Happy New Year 💥

It’s the morning of New Year’s Eve and we’ve been officially warned by our Airbnb hosts that Berlin celebrations are not for the faint hearted. Fireworks are only for sale for a few days leading up to New Years. The combination of alcohol and fireworks and youth can be an explosive mix. Achtung! The booms and whistles have been heard at varying distances over the past days… it is a little unsettling, I have to say… my “worst case scenario” lightening thoughts go to catastrophe of the terrorism kind… but it is just fun (haha…. eyeroll). We will stay in our comfortable art nouveau apartment with the cats and salute the new year from the balcony, in safety.

A walk to Kreuzberg with Rosie past the Eastside Gallery (the remains of the Berlin Wall that is covered with graffiti) and over the Spree. There’s lots of graffiti/art to be seen and various older style churches and apartments. I noted some brass plaques embedded within the cobblestones outside some older places and began to read “wohne” and translate my scant German… Rosie explained they are the names of Jewish Berliners who were “deported” to various concentration camps during WWII that had lived at that particular place. There were 3 plaques, 3 names, one went to Auschwitz… I felt a brief and poignant heaviness within me. We walked on… Rosie telling me that some footpaths in front of apartments in the old Jewish areas may be covered in the same brass plaques. It is the dark but true history, not to be forgotten.

I have recovered well from the bug I had and have made good use of the rest to read a great book I got for Christmas (East of the Mountains by David Guterson – check it out). I have got used to the preparations you make with appropriate attire before venturing outdoors… boots, hat, scarf, jacket, gloves. Do don them in the right order or you’ll be in a real pickle. Most cafes/bars/restaurants have coat-racks that can become fully laden during peak times and finding your own jacket before leaving is often an exploration in woolly fluffiness that is fraught with the possibility of a coat avalanche. (I narrowly avoided one once and have learnt from the experience – my Northern Hemisphere Winter L-plates are a bit obvious sometimes)

We are staying right near a park that has a farmers market on a Saturday and a flea market on a Sunday. Both are great but I really loved the farmers market. We got some interesting food stuffs and I particularly loved seeing and hearing Rosie comfortably conversing with the stall holders in German. She did some great bargaining with the scheisters at the flea market too. Bravo!

It’s later now, 5pm and it is more or less dark. The fireworks have begun in earnest. The beer choices are lined up. It’s time to begin our Silvester celebrations! See you in 2019! Prost!