Archive for April 2008
Thursday, 24th April 2008
Well and truly plastered
Yes, the building project is still in progress. I should imagine that you’re getting as sick of it as I am. At least the new rooms have now been plastered thanks to Barry and Justin’s efforts.
It’s been quite an education watching the skills of the plasterers and I’ve also learnt a lot of new words.
“Come on Justin, I want this room completed by the end of the day”
“Right on Governor, any chance of another cup of tea?”
As for the other two, to be honest I’ll be happy to see the back of them.
It’s enough to make you want to open up the ground and crawl in.
Posted by Isaac @ 10:01 AM
Wednesday, 9th April 2008
‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’
The Berlin Wall: I’ve just spent a few days visiting Berlin with my brother Jonathan. We stayed with Jonathan’s friend Andreas who he lived with in Seville. His apartment is in East Berlin, which, as Andreas was at pains to point out, is much more interesting than the Western side. In fact he wouldn’t allow us to cross the border line between East and West despite the fact that it has been opened for nearly 20 years now.
Jonathan and Andreas at the Reichstag
Loving history as I do, I’ve always wanted to visit this amazing city. However, last year you may recall that I wrote my Open University course project on The Warsaw Uprising Memorial and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. So the trip gave me the opportunity to visit the memorial.
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The memorial takes the form of a carpet of 2711 stelae covering a significant area of land in close proximity to the Brandenburg Tor.
The ground undulates as you walk through the memorial creating a sense of unease and isolation. The sounds of the city are drowned out as you walk deeper into the centre where the stelae reach towering heights.
As we were just about to leave we looked across the memorial and to our astonishment our friend Marta from Poland stood looking at us. Marta lived with Jonathan and Andreas in Seville and Andreas had kept this little secret to himself since we arrived.
The following morning we returned to the memorial to visit the museum beneath the stelae. It was raining lightly and the effect on the stelae was particularly interesting. It was as if the stones were crying in memory of the Jews that were killed during the Holocaust.
Here are a few more highlights of Berlin
The Brandenburg Gate (yes, a very serious place)
Checkpoint Charlie: You are now entering the American Zone. On the reverse side a Soviet soldier indicates that you are entering the Russian Zone.
The East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall. About 1.5km still exists as a monument to the Cold War.
Techeles: A typical East Berlin building. Only this one is slightly exceptional. It has been taken over by artists to use as studios.Â
Stumbling Stones: Occasionally these plaques can be seen in the street marking the place where Jewish families lived before they were deported for imminent death.Â
The SS did not spare their own. This stumbling stone commentorates James Deutsch – James German.
The missing house: This apartment block was destroyed during the war. On either side of the surviving buildings plaques indicate the names of the families that were living in the apartments when it was bombed. German families. The irony is that the German families would not have been living here had it not been for the fact that the Jews were turned out of their own homes. Little consolation but controversial because the plaques make no reference to the Jewish families who lived their initially.
The Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. It is said that if the zig zags are all taken apart and reordered then they form the Star of David.Â
It was a fabulous few days but I was desperate to get home to see that wonderful little smile once again.
Posted by Daddy @ 12:29 PM
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