Berlin Diary (Oct 5 - 8)

Storm Xavier, the worst storm to hit northern Germany in years, ripped through Berlin on Thursday afternoon, leaving fallen trees and broken branches everywhere. On that morning we awoke to a steady, soft rain, and I carried out my normal gym, shopping and writing routine. Mid afternoon I went to Alexanderplatz to meet up with Ana for our first language exchange session. Between 4:00 and 6:00 we were in a snug corner of the café on the top floor of Galleries Kaufman, engaged in introductions and conversation. She hopes to improve her English communication skills and in exchange she is teaching me some basic, beginning German. Little did we realize that outside the winds were blowing at 100 km/h, and causing all kinds of destruction. At around 6:00 when we headed to the train station we were shocked at the force of the wind. "Blustery," I said to her. I boarded the S Bahn and waited ... and waited. And amazingly, none of the passengers appeared annoyed. They sat patiently. Clearly they knew something that I didn't. I gave up after 10 minutes and hopped on the packed U Bahn. To my amazement, crowds boarded the train at every stop, there were long stops at each station, and the train moved at a sluggish speed. When I finally arrived home an hour later I heard about the storm.


The next day we found out about the fallen trees and accidents and Berlin's crippled mass transportation system. Many people had been stranded, reaching home hours later. I was lucky! On Friday and Saturday, there were still cancellations of a lot of train and bus lines, causing all of us a lot of inconvenience.
On Sunday morning, the sky had patches of blue for the first time in a few days and we went into the Grunewald forest. The air, so fresh and sweet, made us feel like we had left the city far behind, despite being just 2 metro stops from our Berlin flat. Evidence of Thursday's destructive storm could be seen everywhere.









If we hear about a Mahler Symphony No. 4 concert you can be sure we will attend! On Friday evening, a day after the big storm, we were entertained by a chamber orchestra consisting of mostly young musicians in the intimate atmosphere of a small, sumptuous hall inside Schloss Charlottenburg. The acoustics were awful, but we were impressed at how well they handled this great piece of music meant for a full orchestra.





It's become a Saturday morning ritual for us to shop at the farmer's market in Charlottenburg. A community ambience pervades this bustling market. We've become addicted to the spinach gozlemes that we can see being prepared from scratch at a Turkish stand. After scarfing down steaming pieces of yumminess on Saturday morning we
wandered around in search of dessert to take to Michendorf. A tricky task, since the options were vast. We settled for apple cake made with almond meal. The friendly lady explained in detail her baking process. Clearly, a lot of thought and care was put into all her cakes.

On Saturday evening in Michendorf Julia spoiled us with a robustly flavored tomato based lentil soup followed by a pumpkin vegetable tart and salad. A meal worthy of a classy dessert. Fabian, after expending much energy at table tennis and beating Daryl at backgammon, preferred a slice of store bought chocolate log to the special apple cake.


We submitted to a popular Sunday Berlin activity: brunch, typically a buffet that starts at 10:00 and ends at 3:00. At midday, after our amble through Grunewald Forest, we took the S bahn to Savignyplatz, which is actually an easy walk from our flat. At XII Apostel, an Italian restaurant, we gaped at the staggering buffet spread. Salads, cheeses, traditional Italian antipasti, pasta, wood fired pizzas, and about six luscious dessert options. Fruit juice, Prosecco, and coffee were included too. Wow! After two hours of stuffing ourselves, we staggered out, cursing this discovery, because of course when we finally recover, we will return for another Sunday brunch!





On Sunday evening (October 8, 2017) we experienced for the first time the opening night of a brand new opera, L'Invisible, premiering at Deutsche Oper Berlin. We joined formally attired serious opera enthusiasts for the privilege of witnessing the talents of the 81 year old "maverick" composer and librettist, Aribert Riemann, who was commissioned by the company. For us, it was like going to a contemporary art museum and being challenged to understand and appreciate an unfathomable painting. Based on 3 short plays by the Belgian poet/symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck, with "death" as the common theme, we were drawn inside a nightmare, a persistent despair residing in our beings. In the first act, "The Intruder", about death in childbirth, a disturbing mood arose from just the strings being played by the orchestra. Anguished tension came from just wind instruments in the 2nd act, "The Interior", about breaking the news of a daughter's suicide to a bourgeois family happily trimming their Christmas tree. In the final act, based on the play "Tintagile's Death", all instruments were in play, producing an enhanced anxiety. Creepy ghost shadows, counter tenors, and a sister's desperation clear in the soprano's singing, continued to provoke in us, the audience, a sense of hopeless despair. This challenging, demanding work definitely wrenched us out of our comfort zone.

We have now been in Berlin for a month, and everyday we find new reasons to appreciate and enjoy it.