Category Archives: The Life of a Danish Pensioner in Berlin

Opportunities to play bridge in English in Berlin in the first half of 2025

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Last updated: 31 March AM. Will be changed and updated regularly.

During the weeks where for one reason or the other there is no bridge course at VHS, we can play occasionally at my place. Where nothing else is stated, we aim at arrivals from 18.15, ready to start playing at 18.30, but for those who can only come later, that is also OK. We’ll start playing as soon as enough people have arrived.

Playing privately is a good opportunity for newcomers to get an introduction to the game, to the teacher, and to the rest of us without committing to a ten-session course right away. Some very basic prior knowledge is an advantage but not a requirement.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE LINKS TO THE COURSES STARTING IN MAY.

The occasional opportunities to play bridge privately in the weeks where VHS is closed, are marked with *** below.

PLEASE feel free to start letting me know if this is of interest. So far, I have heard from nobody, and I do have a life to plan ….. :-). I have already had to delete three options (9, 22 and 23 April) since the last update.

***Week 15: We can play at my place Thursday 10 April. So far, KS, MS, HM, QL and RC are available.

***Week 16: (!! Easter !! – Friday 18 April is Good Friday). As far as I am concerned, we can play:

Thursday 17 (AD, HM, QL and RC available) or

Friday 18 (CE, GE, HM and RC available), or if there is interest:

Saturday 19 (CE, GE, HM, QL, RC and TP are available) or

Sunday 20 April (TP available).

***Week 17: 21 April is Easter Monday. As far as I am concerned, we can play on 21 April (QL, TP and HM available) or 22 April (QL, RC and HM available).

***Week 18: We can play at my place on 1 May.

Week 19: New courses starting, now available for registration: Course starting Wednesday 7 May here, and course starting Friday 9 May here.

Week 19: 7 May VHS 1/10; 9 May VHS 1/10

Week 20: 14 May VHS 2/10; 16 May VHS 2/10

Week 21: 21 May VHS 3/10; 23 May VHS 3/10

Week 22: 28 May VHS 4/10; 30 May VHS closed, presumably a “bridge day”

Week 23: 4 June VHS 5/10; 6 June VHS 4/10

Week 24: 11 June VHS 6/10; 13 June VHS 5/10

Week 25: 18 June VHS 7/10; 20 June VHS 6/10

Week 26: 25 June VHS 8/10; 27 June VHS 7/10

Week 27: 2 July VHS 9/10; 4 July VHS 8/10

Week 28: 9 July VHS 10/10; 11 July VHS 9/10

Week 29: 18 July VHS 10/10

Week 30 onwards till the autumn courses start there will again be opportunities to play privately at my place. Watch this space.

The best ways to keep informed are

Comments? Questions? Attending the private bridge evenings at my place but don’t know my address yet? E-mail me here.

Exhibitions to visit

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Purely as a reminder to myself, since Microsoft Word no longer synchronises documents edited on several different devices.

FromTillNameAddress and/or commentsOpening hours
MARCHEuropean Month of Photography EMOP
    Dresden 
27.03.30.03.WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
Die Abschlussausstellung des Seminars von Anne Schönharting

27.03.-30.03.2025 im Kunstraum Kreuzberg (@kunstraumkreuzberg), Kunstquartier Bethanien, Berlin
Eröffnung am 27.03. um 19 Uhr

Mit Arbeiten von:
Florian Bolk (@florianbolk)
Stefan Fröhlich (@stefan_froehlich_photo)
Jannes Jaeger (@jannes.jaeger)
Sibylle Kölmel (@sibyllekoelmel)
Benjamin Meinberg (@benjaminmeinberg)
Andy Plötz (@un.art_images)
Suzanne Reichenbach (@_suz_anne)
Lisa Schulz (@itsleecee)
Annett Stenzel (@annettstenzel_music.film.art)
APRILMany EMOP exhibitions continue
01.03.05.04.Chert Lüdde
06.04.Deutsches Historisches Museum Hinter dem Gießhaus
12.04.Galerie Max Hetzler Potsdamer Str. 77–87, Tiergarten, Di–Sa 11–18 Uhr, www.maxhetzler.com, bis 12.4.
19.04.Galerie Anahita Sadighi
20.04.Museum für Photographie Braunschweig Di – Fr 13 – 18 Uhr, Sa + So 11 – 18 Uhr
01.03.20.04.Robert GrunenbergKantstraße
27.04.Willy Brandt Haus
27.04.Brotfabrik Galerie (Photo Noir)
MAYMany EMOP exhibitions continue
01.03.03.05.Chaussee 36  
04.05.n.b.k. (Neuer Berliner Kunstverein) Chausseestr. 128/ 129, Mitte, Di–So 12–18 Uhr, Do 12–20 Uhr, www.nbk.org, bis 4.5., Finissage-Wochenende Fr, 3.5., 20 Uhr, Sa 4.5., 14-16 Uhr
04.05.Akademie d.K. Hanseatenweg
04.05.Alte Feuerwache (EMOP) Marchiewskistr. Fr.hain.
02.03.04.05.Galerie Koschmieder Thu+Fri 14-18Oranienstr.
 02.05 04.05.Gallery Weekend  
03.05.04.05.Frühlingsrundgang Spinnerei LeipzigGoing 4 May with JC and perhaps a few more
04.05.Access Kafka, Jewish Museum (PERHAPS – right now anything that even remotely evokes thoughts of Israel makes my skin crawl and I even feel like taking a detour in order to avoid walking straight past that place a few steps away from my home – not rational, but there it is).
01.02.07.05.C/O Berlin
04.04.23.05.Borssenanger, Chemnitz
25.05.Friedrichshain Photo Gallery
01.06.Bucerius Kunstforum https://www.buceriuskunstforum.de/ausstellungen/in-her-hands-bildhauerinnen-des-surrealismusVisit planned in connection with trip to Hamburg (course with Blende2) and Bremerhaven 12 to 16 April
16.06.Berlinische Galerie Alte Jakobstr. 124–128, Kreuzberg, Mi–Mo 10–18 Uhr, 10/6 €, bis 18 J. + Geflüchtete frei, www.berlinischegalerie.de, bis 16.6.
22.06.Stiftung Volksbank Tue-Sun 10.00-18.00
29.06.Wolfgang Tillmans in Albertinum Dresden
14.06.14.09.Biennale
10.09.14.09.Berlin Art Week
13.06.12.10.Surrealism Kunsthalle Hamburg
26.09.2525.01.26Netzwerke der Surrealismus, Neue Nationalgalerie
September 25January 26William KentridgeDresden and Essen

Pub quizzes and quiznights

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Last updated 04 March PM.

UNDER DEVELOPMENT, IN PROGRESS, AND WILL BE UPDATED AS NEEDED AND RELEVANT

“Let’s get quizzical” in Alte Turnhalle on alternate Sundays: The next one is 16 March (sign up here), with Team The Village Idiots NOT attending. The next one I am organising is on 30 March, and on that evening, I already have a full team.

For others who want to attend in future, I strongly recommend trying to start a team of their own, signing up in meetup to secure a place since the quiz is getting more and more popular and as mentioned above, there were 33 teams last time. Even if people do not have a full team, it is easy to find others to complete a team on the night – just arrive early enough, and tell Steve the quizmaster.

Steve usually announces dates a month ahead on instagram here.

—————————–

Here is how it goes: Let’s get Quizical, advertised on Meetup here, on instagram here, and on Facebook here. I have a whatsapp group which everyone can use to communicate about this and putting teams together. It takes place mid-week at 19.30 in alternate weeks in Bergendorf Sundays at 18.30 in alternate weeks in Alte Turnhalle, Holteistraße 6-9 (important to arrive well in time to be seated and ready to start at 18.30).

I have never, and probably never will, attend the mid-week quiznights in James June, but am trying to attend all the ones on alternate Sundays in Alte Turnhalle, and I assume the system is the same: reservations are done either individually or in groups, and up to now, walk-ins have been possible, but the quiz is getting popular and the hall fuller and fuller each time. The majority of tables are reserved for teams who register on meetup, and the rest are “mix-tables” where individuals can get together with walk-ins to form a team. A team is maximum six people.

In both cases, questions are asked in both English and German, the cost of attending is 3 euro per person, and in every other way it follows a classic pub quiz pattern.

Munich and Karlsruhe February

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Day 1 train Berlin-Munich not without its glitches: Heating problems and – what else is new on DB – no coffee.

In the afternoon the exhibition on surrealism and antifascism, in Lenbachhaus. Surrealism is in my opinion by far the most interesting of all the -isms, most of which range from insipid and spineless to decorative and pretty and in many cases dull as ditchwater.

Also visiting Dachau on the same occasion.

Day 2 Dachau

Easily reached from the centre of Munich by public transport.

Before you ask, please see this post (scroll down a little).

Like an idiot, I left the camera card in my hotel room, so I only took some snapshots with my phone:

And some in idyllic Dachau centre, in stark contrast to what I am sure everybody knew about what was going on a mere three km away:

Day three train Munich-Karlsruhe and Art Karlsruhe.

I do love a big fat art fair, and this one never disappoints. I had forgotten how big it is, and that it actually merits a tro-day ticket. Perhaps next year ……

Added bonus: to spend a few nights in hotels with functioning heating systems, unlike the one in my own home.

Day four: Before returning to Berlin, I had planned on spending the last morning in Städtische Galerie, but the weather was suddenly spring-like, so I went to the zoo instead. (I had already had a view from my hotel room directly onto the Red Panda enclosure).

Apologies in advance for the overload of images (some of them abstracts) of the great white egret:

Interior Architecture Photography with Lette Akademie 3 to 5 February

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Although I have always been interested in modern architecture, the particular skill that is architecture photography had gone under my radar till now when someone I had “met” once or twice in zoom courses wrote and said she was coming to Berlin to attend this course – a good opportunity to meet up in person.

Consequently, I signed up at just a few days’ notice, and we met for breakfast each day before the course.

Day one interesting presentations with lots of tips and ideas. Was not in photography mode, did not like the venue, and having to use a tripod ruins my day, if not week or even month or actually makes me lose the will to live, so did not take any photos to fit the brief but only the below:

Day two we went to Technical University, and a strange thing happened: I deliberately photographed human beings, not just one but a whole series. I hope that is not a trend:

Other photos from day two:

Day three a presentation on how to draw up a contract. Not really relevant for me, but interesting and so much information (in German of course) that my head was spinning and I only took the below, totally uninspired photos.

But good course, great teacher, and I learned a lot.

Some random birds in Urbanhafen

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IN PROGRESS

But first, proof that the sun does exist, and still rises every morning.

Webinar Fotoaufgabe with Blende2, Hamburg

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IN PROGRESS

European Month of Photography Berlin 2025

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Activities in internations.org on the occasion of EMOP 2025:

Last updated 25 January AM

25 January: Three exhibitions in Mitte: “a different view of the Berlin Wall”, “abstract concrete”, and “new photos of ancient architecture”: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/615867

Here photos from the three exhibitions visited: Kunst am Bundestag, Albert Ehrhard Stiftung and one from Robert Morat Gallery (I am big fan of Maarten Lange):

7 February: Three exhibitions in Kreuzberg: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/615891

8 February: African Contemporary Photography: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/615886

28 February: Three exhibitions in Friedrichshain: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/615889

And that is before the official month of photography has even started :-).

14 March: Two places of study with a walk in between: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/616679

22 March: A museum and a repurposed exhibition space: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/616691

28 March: Four galleries in Mitte: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/615896

29 March: Three galleries in Charlottenburg: https://www.internations.org/activity-group/5623/activity/616682

Beaver-spotting walk with BG Spandau

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In a loop from Freybrücke (I took Bus M49 from Theodor-Heuß-Platz to Haltestelle Freybrücke) around Tiefwerder Wiesen.

A lovely walk – the wrong time of day to actually see any beavers – but we saw lots of traces of them, and one nutria, and then a lot of birds, including some I had never seen in real life before.

The photos are of variable quality but hopefully serve as “proof” :-).

In and around Beeskow

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With Empor Berlin

I will spare any potential reader M/F my usual rant about communication in IT angst Germany. Long story short, I – and two others … – arrived in Beeskow an hour before everybody else.

With freezing fog, and nowhere remotely indoorsy to wait, I went on my own walkabout, and thus had time to take some photos.

Beeskow looks like a very pleasant discovery, with an old “Burg” and city wall, picturesque in places,and idylically located on the Spree with lot of waterfowl to see (for which I had not been prepared, lense-wise).

I will definitely go back later when it is not quite so cold. RB36 from Königs Wusterhausen, in less than an hour.