IN PROGRESS

Again, purely for my own use, since Word documents accessed from several different devices are no longer synchronised (??) – at least this way I have everything in one place.

And don’t forget the Poland plans

December Dresden

6-8 January Munich (Lenbachhaus and Dachau)

January Rostock/Warnemünde

February Art Karlsruhe; the new museum in Wiesbaden;

April 5 and 6: Görlitz (two “lost places” photo tours)

April 13: Hamburg (Blende2 plus various exhibitions) (and Bremerhaven?

And a reminder to myself that when I moved to Berlin, I set out to visit as many towns and cities in my new neighbouring country – Poland – as possible. A certain pandemic, and a regime change, put a temporary stop to those plans, but now that Poland is back on my good books, it is time to resume those visits.

Visited	Visit again	Still to be visited
Gdansk		Byalystok
Krakow		Bydgoszcz
Łódź		Częstochowa and Chorzow
Lublin		Kostrzyn
Poznań	Poznań	Katowice
Szczecin (x 2)
Torun
Warsaw	Warsaw
Wrocław

A total of five photos to be submitted to Blende2-Hamburg.

Despite the fact that I live in Berlin, with its endless amount of street art, I somehow do not think I will photograph any for this assignment.

As for autumn foliage, I’ll have to wait and see. So far, there is not that much of it around.

But ICM – I have done quite a lot of that, periodically, in recent years, and always find it fun, for a little while, until I don’t, and completely forget about it. But I am always happy when it come up as “homework” in a course.

Below are the results so far (to be continued for another couple of weeks) from which I will have to choose five photos:

Festival of Giant Kites, Tempelhofer Feld, 21 September:

Morning walk at Landwehrkanal/Urbanhafen 24 September:

Visit to Berlin Herbstrummel. Obviously a missing link in my cultural education, although it was a lot like a pre-Christmas fair:

My attempt to make a bundle of “pretty”, pastel-coloured prizes look creepy:

Visit to Tierpark Berlin 7 October:

And finally – an attempt at making a scene look more dramatic – not sure I succeede, plus the odd one out: a multiple-panel with autumn foliage, such as it was, since that was only getting started in Berlin a few days ago:

These are easy and quick – and healthy -, and also great to take with you if you are going to be out and about and with no even remotely healthy food within reach but only those sandwiches made with refined wheat and filled with highly processed meat/cheese/whatever and E-numbers that are being peddled wherever you look when on the move in Berlin.

They can be frozen, too.

Mix 150 g chickpea flour with approx. 4 dl oat milk (or any other plant milk or animal milk, or even water. Start with less and add until you have the desired texture which depends how thin or thick you want your pancakes.

Then add 1 tsp baking soda (natron) and 1 tsp salt, and mix well.

Then add whatever you want as a filling. If you want sweet pancakes, add for example any kind of berry, and some maple syrup.

In this case, I added half a pack of broccoli, from the freezer, chopped; a red onion, finely chopped; two garlic cloves, finely chopped; half a tsp turmeric; a tsp moringa powder; a tsp dried methi leaves; a tsp ajwain seeds, a healthy dose of black pepper, and a pinch of chili flakes, and a tblsp nutritional yeast.

I could also have added for example some fresh herbs and some red bell pepper, or shredded carrot, zucchini, beetroot, ….

Then bake as you would any other pancake.

Here, two were cooled off and went in the rucksack for later, and two were served for breakfast with crumpled feta cheese and thick balsamico.

IN PROGRESS

First, a multiple-panel I made for a photography course where the assignment was fall foliage, before that had really started appearing in Berlin:

5 October Moorlinse with VHS

My second (or third?) participation in this VHS birdwatching walk, led by Rob Crouch. I have also walked that route by myself several times, and once with a friend, since I now know it well, and even with my pathetic orientation skills do not have to bother with maps and am not likely to get completely lost. It is a very diverse walk with lakes, fields and forest.

There were not that many birds in Moorlinse when we got there mid-morning, but one great white egret I had not seen there before.

A bit later, while walking further on, we saw many geese arriving and descending towards Moorlinse, reportedly for a rest before continuing their travel south.

We also saw two herons circling (or were they actually storks?):

By the way, there were also some large caterpillars on the paths. Thank you to Agata for styling one of them for a photoshoot :-).

Stopped for a break at Karpfenteiche before proceeding towards Bogensee:

At Bogensee, I was lucky to get some photos of a great white egret. For a moment, I thought it might be the one from Moorlinse escaping from the onslaught of geese, but after the walk, I went back to Moorlinse and saw that egret still there, seemingly unperturbed by the geese.

Below are the kinds of photos I also find interesting, but I have included some pretty landscape photos above since those are what most people seem to like. (“Pretty” is not my kind of thing. I find most of it quite puke-worthy):

Somewhere along the way, we also saw a cow and a buzzard (the latter actually too far away to be photographed with my slightly limited equipment.

And finally, the view over Moorlinse after the walk:

And this youtube video, and this one.

7 October Tierpark Berlin

It may be a bit of a stretch to categorise a visit to Tierpark Berlin as a nature walk, but there are many different trees, bushes, grasses – in addition to the zoo animals. I went there in search of some ICM photos for the Blende2 assignment. Those will be posted in a separate post. Here are some of the more “normal” photos I took:

9 October NABU Spandau Bezirksgruppe – Vogel(stimmen)wanderung am Neunten, at Großer Spektesee

A super enjoyable walk in the most perfect weather.

The sunrise as seen from my balcony on 26 October

A walk along Landwehrkanal to Urbanhafen just after sunrise on 27 October

And a photo walk ably organised by DJ in InterNations Photography Group – a very nice event, starting with a cup of good coffee in Mehringdamm, followed by a walk around and to the top of Viktoriapark, and ending with a tasty meal in Mama Rosas Taqueria in Mehringdamm.

Photographed two white flowers on the way there.

One on 28 September with VHS Pankow in Freizeitpark Marienfelde, and one on 29 September, found in Umweltkalender, in Britzer Garten.

I am finding it a little bit strange that they would organise the one tomorrow on the day of the – fiftieth! – Berlin Marathon. For anyone living inside the route, not to mention those who live north of Berlin and somehow have to make it across the city, it might be difficult if not impossible to get there, since many bus routes are suspended and many streets blocked off. (And no, I am not complaining about the marathon like so many others – it is a feast, if you ask me, and it is one weekend each year, so either just stay at home or go out and enjoy the spectacle and stop whining).

Anyway, both walks were very pleasant. In Marienfelde, we saw a heron and a largeish flock of long-tailed tits, as well as a buzzard and a kestrel.

In Britzer Garten, we saw five jays at the same time in one tree, several types of woodpecker and tit, and a sparrowhawk. On my way out I saw a bird of prey being escorted to the nearest exit by two crows.

With InterNations photography group, on Tempelhofer Feld

In the end, 13 people were signed up. Three of those actually turned up. I will forever wonder what it is in “please do not sign up unless you plan on attending, and if you do sign up and then discover or decide that you are not going to attend, please cancel”, or similar words to the same effect, it is that people do not understand.

Other InterNations members are wondering why I have so few “Contacts” in my contacts list. Apart from the fact that I don’t care about having contacts in InterNations contact list, another reason is that I block no-showers from being able to contact me directly. Sorry.

Anyway, it was a good day out, the weather was perfect, and the number of visitors must have broken all records.

I have a current course assignment asking for ICM photography, so I tried that out while there. The results are in this separate post.

Here are the (too many – sorry :-)) “normal” photos I took:

Starting Point: Birkenwerder Train Station

Meeting & Introduction

• Meet at 12:00 at Birkenwerder Train Station.
• Brief introduction to the route and highlights of the hike.

Leg 1: Birkenwerder to Briese River Trail

• Start the hike through the beautiful forest trails, heading towards the Briese River.
• Enjoy the calm and natural surroundings, perfect for nature lovers and photography enthusiasts.

Break by the Briese River

• Stop for a rest near the Briese River, soaking in the serene atmosphere.
• A good spot to take some photos, enjoy the view, or have a small snack.

Leg 2: Briese River to Boddensee

• Continue hiking along the river, making your way towards Boddensee.
• The path offers picturesque views and plenty of opportunities to appreciate the local flora and fauna.

Café Break by the Lake

• Stop at a cozy local café near Boddensee for a break.
• Enjoy a warm drink or a light snack while chatting with fellow hikers and relaxing by the lake.

Leg 3: Scenic Loop through Briesetal Nature Reserve

• After the café break, continue the hike through the Briesetal Nature Reserve.
• Explore the lush forests, wetlands, and diverse wildlife as you loop back towards Birkenwerder.
• Take in the natural beauty and enjoy a peaceful, extended walk through this pristine area.

Final Stretch: Return to Birkenwerder Train Station

The concert took place in Johannische Kirche Blankensee. Philharmonische Orchester des Staatstheaters Cottbus, led by GMD Alexander Merzyn, played Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony. Lovely concert although I am now not sure why at some point Bruckner was one of my all-time favourites.

Before the concert, there was time for a walk in the area.

IN PROGRESS

Ingredients

• 1 cup of barley
• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon of of fresh parsley, minced
• 2 teaspoons of fresh basil, minced
• 2 tablespoons of red bell pepper in small slices
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric
• ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
• ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil. Add barley and reduce to low heat.
2. Cover and cook for 40 minutes or until water is cooked out.
3. In a separate frying pan, heat olive oil.
4. Add mustard seeds; when they begin to pop add cumin and fenugreek and cook for about one minute.
5. Then add fresh ginger, turmeric and red pepper.
6. After 3 minutes add the cooked barley. Cook for several minutes and garnish with parsley and basil.
7. Add salt to taste.

 Learn more about grains — vegetarian powerhouses in Ayurveda.