Hottest

Today is said to be the hottest day of the year so far. I have also heard that Brexitland is enjoying the same. I settled into the sun on my balcony this morning and continued to read my book. Yesterday I went to Aldi and bought 3 Learn German books.

They are written for children at 4th, 5th and 6th level. Ideal for me to go back to school, at home, and learn more about the language. The problem is learning alone. You need to be with other people to learn a language and that is not easy given the coronavirus limitations on contact.

I also got 2 English books at level 5. These are for some German people I know who want to improve their English for travel and holiday. Again, no plans at the moment because of coronavirus but they decided to improve their English for the future when they can travel. Now that is what I call positive thinking.

I'm waiting for a telephone call from Imre. He called me on Wednesday for a chat and then said he wanted to go to a town north of Berlin on Saturday. He said he would call with details of train times. So far, nothing. I wonder what kind of restaurant we shall have lunch in, and if I shall have to defend my plate from his fork. Watch this space for details :-)

Another Day Out

I had another nice day out yesterday. I met Johanna and Martina at a local U-Bahn station at 9.30 and that was the start of the day out. The route and destination was in a book about walks around Berlin which Martina has. We got seats in a regional train at Alexander Platz. It was full of families and lots of people with bicycles. We got to Potsdam at 10.38 and managed to get into another regional train heading south.

We got out at Caputh. This is a really nice small town and Albert Einstein used to live there. His house is now a museum and well worth a visit. We started our walk from there along one side of a lake called Schwielowsee. The track was well marked and there were seats so you could relax and look at the views across the lake. We walked on and finally arrived at a town called Ferch which marks the southern tip of the lake. This was our destination.

We were hungry and it was lunchtime so we went to the Strandhotel restaurant. Here is a photo of the hotel. There were lots of tables and seats on the harbour side so we settled down to enjoy the view and a meal. Martina and I ordered the same dish. Yes, a fish dish and very tasty. Here you can see the view from our table with dark clouds gathering. It rained a little then the sun shone again. By then it was time to return so we got a bus to Potsdam.

From there we took another regional train back to Alexander Platz and the U-Bahn home. We all agreed it had been a very interesting excursion and we should do another one in a week or two. A very good idea especially with fish for lunch!

Busy Day

I had a very busy but nice day yesterday. It started with taking public transport to a garden house in Mahlsdorf. This is in the east of the city in a district called Köpenik. I missed the local train by 1 minute so had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. Then I discovered there was repair work on the tram tracks. I had to take a bus. The clock ticked away and I could hear local people complaining about the bad service. Finally the bus came, but it only went one stop. We all had to get out and wait for a replacement tram. More complaining!

The tram came and I got out at the 5th stop. The house is on the corner so I could hear members of Kerstin's Keep Fit for Seniors Gang as I approached the garden. I was the last to arrive and just in time to see the food grilled and placed on the table. The Gang tucked in and enjoyed the different dishes. I kept being told to eat more but I said I could not for I had to return home because I was expecting guests from England. A quick thanks to all and then I set off on the way home.

 I got home in time to set the table in the garden and welcome Johanna who brought some cakes. Yes, it was time for Kaffee und Kuchen but who were the guests from England? As planned, Adrian and Tanya walked into the garden and we settled down for a nice couple of hours for they had an appointment later. Adrian and I met in 1978 when we went to the University of Sussex and we have kept contact ever since.

 Lots of catching up on news as we sipped a cool glass of Sekt to welcome them. Coffee was enjoyed with strawberry cake and lemon cake. Mmmmh...tasty. I was surprised that they didn't look any older. The last time I saw them was a couple of years ago when I stayed at their place in London. And so it came time for them to leave. It was agreed that I stay with them again when I next visit London. Always nice to spend time with them. What an interesting mix of meetings.

Visitors

I had two nice visitors yesterday afternoon. Yes, it was 'The Bros'. They called earlier to see if I would be at home and if they could visit. I said yes to both questions. I told them to bring large bags to carry clothes for their sister. I got a large package from Holger and Gabi near Bremen with clothes for her. This was the second package, so many thanks to both for their generosity.

The Bros asked if they could work in the garden. I readily agreed and off we went. Bro1 wanted to use my wlan connection. I gave him the information and he got onto the internet. He had a project to work on in the internet about preparing for college after the holidays are over. He also enjoyed just relaxing in the garden as he worked.

I worked with Bro2 who wanted to learn more English. He had brought his books and papers and showed me what he had done since out last meeting. I was impressed at his progress. He now really needs to speak and listen to English and not just do exercises in his book. There is little chance of that for he and his family cannot leave Berlin-Brandenburg without special permission. Meanwhile, he will just have to push ahead with exercises in his English books.

And then I heard the magic words, "Opa, ich habe Hunger!" We moved into the kitchen and prepared different pizzas followed by a fresh fruit salad I had made. Lots of lip smacking as the plates emptied. After that it was TV and dozing on the sofa. It is clear that The Bros are making progress in many areas related to study and future training. A nice visit from a talented couple of brothers.

To Schloss F

I went to Bad Freienwalde with Johanna on Saturday. She got an invitation to attend a book reading at Schloss Freienwalde and asked me to go with her. It only took a second to agree! I can hear you asking where it is. Take out your map and put your finger on the centre of Berlin. Now move it north and then to the east in the direction of the Polish border. There you have found Bad Freienwalde.

I can remember driving through it many times and many years ago as I set off for a holiday in Poland. This time we travelled there by local train and bus. Very relaxing as we went through  green fields and woods. We finally found the Schloss and entered for the reading. It was built in 1798 for the widow of Friedrich Wilhelm II and she spent summers there.

The reading was by Leonhard Horowski and from his new book, which he was there to promote. He spoke very quickly, which was a good test for me to try and follow his presentation. Here you can see the invitation and details of the event. He talked about The Europe of the Kings during the 17th and 18th centuries. After that, we found a very nice cafe on the way to the bus station. Then back to Berlin. We decided to repeat the visit for the Schloss has a permanent presentation of the life of Walther Rathenau. More of that later.

Cake

Imre came to visit last Saturday.As usual, he had his i-pad so was able to go online. He explained how to use Skype and then we did a test run from his pad to my laptop. It worked. We were able to communicate via Skype even though he was sitting next to me!

We then left for a restaurant for lunch. Imre was hungry. We ended up at my local Italian restaurant sitting outside. Yes, it was warm enough - a bit like today. I ordered a pasta dish with salmon and vegetables. Imre also ordered a pasta dish but based on spaghetti. As usual, he scanned my plate and said it looked good. He ended up eating half of my dish - no surprise there! He talked throughout the meal and then back at my place.

We settled onto the balcony and he told me more about future plans with his lady. He then talked about learning English at the British Council School here in Berlin. That is where we met. He talked and I listened as he recounted his learning adventures including some visits to the UK to language schools. It was then time to enjoy coffee and cake. I had bought some raspberry cake with cream so Imre tucked into a slice while recounting more learning adventures. A very pleasant day - with or without cake!

Muggy

We are having muggy weather at the moment. Yesterday, it rained most of the time. Nothing big to report since my last post. I've spent most of the time on the balcony sleeping or reading a book. My nephew, Andrew, recently contacted me about meeting him on Skype. I have not used it for years. For the last two evenings I have opened Skype on my laptop but with no contact success . What am I doing wrong?

Day Out

I had a really nice day out yesterday with two charming ladies. We met at Ostkreuz Bahnhof at 9.30 and took the train to Kostrzyn on the Polish border to the east of Berlin. The train was full and most people wore face masks. There were lots of people with bicycles for there are lots of popular bicycle routes  there. We got out at Müncheberg to take a bus north. The bus didn't come so we called a taxi service and after one hour waiting we set off.

We got out at Kunersdorf. I had never been in these villages before. They are all part of the history of the area and what became Prussia - Preußen and are also important in the history of Poland.  In the village we found the Chamisso Museum. There you can see details of important writers, artists who lived and worked in the village. Next to the museum is a church. That was part of a major construction project which included a large 'Schloss'. That was destroyed in 1945 but the museum, church and gardens are worth a visit. I wonder why I didn't do that before!

We took the taxi again to the north until we reached Bad Freienwalde. There we waited for a local bus and took time to sip a nice drop of Chardenay. We got out at Strausburg Nord and took the S-Bahn back to Berlin. A really nice day and we decided to have another one like it soon.

Beards

Two beards came to visit me a few days ago. Yes, it was 'The Boyz'. School holidays had started so they had the time and just wanted to visit their Opa :-) From the photo you can see they now have beards although of different shapes and sizes. Bro1 has the more conventional full face beard. Bro2 has it in sections. There is his sideboard section and his chin beard and his thick mustache, but he is now the tallest in the family - and still growing! I suggested I remove my chin beard but they insisted it had to stay. They asked how I could possibly be their Opa without a beard. I gave in and kept it.

Bro1 wanted to use my computer and printer. I agreed and he found the pages he needed to apply for a grant to continue to study from next September. He then printed out all 8 pages and went to sleep on the sofa. Bro2 was in another room working on his school English and a book I had given him. It soon became clear that he did not understand the basic tense system and that the teacher in the school didn't teach that. After a snack, Bro1 went back to sleep and Bro2 tried to understand Present Progressive Tense. It was not easy for him - but then it is not easy for Germans for Progressive Tenses do not exist in German. It was nice to spend time with them and try to help. I wonder if they will notice that I have removed my beard when they next visit?