So the first bit of good news is that I seem to have brought Spring back to Berlin from California. Just the weekend before I left Jasper told me it had snowed again (and yes, this made me very, very angry. Grr...Winter rage!) but ever since I've been back the weather has been beautiful. As always, this means zillions of people on the streets eating ice cream, packed playgrounds and smiles all around. Springtime beat the grump out of old Berlin.
The second bit of good news is that Jasper had me buy a new camera lens when I was in the Bay Area. Technical stuff is always cheaper in the U.S. (though that's about the only thing. I couldn't believe how expensive groceries have gotten. Two, maybe three times as expensive as in Berlin...) plus the exchange rate is in our favor so I got a nice portrait lens, the lowest aperture being 1,8. Yesterday I took a jaunt around Bergmannstrasse with Baby Li to try out the lens. I've been using a Macro lens for quite some time and it was quite a fun challenge to try and adapt to a new one. You really have to adjust your way of seeing not to mention change some of your settings...Anyway, I still haven't totally gotten the hang of it, but I did take a few shots I liked. Here they are:
I don't know what it is about graveyards. True, there are several gorgeous ones near my house and true they are green, quiet and nice to walk in. Still, I think I have a special fondness for them because of growing up in Tucson. Tucson may be many things, but green is not the first one that comes to mind. I remember driving to church with my family (we lived there until I was 10)and always pointing out the window at some point and saying "Look! There's the tree!" As in THE tree, the only tree we ever really saw that was more than a stick (it must have hit an underground water main or something, because I remember it being tall and very lush.) After church we would sometimes go to the graveyard where they had, you guessed it, trees and grass and other green leafy things. When we went, we always had a picnic. Maybe that explains it: to me, graveyards have the cheerful feeling of a family Sunday eating fried chicken and potato salad....Either way, when the sun was actually shining today, it was the first place I thought to go to.
Winters in Berlin are tough. Grey skies everyday, frozen dog shit all over the street (frozen if you're lucky that is!), grim faces... A native California girl, I've never liked it even before I had kids. Now that I have two young children, the season is basically unbearable. A double stroller, two sets of snowsuits, no car....Cars are expensive to have in Berlin and since we live in a great urban neighborhood we don't really need one (we can borrow my brother-in-law's if need be...) But still, babies, a heavy stroller, a subway system where nearly NO station has an elevator and only sometimes an escalator (very steep stairs in their place)I almost never leave the neighborhood. I've been keeping myself busy with creative projects so I don't go crazy. Jewelry making, collages, etc. for my two etsy shops. Still, there is a problem with light. In order to post the items I have made to offer them for sale in Schaufenster and Rose, red Rose I have to take photographs. Though lovely, our apartment doesn't get very good light. Many an afternoon I've driven myself crazy taken blurry picture after blurry picture. Occasionally I set up things in the courtyard in the back, but it's not really much fun even if the light is better. Yesterday I had a revelation: I need to take photographs and get out of the house a little bit. Why not go to one of the graveyards nearby? There are two really nice ones (including one where Brahms and Schumann are buried.) When Mia was in pre-school I packed up baby Lilly and headed to the one on Bergmannstrasse. The sun was actually shining and I got some great shots of both the necklace and two collages which was great. Photographs plus small winter outing equals sucess. Hooray!
So the first bit of good news is that I seem to have brought Spring back to Berlin from California. Just the weekend before I left Jasper told me it had snowed again (and yes, this made me very, very angry. Grr...Winter rage!) but ever since I've been back the weather has been beautiful. As always, this means zillions of people on the streets eating ice cream, packed playgrounds and smiles all around. Springtime beat the grump out of old Berlin.
chenende everybody. :)
