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Category Archives: Life in Berlin while Covid lingers
This and that about life in Berlin, and with Max, while people act as if the pandemic has gone away, which results in rising numbers again
Damn you, Putin
The other day I helped out in the “Welcome Hall” by the central station for the first time, just a bit more than three hours, which I will continue to do weekly over the summer. It is a giant tent, organised to be a resting place for people arriving from Ukraine, to sit, have something to eat and drink, and get their bearings before moving on.
Berlin is currently “full”, except of course for people who have relatives or friends in Berlin with whom they can stay, but presumably they are being met and we do not see them in the tent. Those who pass through the tent are waiting for connecting trains to other destinations in Germany, or are going on a shuttle bus to Tegel for registration and processing. No bureaucracy takes place in the tent.
There are long tables and benches in the middle, and along the edges there is a welcome stand, interpreters, catering – sandwiches, soup, fruit, candy, water, juice, tea and coffee -, health services, and a children’s corner. Sometimes, unaccompanied children arrive, and they have to wait there until an adult can take care of them.
It is a surreal experience to watch the more or less steady stream of people of all ages (except very few men between the ages of 18 and 60 (or is it 70?)). Many young women with small children, many elderly couples, small groups of teenagers travelling together. Some have been en route for several days and nights. All having left everything behind or even lost everything except what fits in a suitcase and a travel bag. All looking remarkably stoic.
On several occasions what might be a couple of grandparents, suddenly getting up and greeting a handful of what looked like for example teenage grandchildren who had arrived from somewhere else in Ukraine, all looking relieved that this reunion had now worked out.
Whatever their personal stories, impossible to fully imagine what it must be like for them.
The new dog park on Stralauer Platz
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.
Empty nest, a couple of daytrips, and an “in-person” photography course
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:
Here is my route on mapmywalk.
Moving on to Friday 4 March.
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.”
Saturday, 5 March
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?
Sunday, 6 March
Unspeakably sad and hopping mad in equal measure.
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.
Monday 7 March
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:
Tuesday, 8 March
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:
Wednesday, 9 March
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 
.
A short walk in SW Berlin
Lovely weather, and Max out frolicking, off-leash, with our wonderful dogwalker, Frank, and a small group of dogs that Max knows well by now, so time to take Mr Canon out for a walk.
I still can’t combine dogwalking with photowalking, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to. Max is not the least bit interested in photography, and as half podenco, he does not like to stand still. Also, when I direct my full attention to anything other than him and me being out walking, he feels either that he has to protect me, or – more likely – that I am then unable to protect him, so he will lunge and bark at, and even try to bite which is one of the reasons I keep him muzzled in the mean streets of Berlin, anyone who in his opinion comes too close to us. That can even be a child on a tricycle. My biggest nightmare.
Anyway, off I went on the S-Bahn from Anhalter Bahnhof to S-Bahnhof Südende, and returned from S-Bahnhof Marienfelde. I did not feel particularly inspired but took a couple of photos nonetheless. I also had a nice lunch of fresh mussles cooked in white wine (found a place with masked staff and outdoor seating :-)).
My walking route on mapmywalk here.
For some strange reason I had decided I would not need a long lens since I probably would not see any interesting wildlife. I don’t know what I was thinking, but there it is.
Links to places passed and/or photographed:
The church in Lankwitz (sorry about the cheesy starburst – I could not help it – it was staring me in the face).
My first sight this year of a mandarin duck in the Gemeindepark. If everything goes the way it did last year, there will be many more everywhere. As beautifully exotic as they look, they are vicious, invasive beasts that at least temporarily chase away most of the domestic ducks from Berlin’s parks.
Also in the same park, one of the countless war memorials in Berlin.
Luther-Friedhof (took a quick walk there but did not take any photos).
A great Sunday morning on Tempelhofer Feld
The best dog park within walking distance, but only on days where the weather is relatively good. It is a five km walk to get there, and also, because it is such a vast open space, it can get really windy there, and SO cold.
Today was lovely and sunny so off we went for the first time in months.
Max badly needed this since he had been deprived of proper exercise on both Friday and Saturday. The supply and delivery of groceries is really affected by the number of people in isolation due to Covid. I had therefore ordered new supplies of his food a week ealier than normally but still, DHL managed to screw that up.
First I was informed it would arrive on Friday, and then on Friday evening I was informed it would arrive on Saturday. So I stayed at home both days, since it is a big and heavy delivery, so I did not want to end up having to go and pick it up in some strange place miles away.
In the meantime, I ran out of dog food and since I did not want to leave home in order to go out and buy some decent-quality food for him, I had to have dog food delivered by one of those services that deliver within an hour or two, and the quality of the food one can find from those places is not good. So not only did Max not go on proper walks (only in the courtyard and back and forth in the street not too far from home), but he also had to eat crappy food.
On Saturday evening, I was informed that the delivery will arrive on Monday. So it all starts all over again. Perhaps DHL should stop accepting packages until such time that they are able to cope again instead of making life miserable for us all and our dogs.
A couple of videos:
Good to know
This is a relief. And if you are ovulating that day – can you be sure the chip will not damage the egg?
Update on Max the Schmuselhund
Yesterday, Max and I went for a walk with a third trainer. The methods I have been using for the last six months, learned from the first two trainers, in order to get Max to walk properly on the leash, were obviously not working, at least not well enough. They may work on most, but not all, dogs. And of course my Max is not like most dogs. He is more in the category “not all dogs” 😊 and the trainer we walked with yesterday saw that. In terms of leash walking, I now have to get used to doing pretty much the opposite of what I have been doing so far.
Because Max was always pulling and trying to scavenge (even with the muzzle on) and eating dog poo whenever he was running off leash and without the muzzle, the same trainer has also been giving me valuable nutrition advice and I have made some significant changes to his diet. It turns out he was probably always too hungry and not certain whether he would ever be fed a square meal again :-(. I now know what to look for in the list of contents (I had originally been giving him what they advised and Fressnapf and never really looked at anything else), and am, for now, feeding him more than advised on the package and four times a day instead of two, at least until he realises that he will always get fed and does not need to look for food in the street. This time of year is a good time since a little layer of fat on him does no harm in the cold, and he hates wearing a coat.
One new thing that I think is already making a difference is one or two spoonfuls of bog mud (Moorerde, or Heilmoor in German). Yes, really. It is a thing and can be purchased in pet supply shops. I just had never noticed it or read about it. It supposedly has to be mixed into the food, Max loves it, eats it off the top of his food, and even licks the spoon clean – a sign, the trainer says, that he really needs it.
Other than that, Max continues to be the funniest, most affectionate, companion at home, although we still have our power games from time to time but less and less often – he may be stubborn but I am stubborner. If that is a word. Outside and in the streets, he continues to be a bit too vigilant, or nervous, or scared, or protective, or whatever his motives are for occasionally barking and lunging, mostly at e-rollers, even those few that are actually using the street or the bike path and not the pavement, but on rare occasions also neighbours we meet leaving or coming back to the building. I am hoping that with time, he will learn to trust me more and become more relaxed. The body language I learned yesterday also has to do with my ability to get between Max and any perceived danger. It is exhausting to always have to try to guess what might be coming round every corner.
We’ll see, but I doubt I will ever dare walking him without the muzzle on (on him – not me), and he seems to have resigned himself to that fate now although each time I put it on him, it is clear that he hates it.
Finally a sunny day – what better place for a walk than Stralau Peninsula
Last words about fireworks and dogs
With Germany’s halfhearted – to say the least – attempt at “protecting the emergency and health services” by banning the sale (not the import, not the production, and not the use of fireworks, and no distinction between the ones that sound like bombs going off and the ones that don’t but are just nice to look at), the last couple of days leading up to 31 December, not to mention New Year’s Eve) were difficult for most dogs, and certainly for Max.
The fact alone that Germany has 11 neighbouring countries, so that most Germans can cross a border in a very short time, and for example that Poland is about an hour’s drive from Berlin, already makes this ban pathetic.
I had been told that on New Year’s Eve 2020, Max’s first outside his shelter in Spain, although he did not want to go out, he was not particularly scared. I therefore saw no reason to flee Berlin for this period, like so many other dog owners do. I most likely will do that this year.
Having become a really good sleeper, and used to sleeping in the living room and not waking me up for a cuddle and a chat several times during the night like in the beginning, Max spent the nights of 29 and 30 December awake most of the time, insisting on being next to my bed, and if I shut any doors between him and me, he scratched them and whined. Other than that, he was just very quiet, and did not even like going outside during daytime due to the odd loud noises in the area. With the result that for three days, he peed very little, which really worried me since he seems to have slight bladder/continence issues, especially in unusual situations.
Starting at mid-day on 31 November, Max took up permanent residence in one of my shower cabins. A sensible choice since there are no windows and it is relatively sound insulated too. I therefore made up a bed for him there (spending an afternoon and night on a tiled floor can’t be good for anybody) and placed his water and food within reach. He did continue to eat everything I fed him. Every time I looked in on him, he was lying completely still, with his eyes open, looking utterly depressed. I don’t think he slept at all during that period.
Miraculously, on 1 January, he did not seem particularly tired. On our walk to Park am Gleisdreieck mid-morning, he was perky, and in the dog park he played with other dogs and took a few good sprints as usual. One new “canine enrichment”: there is now a fox that seems to live nearby and who kept circling the dog enclosure driving the dogs inside it completely crazy 😊. Luckily, the fence there is quite high, and Max did not even attempt to jump over it.
Incidentally, 1 January 2014 is Max’s official birthday – estimated, so exactly when he turns eight years old is anybody’s guess, so he is now in the category of “senior dog” which one would never guess seeing how he outruns most other dogs in the dog parks.
PS I don’t really know about Max, but after three almost sleepless nights, I slept like a log for ten hours the night between 1 and 2 January and both of us are now bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they say, and ready to attack the year 2022.