Went to see the exhibition at ZAK of art from the German-Polish border region, which I found very interesting.

Took some photos from the surroundings before and after, a.o. my first ever photo of a Kingfisher. I have seen many the last couple of years, but they are shy and fast and – to me – very difficult to photograph. It was far away, and the photo is not good, but it was very cold and windy so I did not want to hang around trying to get a better photo.

LAST UPDATED 29 December AM

If you are in Berlin, and we know each other one way or another, and interested in a relatively quiet but informal private celebration, and especially, but not necessarily, if you are a hobby photographer (see here some photos I took last year: https://www.hellemoller.eu/2024/01/03/some-whacky-photos-from-new-years-eve-31-january-2023/), perhaps you would like to come to my place in Lindenstraße near the Jewish Museum (good public transport) on 31 December between 21.00 and 01.00.

I have a relatively good view of the fireworks from my sixth floor perch towards Kreuzberg in one direction and Potsdamer Platz in the other.

You are welcome to bring frinds, and also to bring food if there is a special regional or national dish you would normally prepare and want to eat for this occasion. I will provide bits to eat – cheese, cold cuts etc. (- no cooking on this occasion :-)), wine, and of course something bubbly for midnight.

NOTE: If you drink anything other than wine and the midnight bubblies, please let me know in time for me to make sure I have it available. Alternatively, bring some yourself :-).

PS Just because I am too lazy to translate this into German, this is a multi-lingual event – English, German, Arabic, perhaps Polish, and even Danish if need be :-).

LAST UPDATED 16 December PM

This is a continuation of the post about Christmas markets in 2023, which is when I started the quest of taking myself out of my comfort zone and visit and photograph as many of them as possible.

The ones I did not manage to visit are listed here.

NOTE: If you are looking for inspiration, you should primarily use the post from 2023, since this list only comprises those I did not manage to visit last year. Please also double-check dates and times in the links given.

ONLY ON 24 November

Natural and unprocessed at Ökowerk.

ONLY ON 30 November

Alt-Buckow Christmas Market

ONLY ON 29 November-1 December

“Small but stylish” (Swedish)

VISITED 30 November: “Small but fine” in the medieval village of Alt-Marzahn. Fr 14-22, Sa 12-22, So 12-22. Underwhelmed. Only redeeming feature: One stand with West-African streetfood. I had expected a bit more in Marzahn. Just a couple of photos, starting with a typical Berlin sight as seen from my home that morning: Garbage in trees. Very popular, in fact too popular to everbe removed. The trash on the photo came from the infinity building site next door during a storm years ago, and although Cresco Capital has the equipment to remove it, they would not dream of it.

ONLY ON 30 November-1 December

A piece of Danish Christmas culture. 12.00-18.00, Admission free.

Holy Shit Shopping (that IS what it is called):  Admission 8 euro. From 12.00 to 19.00.

ONLY ON 1 December

Church choir and handmade gifts in Lübars. This ought to be idyllic, and can be combined with a highly recommended walk up to Köppschensee. Unfortunately, again this year, I will not be able to make it.

Long-standing tradition on the outskirts of Berlin. Lichtenrade.

Around the Grunewald Church. 

Evang. Johannesstift, Zehlendorf

VISITED on 1 December: Along the Landwehrkanal*). Nowkoelln X-mas flow. 10-16.30. The Nowkoelln Xmas Flow takes place at the Maybachufer in Neukölln, directly at the Landwehrkanal between Volkspark Hasenheide and Görlitzerpark.

Why on earth this is called a Christmas market is beyond me. Nothing christmassy about it. Just piles of second (at least) hand junk. One stand with Japanese street food as the redeeming feature. Still, the weather was nice and the walk there along Landwehrkanal pleasant:

ONLY ON 1 AND 8 December:

“Potters, painters, arts and crafts, fashion and jewellery designers”. Artisan advent in Charlottenburg.

Evang. Johannesstift, Zehlendorf

ONLY ON 6 December:

Strausberg. Not in Berlin, but I will attempt to visit this one

ONLY ON 6-8 December:

Rixdorf – a lot of home-made stuff: “Berlin’s most romantic Christmas market.”

Museumspark Rüdersdorf. 

Burg Storkow

ONLY ON 7 December

“A very British Christmas” at St. George’s Church

Schiffshebewerk Finow on my wishlist every year but so far, I have not managed to fit it in.

ONLY ON 7-8 December:

Christmas market for dogs and their humans. (Why am I not surprised?)

Italian Christmas market. Street-food etc. 

Arts and crafts, sausages and mulled wine, in Frohnau.

On the banks of the Havel River: Christkindlmarkt Kladow

Fairytale Christmas market at the oldest surviving castle in Berlin.

Kunstadvent in Berlin-Friedrichshagen. 

“Typically Berlin Atmosphere at Bröhan”. 

Weihnachtsbazar Britz

ONLY ON 8 December:

Alt-Glienicke Adventsmarkt

Woltersdorfer Schleuse

ONLY ON 8, 15, AND 22 December:

Indoors in Markthalle IX. 

Artisan at Mexicoplatz. 

Weddingmarkt Christmas edition

FIRST THREE ADVENT WEEKENDS

VISITED 1 December: By many called the prettiest Christmas market in Berlin – Späth’sche Baumschule

Very cosy with a stage, and a big fire, and good quality things to buy if that is what you are looking for. Also the nice “Hofladen” was open. Relatively crowded. Did not take any photos (too cold :-)).

ON ALL WEEKENDS IN ADVENT

Nordic/Medieval at Schloss Britz

Atmospheric at Domäne Dahlem

ON EVERY ADVENT SUNDAY

Sustainable consumption at Kollwitzplatz eco market.

ONLY ON 13 to 15 December:

VISITED 14 DECEMBER: Alt-Stadt Strausberg

Of course not in Berlin, but I wanted to take a closer look at Strausberg wich is only about an hour away on the S5. I gave up the original plan to walk around the lake first – too cold, dark and drizzly – but the Christmas market was cozy. However, not cozy enough to actually take my camera out of the rucksack, so just took a few smartphone snaps (The first two on the way from the station:

Not in Berlin but would like to visit: Königs Wusterhausen

ONLY ON 14 December:

Dicke Linda Christmas Market at Kranoldplatz. NOTE: In Neukölln

Covered Christmas stroll on Kranoldplatz. NOTE: In Steglitz

ONLY ON 14 to 15 December:

Unconventional in a cool location in Prenzlauerberg

ONLY ON 15 DECEMBER:

Teltower Weihnachtsmarkt

ONLY ON 21 and 22 December:

VISITED 21 DECEMBER: A falconry show and Jochen the talking elephant in Westend. I went mostly for the – alledged – falconry show but saw no signs of that being true at all. There were some stands with good quality things – for example had I been looking for things like gloves, hats, scarves …. I could easily have found something I liked. Relatively well visited though the atmosphere a bit subdued, or maybe that was just my imagination, after the Magdeburg tragedy the day before.

VISITED 22 DECEMBER: Arts, crafts and delicacies in the very south of Berlin. (Rudower Weihnachtsmeile). Quite nice, some interesting streetfood, including Chinese. As in Westend yesterday, the atmosphere seemed a bit quiet.

NEW THIS YEAR: FROM 8 NOVEMBER TO 29 DECEMBER: Wintertraum in Niederschöneweide

Monday to Thursday 14.00-22.00; Friday and Saturday 14.00-23.00; Sunday and holidays 12.00-21.00. Closed 24 December. Entrance free.

From 15 November to 16 Februar:

Winterwelt Grünau

From 18 November to 30 December:

All-inclusive next to an iconic bridge over the River Spree*). Note high admission fee and online tickets with much included in the way of drinks and food. At the Spreespeicher at Oberbaumbrücke

From 25 November to 22 December:

VISITED 28 November: A piece of Scandinavia in Berlin

Moose sausages and other game products. And if you want – alledgedly – real glögg, and not the wishy-washy Glühwein, this market claims to have the real deal. I saw Danish, Finnish, Icelandic and Swedish glögg on offer. (Or you can make your own).

Frankfurt (Oder)

From 25 November to 30 December:

In Hellersdorf

VISITED ON 12 DECEMBER: Tempelhofer Hafen. Very small, traditional, with “the usual suspects” plus one stand with Tibetan street food. For some strange reason does not make the best of the location right next to the harbour. Did not take any photos.

From 28 November to 1 January:

VISITED 13 DECEMBER: NEW THIS YEAR: Teuffelsberg

“Berlin’s highest Christmas market”. Highest is undoubtedly true, but calling it a market is a bit of a stretch. Too boring – and cold – to even take my camera out of the rucksack, so just took a few smartphone snaps, except one photo I took on the way back to S Grunewald:

Also: (Not in Berlin but would like to try to squeeze them in

25.11.-22.12.: Rostock (combined with a walk on the beach in Warnemünde)

30.11.-4.01. Warnemünde

25.11.-22.12: Frankfurt (Oder) (also one 7.-15. December)

This Goshawk (DE Habicht) makes a brief appearance most mornings in a tall tree at the back of my courtyard, right next to Berlinische Galerie. He keeps a watchful eye on the ground for a while, then swoops down, and flies away. I have not yet been able to see if he actually finds some food here, but there are plenty of mice and small rats in the area, so I wish he would bring his friends along to help keeping them at bay.

It is almost worth investing in a longer lense just for that, but for now, here are two not very good photos:

A film on either Prime or Netflix is agreed on. I cook. We watch the film in the late afternoon and then we eat.

This might be the first dessert. Despite the icecream component this, to me, is definitely a winter dessert. Now I just need to find a main course which is not too heavy or rich.

Here is the overview on Wikipedia.

I have never attended any events commemorating or celebrating any of those dates, not even the fall of the wall, thinking it was not my party to hijack, although it was of course of momentous importance far beyond Germany and even Europe.

I also know that many Germans see this latest 9 November event as a day of mourning since it paved the way to the reunification on 3 October 1990 (obviously not celebrated today, but the association is easy to see). Not that they supported the GDR regime, but because they had other dreams, hopes and visions for their country than being annexed by FRG in a process which they feel was bulldozed into being.

But back to today – the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. One of the ways it is being commemorated is with a path of posters and banners, old as well as new, marking the trajectory of the wall from just north of the central station to a little beyond Checkpoint Charlie.

With the promise of a sunny day, I posted a photowalk along that display in the photography group of InterNations.org, “Let’s celebrate freedom while we still have it”, starting at 14.00 hrs at the start of the route just north of the central station. A map of the route can be found here.

I was moved by the number of posters, and the number of people out to walk the route and celebrate. My impressions:

Video I

Video II

The home stretch after an overwhelming experience, on what was actually a bitterly cold day, survived thanks to good company, a cup of hot chocolate along the way, and the thought of a curry in my favourite restaurant, Sadhu on the corner of Ritterstraße and Lindenstraße, at the end:

Video III

And finally, the setting moon spotted towards the end of the walk:

I read about one of the big pumpkin farms in Brandenburg that they exhibit about 100.000 pumpkins, 500 different kinds, some weighing only 35 grams. Some of them are for sale, and dishes with pumpkin can be sampled in a bakery, a café, and a restaurant, where goose raised on the premises can also be sampled. And with joyrides for children.

Spargelhof Klaistow, Glindower Straße 28, 14547, in case anyone wants to visit – this is the last weekend, but I am sure they will be back next year, and are in any case doing something similar during asparagus season. Easily reached on RE1 and bus 641 (but keep an eye on the schedule – the bus only runs hourly).

I thought that might add some welcome splashes of colour on a grey and misty day, and also provide some images I would need for a photography course, illustrating the abundance in this part of the world in contrast to the abject deprivation elsewhere, so off I went to Beelitz.

I was prepared for mountains of pumpkin – not for the way they had been built into tasteless figures and the sight of all that food simply rotting.

17 November Jewish Cemetery Weißensee with Umweltladen Mitte

14 November Berlin Zoo between medical appointment and cinema?

10 November Birdwatching Tempelhofer Feld See separate post

9 November “Posterwall” See separate post

2 November Birdwatching in English with VHS in Hasenheide and on Tempelhofer Feld

Lovely walk in great company and the best November-in-Berlin weather possible. Saw many different birds – did not get a chance to photograph so many.

Bonus tip: We finished with a coffee in the very nice cafe in “Spore Initiative” – interesting place and architecture, close to U Bhf Leinestraße.

City walk with Eckehard Heiber, Empor Berlin, 3 November

Interesting as always, although a very large group in which there are always people who can’t keep their mouths shut while Eckehard is talking. Anyway, the weather was just as brilliant as the day before, if a little colder.

Here just a couple of unedited photos from my smartphone.

Afterwards, I went to Humboldt Forum to see the exhibition on Palast der Republic, which I found interesting.

Then an early dinner in vegan Vietnamese restaurant Sora on the way to quiznight “Let’s get Quizical” in Alte Turnhalle, where the team I was on came in fourth out of 22 teams. All in all, a perfect 72nd birthday :-).

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.