Keep Fit

Had a visit from Daniel last Saturday afternoon. He had been on holiday in Crete along with other students supported by a scholarship foundation. It was great listening to him recalling his adventures there and which languages he had to use to communicate with local people. He admitted that of his five languages he had to use English most of the time!

He looked very fit and healthy. I told him he should do some adverts as 'Mr. Keep-Fit'. He just smiled. I think it was the idea of making some extra money! We talked about his plans to apply to study at a university, and his future English needs. He admitted he did not need English for his studies but thinks he will need it after he has graduated.

We agreed to focus on a Cambridge First Certificate Course when we meet again in September. He thinks it will look nice on his CV. He is right! He is now on his way to Moldova to spend some weeks with his family and a particular 'Special Lady' whose name begins with 'A'. Have a great time Daniel.

The other image is a postcard from Max. He went on holiday to Brsec which is a holiday resort on the coast of Croatia. I have never been there but many people I know tell me all the ex-Yugoslavia countries are well worth a visit and have lots to offer to holidaymakers.

Max wrote that he would call me on his return to Berlin. Still waiting for the call. Perhaps later this week. Looking forward to seeing you and catching up on news including your adventures in Brsec.

Day out

I had a day out with 'The Kidz' yesterday. In a recent post I told you about meeting them and listening to their complaints, Some were about parental relationships, some about school and expectations and some about not being able to go to places other pupils in their schools were going to for summer holidays due to money problems.

We agreed to meet yesterday and I prepared maps of the area from Berlin into the eastern areas of Land Brandenburg up to the Polish border. I bought extra travel tickets. water and snacks before we met.We started in a shop near the U-Bahn station selling all kinds of things children need for the new school year. I also gave them adverts for such things available next week at Aldi and Lydl.

We then climbed into a U-Bahn, changed into a S-Bahn and got out at Strausberg Stadt. This is one of my favourite places to the east of Berlin. We walked into the centre and posed with a military man from the DDR time. It reminds visitors that the town was the centre of the DDR army.Lots of Generals and 'top brass'. Hard to believe when you visit now.

We looked at the ferry area, playgrounds, areas for relaxing in the sun and the memorials to local Jews murdered in concentration camps. 'The Kidz' did not know about this so I gave them a short history lesson. We then went north stopping for an ice cream cornet before hitting the beaches.

They were more than happy to put on swimming clothes and jump into the lake. I let them get on with it as I dozed off. Very happy faces on their return and my job was then just to dry their backs before they changed into summer clothes and we set off for the station and return journey.

I bought more bottles of water and apple cake which disappeared quickly as we waited for the S-Bahn back to Berlin. What a great day out. We agreed to plan more journeys but next time with bicycles so they could explore the landscape in the very pleasant  hot weather we are enjoying at the moment. Looking forward to that.

Half Brother

Yesterday I met Imre's half brother for the first time. Imre had talked about him before. He lives in Debrecen which it the second largest city in Hungary. It has a population of 210,000 and is in the east of the country. It has some impressive old churches, museums and art galleries. I visited it twice on my tours to discover Hungary, but they were many years ago.

Imre had invited him to Berlin many times and finally he made it to an airport and landed in Berlin. Imre showed him around all the usual tourist sights in Berlin and asked us to meet yesterday afternoon. Guess where we met? Yes, you are right. At the famous clock in Alexander Platz. See photo.

Guess where we had lunch? Right again - at the canteen/restaurant I told you about in recent posts about Ian's visit. See photo. I enjoyed a very tasty fish dish. We exchanged news and information. The half-brother is younger than Imre. They have the same father. The half brother does not speak German or English so Imre had to act as translator. He learnt Russian at school but that didn't help him much in Berlin.

We decided to take the U-Bahn to a small lake called Biesdorf See. Not too far from where I live. There were families with children playing on the beaches and in the water. We relaxed and enjoyed the views before going to my place. We bought cakes en route and I made coffee. I  then showed the half brother my computer programmes for working on photos. He found it interesting and sent the reduced versions to his e-mail so he could pick them up on arrival in Hungary next Sunday.

A very nice person and much quieter than Imre:-) He thanked me for my hospitality and promised us that he would visit Berlin again and not in years to come!

Orankesee

Yesterday at 2.00 pm I met my SPD Oldies for our monthly visit to different places in and around Berlin. We gently eased ourselves into four cars and off we went. In the north-east of Berlin is a sub-district called Alt-Hohenschönhausen. It has two lakes close to each other. On the left is Orankesee and on the right is Obersee. Both were created in the last Ice Age.

Lake Orankesee takes its name from  the Slavish name 'Roderanke' which means red/brown lake. The lakes were first recorded in the 14th century as Germanic tribes moved east, settled onto the land and created farms, villages and towns. The first houses were built just south of the lake in 1892. In 1913 a public park was built around the lake. The area was incorporated into Berlin in 1926. By then the lake and park were popular summer picnic areas with bars and restaurants near the water.

In 1929 a 300 meter long beach was created. This was destroyed by bombs in 1944. In 1945, the Soviet Military Administration declared it to be a prohibited area and fences were built around it. These were removed in 1957 and local people allowed to visit the lake(s) and beach. In 1997, the cafes/restaurants were destroyed in a fire. And so began a period of renovation and re-building so that by 2010 the buildings were completed you can see now. In addition, both lakes and park were cleaned at a cost of €2 million.

On  the south shore of Lake Orankesee is a popular large restaurant called 'Orankesee Terrassen.' Nice views from the outside dining areas onto the lake. This is where we sat, enjoyed the views, Kaffee und Kuchen and some even later sipped a cool beer or glass of white wine. Lots of interesting conversations covering many themes. No surprise that some were of memories of coming to this lake when they were children.

A really nice corner of Berlin to discover, and of course sunny hot weather makes all the difference. Have a look the next time you come to Berlin :-)

Garden Party

I went to a garden party yesterday. I arrived late because I waited until the rain stopped. We then had sunshine and blue skies for the rest of the day. I went to a garden house in the south of Mahlsdorf. It is to the east of where I live but it is easy to reach by S-Bahn and Tram.

I arrived just as members of Kerstin's Fitness-for-Oldies-Gang were sipping glasses of sekt and getting ready to attack plates of grilled sausages, meat balls and steaks. In addition there was a wide range of salads and cheeses. Very tasty!

Two members of The Gang own the property and invite the rest for such a party each summer. Later we all went onto the lawn to prepare to play a game of French Bowls. It is designed to get us all moving after the meal and sitting.

After that, we returned to the tables for afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. The latter was mainly a range of fruit cakes. More conversation and relaxation.  One theme was football and how surprised they were that the English team had played so well. Their final game is on TV in a few hours time. I shall be watching it!

UPDATE: The English team lost, as I am sure you know by now. Even so, 'hats off' to them and the quality of the games plus the hospitality of the Russian people during the games. Well done to all:-))

Footie 'n Grillen

Yesterday evening I went around the corner to the nice large garden of an old people's home. I met some of my local SPD Gang there for an evening of 'footie 'n grillen'. In summer there are always lots of tables, chairs and sunshades in the garden. There were lots of positive discussions about the World Championship Games from Russia.

Grilling was first on the agenda and everyone settled down with a grilled sausage (Wurst) in a bread roll with mustard. In the other hand was a bottle of beer or glass of wine. I was asked a lot of questions about the English response to their new football team. All present said how pleased they were that the English team had played so well.

We then retired to the dining room in the home and settled in front of a TV screen just in time for kick off. All were surprised when the English team scored a goal in the first 5 minutes. The game then proceeded with the English team missing scoring opportunities and ended with them losing 1:2 against Croatia.

We finished off the drinks, said goodbyes and started for our respective homes. Sharing that time with people and enjoying their company and comments was much better than watching the game at home.

Visitors

I had visitors yesterday. The Bros arrived with Sis. They came with lists of things they have to buy for the start of the next school term. They have just started the summer holiday so we have time to look around and find the best buy.

They need school books, pens, pencils, things for maths lessons such as a ruler and different things for sports and the gym. We talked about finance for all the things they need. They looked at the floor and shuffled their feet. I told them we would find a solution to the problem.

Over juice and cakes they relaxed and talked about their daily life. They were clearly not happy. I asked them about holiday plans. They didn't have any. I showed them a large map of Land Brandenburg and all the places they could go. The main problem is money.

 It was agreed that the boys would meet me next Wednesday and if the weather was nice then we would take a local train to the river on the Polish border. That made them smile! As you can see from the photo they are growing up and sis is putting on a bit of weight :-)

Worst Ride

I've just returned from the worst bicycle ride I've had for many a year! I told Imre to organise a bicycle tour for Sunday and he had free reign. He was happy to agree, so I left him to do it.

He arrived this morning and after some refreshing cups of green tea, we set off. We discovered my local S-Bahn station is closed for repairs for a month. We took an U-Bahn route with a number of changes as we headed into the western areas of Berlin. Not easy for the bike section of the trains were full of other bikes and lots of prams, occupied by crying children.

We headed for Spandau in the north-west of the city and got out at the station Westend. This is on The Ring which takes passengers around the city in a circle. We cycled through suburbs with noisy traffic until we reached a cycle path that ran parallel to a long stretch of the Berlin Autobahn/ Motorway It took us into woods in Wilmersdorf and Grunewald heading towards Zehlendorf. You can find all these on your map of Berlin.

As I cycled I became more and more annoyed at the noise and fumes from the motorway. I told Imre I was not happy with his route and wanted to head into the woods as soon as possible. He clearly had no idea where he was and admitted he had not been on this route since the early 1990's! We found a path into the woods. I had a map and found the path would lead us to the River Havel. We set off and my mood got better.

At the end of the track we returned to a cycle path that again ran parallel to the motorway. I told Imre that I had had enough and would head for the nearest S-Bahn and back home. He said he was sorry and would come with me. I managed to take some photos of the woods and of Imre standing next to a wooden figure near the Havel. This photo makes me smile and feel better!

Two Eyes

I had a nice afternoon yesterday with two 'i's' = wordplay! Yes, I met Ian and Imre. Both names begin with 'I' pronounced as 'eye' :-)

We met in Alexander Platz, which anyone who has been to Berlin will have visited. A tourist 'must-visit'. In one section there is 'The World Clock'. Thousands of people use it as a meeting place and have done so for years. I met the 2-Eyes there yesterday.

A short walk to my favourite restaurant-canteen and a long lazy lunch with lots of conversation covering many topics. It is always interesting to listen to Ian's analysis and comments. Imre adds humerous comments to most themes. A really enjoyable lazy lunch session.

We are having very hot sunny weather at the moment so after lunch I suggested we wander round the corner to sit under sunshades and relax. I sipped a very cold beer and listened to more interesting comments as my 2-Eyes sipped coffee.

Then we went our separate ways. Ian is now in a plane flying to Rome and then with friends he will drive to a villa for a two week holiday. Imre and I plan to meet on Sunday for a bicycle ride.

July 2018 Things

We've just entered a new month and seen half a year slip away! I spent the day with friends which ended with a glass of sekt and watching the Russia-vs-Spain football match. I really enjoyed it. Now home and catching up on things.

Yesterday morning I went to my local hospital to visit Bro2. This is the second time this year he has been taken there with stomach pains. It was great to see him again but not in a hospital bed. His father came later. It seems that Bro2 has an infection in his lower intestine. Tomorrow he will have an operation to remove the source of the infection. I hope the doctors are successful!

I'm having 'machine' problems at the moment. They all come together. My printer recently 'passed away' and I bought a new one. All I have to do is set the thing up with my computers. Now my internet-WLAN Medion Radio is 'on the blink' (kaputt sein!) It is very strange not to just press a button and listen to Radio 3 from London! I'm having it checked by a specialist tomorrow afternoon.

Looking at my diary I note I have less appointments in July. I also have to decide if I go to the UK in August and when. I have not accepted an offer to stay in a large house/chalet in the centre of Italy in July. Problems of travel and cost rule it out. I am really enjoying the World Football games from Russia. Well organised and presented so I shall enjoy the rest of the games this month.  On the right you can see a couple of photos taken at the AWO summer party. Very nice!


Who has a birthday or special day in July 2018? Laura B. near to Silsden starts the month with her 21st birthday on 1st = today! My wonderful Jutta M. has her 70th tomorrow and I start the day by going to her breakfast birthday party. On the 3rd, Jan and Arancha will celebrate their wedding 3 years ago. What a weekend that was = Spanish hospitality with no limits! On the 6th, my Acer laptop will celebrate its 7th birthday! On the 8th, Krystle O'D will celebrate her 33rd with Andrew in a village near to Silsden. The 17th is a special day for it is Gerald's 77th birthday and his and Jutta's wedding anniversary. Two good reasons to celebrate! On the 21st, Colin will fly in from Australia to enjoy some weeks in the Berlin area. The Kowalke Gang is looking forward to seeing him again. On the 24th I shall celebrate getting my German citizenship and that ends the month of special days.
Have a wonderful day no matter where you are or what you are celebrating:-)) 

Debussy Evening

Last Friday began with Oldie Training - as usual. I then took the U - S Bahn to Kleispark, which is in the centre-west if the city. Ian is staying with friends there and we met outside the station. He bought me lunch in a popular local Italian restaurant. Nice food and interesting conversation.

I then returned to my area to meet a couple for coffee. Rushed home, quick wash then off again. This time to the Philharmonie for an evening of homage to Debussy. I met my Kowalke Gang at the entrance plus Uli and Petra from my Muggelsee Gang. Their daughter, Amina, was playing in the orchestra so we all wanted to support her in addition to enjoying the music.

Claude Debussy 1862 - 1918 was born in Paris and studied music at the Conservatoire Paris from the age of 10. He studied piano before moving into the interesting area of 'innovative composition'. He is seen as the first 'impressionist' composer, but this was a term he vigorously rejected. His music was considered a reaction against Wagner and the German musical tradition.

We all enjoyed the music particularly a piece centered on the harp. Very interesting, well played and new for me. We 'shuffled' out of the concert hall and into the station for the trains home. There I could still hear the music in my head and it took me some time to doze off.