing else to do, the Deputy Prime Minister of Germany!  He gave an interesting speech in praise of the the young people which was well received. I really enjoyed the event and meeting him.

On returning home I helped Daniel with his English and made sure the beer was cold before Jan arrived. It was great to see him again and catch up on his news. He looked well as you can see in this photo, of course with a glass of special water!  I showed him the wide lens I got from Peter when I was with him in Melbourne.

He took this amusing shot of me. I wonder what happened to my arms :-) Yesterday he met his old school friends to celebrate his 'stag night'. Have a safe flight home Jan, and see you in a short time at your wedding in Spain.

Police Report

I registered 'an incident' with the police yesterday. The story starts on Tuesday about 12 noon when I parked my bicycle at a special bicycle park area in the car park of my local Lidl. I was in the store for no longer than 15 minutes. On returning to my bike I stared in disbelief.

Something had hit it and damaged the rear wheel, mudguard and metal shopping basket. As I was trying to understand what I was looking at, a man started talking to me. He worked on a building site in the car park and said he had seen what happened.

An elderly women backed her car into my bike, got out and looked at the damage, looked around, got back into the car and drove away. The man apologised for not taking the number. Another worker joined in and said he had seen it too. They agreed to be witnesses. We exchanged names and phone numbers.

They also said they would be working at the entrance to the car park for the next two weeks so would look out for the driver and car should she return to the store, phone me and give me the car number. That was all on Tuesday. On Wednesday I went to Kerstin's Oldie Keep-Fit gang and told them the story. Most of them said I should have gone to the police and I do it as soon as possible.

Off I went to the police station and registered the incident. A  nice lady police officer was very helpful and said I had done all the right things and that it is an offence in Germany to do such a thing and drive away. The next stage all depends on if the driver returns to the shop and the workers get her car number.

Here are a few photos of the bike, after I had wrenched bits of metal nearly into place, and of the police document. A new experience for me!

Poli-Tag

I had a political day yesterday. It started at 10.00 am with my German lesson, shopping then a meeting at 3.00 pm. This was my monthly SPD Senior meeting based on Coffee/Cakes and a guest. The cakes were very nice as you can see from the photo. I only ate the ones with lots of fruit and cream!

We had a guest. It was the Chairman of the Senior Representative Committee in the district where I live. I noted he also liked the fruit cakes with whipped cream! He gave a speech about what his group does in relation to the local council and other organisations. Very interesting to hear what goes on mainly behind closed doors and what is planned for the future.

I then jumped into a car with a few other seniors and we headed off to my local Kulturhaus. We arrived in time to get seats in a packed hall. We were all there to question Berlins Regierender Bürgermeister (Lord Mayor) Michael Müller (SPD). Berlin has two legal entities. It is both the home of the Federal Parliament/Government and of the Parliament and Government of the Federal State of Berlin.

You Silsdeners may have a problem to understand that for it is totally different to what you have in the UK. In short he is The Boss in Berlin. On being elected to office by SPD members he decided to hold a series of regular meetings in each district making up the city/state of Berlin. He was well received although I noted that at least half of the public came from parties opposed to his.

Very interesting questions and he was able to answer without reading from  notes. When it came to local matters he asked representatives of the local council to answer specific points. I found the evening very educational and interesting. What a nice Poli-Tag (Political Day).

I was in a police station this afternoon, but more of that in my next post.

D-R-Fest

Yesterday evening I went to the three day German-Russian Festival. I went there last year and posted a report on my blog. The weather was fine in the morning and then clouded over as the day advanced. I decided to go before the storm came and I managed it.

This festival started in the 1990s, after German re-unification. By then many German-Russians, after generations, were leaving the ex-Soviet Union and moving back to Germany. Many settled in Marzahn in the north-east of Berlin where I started my life here.

The festival is designed to foster the best of both cultures and I think it succeeds very well in doing that. It has a really pleasant happy atmosphere and I like moving around and hearing both languages spoken. Yesterday I heard many young people moving in and out of both languages depending on who they were speaking to.

I particularly like the range of music on offer over the three days of the event. Yesterday I listened to/watched a trio play classical music, enjoyed a wonderful ladies choir, watched Russian males full of testosterone challenging each other to arm wrestling, and watching kids enjoying all kinds of activities.

I should not forget to mention the wide variety of foods on offer and of course, beer! A really great time and I made it back home just as the first raindrops fell. I think the photos say it better than I can.

Fit Family

Just look at this photo of a fit family! They look really happy and healthy. What a good advertisement for sport/keep fit and life in Bremen. Yes, Silsdeners, it is Holger and Gabi with daughter Lena (21) and son Jonas (18). Long time no see, but I have known for years that Holger reads my blog and so keeps up with news of my family and friends.

We first met around 1986, in Brighton. He was with Rolf and a couple of other 'back-packers' having a look at the south-east coast of England. I had just left India (biggest mistake of my life) and was looking for another way out of the UK. They helped me and so started another chapter. This time in Bremen. I only planned to stay a couple of years before going to Madrid. That was the plan but Berlin got in the way!

Holger sent me news of the family and what all are doing and their future plans. He also gave me permission to use the photo in a blog post. Thanks for that Holger!  Jonas has just finished his Abitur/'A' Levels and wants to have a break before going to university. He wants to live in England and learn what he calls 'real' English. I shall work with his parents to find something suitable there.

Talking of travel: I got a call from Jan yesterday evening. He was in his local airport waiting for a flight to Oslo. A business meeting there with a couple of other engineers from his company. I've never been to Oslo. The nearest I got was a two week tour around Sweden a few years ago. Ian in 'Ozland' also has travel on his mind. He will be packing his bag soon to visit 'Yew-Ro-Pa'. See both of you in Berlin in a few weeks - and have a safe flight!

Daniel

I had an interesting week which ended with a meeting in Alexander Platz with Maria and then with Daniel in my garden. It is now warm and sunny in Berlin. I have posted about Daniel before and he allowed me to post another report with photos.

I got to know him via Frau Fox, my German teacher. I do not see her much now but we keep in touch and I had a lesson with her last Wednesday. She regularly helps Daniel with German and he is a very active learner. He goes to a school in the north-west of Berlin in a district known for its social problems, and its poor language teaching.

He has English lessons twice a week, but the class never speaks English. They just talk about English in German. His teacher should be ashamed of herself. In the future, other pupils have no chance in a job interview requiring use of English against pupils from other schools where they actually learn/use the language.

Since I decided to help Daniel the results of tests at school have gone from 5 to 2. Now he only speaks English with me when we meet. He is also very diligent and does all the homework I give him. English is his fifth language and he really likes his third language which is Russian. In tests he always gets a 1.

He recently ordered a book from Moscow about English grammar and written in Russian. Here he is with the book. He also posed with the book I am using with him for English. I am pushing him on tenses at the moment.  Nice poses, Daniel!

June 2015 Things

Bit late with this post - I forgot! Just looking through my diary for June and note many things but not a lot new. There are a few interesting appointments coming up such as in international culture festival this Saturday afternoon which I am going to. A week later I am going to the ELTABB (English Teachers Association) Summer Party starting at 11.00am = plenty of time to order lunch!

I accepted an invitation to attend a prize giving event at the SPD central office on Friday 19th. The main guest is Sigmar Gabriel who is the party leader and assistant Prime Minister. Looking forward to meeting him.

 Jan will be flying in while I am at that event. He is coming to meet his old school friends and celebrate his 'Stag Night/Weekend'. The local brewery has increased production in preparation for the weekend :-))

On Friday 26th I shall be relaxing in Family Pardon's nice big garden and enjoying a grill session with other guests. A week later I shall not be in Germany but celebrating a very big event in Oviedo, which as you know is in the north of Spain. More about that later. Hola!

How about the message on this card? And all done without any comment. It always makes me both smile, and regret that this superstructure is unfortunately too true. 

Who has a birthday in June?  Nicholas B. starts the month with his birthday party on the 3rd. My iMac will be 8 on the 6th - I can't update anything on it now but it still works. I wonder what it wants for its birthday? On 19th June my father would have been 103 and my mother only 97! Back to Berlin and Teresa's big day on the 23rd. Oldie Hermann will be 78 on the 25th and ends our birthday month. Happy Birthday to all and each!!