November 2019 Things

We end the month with blue skies and sunshine but it is cold - only 3°C on my balcony. Talking of the weather, I managed to take a shot of a rainbow on Tuesday evening hanging near my garden. We put the clocks back an hour last weekend so it gets dark earlier.

This afternoon I am going to the centre of Berlin to meet other AWO members for a social gathering. Just getting to know each other better over Kaffee und Kuchen. I'm going to two concerts over the weekend and my diary shows I have the usual meetings - events during November. Nothing special.

Who has a birthday in November? Daniel starts us off with his 23rd birthday on the 2nd. Jeff over in Amsterdam hits 64 on the 19th. Sarah in London will be 59 on the 22nd. Stephen S. in Berlin will be 62 on the 29th and so ends the list.  Happy Birthday no matter where you are :-)

More Blah!

Learning a language is not easy, but why is speaking your native language so difficult sometimes? I have posted before about native Brits speaking rubbish so here is another post. Most taken from BBC Radio 4 news broadcasts and speakers were politicians, business representatives, show people and any others considered important enough to interview. Try the following:-

they are much more on it/ a club who/ he wasn't educated on the situation/ the result were/ companies have fell down quickly/ that will grow dramatic/ I entirely believe/ on the end of October/ is been prepared to be/ are you minded to go for it/ more drift is an aspiration/ use-u-alise/ put the idea into concrete/ they keep not putting it/ a loved-up selfie.

If you are learning English, please do not learn such rubbish. Now off to meet members of Berlin Labour Party in town. I wonder what I shall hear there!

Update: There were a number of young members at the meeting so no surprise that I heard, 'like' - 'er, like', 'yer 'n like', too often!

Rolling

I enjoyed meeting my Kowalke Gang last Friday evening. We started with a glass of cold sparkling wine before settling down for a trip around parts of Japan. The daughter of one of the gang went there recently with her friend. She is also a painter and good with a camera.

I have never been to Japan, so I found it interesting to listen to their experiences and enjoy the photos. All of it was positive. Their stories covered travelling, food, cleanliness, and many other topics and all reports were good. We then had supper together with more talk about Japan.

Earlier I had been with Kerstin and the Keep-Fit-Oldies. Two weeks ago she introduced us to a new training tool. It is a roller as you can see from the photo. She offered to order one for anyone interested. I put my hand up immediately and she delivered it yesterday. I now have to read all the instructions, find a free place on a wall and just practice. I think it will be good for my back. Now you can see that you can do Rolling without Rocking!

Latest statistics: The Guardian reported that 320,000 people are now homeless in Britain. Also that the number of Britons leaving for Europe is now at a 10 year high. Last year, 11,500 moved from UK to Germany. I wonder if it has anything to do with Brexit.

Another Week

Nearly a week since I last posted. Nothing special to report. It started with touring properties owned by my housing association. I was elected a 'representative' so I get invitations to such things. The tour is organised each year and designed to show we 'representatives' new extensions, flats, gardens, bicycle shelters etc built in the previous year. I find it very interesting and informative. I also like the meal in the hotel when it is all over!

On Sunday I went to the Philharmonie with part of my 'Kowalke Gang'. A concert of 4 pieces by Russian composers. A wonderful event! I didn't want it to stop. Superb playing by a pianist and a young man with his cello. I could hardly believe that he played half of the concerto with his eyes closed. I envy such musical talent.

Monday had all my usual meetings with something special in the evening. That was to sip a glass of sekt-sparkling wine with Marita, to celebrate her birthday. Lot of talking and catching up on news. Tuesday had my usual meetings. Wednesday afternoon I went to the monthly meeting of my local museum supporters group. We were told about plans to make changes to the building, install a new exhibition complete with 'new technology' for visitors - the smartphone is taking over everything!

This morning I had to go to an office to register some papers and tomorrow I hope to have a Photoshop session with Stefan after doing some 'Oldie' training with Kerstin. In the evening I shall meet most of my Kowalke Gang for a session of eating, drinking and looking at photographs taken in Japan. More of that later.

Autumn

Autumn has clearly arrived in Germany, although in Berlin we are enjoying sun and blue skies. As the evening arrives you note a drop in temperature. Since my last post I have had a 'normal' week. It started with Barbara on Monday morning. She is my German teacher and always starts our meetings with chatting about what she has doing since the last meeting.

This time I had prepared copies of a text with words marked that I did not know. She explained the use of the words and then we started on dictation, which I really like. I had problems with some words and was self critical. She said I should not be and just keep learning.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to the Abacus Hotel opposite Tierpark Zoo. I met the SPD Oldies. We settled into the meeting with coffee and cakes and then the boss of the hotel arrived to tell us all about working there. Very interesting meeting.

On Wednesday I went to the Berlin office of my health insurance company. I went for advice. I got a letter from the Pension and Health Insurance Service in the UK to say that they may stop payments to my German health insurance company from the 1st November. All to do with Brexit. An informative meeting which ended with advice to wait until a got a letter saying payments would stop. I am one of 180,000 UK seniors living in the EU living under such a threat. It is hardly reported.

I went shopping yesterday. I bought a new lamp for my desktop then went to Aldi and bought an 'Outdoor-Sweatjacke' with a hood for 17.99 Euro. I have jackets but without a hood so this is a welcome addition to my jackets. Tomorrow I shall be on a tour of properties owned by my housing association which will end with a nice meal in a hotel.

 On Sunday afternoon I am going to the Berlin Philharmonie with some of my Kowalke Gang for an afternoon of Russian classical music. Looking forward to that. Here are some photos of autumn taken from my balcony. The leaves are still dropping.

Wannsee

Yesterday was sunny, blue skies and 20°C. Ideal for a day out. I met Johanna and Putta at the local U-Station and headed for Alexander Platz. Another train and we got out at Berlin Wannsee station. We sipped a glass of something nice to get our legs into motion and then set out. Wannsee is in the southwest of Berlin and the westernmost locality of the city.

It has two lakes. Großer and Kleiner Wannsee located on the River Havel separated by the Wannsee Bridge. To the west is Glienicke Bridge which connects the area to Potsdam. Glienicke Palace and the Pfaueninsel are nearby. Wannsee lake is well known as the number-one bathing and recreational area for western Berlin. It has one of the longest beaches in the country and a popular nudist beach!

The area is linked to the House of Hohenzollern which provided the rulers as Elector of Brandenburg, King of Prussia and finally as Emperor of Germany. The area contains palaces they had built over many years. It contains the villa the painter Max Liebermann had built and is now a museum. There is also the Wannsee Villa where senior Nazi officials met in January 1942 to agree the 'Final Solution'. It is now a memorial to victims.

On arrival at the lake we started our walk along the south side. We found lots of mushrooms and noted other people picking them. Later we stopped for a picnic on the side of the lake. Nice food and conversation before we set off to reach our next goal. At the end we took a local bus back to the station for the train back to Berlin. A very interesting day out with so many things to see. 

Visitors

I recently had two visitors. Yes, 'The Boyz' arrived. Bro1 had earlier called to ask if he could use my laptop and printer. Of course I said yes. He had prepared an application letter with the help of his German teacher at school. It was for a 4 week training programme in mechanics and electronics. He did a similar course a year ago. This time it was for more advanced practice. I was impressed by the content of the application.

Meanwhile, Bro2 found another English course book and settled down to learn verbs and complete gap-fill exercises. I gave him two books when he last visited and he practices at home. I asked why he was so motivated to practice English. He said he had decided he wanted to study to be a pilot and realised he had to have good English. I smiled at this and just told him to keep practising.

When both had finished, they said they were hungry so we prepared some food and after that they settled down to watch a DVD. It was in English and a spy story with lots of action, which they like! Bro2 is 17 today and celebrating with his family. Happy Birthday to you, Bro2. He is now the tallest in the family and still growing!

Goodbye Glen

Bad News: Glen Capra is dead. At the end of 1979, I moved to Brighton and Sussex University as a 'mature student'. At first I lived on campus and really enjoyed the life style. I then moved to other places including College Street. During the 80's, I lived there and in India. I also got to know Glen. He and his family had moved into a flat in Oriental Place near to the seafront, where I had moved to after my last India project. Our link was music.

He was only 17 but already a master of the keyboard. I was surprised and jealous of his musical skills. I wanted to play like that! We got to know each other better and I began to pressure him to apply to study music at Sussex University. I finally succeeded and then I left for Germany and he met a young lady who I shall refer to as 'L'. He graduated with a MA in Composition and then studied for a Diploma in postgraduate performance studies at the Guildhall in London.

He started a successful career as a musician, accompanist, chamber player and composer. He travelled a lot both performing and as an examiner. In his last e-mail he listed 11 countries he had worked in during the previous year. He and 'L' got married and they had twin daughters - now adults. His marriage to 'L' broke down, but they still kept in touch.

On one of his travels he met a young women singer in Greece. They got married. A mistake for the marriage broke down after a short time. He returned to Brighton then returned to Greece. His new wife changed the locks and he went to stay with friends in the town. It was there that he committed suicide. All who knew him and valued him as a musician and person are still shocked. The family in Brighton have an urn with his ashes and will let me know when and where they will be placed.

Good News: On Sunday afternoon, Jan's sister gave birth to a boy. Both mother and son are well and father is more than happy. Congratulations! It is a pity that I cannot share this news with Glen.

Potsdamer Platz

Yesterday I met some of my Kowalke Gang and we headed into town. We left the U-Bahn at Potsdamer Platz and met the guide for a conducted tour of the area. It was cold and windy. The guide had a large collection of photographs of how the Platz was and notes about the history of the area.

Here is some information I collected to give you a brief overview of the area.

Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) is an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin Germany, lying about 1 km (1,100 yd) south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park.

 

 It is named after the city of Potsdam, some 25 km (16 mi) to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate. Within little over a century it changed from an intersection of rural thoroughfares into a busy traffic intersection – including trains, buses and the U and S Bahn network.

The heyday of Potsdamer Platz was in the 1920s and 1930s. By this time it had developed into the busiest traffic center in all of Europe, and the heart of Berlin's nightlife

 It was totally destroyed during World War II starting with air raids in November 1943. It was left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location. Since German reunification, Potsdamer Platz has been the site of major redevelopment projects.

The photo on the right shows the roof of the Sony Centre. This houses a cinema which I visit for it shows films in original language. The area attracts a lot of tourists and you only have to walk around the area to hear many languages. At the end of the tour, we went to a local fish restaurant. Guess what we ate? A very nice start to the weekend. 

October 2019 Things

On Monday morning I bought some nice flowers and took them to my district graveyard. A short walk through the nearby garden houses and I arrived at one of the graveyard entrances. A few more steps and I arrived at Birgit's family grave. I have posted about her before.

I placed the flowers at the head of the grave as I wished her a happy 67th Birthday on behalf of myself and her family. As I looked at the gravestone and flowers I thought about the time we had spent together, her trips, humour and smile. Many things to reflect on.

I also gave special wishes from her sister Heike. I was deputising for her. Heike loves to cruise around the world. She was recently on a cruise to St. Petersburg. As she left the ship she stumbled and broke her left arm. She was treated in hospital then put onto a plane to Berlin.

 She then went into a hospital in the city of Brandenburg, where she lives, contacted me and asked if I would stand in for her. I was happy to do that, but it would have been better if she had been with me. Get well soon, Heike!

Who has a birthday in October 2019?
My nephew Andrew in Yorkshire will be 42 on the 5th,  another nephew called Warren will be 43 on the 12th and also celebrate in Yorkshire! Bro2 will be 17 on the 13th and I am sure I shall be invited to his party here in Berlin. My lovely sister Frances will be 73 on the 14th and celebrate in Yorkshire with son Warren and others. Back in Berlin, Falk will celebrate another birthday with his family on the 15th - his age is a secret! My  neighbour Marita will be 69 on the 21st and I am looking forward to a glass of sekt with her to celebrate the event. Dianne Bolton celebrates her 73rd with family in Yorkshire on the 27th. The little sister of The Boyz will be 11 on the 28th, and I am sure she will want to eat a large ice-cream to celebrate the event. Tanya in London ends the birthday month with her 55th on the 31st of October.
Happy Birthday to each and all no matter where you live:-)