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Berlin – Summer 2013A Homelink Home Exchange Experience
Exchange Family & Friends
Christa & daughter Katharina in black.
Uwe at far right. Son Chris (who stayed home studying for exams) in red shirt.
Christa & daughter Katharina in black.Uwe at far right. Son Chris (who stayed homestudying for exams) in red shirt.
Propaganda Pillar (replica)
Exhibit at Museum of the German
Resistance Movements.
Memorial to the German Resistance
Statue in the courtyard where Col. von
Stauffenberg, Chief of Staff of the General Army
Office and 3 co-conspirators were executed on
July 20, 1944 for that day's failed attempt to
assassinate Hitler. Inscription (translated)
reads:
"You did not bear the shame
You resisted
You bestowed the eternally vigilant symbol
of change
By sacrificing your impassioned lives for
freedom, justice and honor.”
(Note: von S et al. resisted only when
it was clear that war was lost)
Be Prepared!
Amusing vending machine in front
ofconvenience store/pub on the
corner of the street where I lived!
Checkpoint Charlie Guardhouse (replica)
Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border
crossing between West and East Berlin. From 13
Aug. 196l to 22 Nov. 2009, only Allied occupation
forces members and foreign tourists could enter
East Berlin.
The Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
documents the history of the Berlin Wall and exhibits
daring means of escape used by East Berliners
(tunnels, homemade airplane and SCUBA device,
cars with hidden compartments), and honors the
est.136 people who died in escape-related incidents.
Street Musician
Talented classical violinist busking
near the Museum Insel (Museum
Island) , a UNESCO World Heritage
site.
Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
Viewed from the Lustgarten (Pleasure
Garden), one of 5 museums forming
theMuseum Insel (Museum Island).
Others are the Pergamon, the Bode,
the Neues, and the Altes. Saw the
famous bust of Nefertiti at the Neues.
I didn't visit the others, as they
housed primarily ancient classical art,
and I was more interested in
contemporary art and history.
Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)
The largest Protestant church in
Germany, constructed in its present
form in 1822 on the occasion of the
union of Prussia's Lutheran and
Reformed communities. Site of
regular services and concerts.
I attended a chambermusic concert
there with a Servas host, Reinhild
Graffiti Wall Panel
Don't remember where this photo was
taken. There are graffiti-covered
remnants of the Berlin wall at several
sites in the city. including paintings by
wellknown artists. A comprehensive
collection of wall graffiti photos can be
seen at
http://www.google.com/search?q=Paintings+on+the+Berlin+wall&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-FklUuCCF-afiALiwoGoDg&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=733.
At Ploetzensee, a small glacial lake
in the middle of Berlin. A Servas
friend, Jette, brought me there on a
chilly afternoon. We were the only
persons there. I took a quick dip,
then showered in the 1920s style
wooden shower house. Couldn't
erase the chilling mental image of
the deadly shower houses of the
Nazi era,
Lone Grey Heron at Ploetzensee
I thought it was a great blue heron,
but an expert set me straight!
Brrrr!
Wearing bikini given to me by my
friend Edith in Bilbao. (Makes going
to the bathroom easier than one
piece suits.) Wouldn't be caught
dead in such at home. Europeans
"let it all hang out!" At some
beaches many former DDR (East
German) residents, go "au natural."
Bi-Cultural Icon
The friendly community center and
park across from my apartment
sported an outdoor bread oven with
two separate wood-fired
compartments - one for "halal"
("kosher for Muslims) baked goods
and one for non-Muslims.
Tiergarten flower garden
The magnificently forested 520 acre Tiergarten was two blocks from my apartment. Its prewar 200,000 trees were cut down for fuel during the war and fuel-starved post-war period, with only about 700 remaining. Replanting the forest took place between 1949 and 1959, which explains why I had no recollection of a large urban forest during my spring 1959 semester at the Free University of Berlin. Once a hunting area for royalty, it now comprises a vast network of pathways, gardens, lawns & statues.
Beware of rabbits!
Flower garden areas are fenced to
keep out hungry rabbits!
Jewish Darwinism
Amusing poster at Jewish Museum
showing evolution of a Jewish menorah to
a Christmas tree! (Part of an exhibit on
pre-Nazi era Jewish assimilation nto
German culture.)
For views of and information about the
stark and compelling Daniel Liebeskind-
designed Museum building, go to:
http://
www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/04-About-The-M
useum/00-about-the-museum.php
Brandenburg Gate (Tor)
Iconic symbol of Berlin (and Germany). Built between 1788 and 1791, it separated West from East Berlin during the tine of the Wall (1961-1989).
It and the surrounding Pariser Platz is the site of major celebrations, speeches, and demonstrations
Holocaust Memorial
Covering 4.7 acres a block from the Brandenburg gate, the site contains 2,711 concrete slabs of varying heights and sizes arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. Reminiscent of a cemetery, its grim starkness evokes despair and silent contemplation. An underground exhibit chamber honors the memory of families who were killed during the Holocaust.
Legoland Giraffe at Potsdamer Platz
Once Europe's most bustling shopping and entertainment complex, Potsdamer Platz was completely destroyed during WW2 and lay bare till after German reunification in 1990. Dominated by the Sony Centre with its soaring glass and steel tent-like roof, it includes the Daimler/Chrysler Atrium, shopping arcade with 133 stores, cafes, several dozen movie screens, a film museum, mini-lake and ice rink. Architecture is result of world-wide design competition and an example of "urban renewal' at its finest.
Environmental Protection Posters
Along the hiking trail from the Grunewald train station to the beautiful (largely nudist) Teufelsee (Devil Lake) beach.
A sinister arrow in front of the train station points to Platform 17, transport depot for Jews bound for Polish ghettoes and, later, to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Sample Poster
Rough Translation: Don't bother nesting birds - please...
For birds eat bugs that harm our trees!
Charlottenburg Palace
Largest palace in Berlin, it was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg and inaugurated in 1699. It is the site of baroque concerts by musicians in period costume,
Fancy Dinner Theater
I skipped the dinner, but enjoyed the concert.
Ready, Set, Play!
Sneaked photo in before musicians began to play. Works by Handel, Vivaldi, arias from Don Giovanni, and a flute concerto by Frederick the Great himself and other Baroque pieces were performed.
Gilded “lobby” settee
Comfy Intermission Perch
Amusing Berlin Zoo Sign
White Wolf at Berlin Zoo
Zoo Playground
Playground has imaginative animal-themed spaces for kids to play on and in.
Anti-Morsi Rally
Egyptian activists demonstrate against former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi at plaza near Brandenburg Gate.
Carpool for Birding Outing
Outing was listed in calendar of NABU, Germany's environmental protection organization. Focus was the banding of
baby "Baumfalken" (hobbies in English) which involved 57 year old bander, Paul Soemmer climbing a 30 meter tree to a nest, removing baby birds and lowering them for examination, measuring, and banding by Baumfalken expert Klaus -Dietrich Fiuczynski. Till 2 years, ago, 75 year old Klaus made similar ascents to study the falcons which also nest in girders of high tension poles
Klaus addresses his crew of volunteers
Paul points to the treetop nest
Puts on climbing gear
Eyes the tree
Starts up…
and up…..
and up….
and up…
Nest in view…
Within reach…
In the bag!
Precious package received…
Out of the bag…
Gentle inspection and measurement
Band is affixed…
Cameras are “all eyes”…
Baby
Volunteer records data…
Bridge to Werder
• Werder is an island suburb of
• Potsdam in the Havel River and
home of Servas hosts Barbara
and Heinz Guenther. We toured
Potsdam, visited their
• garden, swam in the river, and
had supper at their home.
Servas Hosts Barbara and Heinz
In their garden
A neighbor’s garden
My former (1959) student residence in Berlin
Click icon to add pictureBuilding, now vacant, was built in 1916 and was designed by Germany's first female architect, Emilie Winkelmann, as a residence for "emancipated urban women." Building's mgmt. company let me see the interior, most recently used as offices and a theater. Building is cited in several sociological journal articles about 1920s era women in Germany.
Marquee of former theater
I thought "Tribune" signified a newspaper!
The former theater occupants referred me to the management company.
Lisa Ross and sons Troy and Richard
Lisa lived with me for 3 years. Is now teaching and living in Saudi Arabia with her two sons. She and the boys visited me for a week in Berlin, after participating as volunteer English conversation partners at Pueblo Ingles in Spain ,just as I did the previous month.
Father 1959 Berlin; Son 2013 Dresden
Frido#1 died in E.Berlin in 1987. Was my student boy friend.
I visited Frido#2 and his family in August 2013.