My favourite city
I have always wanted to take a look at Gropiusstadt, and with glorious weather and 17 C forecast on my “day off”, off I went, despite a rather long ride in what I consider a cesspool in times of Covid – the U-Bahn :-).
Discovering Vogelschutzgebiet am Wildmeisterdamm was an added bonus. I saw lots of birds but did not manage to get any photos there.
Here are my meanderings on mapmywalk.
A new dog park in Berlin is always a welcome addition, especially since this one, like the ones at Hasenheide and Gleisdreieck, is within a radius of three km from my home, and is especially relevant for days when, for one reason or the other, the other dog parks we use feel a little bit too far away.
So off we went to check it out. It is an unlikely spot for a dog park, but the location squeezed in on the strip between traffic lanes with cars whizzing past in both directions did not seem to bother Max. It is admittedly wider than I thought was possible there, and quite long, so any dog would be able to get a good run in. There is also a kind of basin for water. The fence is high enough – unlike the one in Volkspark Friedrichshain that even a chihuahua would be able to jump over.
BUT, for starters, there are no bins, so it is already quite littered, including with loads of junk food, in typical Berlin style. (Can somebody please explain to me why people in Berlin only eat two-thirds of their junk food and throw the rest on the ground, often right next to a bin?).
Also, stupidly, the signs detailing what the spot is for, are tiny, in light grey and beige colours, placed some distance from the fence and so high up that no one notices them.
When I arrived, there was one other person and his dog in there, and they had clearly spent some time there, possible the night. The dog was half-heartedly gnawing at two large chunks of raw meat. The man also had some of his own food spread out on the ground. My dog is 1) off-leash very curious, friendly and sociable towards other dogs, and 2) an insatiable scavenger, so it was very difficult to keep him away from them. Every time he got near them, the man tried to kick my dog and cursed (I think – he only spoke Russian and a little bit of English), and asked me to leave. I tried in vain to explain the concept of a German dog park.
I argued with him at length, but he kept claiming it was a public space and that I should keep my dog away from his dog, if necessary on the leash. It was not until I threatened to call the police that he packed up and left, again apparently cursing and swearing.
Hopefully, that was a one-off experience, but given the location across from Ostbahnhof and the lack of signs – proper, visible signs, on the fence, showing what the spot is for, and not least what it is NOT for, I fear that will not be the case.
And at the best of times: what’s with not having any bins there? So, come again, Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, I’m sure you meant well, and we need more dog parks, especially since the one in Volkspark Friedrichshain is in such a sorry state, or was when I last visited, and the one at Gleisdreieck quite nice but tiny. But I’m afraid this one might turn out to have been a wasted effort.
I am happy that the one at Hasenheide is also within the three km radius, but variety is the spice of life and my dog loves dog parks and we go to one two or three times a week (during summer mostly to the ones on Tempelhofer Feld). It is not quite the same for Max as when he is being driven for a long walk in the countryside twice a week with our dog walker, but still a great opportunity to run off-leash and play with other dogs, and a joy for me to watch him frolicking.
I hear more and more people saying that the one thing that might make them want to leave Berlin is the way basic traffic rules and other rules about public spaces are studiously ignored, and that that fact is equally studiously ignored by whatever authority should be enforcing those laws, regulations and rules.
There is no traffic police, and the policemen tootling around in police cars obviously do not see it as their job to do anything about bikes and e-rollers on the pavements, often at breakneck speed – they observe, and drive on. People working in cemeteries observe and shrug when people race across the graveyards on bikes and e-rollers or walk their dogs there, often even unleashed.
And in parks, along canals and in all other public spaces, there is nobody around to remind people that dogs are required to be kept on the leash at all times. And I agree – it drives me crazy too, and it probably is the worst thing about Berlin – together with the number of human swine who throw garbage everywhere except in the bins.
This morning I went for a walk in Natur-Park Südgelände, where plenty of signs say dogs not allowed, and yet I saw two dogs there, unleashed.
Unbelievable. What is wrong with people? And why does Berlin even bother with rules designed to make life more comfortabls for us all if nobody is hired to enforce them?
I needed to clear my head in some real nature, so took the S-Bahn from Anhalter Bahnhof to Hennigsdorf and from there RE6 to Neuruppin. I should have planned it better and not done a loop, because most of the way back to Neuruppin was on a road, because of the usual scandal in so many places in Berlin and Brandenburg: No public access to the shore. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record but I just find that unbelievable.
But Neuruppin itself was a pleasant surprise, very clean and with many old, recently restored houses. Perhaps a bit too picturesque for my taste, but lovely for a short visit. And there are several Vietnamese restaurants there :-). I of course had a late-ish lunch in one of them before heading back to Berlin.
Soviet War Cemetery (not yet vandalised …..)
Jahnbad Neuruppin (Having grown up swimming in the sea in summer and in swimming pools in winter, I cannot for the life of me understand how people can bring themselves to bathe and swim in freshwater lakes with muddy bottoms – ew!)
Alt-Ruppin from across the water
Hotel Hubertus – apparently being converted into flats
Sneaking in a diptych – just one this time:
I will be attending a photography course which will run all day and, apparently, on some days also into the evening. I therefore will not have time to take proper care of Max, so he is now on holiday, with some extra days because they were unable to pick him up closer to the days I actually needed him looked after.
He was in the same place for the same number of days in December. Back then, I tried not to feel bad about it, since I was attending a course in Amrum to which I had signed up long before I knew of Max’s existence, and I was also so exhausted that I only had one clear thought – to flop down into the seat on that train and be transported like a zombie to the North Sea. It seemed like there was just no other option.
This time, I feel worse 🙂 although only about half as tired (perhaps Max is slowly turning into a much less exhausting flatmate). But I know he is in good and loving hands in the countryside, with Lucky Dog Berlin, far away from the mean streets of Kreuzberg, playing with other dogs, going for walks off-leash, and actually in exactly the kind of setting I was once hoping to find for him as a permanent home. And sometimes still am, on bad days, after difficult walks – dreaming of that kind of life on his behalf. It pains me to think about it, and I would only part ways with him if somebody could offer exactly that, as well as a poolside bar, a spa, and a private race course. Just kidding, but you know what I mean. In the unlikely event that such an opportunity came up, I would have to think of what is best for Max. And Lindenstraße is not it. But I really miss him this time.
Anyway, although Thursday 3 March was a cold and misty day, (but not at all windy, and you can’t have everything), I decided to live dangerously and took the S-Bahn to Friedrichshagen, partly to have another look at the cafés and many nice little shops in the very pleasant Bölschestraße, and partly to go for a walk along the eastern shore of Müggelsee (although the light conditions were less than ideal for for example bird photography, fog can make for some quite atmospheric photos).
But first I took this photo from my balcony, before it became clear how foggy it would get:
I went to Tierpark (Europe’s biggest landscape zoo) in order to see the new “Himalaya” area on the hill at the back of the park, to take some animal portraits there, and to have lunch in one of the cafés. Not only did it turn out that “Himalaya” is still under construction, but the nicest cafés are also not yet open, and in any case, I arrived there to realise that I had brought three lenses and no camera.
There is no mention of an opening date in either of those cases, and this being Germany, they don’t bother with minor-yet-good-to-know details like that on their website.
Anyway, it was a nice walk and good to see Tierpark again. I took these two photos with my phone:
Nearly back home, I took these photos. The first one is the remains of Berlin’s medieval wall, and the other one I’m sure needs no introduction:
And posted this on Facebook:
“Dear Max, I solemnly swear that I will never again be annoyed when you follow me around wherever I go in the flat, or when you wake me up in the middle of the night for a cuddle (or to make sure that she who feeds you is still alive), or when you act like it nearly killed you to be left alone for half an hour. Please just continue to be you when you come back from your holiday in the countryside. It is too quiet and empty here right now.”
Trying to psyche myself up to attending an “in-person” course. Last time I did that was in Corona-free Amrum. This time it is here in Corona-ridden Berlin – Charlottenburg to be specific. This is the course. My very first course with Artistravel, probably about six years ago, with Martin Timm, also took place here in Berlin, in that same place, so for some strange reason, even after all this time, they are still holding their Berlin courses in non-descript Charlottenburg ??? There is nothing there, except the smaller of Berlin’s two zoos, and an ugly castle, and it is far away from everything. And since we will probably be doing quite a lot of walking in class, it is a little bit too far to walk both ways, so I will need to use public transport.
The nearby Besselpark, redesigned about a year ago, is named after the astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, hence the kind of starshaped bed of white croci on the lawn:
These photos are not as sinister as they look. They are just bad photos of a crow taking off from the scaffolding next door. Or is it art?
I went for a walk around Königs Wusterhausen (a twenty minute ride from Alexanderplatz on the regional train). Nice walk, weather not so great but at least not raining, and an unexpectedly delicious lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant called Yammy.
The train back (originating from Cottbus) was packed with people with lots of luggage. The types of luggage and the fact that they were almost all asleep made it clear that they were Ukrainians. Stupidly, I had not considered that on the way out but of course there are many ways of getting to Berlin from Ukraine. The look in their eyes when they did open them ….. Damn you Putin!
I was reminded of my first months after moving to Berlin, six years ago now, when I started to come into contact with quite a few refugees from Syria. The stories …. Many of them young families, encouraged by the grandparents to leave – “we are too old to start over, but you must move yourselves and our grandchildren to safety”. How heartbreaking is that? The men left, often with other, much younger, male members of the family in their care – some as young as eight, nine, ten years old. They travelled to Europe via the Mediterranean Express (and as we all know, not all of them survived), and in most cases, the wives and daughters were able to join them here after about 18 months – in some cases on a journey the initial part of which was not much less perilous than the one crossing the Mediterranean in so-called boats.
All the families I know of have done OK, and the children are doing well in school, but they definitely had a difficult start here. One of the families, and a father and son from Palestine, remain my friends. Because this whole world is so discriminatory and racist, the Ukrainians are going to have an easier start here, which is not to say there will not be challenges. On top of all the grief and sorrow.
To say that the Syrians fled because of one maniacal, psychotic despot is probably simplifying the complex situations in the Middle East, but the Ukrainians are definitely doing just that. Why doesn’t somebody poison him? Poisoned tea is a Russian speciality. Granted, terrified of Covid, he is still living in strict isolation – remember the ridiculously long table? – but somebody must have access to him. Or does his paranoia extend to making his own tea?
I am again thinking of the inequalities in the world. I was privileged to grow up in Denmark in the 1950s and -60s. It does not get much better than that. My parents had gone to school for eights years only and were not wealthy, but that did not matter – with free education and free health care, the general ideal that there must not be too big a gap between rich and poor, penicillin already freely available, Europe’s last polio epidemic behind us, all the civil and political rights served to us on a silver platter, and no war in our backyard until the one in the Balkans – and now this – I have never had to fight for any damn thing, let alone wonder where the next meal was going to come from. I definitely got the best years, ever, anywhere.
And for me, moving to Berlin was a conscious decision and a long-held dream. Not the lesser of two evils as was the case for most Syrians.
And now I shall try to get my head around processing the silly, unimportant photos I took today, and the equally silly, unimportant course that starts tomorrow.
Next to the town of Königs Wusterhausen is a lock, and a “deerpark”. I did not see any deer, not even any birds, but I did see some ancient trees, and a couple of the sculptures for which the area is apparently famous.
Crossing Fischerinsel by Spittelmarkt U-Bahn station, the resident herons were prancing around. Someone told me that one of them is called Max.
On this day six years ago, I posted this on Facebook. I am seeing the start of something similar now:
“I am totally in awe of the drive, initiative, resourcefulness, and organisational and other talents of the “local heroes” I meet while familiarising myself with the many initiatives to support refugees in Berlin. And most of them are not even that local but have not lived in Berlin or even Germany for very long, but, completely undaunted by the “where the heck do we start” feeling and the lack of local knowledge, they just decide what they want to do and get on with it, and it is amazing what they achieve, including fundraising and roping in helpers for all sorts of tasks from weekly Saturday afternoon parties and daytrips for refugee children to language teaching, cooking with refugees (they are not allowed to cook in the centres), free psychological clinics and much more. On top of their often completely unrelated day-jobs. Hearing of the needs is still like looking into a bottomless pit (there are currently about 5000 unaccompanied children in Berlin, just to mention one category) but my faith in humanity is renewed after each of these evenings.”
On my way to the “Künstlerhof Lietzow”, at the back of beyond in Charlottenburg, in glorious sunshine, trying to get in photography mode, I took this photo. I then could not make up my mind: colour or black and white, so I made a diptych, just for a change:
Not in photography mode, distracted by reports coming through from, a.o., Kreuzberg Hilft on the need for help at the central station and in the refugee centres. Again, it reminds me of the winter 2015-16. Back then, the asylum seekers had to sleep outside (a completely unprepared) LAGESO (and it was a much colder winter) in order to keep their number in the queue for processing. Had it not been for local Berliners stepping up with clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, food and warm drinks, things could have gone terribly wrong.
This time, the central station has been converted into one big dormitory. I am wondering how long that situation is tenable or when daily commuters will start to become less hospitable. And let us not completely forget Covid19 and the fact that the majority of Ukrainians are still unvaccinated.
I took these two photos on the way to the course. The first one is a sign (and a tree) that I must have passed thousands of times but never noticed. I find it slightly odd that Berlin taxi drivers planted a tree outside the Springer Building on the occasion of Springer’s 15th anniversary :-). The second photo will fit nicely into the photo series I am starting (for now entitled “Garbage in trees” for want of a catchier phrase). Berliners are obsessed with balloons. It seems they can’t celebrate anything without them. Even at a time when balloons ought to be on the list of next environmental hazards that should be completely banned. Still, better in a treetop than in the canal.
Still distracted and uninspired, I did take these “Klicheefotos” on the morning outing during the course:
Need to skip class today to see how I can help (apart from dropping off a couple of air mattresses and blankets), without actually spending time indoors in what is probably fast becoming a Covid19 cesspool, since I am still determined not to get infected. I know – nowadays trying not to get infected is considered as anti-social as not getting vaccinated …..
Found the time to take some grainy klichée cemetery bird photos:
In any case, I don’t think I’ll ever do another “in-person” course again. Zoom courses are just so much more comfortable. No need for public transport so you save a lot of time. You dont have to schlepp your gear around. You are not stuck in a room with a bunch of strangers. You can get up and walk around a bit while still listening in. No need to take notes since the sessions are recorded. And you can watch the recording at your convenience if you are unable to attend part of them. They also seem a lot more structured. And you don’t have to send your dog away 
.
On the coldest, darkest, wettest and windiest day of the year so far, I treated Max to an extra expedition with Frank, and myself to a visit to Reinbeckhallen in Schöneweide. Schöneweide still has traces of the industrial area it once was, and which lends itself so well to showcasing contemporary art. In better weather conditions, there is much to photograph.
Almost back home, I noticed this. I must have walked past it hundreds of times without noticing it. It really is true that one sees so much more carrying a locked and loaded camera. More about Wallstraße 16 here: https://joanneintrator.com/books/summons-to-berlin/.
It was a relatively sunny day so I started by going back to Natur-Park Südgelände, this time with more time to have a good look around, and I did indeed see two birds that I had never seen before (in my defence I will say that I have not been that interested in birds for that long ……): the two bullfinches (DK: Dompap, DE: Gimpel), and the tiny, elusive (hence the bad photo) long-tailed tit (DK: Halemejse, DE: Schwanzmeise). It was quicker to identify them than to find out what they are called in Danish. Google Translate is totally clueless in that regard.
I then took a swing into Friedhof Steglitz, past S Friedenau and finally took a quick look at Kleistpark. The route on mapmywalk here.
Another walk organised by Joachim Wenzel, originally approx. 14 km from Priesterweg through Park am Gleisdreieck (which I know well), along the Spree to S Bahnhof Tiergarten. However, it was drizzling a bit too much for my liking, so I stopped at Südkreuz and went home.
Also, I am still debating with myself whether BWC is for me. They take many, and long, breaks, even on a 10-15 km walk. I am always astonished to see how they seem to need at least one meal, some two, in between breakfast and lunch. I am not sure I have the patience for that in the long run.
Here is a link to today’s short walk on mapmywalk.
But I was reminded how I really ought to visit Naturpark Südgelände more often. It is not far from my home. There is a lovely nature trail and a lot of new educational material has been added since last time I was there.
There is also a sculpture park and a café. The latter is only open from April to October.
Nice place with a surprisingly busy main street with cafés, restaurants (Asian as well as local) and shops (but not the usual H&M variety, and no supermarkets), rather smaller specialty shops, and even a real butcher’s shop. And many people everywhere.
And of course it is right on Müggelsee, which of course is another lake you cannot walk all the way around because people with property next to it are allowed to block passage for us mortals. A scandal, if you ask me, and another thing about Berlin that I will never live to understand.
However, I will be back, for the shops and for those stretches where we are allowed to walk along the lake.
I managed to squeeze in a spicy lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant (by the not very Vietnamese name of Müggelschlösschen) before the 2GPlus rules (sigh) kick in. Recommended.
These two are from Märkisches Ufer on my way home from Jannoritzbrücke S-Bahn Station:
