Bauhaus Dessau Disappointment

During the brief break between school terms, we headed west in Germany for a very German site, the Brocken. More about that trip, including Quedlinburg, elsewhere. From enjoying century-old design in Quedlinburg, given terrible weather, we decided to head to Dessau to visit the Bauhaus sites there. I thought it would be a nice contrast…

Memorizing Traffic Routes

I’m not entirely sure whether this is a strange obsession/interest that I have passed on genetically or if this is a big-city-kid, or transit-afficionado thing, but I am delighted to report that Ingm knows the stops of her school bus route (i.e. two buses with around 10 stops each) by heart now. I wonder if…

Molehills of Dirt

When metropolitan, navel-of-the-world Berliners want to snicker about small-minded Southern Germans, one of the most common references is the Kehrwoche, i.e. the duty that home owners sweep the sidewalk in front of their house. This is generally seen as a sign of some kind of collective anal retention and something that would be inappropriate in gritty Berlin,…

The Relaxation Beer on the Train

I’ve finally joined in. On the way home from evening hockey practice on the subway and train, I couldn’t resist, bought myself a cold Berliner Pilsener and joined the crowds who enjoy a relaxed beer on the train. And they are crowds! I’ve wondered for some time how many people drink on public transit. Obviously,…

Landscapes that Speak to Me

There are some landscapes that I could stare into for hours. Some of them are home (Småland, the holiday visit there inspired this post, the sandy patches of pine trees around Berlin), some have become home (Vancouver, Alaska), and some must have been a home in a previous life (Mongolia). Småland In Sweden, there are…

Learning New Berlinerisch

I have to admit that I like the sound of Berlin dialect. I like funny expressions, and I like learning about new funny expressions. I have some favourite sources for new expressions, like 11Freunde. Movies are an obvious other good source. Tschick (with its Mongolian start) has re-introduced the term “Walachei” [the Romanian region of…

Swedish Memories

My visits to my parents’ vacation home in Sweden have been far and few between over the past 25 years after being so regular, essentially every vacation, for the eight years or so before then. Still one of the best views in the world: And, since the sink was built for my brother’s and my…

P.S.: Public Library

In November, I had written about my initial experience with the Berlin public libraries. Here’s a bit of an update. The fee structure I described in the previous post has discouraged me (and the rest of the family) somewhat from using the library. When there is a fee attached to having a book delivered at…

Unproblematic Patriotism

Visits to Sweden for a German kid used to be visits to a land of seemingly uncomplicated patriotism. Most houses in the countryside have a flagpole, most of them usually fly a triangular, blue-and-yellow standard (vimpel) and on holidays, the big Swedish flags come out. They formed as much a part of the landscape as…

Struggling with English

No, this isn’t a post warning Canadian friends that they’ll hear me speak with a revived glorious German accent when we return (though that is also the case), this is about an unexpected school “struggle” for E, English class. Obviously, E has been ambitious in school for some time, in terms of substance as well…