May 2019 Things

Since my last post we have had mixed weather over the post-Easter days. I had my usual meetings and appointments including a very lazy Sunday, which I enjoyed. Today is different from my usual Tuesdays, because in a short time I shall travel to Johanna's for a nice meal and drink and to say goodbye to her guest, Maria. She's leaving for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia then finishing her travels in St. Petersburg. I envy her that tour especially going to St. P. If you ever get the chance to go there then take it immediately. Here is a photo of Maria taken over supper last Tuesday. She also has a birthday at the end of May so I have added her to the list.

Tomorrow all Germans will be celebrating the 1st May holiday in various ways. The weather forecast is generally good so that will take many people outdoors and I am sure that also means having a grill party with family and friends in the evening. I am meeting my Muggelsee Gang at my local station at 08.25 to join them in an S-Bahn to Spandau. A good 50 minute journey which I am sure will include lots of jokes and sipping some interesting liquids.

The Boys are joining us, which I am happy about for I have not seen them for a few weeks. From Spandau we shall start a bicycle tour with picnic stops and at the end we shall be in a nice garden house owned by two of our group. There we can relax and enjoy a grill party with  beer and other liquids. In this we shall be joining millions of others in celebrating 'The day of the Working Classes'.

Who has a birthday in May? Max starts us off in Berlin with his 36th on the 2nd of May. my godson Marcel will be 25 on the 6th and perhaps celebrate in Chile. The person who writes this blog will be 76 on the 8th May - but don't tell anyone about it! My great nephew Isaiah will be 11 on the 10 and celebrate with his family in West Yorkshire. Hans J. will be 68 on the 11th and I wonder if he will still be chain smoking on his big day. Trish will celebrate her 67th  in Turkey on the 13th and on the 16th Heike D. will celebrate her birthday with family here in Berlin. On the 21st, Sylvia M. will celebrate her 63rd with husband Michael in Brighton. She share that day with my wonderful cousin Barbara who will be 74. I am sure she will celebrate with family and friends in Silsden. Yes she lives there and is one of the two people I started writing this blog for. Maria from Colombia will be 50 on the 29th. She looks much younger and welcome to my birthday list Maria!  In the south of Bremen on the 31st  Holger will celebrate his 55th with Gabi and family and so end the birthday month of May.
Have a wonderful day/time to each and all no matter where you are!

Mug cycle

I cycled to Muggelsee yesterday with Imre. It was not planned. We had agreed to go east to Petershagen and then onto the lakes around Strausund. Imre asked to change this for he had been working late and wanted a less stressful bicycle tour. I agreed.

We met at my local S.B station and slowly cycled down to Wühlheide Park. One of my favourite areas to visit and enjoy the green environment. As we got near the childrens play area, Imre said he had not eaten breakfast and wanted to eat chips. In two minutes we were at a 'snack-caravan' which served chips with sausages.

Imre ordered chips and sausage. I ordered just chips but with a glass of beer - it was a late breakfast after all! Here is a photo of Imre enjoying his breakfast. We then jumped onto the bicycles and off again. We went through some back streets of the district called Köpenick into areas that were new for me.

We stopped at a bridge which marked the convergence of two rivers. Here is a photo of Imre looking at the water from the bridge. After enjoying that view, we cycled further and took a route past a hospital and onto a cycle track that took us onto the south shore of Lake Muggelsee.

There were lots of young families with babies enjoying the weather and lake side. It was nice to see them. We cycled further and stopped for a water/fruit juice/snack break. We talked a lot and enjoyed the weather and lake views before slowly taking the way back. A really pleasant relaxing day on a bicycle and sharing the time with someone who always has something to say!

Happy Easter

I wish my readers a very Happy Easter. I'm enjoying the long weekend partly because of the wonderful sunny weather. Easter Friday started with a traditional breakfast at Jutta's. She always gives such a breakfast at Easter. Most of the 'Kowalke Gang' met and exchanged news and views as we munched away.

I spent yesterday in Strausberg  with Johanna and Putta. It is one of my favourite places. It is to the east of Berlin on the route to the Polish border. Here is a map of the area from which you can see the town. It is on the east side of a lake and has a ferry to connect both sides. Here is a photo (above) of the south of the lake with the ferry.

We travelled there by S-Bahn and walked into town. We looked around the ferry area which has a  memorial to the Jewish people who lived there and were sent to concentration camps and killed. We decided to walk down the lake and then up on the opposite side to the ferry and back to where we started.

There are many luxury houses on the side with private access to the water and boats. I took some photographs as we continued our walk and finally arrived at the ferry- We had just missed one so waited in the sun for the next.

Back in town we went into a nearby restaurant and sat in the garden. We ordered fish dishes with spargel (asparagus) which is now in season and very popular. Here is a photo of my plate. I could eat it all again now!

Bagh Update

I have just listened to a BBC Radio 4 programme called, 'Open Country Road'. It was called Jallianwala Grove about the first memorial created in Britain. 1,650 trees (mainly oak) have been / are being planted. This is one tree for every bullet fired at the massacre 100 years ago. The trees are being planted near to Ashby-de-la-Zouch. This is an old town on the road from Leicester to Burton-on-Trent via Coalville.

My mouth dropped as I heard that. What a coincidence! I lived and worked there in the early 1970s, made many Indian friends, who helped me to learn Hindi. I was then allowed to go on a project to India in 1976, which took me to Amritsar and Jallianwala Bagh for the first time. I'm still surprised at this coincidence!   This is what I looked like then!

Three places

I've been to three very different places in the last three days. Let's start with today. I have just got back from an appointment at Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain on Landsberger Alle. I got there at 2.30 pm, which gave me time to do all the form filling, relaxing and then meeting a new doctor. I was in the Dermatologie department.

The problem is an outbreak of red skin/spots/hard skin on my face.It started when my allergies began so my Doc thought it may be connected. The Dr today said it was not connected. It is inherited and gets worse as you get older. I have new medicine and an appointment in mid-July for a full body check to see if I have skin cancer!

Yesterday I met Kerstin and the Oldie Fitness Gang. We did some extra exercises before setting off to an Italian restaurant in Köpenick near to the River Spree. The staff worked hard to serve so many people sitting around extended tables and all talking across each other. I sat in a corner, watched and listened. They really are an interesting gang of people to meet each week. The food was very good. I had salmon with different 'Veggie' side dishes.

On Tuesday afternoon I met my SPD Oldies and off we went to The Stasi (DDR State Security) Prison in Berlin - Hohenschönhausen. This is an area in the north-east of the city. We went on a tour that had been prepared for us. Many in the group had lived through life in the DDR and knew all about this terrible prison. I was impressed by the presentations in different languages. Also to see how many young people from different countries visit the prison complex as part of learning about German history.

More than 450,000 people including about 200,000 young people visit the former Stasi prison each year. The next time you come to Berlin you really must add it to your list of places to see. You can get full information about how to get there, guided tours, exhibitions, bookshop, in/on the internet.

Another Writer

I recently posted about Holger from Bremen. He is a hobby writer of short stories and I showed you a copy of the latest book he and his group have brought onto the market. I have known another hobby writer for almost as long as I have known Holger. His name is Neil Deane and he hails from Liverpool.

He now lives, teaches and writes in Essen. This is a city in the old industrial western area of Germany. He teaches at the University of Duisburg-Essen  He and his wife came to Berlin a couple of days ago to visit friends and celebrate Neil's 62nd birthday. Neil lived in Berlin for many years before moving to Essen. He has written three books as you can see from the picture.

They are about his experiences of growing up in Liverpool during the 1960-70's and include interesting comments on singers and local bands - such as The Beatles! His last book is about changes there for good and bad and also about some experiences of moving to Germany and his life here.

He called me and we agreed to meet at a restaurant he likes. It is in the centre of town near to Friedrichstrasse Station and on the side of the River Spree. I met them there for lunch on Saturday. He looked very well and we certainly did a lot of talking about the past and latest events in our lives plus plans for summer. I plan to visit them when the sun shines and explore Essen for I do not know this town. Looking forward to that.

Remembering

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar, which is now the capital of the state of Punjab in the north of India. If you have seen the film 'Gandhi' you will remember it is shown in all its horror in the middle of the film.  Jallianwala Bagh is a large walled garden not far from The Golden Temple. Many people gathered there to listen to speeches demanding independence, which was against a new order banning such meetings.

On the orders of Sir. Michael O'Dwyer, Lieutenant Governor of Punjab 1912 - 1919, Brigadier-General Dyer GOC Amritsar marched his troops to the entrance of the Bagh and opened fire. They shot into the crowd for 10 minutes. That was when they ran out of bullets and so stopped firing! The Bagh is now a memorial and I am sure many people will be there today to remember the victims.

I first went there in 1976 and had to use another surname. My hosts considered it too dangerous to use my family name in public. Dyer died in 1927 and Sir Michael was assassinated by Udham Singh in his home on 13th March 1940. He was 75 years old.

Burnt apples and more clothes

Yesterday evening I decided to cook some apples. I peeled and sliced them then added sugar, some water and put onto a low heat on my cooker. I then opened my computer, found a programme on BBC to listen to and forgot the apples. They sizzled (first time I have used this word on my blog!) away and turned black. 

I managed to get some into my re-cycle waste bin but many stuck to the bottom of the pan. I decided to let them soak overnight and try later. I have just tried again and most are still stuck to the pan. More water and leave them until tomorrow. Perhaps I shall be able to get them off the pan then. 

Talking of water: My block of flats were without water all morning. We were warned a week ago so no surprise. The problem was a leakage in the main supply pipe running through the cellars of the flats. The repair van has just left and I turned on the taps. Yes, water came out. Now to get a shower and enter the afternoon! 

Before I checked the water, I got an expected ring on my doorbell. It was Angelika. You may remember I used to watch her playing in an orchestra for many years. Now she has retired but still plays as a guest. She brought a large bag full of clothes for the daughter and mother of 'The Family'. Interesting that they arrived just after I got supplies from Bremen. 

Listening to BBC Radio 4 News at the moment. Just heard Mrs. May informing the House of Commons that Julian Assange has been arrested. You may remember  that he was the founder of WikiLeaks and lived in the Ecuador Embassy in London for 7 years. The Ecuador Government withdrew his asylum hence arrest by London police. I wonder what will happen next! 

Miles Away

You must have read/heard the news yesterday that a circle of telescopes around the earth had found a large Black Hole. My jaw dropped when I heard that it was 300 million, trillion miles away. I tried to imagine how to write that number. I ended up with 300,000,000,000,000,000. Do you get the same? If correct, my maths teacher will be smiling down at me :-)

Other news is that Frau Merkel's mother has died. She was 90. There will be a private family funeral in the north where she lived. As I am sure you know, Frau Merkel is the Kanzlerin (Prime Minister) of Germany. She was recently in Brussels trying to help Mrs. May to sort out Brexit. Oh, noooooo, don't mention Brexit. What a mess it all is. I also heard that the electors in Australia will be going to the polls on the 18th May. Make a note of that Colin! Finally, I heard that there may be a putsch  taking place in Sudan. Will check this later to see if it is true.

Yesterday, Mr. Postie knocked on the door to deliver a large box. It was from Holger and family near to Bremen. It was full of clothes for the mother and daughter of 'The Family'. Regular readers will know who I mean. Very kind of them. I also found a note for me with a new book. Holger is in a group of 'hobby' writers who agree a theme then go home and write a short story based on the theme. This is then assembled and another book hits the shops. There are 26 short stories in this book.

It is written in German. Here are the details if you wish to buy a copy. T.Martins-G.Reichstein, Tödliche Hanse, Edition Temmen, ISBN 978-3-8378-7055-8. Story 25 is called, 'Stockholm: Den blädiga mandagen (Blutiger Montag) by Holger Wittschen. He likes to use Plattdeutsch and I wonder how he has time to write given his work and other activities. Well done Holger, and thanks for the copy. I'll e-mail you with comments when I have read your story. Here are a few images to illustrate some of my words.

Sun and Shoes

Between cycling in my local parks, smiling at kids enjoying the weather with their parents and eating a 'wurst' before I cycled home, I had some nice hours in the sun on my balcony. It was the first time this year that I took off my shirt and enjoyed the feel of the sun on my upper body. I also read more about the history of the German language. Very interesting.

Here is a photo of the place, sunshine and book.

Yesterday I noticed I had a large hole in the sole of my right shoe and the left one had a smaller one. Time to buy new shoes which I did yesterday afternoon.

I looked in two shoe shops in a nearby shopping centre and ended up buying some summer boots. I shall buy lighter shoes later when the weather settles into dry, warm days. They are very comfortable and I like the colour for summer.

B. Breakfast

Two weeks ago, Johanna had a birthday. She was in Spain so I and other members of 'The Kowalke Gang could not celebrate with her. We did just that yesterday morning. German people have many nice ways of celebrating all kinds of events. One of my favourites is ' The Birthday Breakfast'. It usually starts mid to late morning and ends when guests leave with no regard to the clock!

I arrived on  time and got details about her Spanish visit just before other guests rang the bell. Presents were given, greetings exchanged and then we settled down around the table. We started with sparkling wine from Spain. That was one of my donations to the event.  Starting with a toast is also traditional. I had Green Tea with my breakfast but the others drank coffee.

As we relaxed with full stomachs we sipped more sparkling wine. The conversations continued to cover many topics and it was interesting to listen to other views and opinions. The breakfast ended mid-afternoon as we said our goodbyes. What a wonderful way to start the weekend. The bonus was also the weather. Warm and sunny yesterday and today - I even got 21°C on my balcony. Here is a photo of the Lady and The Gang!

Waiting for ----

No, I am not "Waiting for Godo" but for the people who will deliver and install my new washing machine and take away my old one for recycling. I have prepared the kitchen for their arrival.

The wooden working top is now resting on my balcony, the drawers are in the middle of the room and  the washing machine is where the drawers were. I can't move it further for it is still attached to the water pipes. Looking forward to my new machine for the pile of clothes for washing grows by the day and I need to wash bedding.

I am also waiting for a visitor. He called yesterday and asked if I would be at home. I explained that I had to wait for the washing machine people, so he said he would cycle over and bring a large fruit cake. Guess who? Yes, your are right. It is Imre. We are having good weather at the moment with blue skies and warm sun. Trees and flowers are suddenly starting to bloom and Berliners have shed their winter clothes for lighter ones. I have even seen two young men in the U-Bahn wearing shorts! Here is a photo taken on my balcony so you can see for yourself.

To be continued: The new machine was delivered late afternoon and the old one taken away for re-cycling. There was a problem with the water connection, but the caretaker got it to work and will install a new one next week. After all had left, including Imre, I tried to get the machine to work

Water pumped in and the machine started. It went on for hours so I just pulled out the plug. On Friday I asked Stefan from my Photoshop Gang how to get the thing working. he knows all about machines as well as computers. He gave me a diagram and list of things to do. I later tried it and it worked! I even managed to wash the bedding! Now I just have to 'learn by doing'. Here is a photo of the new machine. Hope yours is working okay.

April 2019 Things

I woke late, made lots of Green Tea and munched on a slice of fruit bread. A nice way to start the day. Then I noted the time on my clocks did not match the time on my radio. Time to move from Winter to Summer Time. This is being debated by the EU Parliament at the moment. Does the EU stay in one time zone or not - that is the question! I just moved all my clocks/watches one hour forward, and made more Green Tea.

I then did my German homework for Barbara. We are meeting at her place tomorrow at 1.00 pm, as usual. I wrote four pages for her to check plus work on prepositions which can be in Akkusativ or in Dativ. I still need to get this clear. What a pity I did not learn German when I first came here. My working language was English. But better late than never!

I had a very expensive day yesterday. I filled my washing machine with mixed clothes and turned the 'ON' switch on. The machine started to fill with water and then rotate. I then ignored it until I noticed a long silence. I pressed the 'ON' button again and nothing happened. I checked the switches and power supply. No problem but the machine would still not start. This is the second time the same make of machine has done this over the last few years. Here is a photo of the 'ex' - machine. Yes, it is a Whirlpool, but my new one is not!


I called my neighbour, Marita, and she said to bring the wet clothes to her. I did that and she washed them. Meanwhile I took the S-Bahn two stops to Köpenick to a large shopping centre. I went into the shop where I had bought the washing machine. I looked at the cheapest on offer and bought one. It will be delivered on Thursday afternoon. With delivery costs and re-cycling my old machine, I had to fork out €320. A rather expensive start to the weekend!

Who has a birthday in August?
Horst will be 85 on the 4th and celebrate with his son on Majorca and not in Berlin. Uli hits 72 on the 6th. His wife Petra has her birthday on the 8th. Dennis will celebrate his 64th in California with his wife and sons. This is followed by Neil Deane who will be 62 on the 13th and celebrate with his lady and friends in Essen. Waiting for him to publish another book. My great-nephew Henri hits all of 9 years on the 18th followed by my old business partner Mathias who will be 55 on the 19th. Peter in Altlandsburg will be 56 on the 22nd and sure to celebrate with Andre and friends there. Birgit F. ends the month with her 55th birthday on the 24th here in Berlin.
Happy Birthday to each and all no matter where you are.

B Day

It's Brexit Day! The UK should be leaving the EU today, but------. I am sure you have heard all about it via your TV or radio reports. This afternoon the House of Commons rejected the Government's proposals for withdrawal for the third time.

The new Brexit date is 12th April and without an agreement. It all sounds very complicated. Keep listening to/watching your radio/TV and hope you can understand the reports.

I've had a nice week with nothing special to report. My weekend is empty but the weather forecast is good so I shall probably head off somewhere on my bicycle. I listened to other programmes on BBC Radio 4 yesterday and winced as I heard these examples of 'modern' English.

Try these for more UK verbal rubbish: unpindownability / unpindownable / achingly / a way of exiting / its realer than / I will action that / overwintering / he has took over / it has a job of work to do / people are buildable. I wonder how I can build a few people on Sunday if I have nothing else to do!!     Have a nice weekend.

Bach und Fuss

I had a quiet Saturday, mainly shopping, reading and homework. I completed all the exercises in my grammar book. Tomorrow I start a new exercise book. On Sunday I had a visitor. Yes, Imre arrived for a chat and 'Kaffee und Kuchen'.

The weather was fine and even sunny early afternoon. Imre brought a large plum tart with him, so all I had to do was make the coffee. As he tucked in, he brought me up-to-date with events in his life. We even agreed on some targets for bicycle rides when the weather gets warmer.

Later, he cycled home and I walked down the road to the local Protestant Church to meet my 'Kowalke Gang' for a Bach concert. They were already seated as I arrived just before the start. This church is well known for promoting music and hosting concerts. It was full and no surprise to note that most were 'Oldies'! The performers were superb and deserved the applause.

Back home I settled down to watch a football (Fussball) match. It was for a place in the European Championship. Germany against The Netherlands. Germany won 3:2 due to a last minute goal. The German team manager had made some changes to the team. Replaced 3 players with 3 new and younger players. I thought the Netherlands team played much better, attacked more and acted as a team. The German team won due to quick runs by forward players. Some of the TV commentators shared my view. Now to get ready for the day.

Sunshine

The sun shone late morning and into the afternoon. Now it has gone and we have grey skies. Looks like it could rain as well. Earlier I had 12°C but now it is cooler. It was nice to see such a change in the weather. You can see how my garden looked in the sunshine.

I met Barbara for a German session on Monday. We started as usual with chatting about what we had been doing since our last meeting. She then corrected my homework writing before we ended with dictation.

Tuesday was very busy. It started with a meeting which included Johanna. I then met my Oldies for a language session. I had lunch in a nearby German restaurant. They offered a special dish of roast salmon. Very tasty and at a good price. I then rushed to a meeting with my SPD Oldies. Lots of talking over Kaffee und Kuchen.

From there I took an S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse, then into a U-Bahn for one stop and a walk down Oranienburgstrasse until I reached a bar-restaurant. I went into the back room as usual to meet members of the Berlin Labour Party. I met some new members and a guest from London. It was a very full day and in contrast to today. A nice lazy one with time for me to do homework, lots of reading and relaxing. Friday is booked out and I am going to a Bach concert on Sunday. Looking forward to that!

P. Day

It is St. Patrick's Day. Best wishes to all my 'Irish family' around the world who celebrate this day. I did some reading about the person. He lived from AD 385 to 461 and is the patron saint of Ireland. This day celebrates the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. There are lots of public parades, festivals and people wear green with images of shamrocks, just like the pullover I bought in Ireland and am wearing now.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain into a wealthy family. He was kidnapped and sent to Ireland where he worked as a shepherd. He returned to England, entered the Catholic church and then returned to Ireland where he started to convert people. He became a national symbol as part of the movement for Irish independence. Celebrations are now historically linked to having another beer as part of the celebrations - then another one!

I've had a very mixed week with lots of variety and meetings. Means I must be getting back into my stride after a period with a very bad cold. Now my allergies are starting to dominate my health. It's that time of year again! Have a nice rest of St. Patrick's Day!

Weekend

I had a nice weekend, and I hope you did. The weather was not nice but I still enjoyed it. On Saturday I met Johanna for a cuppa green tea and a chat. Later I went to my local supermarket to buy things I would need on Sunday. I finished Saturday with some homework, reading and watching TV. As usual I dozed off then woke to hastily get ready for bed.

Sunday morning I woke late and got ready for a visit. Guess who? Yes, 'The Boys' had called to ask if they could visit. Of course I said, 'Yes'. Now you know why I was shopping for food on Saturday! They arrived a little later than planned and soon settled into work. Bro1 needed to complete a task from school. It was about completing forms for a period of work-training. He had a number of internet addresses to advise him. As you know they do not have internet where he lives, hence visits to my place to complete tasks.

While he did this, Bro2 got out his English book and practiced the differences between adverbs and adjectives. At first he did not understand so I gave him examples of adverbs working with verbs and adjectives working with nouns. He then understood and was able to complete the task. Shortly after I head the cry I was waiting for, 'Grandpa, I'm hungry!' No surprise there.

This time Bro1 took over cooking and I just let him. He helps his mother with cooking at home and has a feeling for it. When ready, they tucked in and finished off with a fruit salad I had made earlier. After eating they returned to homework, completed that and then cut each others hair. Bro2 learnt how to do this in an earlier work project. They then packed their bags and left with loud thanks for helping them.

This evening I am going to a film about the role of the SPD and AWO in the struggle of German women to get the vote. There is a discussion after with snacks. Should be interesting and I can learn a lot more about German history. enjoy your evening.

I.W.Day

It is International Women's Day. Congratulations to half the population of the world! I hope you are celebrating and will continue to promote women's rights in the next twelve months. I joined four SPD members yesterday near the S-Bahn station at 4.00 pm. The SPD has a tradition of celebrating Women's Day by handing out red roses to women, young or old! I really like taking part and seeing the pleasure on so many faces as they accept a rose - or two.

I recently got this postcard from Heike who lives in Brandenburg but likes to explore the globe. This time she was on a ship for a two week cruise starting at Palma de Mallorca and ending in Hamburg. She sent me a card from Santiago de Compostela. It is the capital of a district in northwestern Spain.

Its origin is the site of the shrine of St. James, which is now in the cathedral you can see on the right of the card. Many people walk there for it is the end destination of the 'Way of St. James', which has been a catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th Century. In 1985, the 'Old Town' was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So, the next time you are in the northwest of Spain, and have nothing to do, then pack a rucksack and set off on the walk across the top of Spain until you reach Santiago! I am sure there are groups of women doing this as I write.

The other image is of a booklet sent by Alan and Lynne who live in Castleford but also like to visit family and friends in other parts of the globe. They are both very active in their local Baptist church and in a number of social groups that help people with different problems. Lynne also plays the piano at the church and gives Sunday Sermons. Her theme last Sunday was 'Listening'. An interesting topic.

On Friday 1. March they went to Allerton-Bywater church in the north of Castleford to take part in the World Day of Prayer Service prepared by Christian Women of Slovenia. Amazing! The booklet is full of information about this group of women, about Slovenia, and it formed the basis of the church service. Now this really is about building bridges across borders and links to other women - and not only on International Women's Day.

I should be in Potsdam and not writing this text. Barbara (my German teacher) organised a small group to travel there but this morning she called us to cancel. She had picked up warnings about bad weather and high winds. As happened recently, this blew down trees and branches which blocked road and rail transport. We decided to postpone the visit. Now I can have a doze after lunch! 

Local fish

I met Imre this morning. We took a tram to the U5 then jumped into an S-Bahn and got out at Strausberg Stadt. Away from Berlin at last. Imre also suffered from a bad cold and was getting over it, as I was with my cold, so we agreed to disappear into the countryside and breath some fresh air.

Regular readers will know this is one of my favourite areas. It also has a number of lakes and in summer I/we start bicycle tours there. Today the weather was cold, grey and overcast. We stayed in the centre and retired to a restaurant I like near the ferry. Very good local food with friendly service.

As usual I focused on the fish dishes. I found one based on a fish caught in the area. Imre then switched from meat to fish. The waiter arrived then told me they had just taken delivery of fish from the lake next to where we were sitting. He also said it was not on the menu and may take a little longer to cook/prepare. I decided to gamble on that. Imre stayed with the other local fish offer.

The food finally arrived and what a pleasure to see Freddy the local Fish staring at me from a plate he shared with local vegetables and potatoes. We had correct fish knives so I had no problem to take off the skin and separate the fish from the bones. Mmmmmm.....was it tasty and Imre said he should have ordered the same. I let him taste some and he came back for more! A glass of cold white wine from the south of Germany was the perfect partner for the dish.

Later, we walked around the old centre and along part of the lakeside before slowly walking back to the S-Bahn and train back to Berlin. We both felt better and knew we had made the right decision to escape from the city. Imre was in Manila with his lady over Christmas and was wearing a t-shirt showing a 'Jeepney' which he likes to travel in. Perhaps you know this type of transport from your visits there or to other countries.

Finally, a joke to end the day. I recently got this and like the combination of words and style of cartoon. Also good for language learners - look at we'd plus main verb plus if and weren't and use of will and won't. Go on ..... order some fish and then smile!

March 2019 Things

End of February and I am still coughing which is now compounded by the start of my allergies! We are also having sunny days with blue skies. I note that there have been outbreaks of 'bush fires' in different parts of the EU. One was on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, which rather surprised me. But then they also recorded record temperatures for the time of year. What is happening to the climate and I wonder what it all means for the summer?

I've had a week of trying to return to normal with my usual meetings. Not always successful as sneezing and runny nose attacks made me decide to stay at home on a few occasions. I had a nice start to the week when I met Barbara. I have already told you she is my new(ish) German teacher. We settled into chatting as we sipped coffee and I munched on a few biscuits. Later she checked my 4 pages of writing and then I did a dictation.

While having another cup of coffee she gave me some presents. The background is that an old friend of hers died recently and she has been busy helping to clear out his flat. She found a large collection of films, music of all kinds and TV shows from the DDR. She decided to share a few things with me. I got a DVD box of Beethoven, a DVD box of Mozart and 10 CDs of Chopin piano music. What a wonderful surprise!

Karajan and Böhm are still world famous conductors so I had to smile when I later saw a joke about a conductor. I hope you can see 'the notes' clearly :-)) The Beethoven set includes the voice of Gundula Janowitz, who I discovered many years ago. I just 'freeze' when I hear her voice and have to stop whatever I am doing just to concentrate on her singing. Wonderful!  A quiet weekend is on the agenda for me, so let's see who has a birthday in March?

Actually not a lot! My MacBook will be 11 years old on the 19th - a day it shares with Colin in Australia who will be a 'bit more over 60'. Dr. Porsch will celebrate his big day with family and friends on the 22nd here in Berlin. Dr. Bernd W. has his big day on the 28th and will celebrate with his family in Bernau-to the north west of Berlin. My special friend Johanna will be 'over 70 again :-))' on the 31st and I am sure there will be a big party with her friends and not only with family.  Have a wonderful day no matter where you are!

Kitchen Takeover

Yesterday afternoon 'The Bros' arrived but this time 30 minutes early. Wow - but that has never happened before. They asked to visit to do some work on the computer and some more 'chillen'. Bro1 opened the laptop and started looking for names and addresses of companies offering training courses to young people in the final year of school. He had assembled a number of companies before he arrived so added a lot of new ones to his list.

Meanwhile, Bro2 opened his English Grammar Exercise Book and started work on that. After an hour the expected cry of, 'Grandpa, I am hungry.' was heard nice and loud. I had earlier told them they had to select what to eat and they did just that in my local supermarket. This time no Pizzas. On returning they took over my kitchen. I just sat in a corner and smiled.

They produced a large green salad, big sandwiches, and burgers which they cooked themselves. This was washed down with water, fruit juice, cola and sprite. I still sat and smiled as I watched all this take place and then wonder where they put all the food as they munched away. Later Bro1 said


he was tired so I told him to doze on my bed. As he dozed, I got into another conversation with Bro2. It covered many topics and I noted how he jumped from one topic to the next without any apparent connection. One started with his question, "Grandpa, what does democracy mean?"

'Answers on a postcard to' ...... !! More work on the laptop followed and more English homework. I noted how they had both accepted that improving their English was to do with post-school life and work rather than passing a test at school. Some progress there! The took some of the food with them to share with other members of the family and so ended a very interesting time. I look forward to the next visit for I never know what will happen when they open the door :-)

Cough, cough!

I coughed twice just after I typed the title words. Pity I had to stop the comment facility on my blog to protect readers from selfish 'scam' people posting links. I am sure I would have got a number of comments about my cold and progress in getting over it.

Since Monday, I have cancelled 8 appointments/meetings. I decided to do so to protect people from getting infected. I take medicine three times a day and that is slowly showing results. 'Coughing my lungs up' is now only when I get out of bed. Sales in the tissue industry are doing well at the moment thanks to my purchases.

 I found it boring sometimes to have to stay at home. I did a lot of reading, German grammar exercises, listening to music. At the moment I am listing to J.S.Bach on BBC Radio 3. He is the Composer of the Week. Try to listen to the programme via internet. I like the explanations given about each piece played.

The next few days look to be quiet, so more medicine and sleeping so I can emerge into next week full of 'vim and vigour'! I decided to add an image of Bertie the Bear. Seems like he is also suffering from at least a cold!  Come on Bertie - take your medicine like a good bear :-))

Why me?

I had to cancel a meeting this morning and have just told my Ko Gang that I cannot go with them to the Philharmonie this evening. I shall miss an evening of music by Brahms and I am not happy about that! I got a call from The Boyz asking if they could visit tomorrow. I told them, 'NO!' Why? The answer is that I now have a very bad cold and do not want to infect others.

Why me? A good question. I recently boasted to friends that I had got through winter so far with no cold, flu or other seasonal illness. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut! But then about every third person in Berlin is suffering from a cold or flu. I asked someone why me and they smiled as  they replied, "It's your turn!"

I'm also have problems to sleep. My nose gets blocked and I can't breath so I have problems to sleep. At least I have a large reserve of tissues! I've resigned myself to a weekend behind closed doors, keeping warm, sweating and hoping to get over the worst by Monday. I have a lot of meetings then and don't want to infect others. I hope you are well and not suffering from a seasonal illness.

I recently met another Gang. One of them had been to Australia to attend her sons wedding. She brought back some Koala Bears. She added chocolates to their arms and presented them to us. I really had to smile and hope they make you smile as well. Later I dropped my computer mouse onto the floor and it stopped working. I wondered what was inside so with the help of a hammer and screwdriver I found out. Now you know. Enjoy your weekend in good health:-)

Pizza Bros.

I woke late on Sunday and slowly emerged into the day. I made a salad and did some paperwork, then I heard the bell ring. It was 2.10 pm and The Bros/Boyz  arrived. I was surprised that they were only 10 minutes late. Timekeeping is improving! We sat around the table, drank tea and fruit juice and just talked.

I raised something in the news. It was another set of killings in Afghanistan and Middle East countries and all in the name of Islam. That really got The Boyz talking. It developed into a heated discussion which I ended by congratulating them on being to talk about such killings. They are old enough to have an opinion and feel free to voice it. A central tenet of democracy and Free Speech.

Then I heard the words I was waiting for. "Opa John, I am hungry!' I put the salad onto the table and pushed the pizzas into the oven. They made short work of the salad and ten minutes later sank their teeth into the pizzas. I always smile when they eat pizza for they smother it/them in tomato ketchup. You can see that in the photo here.

Later they went through my DVD collection and found 20 they want to look at in future visits. Given our earlier discussion I suggested they watch a film called, Lawrence of Arabia. At different points they stopped the film to ask about men who later became kings and about the countries formed when the Ottoman Empire ended in 1918/19. It was like taking them on a visual history lesson but they found the film interesting and said they learnt a lot.

It was then 'Haircut-Time' The Boyz cut each others hair. Lots of directions to do 'A' and not 'B' and they emerged with a style which is now common in Berlin - for the below 30s! Then Bro2 said it was my turn and I let him give me a similar cut. To do so we ignored the 30's age rule! More snacks and drinks before they put on their warm winter coats and said goodbye. An interesting visit.