Stahnsdorf

Kirchhof Stahnsdorf

Last Sunday the sun shone and we had temperatures as high as 18°C in and around Berlin. Not at all usual for the time of the year. It was a reason for thousands of Berliners to leave their homes and take in some fresh air and exercise. I got a call from one of my Oldie Groups to ask if I wanted to join them on a walk to Stahnsdorf.


I said;"Yes", without knowing where and what it was! I got on a very full regional train at my local station and noticed that every second person was an 'Oldie'. They were the ones who were the first to open their picnic packs and start munching - even though we were only 10 minutes from the start!

We later arrived at Wannsee and waited for others who were arriving by S-Bahn. There were eleven of us and so off we went on a trail to the south and then the west towards Potsdam. We followed the track of a railway that was built in 1913 just to take people from the Wannsee station to 'Sudwest Kirchhof Stahnsdorf'.

This cemetery to the south west of Berlin was started in 1903 and finished in 1909, because the inner city cemeteries in the south west of Berlin were nearly full. Logical really to create a new one!

The novel idea was that this one was created as a planned landscape. I must admit that the concept works really well even one hundred years later.





The little railway was discontinued in 1976 and the tracks removed on the orders of the DDR Government. This was because they ran from the West to the East of Berlin which was then, of course,  blocked by the Berlin Wall. We followed the trail until we got to the old bridge taking the tracks over the canal. Surprise! It was blocked and with signs saying it was dangerous to try to cross.




Not being crazy heroes, we took the easy solution and that was to walk down the canal until we reached the bridge at the ship-lift. Also built about the same time. It connected water traffic between the Oder and Poland with the River Havel and then onto the Elbe and the port of Hamburg.

I liked the old tram on display so took a photo. At this point we went into a restaurant for a coffee break and snack.



When we arrived at the cemetery I was surprised to see so many people there. Then I heard that it was Remembrance Sunday. I also noticed a group of elderly men at the entrance wearing full Scottish dress including kilt and lots of medals. I talked to a few and they were there to lay wreaths and play a lament on the bagpipes.

Why at this cemetery I asked them. They said there was a large section where soldiers from the First World War were buried and they were there to honour them.

 I left them and walked around. In addition to the war section I saw some graves of many famous Germans including Werner von Siemens who founded the firm that still carries his name.







Others were Zille, Langenscheidt, Richthofen, Ullstein, Fontane, Humperdinck in addition to many other famous writers, scientists, playwrights and actors.

A very interesting day indeed and one I would never have thought of on my own. That is one benefit of being in Oldie groups - someone always has a good idea where to travel to.

McThai

McThai Photo

What is that? It is a small 'snack bar' round the corner from our Photoshop course building. I know it means nothing to English speakers but for Germans it does.

Some marketing idiots many years ago in Germany came up with the idea of adding 'Mc'/'Mac' to a brand/shop to indicate that goods/services were cheap. It still annoys me whenever I see it for I know the history of how this image of the Scots came about.



I told Stefan about the new snack bar and name, so he took a photograph and used it as background to insert photos of us at our late summer meeting in Schröder's garden house.

He prepared it all for our last lesson and so I start with Stefan's very professional work, where he put our dancing Helga behind the tables and chairs.

I could only manage to put her on the bottom of the pic for we didn't have time to hide her non-existent legs behind the furniture :-)  In the next lesson we are going to do this.

Panorama

Panorama

Nice to see all of the 'Photoshop Gang' this afternoon.  Before the lesson, Stefan helped me to sort out the problem of my Ubuntu OS not recognizing the in-built camera in my 'baby' Asus. I hadn't activated the driver/Treiber. Easy when you know how!

We learnt something about working with photos to form a panorama today. I think I shall experiment with this when I have taken a range of photos. We started by forming a panorama from 5 photos taken outside our meeting rooms. Having done that we moved onto the harder task of forming a panorama from 20 photos.

Hard work for the computer, and the programme, but we all succeeded. Here you can see my results. My programme at home worked just as hard to reduce the two images so I could meet the limits for posting to this blog. Any more comments from you, Jan?

November 2010

November and things

October was an interesting month with lots of things to do and more lessons at the Institute.  I also got some interesting postcards from friends in The Dolomiten area of north Italy, St. Petersburg, La Mont Saint Michel off the Normandie Coast and, last but not least,  from Settle and Pen-y-Gent in the Yorkshire Dales. Many thanks to each and all.

From my diary for November, I can already see lots of things and a pattern to each week. This is made up of twice weekly visits to the Wellness Club for leg and back training, teaching four times a week at the Institute, my Photoshop group, two workshops on teaching methods, concerts and two operas. My German lessons will be on hold for Frau Fox has to go to hospital, but she gave me lots of homework last Friday:-)

Who has a birthday in November? Jeff, Rob and Annie celebrate 55 with a collective party in Amersfoort in the middle of the Netherlands on the 19th, Computer Mathias clocks up 43 on the 20th and Stefan Sietz celebrates being well over 40 on the 29th November. Happy Birthday and best wishes to all!

3in1

3 in 1

How can you have the same person three times in one photograph! Can I hear anyone saying, 'Not possible, can't be done!'

It can, and I did it last Friday at the Photoshop lesson. We had three photographs of our gardener against the same wall and in a short time I had him in one and not in two. I wonder if Harry Potter could do that?

We followed that with a street scene a few minutes from our centre. We had ten photographs of the crossroads with lots of traffic and people and our task was to remove all except the parked cars.

This needed more attention and clicks then yes, all gone! Magic isn't it? The things that pensioners do!

Stefan the Star

Stefan the Computer Star




I had a very interesting afternoon. I went to the place where I have my Friday



Photoshop course to see Stefan perform! I was one of ten interested 'students' who turned up from a number of courses he runs there.

One student had asked him for advice and help to buy a new system. They selected what they wanted and ordered online.


 The parts were duly despatched and today was selected for the grand 'put it together' show starring Stefan. He gave a commentary as he worked to explain why and what he was doing, and answered questions.




I took photographs of each construction phase and selected a few for this post. They begin with the parts on the table - at this point we were all drinking coffee and munching biscuits as we waited for the 'Star' of the show.


Stefan began by explaining why he was partly constructing the mother board before adding other parts to the housing. Then he inserted the mother board and began to connect everything. Finally he added the housing before connecting to a monitor.

This was necessary to install the operating system - Windows 7 Professional no less! - and the drivers to make sure that everything worked okay. And it did immediately. Well done Stefan - take a well earned bow and thanks for an interesting afternoon!

Congratulations Andrea

Congratulations to Andrea,


Lots of them for she passed the final oral test to get her degree. She now has the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts degree and she sent out a photo taken of her with the degree.

She is currently working at the Parliament in Budapest to get more work experience, and brush up her Hungarian, before she starts work at the Foreign Office here in Berlin. What a clever and active person she is!

Enjoy the rest of the time there and here is a glass of 'sunny' wine for you Andrea, so you can toast your success in Budapest.

Remembering Birgit

Remembering Birgit

Last Saturday I went to put flowers on Birgit's grave to remember her birthday.

Her sisters Heike and Karin,  and Karin's husband, were also there. Later we went to the Böhmisches Restaurant near where I live. Birgit F joined us there and we had a good chat over excellent food.

Later, Heike and I went to see Robert. I hadn't seen him for nearly two years and it good to see him looking so well. Again, lots of chatting and catching up on news.

 What a pity we have to meet in such circumstances.

October 2010

October and things

Today in 2004, my father died aged 92 and Birgit would have been 58. I am meeting Heike and hopefully a few others on Saturday to put flowers on her grave.

Sunday 3 October is a 'big' day in Germany. It marks the 20th anniversary of German Re-unification. I have been invited to a 'Wildschwein' lunch with Johanna, Jutta and Gerald. Later I am going to a concert of music by Brahms and Lutoslawski at the Philharmonie. A nice way to start the month!

In October I have my usual morning visits to the Wellness Club for leg and back training, German lessons with Frau Fox and Frau Korn, and more teaching at the institute which will last until Christmas. Unfortunately the class coincides with my Senioren Computer Kurs each Wednesday afternoon so I shall re-join in January 2011.


The new season starts at the Komische Oper and the highlight is a new production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The premiere is sold out so I shall wait a few weeks and see a later performance when I have more chance of getting a seat. Other highlights are Verdi's La Traviata and Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

Who has a birthday in October? Nephew Andrew will be 33 on the 5th, a day he shares with Birgit B. in London. Nephew Warren will be 34 on the 12th, his mother Frances will be 64 on the 14th, Wolfgang will be 76 on the 16th, Marita will celebrate being 59 on the 21st, followed one day later by my neighbour who will be 92. Diane B. in Keighley will be 64 on the 27th and Tanja ends the month on the 31st with her 47th birthday. Happy Birthday each and all and have a wonderful day with family and friends.

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday

I think you must be having a lazy Sunday like me if you live in west Europe --- hope the rest of you are having lots of fun and sun!!

I really don't like the start of autumn and winter, unless I am on skies on the Piste, then it is great! I wanted to go to Strausburg and walk along the lake shore and have some tasty 'Deftiges Essen'. It is raining again and cold so I stayed at home and had a light lunch of fish with vegetables.

Earlier I took a tray of tea/biscuits back to bed this morning and read my book about Islam, then nodded off for a few more hours. That was nice. Between sorting out the fish and veg, I decided to do some work on the computer(s). This time it was to learn how to use a mobile storage device.

I bought one on Thursday for all my sticks were full and I decided it was time to buy an external storage drive for Windows and Apple. A local store had a Seagate machine on special offer for both systems so I got that. Nice and easy to work = no degree in computer science needed. Just attach and off you go.

I decided to move all my files from sticks to the new mobile drive and you can see me doing this on a photo. Then I moved files from my computer drives to the mobile drive and so freed up space on my drives. Hopefully the computers will run quicker now!

I have to do some work on the old/new Ubuntu machine later for a driver update for Google created some problems on Wednesday at the Oldie Computer lesson. Latest research says that doing such stupid things for the over 65s helps to stop the onset of Dementia. Can't be bad - now all I have to do is remember my name! Er....er....its...er.....

Another Sunday walk

Another Sunday walk

I have just returned from a very nice Sunday walk. A new group of 'oldies'. The link was that of other oldies in other groups so I got a call and was asked if I wanted to joint the walk. I said. 'Yes' for it was almost in my 'backyard'.

We met at Wühletal S-U Bahn station at 10.30 and I was surprised at how many oldies there were -- and some had brought their dogs along for the fresh air. I have never been on a walk with so many oldies so after adjusting to this - and the dogs - I settled into the days walk.

We climbed to the top of the 'Biesdorfer Höhe. This looks like a big hill but it is not natural. At the end of the last war, the ruins were cleared and formed three 'hills' in different parts of Berlin.

Later earth was placed on the hill and trees and bushes. They grew so that sixty years later it looks like 'Mother Nature' had played a hand. Nope - it was 'Father War' and clearing up after!



We then walked further and arrived at two small lakes I have never been to. The larger one is the Kaulsdorfer See and the other one ... I have forgotten the name!

There we had a rest for a snack and drink while trying to fend off a family of swans which wanted to be fed and 'hissed' aggressively when they didn't get any food.

More walking through other parts of Kaulsdorf until we got to Bagger See Biesdorf from where we walked 10 minutes until we got to Biesdorf Schloß and its park.

 It was bought in about 1880 by Mr Siemens. I think you will all know his name! He later went on to even larger houses and parks, and electronic things for which his name is now known worldwide.

From there we walked around the corner until we got to Biesdorf S-Bahn station and a place which was a mixture of Kneipe and Imbiss for beer and simple solid food.

A really nice day, and I was asked to join the group on the next walk to the north of Berlin towards the end of October. I think I shall!

Mauer 3

Mauer 3 Walk

Yesterday I went on the third part of a walk along the route where the Berlin Wall was erected. I missed part 2 (I was in New Orleans) but hope this will be later repeated.

 It was a small group with only a few 'oldies' - but we were able to keep up!

We met at U-Bahn Schleschisches Tor. It is also where I go for my Friday Photoshop course! Welcomes over, we started along the route.

I found the demarcation lines of the local districts of Berlin to be almost unbelievable - but they were for real!

 For example, between Treptow (east) and Neue Kölln (west) so that it was placed against a pavement only three feet away from the wall of a block of flats!



It also went along lots of water, including canals linking the river Spree, which runs through Berlin. I took a mixture of views along this part of the ex- Mauer/Berlin Wall for the different perspectives they offer of the city and its division.

Photoshop Party

Photoshop Party

Stefan organised a 'Treffening' of the Photoshop Gang last Friday.

Meeting point was the Oldie Centre ,where we have lessons, for a 'photograph-taking-tour' in the morning.

Unfortunately, I could not join in for I had an appointment with my lawyer.

 I joined them later and we went to Herr und Frau Schröder's Garden House. It was really great to see them all again - only Susan was missing.

 We chatted about summer and what we had done. Stefan also told us about his plans for the next course as we prepared to enjoy 'Grilled Wurst etc'.

 I took a few photos, but forgot to take one of the gang for I was too busy enjoying the food. The atmosphere was relaxed and happy, as usual.

 Our hosts were perfect and we all went away feeling much better for the time we had spent together. Vielen Dank Herrr und Frau Schröder!

I also forgot to ask if I could post these photos, but I am sure they would have agreed. There is one of Helga trying to look like a scarecrow, one of Joel in a classic pose with some flowers, and one of Herr Schröder grilling our Wurst and other delicious food.

Ubuntu

Learning Ubuntu

No, it is not a language! It is a computer operating system. Most people have machines running WIndows from Microsoft, a few have a Mac from Apple and a growing number are using one of the Lynux based systems, such as Ubuntu.

When I stayed with Neil and Barbara, I talked to their eldest son Harry (a computer 'boffin')  about putting Ubuntu onto my Asus Netbook. It was running a Lynux system but it needed updating. Neil and Harry installed Ubuntu and I had no problems with it.

This made me think about learning more about Ubuntu so I bought a special magazine with a DVD and information about how to install and run programmes. I installed it onto the old laptop used by many students, and later by Daniel and Micha, which was gathering dust on a shelf.

I started the installation at my 'Internet für Senioren Club' where Ines, the teacher, kept  a watchful eye on events in case I needed help. I didn't - I just followed the instructions and that was it.

I brought it home and added access to my WLAN and 'bingo' it went straight on to the internet. You can see this in the photos. If you need to update then think about changing to Ubuntu. It is also free and with a three year guarantee of updates and security. Not a bad offer!

Börnicke

Walk to Schloß Börnicke

Last Sunday I joined a group of 'oldies' and set off towards Bernau. It is a town north of Berlin and I ended my career there a few years ago at an institute which combined language teaching with computers. Oh, happy days!

We left the S-Bahn one stop before Bernau and started our walk. We went through fields and woods in late summer sun and blue skies. The perfect conditions for such a walk. I took the photos you can see as we walked to the Schloß.

We finally arrived at the small village of Börnicke to find an interesting Schloß in very sad circumstances. The gardens are nice and there is now a 'bio-garten' in part of the Schloß gardens, but the Schloß is very 'fallen down'. It has now been taken over by a group who are trying to restore it to its 'former glory'.

The history of the village and the house starts in the 9th century when a fortified village was recorded on the site. Later it developed into a village housing the farmers who worked on the land, including that of the families who owned most of it, and so could finance the Schloß, and its way of life.

In 1892, Ernst Mendelssohn-Bartholdy inherited the house and grounds. He was a rich banker but is better known as the nephew of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. In 1910, his son Paul commissioned an architect to re-design the house and so it was re-built in the style you see it now.

Alas, the family had to flee to the USA (1933) to survive. Later it was taken over as a home for the disabled by the East German state and then became derelict in 1990. It was  taken over by a group to rescue old buildings in 2003, and they are still raising money to invest in repairing the building as part of the history of the area.

I found it all very interesting and talked to local people about the history of the village and house as I ate a tasty hot snack. After this break, we started our walk towards Bernau which took us along a very old  track through the woods. Finally, we came to the outskirts of Bernau to discover the source of the river Panke.

You can see a photo of me next to a pile of bricks. When you put your ear to this you can hear the sound of running water. This is where the river begins. Nearby is a pond which collects water and then sends it south towards the river Spree and this is the source of the river Panke.

From there we walked into the town and along part of the old wall until we reached the 12th century church. From there we walked to the market place and found a traditional German restaurant which also served Berliner Bier.

There we had a welcome stop for a glass of good German beer plus traditional food. We also had some interesting discussions before we wandered  to the railway station and our train back to Berlin. A really great day and I learnt even more about the history of the area around Berlin.

September 2010

September and things

Time to look into September and think about birthdays and other nice things.

Lynne was 63 on the first of September and tomorrow, on the 6th, my god-daughter Charlotte will be 19. She has decided to study at Sussex University.....interesting for that is where her parents and I studied! Nevand will be 6 on the same day. Liebe Andrea will hit the big 25 on the 8th (Andrea - I still have the teabags from England for you :-)  My nephew Stephen in Cambridge arrives at the very important 40 on the 22nd. Robert G. will be 32 here in Berlin on the 23rd with the lovely Sylvana making it to her 50th on the 25th, brother-in-law Lew will celebrate a secret 'just over 60' birthday in Cambridge on the 27th and my nephew Jefferson will reach 37 on the 29th of the month.  Happy birthday each and all!!!

Just a little thought: our liebe Birgit would have been 58 on the 30th September.... but she died too early just six years ago. I remember this day for it is the same day on which my father died in 2004 aged 92!

What am I doing in September? The usual back and leg sessions at my 'Wellness Club', teaching my private students including a pair who are returning after a long summer break, preparing a student at the Institute for a higher level exam, going to the opera and concerts at the Komische Oper in the new programme, having fun at Angelika's birthday party next Saturday, continue my German lessons with Frau Fox and Frau Korn, go on a walk  along where the Berlin Wall was in the south of Berlin, go to a workshop about teaching methods at the end of the month and to a teachers late summer event in the Spreewald in the watery areas south-east of Berlin. Sounds like it could be fun!

Erpetal

Erpetal


Just got back from a walk through Erpetal. Can I hear you ask where it is? It is an enclave of Berlin-Brandenburg nature that still pushes into the south-east of Berlin. On the map it is a green area north of the S-Bahn stations Hirschgarten and Friedrichshagen. 


The weather was really nice today with warm sun and blue skies. So I got a call this morning asking me if I wanted to join a small gang of Oldies who decided to have a gallop through the woods and streams of the Erpetal ending at the Tunnel Cafes in Friedrichshagen. I immediately said, 'Yes'.

It was a really great day. I think you can see this in my photos. Our walk took us through a 'garden colony' where people have weekend/summer houses. One couple in the gang used to have a house there but sold it ten years ago when they could no longer look after it and the garden = aches and pains!

I couldn't resist including a photo of part of a garden. The owners had constructed a 'mini-world' inhabited by 'Gartenzwerge'. I'm not a great fan but I found this one funny for it seemed to be mocking the world of the garden-gnome!

The day ended at the Tunnel on Lake Mugglesee where hundreds of people were also enjoying a few beers and snacks in the late summer sun. Nice day and I hope you had one too!