Wannsee-Kladow and Back

We had been to Kladow last year in late summer, with cloudy skies and an almost deserted  harbor walk.
Last week, though, the weather was clearly inviting us to give it another try.
As I had suspected, we were not the only ones who had had this idea.
The ferry F10 was jam-packed with day trippers and bicycles (up to 25 are allowed): one the way back to Wannsee the captain seemed to be a bit nervous about being on time and parted from us passengers with a "when you leave the boat, be quick!"

The ferry ticket to Kladow is included in the Berlin AB ticket, so you can consider this an inner-city trip. 

It doesn't look like that, does it? And it doesn't feel like that, I promise.

On our way to Kladow, meeting other ferries and sailing boats

Harbor front in Kladow, with the island Imchen (a bird sanctuary where access is NOT allowed) on the back

Playground in Wannsee, in proximity of the ferry pier

Note: if you live near Zoologischer Garten, you can take the bus X34 to Kladow.

Big City Idyll - Viktoria Luise Platz, Berlin

I observe the way people walk. I want to know how they relate to their surroundings.

Me, I walk with my head up high, so I don' t miss the shape of fun clouds. This one looked like a big smurf, or Grisú, the little firefighter dragon...

Lots of places in Berlin have the name "Platz" (square), but they are all quite different from the squares you might expect in Italy or France.

This is one of the few I consider a "real" square, even though its form is rather that of a circle. 

Here you can sit for a chat, eat some ice-cream, be hypnotized by the fountain's dancing jets and listen to the sound of the subway that runs just below your feet.

Kladow

Kladow is a little village with the special beauty of those tourist-ridden places (even though I expect there may be hordes of day-trippers sitting in the Biergarten on nice summer days).

Once arrived, and especially on a day like last Friday - with the sky looking as if the end of the world was coming -  you might have the feeling you are right in the middle of nowhere. And forget you are still in Berlin.

The first mentions of Kladow date back to the 13th century, when it was a wends'* (western slavs) settlement.

Not much is left from those times, though.

 

The village church was built in the 14th century on the "Havelberg" (Havel mountain) but - according to the historical reports - its interiors reminded of the activities of Kladow's "lower side", those of fishermen and boaters.

In 1808 it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt without much attention to its distinctive character.

 

From the hill where the church stands, following a not too steep path that goes down, you'll walk past the Maisel's Biergarten: a very inviting spot, not so much for the food as for the view

In spite of a few raindrops, the fresh wind and some annoying wasps, we managed to have lunch outside and to lose our connection to go back, which gave us the time to take a stroll on the harbor promenade and go to the playground...("missing the boat" is not all that bad sometimes!)

By early afternoon we were still dry but decided it was better to take the F10**, which comes (regularly) every hour and connects Kladow to Wannsee

*Wends

**the ferry belongs to the BVG, Berlin public transportation system, and it's included in the AB ticket.

Kladow on a map
History of Kladow (in German)
History of Kladow from "Bildband über Kladow" (in German)

One, Two, Three! and the Building of Berlin Wall

the poster © Saul Bass

image source Archiv für Filmposter

Two decades have passed since the Berlin Wall came down.

As a teenager living in Italy, this had little impact on my life; it was one of the biggest historical events of the 20th century but it was filled with myth and it didn't have a clear meaning.

Few months after arriving in Berlin, seven years ago, things started getting clearer to me: it was obvious that the two Germanies had had for a long time two histories, not to talk about ways of life and that there were still differences between former East and former West Germany.
What is called "Reunification" isn't all about the enthusiastic one night show of people tearing down a wall and having a big party, but the often difficult coexistence of two mindsets, traditions, economies...

Truth is that, as much as we talk about the night of the Wall's fall, on November 1989, little we know about what happened in the night between August 12th and August 13th 1961.

(...)At midnight, the police and units of the East German army began to close the border and, by Sunday morning, 13 August, the border with West Berlin was closed. East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to most vehicles and to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 156 kilometres (97 miles) around the three western sectors, and the 43 kilometres (27 miles) that divided West and East Berlin. (source Wikipedia)

Historical details aside, what shakes me most are the stories of those families being split and their attempts to reunite while the political division still existed, the accounts of people being shot for trespassing the border (always fleeing from East to West), not to mention the complaints of some people who actually think "it was better when we had two separate cities".
The fact that Eastern Germans hadn't eaten bananas until 1990 only adds some exoticism to the picture.

"One, Two, Three!"* is a satire of the Cold War with Berlin as its most obvious symbol

The American businessman MacNamara (James Cagney), head of the Coca Cola office in Berlin, is working on an agreement to export Coca-Cola into the Russian Market.

MacNamara's is trying hard to impress his Atlanta boss, Mr. Hazeltine, with the aim of becoming Coca-Cola chef in London; he also accept to host Hazeltine's daughter, Scarlett, during her travel around Europe, but his stress will only increase because of the girl.

In Berlin she falls in love and marries the East Berliner communist Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz).
At this point MacNamara, concerned about his career, will first try to get rid of Otto and then - learning that Scarlett got pregnant - to turn him into a capitalist and thus a more suitable party for his boss' daughter.

But "One, Two, Three" deals with Berlin's political and geographical division in a very practical way, because all the shooting was being affected by the changes:

(...) While the armament was strictly a figure of speech, it did fit the situation. Ever since Wilder placed the picture before the cameras in early June, he has been engaged in a private war with the East Berlin authorities over permission to shoot a sequence through the gate, which lies entirely within the Soviet sector of “Splitsville,” as the divided city is known to the company…

The New York Times, July 19, 1961

(...)Permission to shoot in East Berlin was revoked three weeks into production, forcing Wilder to have Trauner build a full-sized replica of the East side of the Brandenburg Gate on the back-Iot of the Bavaria Studios in Munich.

Billy Wilder, Cinema One, Secker and Warburg, 1968

13 August 1961 50. Jahrestag des Mauerbaus is dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the building of Berlin Wall.
Locations and aerial of the Berlin Wall.

A complete reviews' collection of "One, Two, Three" is in Shooting Down Pictures.



*The plot of "One, Two,Three!" is based on a one-act comedy written by Ferenc Molnar, whom you might remember for "The Boys of Paul Street")

Gedächtniskirche - Memorial Church

I promise I try not to talk about churches for the times being....But, I think this deserved at least a mention!

Probably you'd be as shocked as I was, seeing the "Memorial Church" only in its ugly wrapping and not like
THIS

See what happens when you stay away for a while: everything can change in Berlin.

Well, the good news is that you'll be able to see the original by the end of 2012.
Until then, maybe a bit of disappointment?

Fish Church

Summer in Berlin! That doesn't necessarily mean three months of gorgeous weather: some days are rainy and cold as if it was still early spring.  To prevent myself from complaining too much about it (which I do on a regular basis), I found a place where me and the kids are always having a good time: the Aquarium.

I enjoy the quiet: except for those odds moments when a brood of school kids walks by, the only sound you'd hear is the "shhwshsss" of water being pumped into the tanks.

The Berlin Aquarium is not only a place of peace, it is also a place of beauty 

Above the tanks, on the first floor, you find stained glass windows which remind so much of Jugendstil (the German version of Art Nouveau)

I like joking about the fact that it feels a bit like being in a church, but if you think about the fish as a traditional symbol of Christianity, it is not so inappropriate

The Greek letters which make the word for fish are IXTHUS, and they form an acronym that has also been associated with this symbol.  "Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter", which is translated as Jesus (I) Christ (X), God's (TH) Son (U), Savior (S)
 

But religious symbols aside, maybe you're interested in reading more about  glass windows' history

 

Note: the Aquarium I am referring to, is the one inside the Zoologischer Garten.

Be Back in Berlin!

I had to let her go again.

Tonight there's nothing else I can think about. Two hours together went just too fast.

There is too much to say to someone you haven't seen in two full years, someone who used to be there anytime you needed.

We talked as if we had said goodbye only a few days ago: about things we've been doing, about the point in time when we both left Berlin and about the future, when we' ll be living close to each other again. One year, or maybe longer than that.

I was glad to see her, unchanged: stubborn, warm, generous and caring. 

She is doing well and it means so much to me.

So we hugged. But if I had been able to speak, I would have said "Just don't go again, don't leave me!Stay here, you've been too far". Words died halfway in my throat.

And I let her go, because there was nothing else to do. 

(the next post is dedicated to this friend, who is currently living in South Korea)

City(e)scape

What would have Swiss author Max Frisch told us about his life and his relationships with women in "Montauk", had he written this novel in 2011?

He might have skipped details about his impotence (or maybe shared some knowledge on viagra effects) or have had his Montauk affair with less  thoughts on aging...I am not sure, but I like to fantasize about it.

I like to imagine him as my potential neighbor,  while he is walking in pajamas here in Berlin (he wouldn't be an exception)...but probably he wouldn't have mentioned that - from his home in Friedenau - he could hear the noise of airplanes flying to and from airport Tempelhof .

"... Die Wohnung liegt in der Flugschneise Tempelhof; die Flugzeuge kommen niedrig, so daß es im Hinterhof dröhnt ..."

"..the apartment is located in the flight corridor Tempelhof; the airplanes fly low and there is a constant drone in the backyard..."

When I moved to Friedenau, in 2005, I could hear the Lärm (noise) of airplanes starting early in the morning. But now Tempelhof is closed for good.

In May 2010 it became - after many discussion on its usage - a huge walking, biking, skating, kite surfing (you name it) park.

Yesterday I took the kids there for the first time and it was very  puzzling to walk (actually run) on a former runway.
Somehow you had the odd feeling that the city space had an infinite dilatation and that you were nowhere, except that everybody else wanted to be there, too. Just in some non-place, or some sort of utopia.

Slideshow of Tempelhof from 2008 here

and the related article that describes the story of the airport to its nearly end...

An interview with Max Frisch on the Paris Review
A travel to Montauk with Alice-Lynn in the Faz (in German)

Cherry Blossom Festival - Gärten der Welt

Two years ago one of the dearest friend I had in Berlin (an Italian woman married to a German diplomat), moved to South Korea.

She lived in Prenzlauer Berg, which is a basically on the other side of the city from where I live.

Of course I was very sad, knowing that I might not meet her until 2012, but soon after she had left, we ware also moving, so it was one of the many changes happening and not only the sudden loss of a friend.

Coming back to Berlin in winter 2010, I felt her absence a lot more.

In the first place I wasn't riding the train as much as I used to, nor being in her cool area to visit her.
In the second place I started feeling a bit lonely; she was really a good friend. She still is, even though we have to make appointments to talk on skype (see time difference), instead of just seeing each other.

Anyway: I am very happy for her, because - in spite of the potential danger of a nuclear attack from North Korea - South Korea is a beautiful Country; it has a very rich culture and the people are very friendly (sometimes over-friendly, maybe). I won't start talking about the delicious food (yum).

In other words: I could spend some time in Korea too. 

As for now, I find my "Little Asia" here in Berlin.

Yesterday, at the "Cherry Blossom Festival" my family and I enjoyed Korean dances, a Tae-Kwan-Do training session (kind of loud), Korean drummers and also some Korean food.

I was taking a number of pictures for my collection of "Orientalia".

On the of the most hilarious things was...a Korean duo singing "'O Sole Mio", which must be a traditional Korean song, right?
They were very good, no question!

Aware: East is Calling

This year the concept of hanami (花見)  seems to have found its place in the speech of the non Japanese speaking masses too.

I don't mean to say it's negative: the reason is so much rooted in the bad news of the past month to be completely happy about it, but generally I am glad when something concerning beauty and nature becomes more accessible to everybody.

Originally the term refers to the cherry blossom viewing (and the cherry blossom being a symbol for a beauty that has to end which better metaphor for Japan?), but hanami literally means "flower viewing".

And I had my share, too.

Yesterday I was at the "Cherry Blossom Festival" in Marzahn, at the Gardens of the World. Marzahn is still part of the city of Berlin, but from our place is sort of an eternity away - more than an hour by public transportation.

Needless to say, it was totally worth the long train ride!I decided not to take pictures of cherry trees, though.

Not only flowers...

Sketches from my Life in Berlin - Some Post-Modern Poetry

©Bosch

This put an end my lament:

The Bosch Appliances Repair Guy took care of the dishwasher broken vent

He came in with his electric Bosch screw-driver and Bosch spare parts.

With little or no comment.

He fully inundated our apartment with his scent.
(Probably Hugo-Bosch...)

Zoologischer Garten

Even on a winter day, if the weather is nice, I enjoy visiting the zoo with kids.

Of Boxes, Beaches, Bambini and Berlin's Dog Doo

         

Bambini di maaammmmaaaa!

Reading my last post, you might have been wondering what was in my coffee that morning (btw, I believe I have an hypersensitivity to caffeine, and that is the reason why the coffee I brew is stomach-friendly!).

Point is, it has being very hard lately to find time, joy and room to write: we have one table in the kitchen but...that is not exactly one cozy and relaxed place.

When we moved to Long Island in 2009, we took with us some furniture and  then left it there, so now we need bookshelves, a table and some more chairs...

Which is in not so wild, but it obviously involves some organization.

Settling down takes longer than taking a plane back and having your own stuff, calling a couple of friends or going to your favorite bakery: we are at home, but sometimes I feel like I could just take the car (and we don't have a car here) and drive to the East End

 Orient Beach, Orient Long Island NY

Or take a stroll to the beach (let's don't talk about the beaches in Berlin, pleeeaaase).

Schlachtensee, in winter - well, believe it or not, this lake is very popular also in summer...and that would be one of the beaches.

Maybe I am not good at all in settling down: The boxes with books, clothes and toys arrived last week and I don't know if I have to be happy or if they just brought with them too many memories.

Some places just stay in you more than you had planned.

They say "home is where your heart is"...let's put it that way: the stethoscope hasn't found my heart beats yet.

To top this all, the situation with our daughter's school - more promising since this afternoon - is not at all clear: will she  attend the bilingual German-Italian school?Will she pass the German+ test?And if she does, will she automatically be admitted?
Or will she just attend a regular German school (plus point is that this is around the corner) and forget her Italian?

When you are split between different places, it is very hard to find a thread that keeps all together; I'd like to find it, I can't just "choose one", because one is not enough. Of course I try not to pour my own frustration into my innocent kids - well, not so innocent - still...

Some days I think I can make it, some other days all I think is:

Shit Happens (in case you want to check out more about this topic...)

That's one thing I find very annoying: dog doo.Everywhere.Not only in Berlin...