these are from a few weeks ago in the canal behind our house… it was quite magical to walk in the frozen ice and even beneath the bridges. definitely a new perspective, and only slightly scary!
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Category: in germany
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walking on the outskirts of berlin
berlin is a curious geographical conundrum. wikipedia says it’s a number of times bigger than paris, and it does seem big to us. it takes half an hour by subway or bus to the center of the city (whichever “center” you pick). and since only 4 million people or so live in all this space, it doesn’t feel the least claustrophobic. the streets have large sidewalks and are lined with trees, there are parks and lakes and canals around every corner.
but, if you take the s-bahn in any direction and ride till the border of the AB zone, you’ll soon be in a completely different place. mind you, this is still berlin: a different berlin. like jiading is still shanghai… but not really.
up north in karow, for instance, close to where the wall used to be, horses graze on nearly frozen fields or around small ponds. there are paths marked by signs, paths that walk around small clusters of lakes, or up and down the soft hills. chopped trees, neatly piled on the side of the path.
near enough to the city that you can still see the omnipresent tv tower looming in the distance – but far enough that you can almost forget you live there.
we’ve discovered this path, the barnimer dörferweg through the couchsurfing berlin walks group, which we’ve joined. we’re looking forward to new walks when the weather warms up a little. they’re a nice and diverse bunch, so if you want to get out of the city for a while and breathe fresh air, you should come too! :)
there’s a discreet and intriguing memorial near the entrance of reichstag, a row of uneven cast iron plaques, with names and dates. no explanation is given for the curious tourists that wander around it.
the memorial was unveiled in 1992, in remembrance of murdered members of the reichstag. in the borders of the 96 plaques are the names of the politicians from the german parliament that were persecuted by national socialists after they gained power in 1933. it is a simple and inconspicuous memorial, but a noteworthy one.
more from this series.
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back in autumn
autumn was intense in berlin, perhaps to make up for a lousy rainy summer. the streets turned into immense fields of yellow, leaves smoothing our steps. it was gorgeous.
we had s. & g. visiting just at the peak of autumn, and they took really nice photos of those days. :)
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a museum for… things!
a few weeks ago, we visited the museum of things. it was an intriguing premise…. all museums have things. so which things would the museum of things have?
the answer, we found out, was all kinds of things! :)
well, mostly interesting things, anyway. instead of following a chronological order, they’re grouped by color, shape, material, function… sometimes in contrast, others in tune, with little words or explanation. the patterns are implicit and easily spotted.
there were toys, measuring tools, german things and foreign things, furniture pieces, appliances…
…kitschy things, cutlery and plates and pots and pans…
… useless things, boxes, tins, cans, electrical odds and bits, old telephones, mail items…
… writing tools, signs, cutting tools, postboxes, hangers…
… creams, perfums and powders, jewellery… we even saw a little shrine from our lady of fatima! there are so many things, you’re guaranteed to find something that makes you go woooow! :D
there’s also a model of the frankfurt kitchen, which revolutionised architecture in the 20s by introducing the concept of functional kitchens with standardized dimensions and layout.
the museum is on oranienstraße 25 (top floor) but it has odd opening hours, so make sure to check them out before you go!