As I watch through my kitchen window, leaves chasing each other in ever decreasing circles before being abruptly and unceremoniously dropped on a whim, I contemplate the affinity between this natural phenomena and life itself. This “whirlwind” comes and goes as it pleases interacting briefly with its surroundings, dumping its detritus without fear or favour.
Category: Culture Vulture
It is difficult to keep up with the effects of COVID-19 around the world from one day to another. While Italy has gone for complete lock down, Germany begins to feel the effects of the virus on the social, economic, medical and political front. I won’t go into detail about the virus itself, the media
When I was growing up, the calendar was marked with all the religious and national holidays, which was fine and easy to follow, especially with birthdays scattered among them. It was a way of keeping track of the passing months and gave me something to look forward to, especially since Mommy was always keen on
There are days when I am incredibly slow on the uptake and not quite up to speed with the latest trends. Well, at my age I no longer feel the need to know every single new and hip trend, I leave that to my daughter. Nevertheless, I don’t want to be called antiquated (yet) either,
Here is an excerpt of what I wrote last year about Valentine’s Day, a day I have come to resent very much. Maybe it is Berlin’s cynicism rubbing off on me, with the expression “Det ist mir so was von ejal, wa!” (equivalent to – I don’t give a damn!) : Here are my two
You would have to be made of stone and blind not to fall in love with the interior of the Martin Gropius Bau. From the outside there is no way of guessing how spectacular the interior of the building is, and once you set foot in it, the enormity and beauty of it all leaves
Without realizing it, the battery had run out on my watch and I thought I had 20 minutes to kill before my scheduled appointment yesterday. It was cold, windy and I was in no mood to go window shopping. The next best option was to pop into a little Turkish cafe where I hang out
The rat is probably one of the most misunderstood creatures, vilified by all and sundry for its appearance and supposedly anti-social behaviour. But why judge the rat with human values? What if we try it the other way around, and judge humans from the rats perspective? First of all, they are highly intelligent, empathetic, and
It wasn’t too long ago that I was getting the house ready for Advent, Christmas, New Year, and most importantly, the arrival of my daughter from Florence. Once she was here my world was whole again, and whatever was missing or felt hollow was suddenly filled. But all good things come to an end, and
The photograph above was taken last night at the Berlin Rathaus Spandau subway station, to me one of the most beautiful and charming stations of the Berliner subway. There are a lot of interesting stations around the city, no doubt about that, but this one never ceases to enchant me. Call it home turf pride
