I will be attending a photography course which will run all day and, apparently, on some days also into the evening. I therefore will not have time to take proper care of Max, so he is now on holiday, with some extra days because they were unable to pick him up closer to the days I actually needed him looked after.

He was in the same place for the same number of days in December. Back then, I tried not to feel bad about it, since I was attending a course in Amrum to which I had signed up long before I knew of Max’s existence, and I was also so exhausted that I only had one clear thought – to flop down into the seat on that train and be transported like a zombie to the North Sea. It seemed like there was just no other option.

This time, I feel worse 🙂 although only about half as tired (perhaps Max is slowly turning into a much less exhausting flatmate). But I know he is in good and loving hands in the countryside, with Lucky Dog Berlin, far away from the mean streets of Kreuzberg, playing with other dogs, going for walks off-leash, and actually in exactly the kind of setting I was once hoping to find for him as a permanent home. And sometimes still am, on bad days, after difficult walks – dreaming of that kind of life on his behalf. It pains me to think about it, and I would only part ways with him if somebody could offer exactly that, as well as a poolside bar, a spa, and a private race course. Just kidding, but you know what I mean. In the unlikely event that such an opportunity came up, I would have to think of what is best for Max. And Lindenstraße is not it. But I really miss him this time.

Anyway, although Thursday 3 March was a cold and misty day, (but not at all windy, and you can’t have everything), I decided to live dangerously and took the S-Bahn to Friedrichshagen, partly to have another look at the cafés and many nice little shops in the very pleasant Bölschestraße, and partly to go for a walk along the eastern shore of Müggelsee (although the light conditions were less than ideal for for example bird photography, fog can make for some quite atmospheric photos).

But first I took this photo from my balcony, before it became clear how foggy it would get:

Here is my route on mapmywalk.

Moving on to Friday 4 March.

I went to Tierpark (Europe’s biggest landscape zoo) in order to see the new “Himalaya” area on the hill at the back of the park, to take some animal portraits there, and to have lunch in one of the cafés. Not only did it turn out that “Himalaya” is still under construction, but the nicest cafés are also not yet open, and in any case, I arrived there to realise that I had brought three lenses and no camera.

There is no mention of an opening date in either of those cases, and this being Germany, they don’t bother with minor-yet-good-to-know details like that on their website.

Anyway, it was a nice walk and good to see Tierpark again. I took these two photos with my phone:

Nearly back home, I took these photos. The first one is the remains of Berlin’s medieval wall, and the other one I’m sure needs no introduction:

And posted this on Facebook:

“Dear Max, I solemnly swear that I will never again be annoyed when you follow me around wherever I go in the flat, or when you wake me up in the middle of the night for a cuddle (or to make sure that she who feeds you is still alive), or when you act like it nearly killed you to be left alone for half an hour. Please just continue to be you when you come back from your holiday in the countryside. It is too quiet and empty here right now.”

Saturday, 5 March

Trying to psyche myself up to attending an “in-person” course. Last time I did that was in Corona-free Amrum. This time it is here in Corona-ridden Berlin – Charlottenburg to be specific. This is the course. My very first course with Artistravel, probably about six years ago, with Martin Timm, also took place here in Berlin, in that same place, so for some strange reason, even after all this time, they are still holding their Berlin courses in non-descript Charlottenburg ??? There is nothing there, except the smaller of Berlin’s two zoos, and an ugly castle, and it is far away from everything. And since we will probably be doing quite a lot of walking in class, it is a little bit too far to walk both ways, so I will need to use public transport.

The nearby Besselpark, redesigned about a year ago, is named after the astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, hence the kind of starshaped bed of white croci on the lawn:

These photos are not as sinister as they look. They are just bad photos of a crow taking off from the scaffolding next door. Or is it art?

Sunday, 6 March

Unspeakably sad and hopping mad in equal measure.

I went for a walk around Königs Wusterhausen (a twenty minute ride from Alexanderplatz on the regional train). Nice walk, weather not so great but at least not raining, and an unexpectedly delicious lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant called Yammy.

My route on mapmywalk here.

The train back (originating from Cottbus) was packed with people with lots of luggage. The types of luggage and the fact that they were almost all asleep made it clear that they were Ukrainians. Stupidly, I had not considered that on the way out but of course there are many ways of getting to Berlin from Ukraine. The look in their eyes when they did open them ….. Damn you Putin!

I was reminded of my first months after moving to Berlin, six years ago now, when I started to come into contact with quite a few refugees from Syria. The stories …. Many of them young families, encouraged by the grandparents to leave – “we are too old to start over, but you must move yourselves and our grandchildren to safety”. How heartbreaking is that? The men left, often with other, much younger, male members of the family in their care – some as young as eight, nine, ten years old. They travelled to Europe via the Mediterranean Express (and as we all know, not all of them survived), and in most cases, the wives and daughters were able to join them here after about 18 months – in some cases on a journey the initial part of which was not much less perilous than the one crossing the Mediterranean in so-called boats.

All the families I know of have done OK, and the children are doing well in school, but they definitely had a difficult start here. One of the families, and a father and son from Palestine, remain my friends. Because this whole world is so discriminatory and racist, the Ukrainians are going to have an easier start here, which is not to say there will not be challenges. On top of all the grief and sorrow.

To say that the Syrians fled because of one maniacal, psychotic despot is probably simplifying the complex situations in the Middle East, but the Ukrainians are definitely doing just that. Why doesn’t somebody poison him? Poisoned tea is a Russian speciality. Granted, terrified of Covid, he is still living in strict isolation – remember the ridiculously long table? – but somebody must have access to him. Or does his paranoia extend to making his own tea?

I am again thinking of the inequalities in the world. I was privileged to grow up in Denmark in the 1950s and -60s. It does not get much better than that. My parents had gone to school for eights years only and were not wealthy, but that did not matter – with free education and free health care, the general ideal that there must not be too big a gap between rich and poor, penicillin already freely available, Europe’s last polio epidemic behind us, all the civil and political rights served to us on a silver platter, and no war in our backyard until the one in the Balkans – and now this – I have never had to fight for any damn thing, let alone wonder where the next meal was going to come from. I definitely got the best years, ever, anywhere.

And for me, moving to Berlin was a conscious decision and a long-held dream. Not the lesser of two evils as was the case for most Syrians.

And now I shall try to get my head around processing the silly, unimportant photos I took today, and the equally silly, unimportant course that starts tomorrow.

Next to the town of Königs Wusterhausen is a lock, and a “deerpark”. I did not see any deer, not even any birds, but I did see some ancient trees, and a couple of the sculptures for which the area is apparently famous.

Crossing Fischerinsel by Spittelmarkt U-Bahn station, the resident herons were prancing around. Someone told me that one of them is called Max.

Monday 7 March

On this day six years ago, I posted this on Facebook. I am seeing the start of something similar now:

“I am totally in awe of the drive, initiative, resourcefulness, and organisational and other talents of the “local heroes” I meet while familiarising myself with the many initiatives to support refugees in Berlin. And most of them are not even that local but have not lived in Berlin or even Germany for very long, but, completely undaunted by the “where the heck do we start” feeling and the lack of local knowledge, they just decide what they want to do and get on with it, and it is amazing what they achieve, including fundraising and roping in helpers for all sorts of tasks from weekly Saturday afternoon parties and daytrips for refugee children to language teaching, cooking with refugees (they are not allowed to cook in the centres), free psychological clinics and much more. On top of their often completely unrelated day-jobs. Hearing of the needs is still like looking into a bottomless pit (there are currently about 5000 unaccompanied children in Berlin, just to mention one category) but my faith in humanity is renewed after each of these evenings.”

On my way to the “Künstlerhof Lietzow”, at the back of beyond in Charlottenburg, in glorious sunshine, trying to get in photography mode, I took this photo. I then could not make up my mind: colour or black and white, so I made a diptych, just for a change:

Tuesday, 8 March

Not in photography mode, distracted by reports coming through from, a.o., Kreuzberg Hilft on the need for help at the central station and in the refugee centres. Again, it reminds me of the winter 2015-16. Back then, the asylum seekers had to sleep outside (a completely unprepared) LAGESO (and it was a much colder winter) in order to keep their number in the queue for processing. Had it not been for local Berliners stepping up with clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, food and warm drinks, things could have gone terribly wrong.

This time, the central station has been converted into one big dormitory. I am wondering how long that situation is tenable or when daily commuters will start to become less hospitable. And let us not completely forget Covid19 and the fact that the majority of Ukrainians are still unvaccinated.

I took these two photos on the way to the course. The first one is a sign (and a tree) that I must have passed thousands of times but never noticed. I find it slightly odd that Berlin taxi drivers planted a tree outside the Springer Building on the occasion of Springer’s 15th anniversary :-). The second photo will fit nicely into the photo series I am starting (for now entitled “Garbage in trees” for want of a catchier phrase). Berliners are obsessed with balloons. It seems they can’t celebrate anything without them. Even at a time when balloons ought to be on the list of next environmental hazards that should be completely banned. Still, better in a treetop than in the canal.

Still distracted and uninspired, I did take these “Klicheefotos” on the morning outing during the course:

Wednesday, 9 March

Need to skip class today to see how I can help (apart from dropping off a couple of air mattresses and blankets), without actually spending time indoors in what is probably fast becoming a Covid19 cesspool, since I am still determined not to get infected. I know – nowadays trying not to get infected is considered as anti-social as not getting vaccinated …..

Found the time to take some grainy klichée cemetery bird photos:

In any case, I don’t think I’ll ever do another “in-person” course again. Zoom courses are just so much more comfortable. No need for public transport so you save a lot of time. You dont have to schlepp your gear around. You are not stuck in a room with a bunch of strangers. You can get up and walk around a bit while still listening in. No need to take notes since the sessions are recorded. And you can watch the recording at your convenience if you are unable to attend part of them. They also seem a lot more structured. And you don’t have to send your dog away .