Some Interesting Images

The Loreal Center in Berlin has this piece of art outside it. Attention Getter!

 

This is an iron horse outside Berlin Central railway Station.





Not a bad Hummer. Is it?





The original alien from the movie "Independence Day" is at display in the Sony Center in Berlin.





Griebnitzsee - A Beautiful Little Lake

Amidst the hectic research schedule I usually venture out to smaller places that normally do not figure on the iterinary of tourists. Today I stepped out of the train in a small station between Berlin and Potsdam - Griebnitzsee. The name Griebnitzsee meant Gribnitz Lake ("Lake" is called "See" in German).

To my delight, Griebnitzsee lake was completely empty and not a single soul in sight. I walked beside the lake and experienced a delightful renzedevous with the nature around. The chilly wind, the small fluttering of leaves and the silence -- the feeling was just out of the world.

At home, I checked wikipedia and was surprised to find the interesting history of the lake, including the fact that it is a Ice age channel and the way it was split right in the middle before the German reunification.

The stairway to the lake opposite the Railway station




A restaurant overseeing the lake





Wild flowers add a lot of glamour to the lake

A German gentleman poses with his dog for me

A notice board describes Griebnitzsee before the German reunification. The picture shows the wall between West Germany and Eest Germany. History has it that anyone crossing the wall was shot dead.

A cute residential house near the Griebnitzsee Lake

The trip ended with a discussion with this book store owner in Griebnitzsee railway station. The owner was a highly polished and educated gentleman who spoke impeccable English. We had a long discussion on Technology, my subject of research. Finally we clicked this picture where he wore my jacket as a symbolic gesture of friendship.

Some Images from Berlin

Berlin never fails to enthuse me. The ambience, the perenial celebratory mood, the people and Berlin's culture all go to make Berlin one of the best cities in the world. Its one city where anyone can feel at home within days. No wonder, everytime I visit Berlin it revs up my spirit. Here are some latest images:

Berlin from Berliner Dome

From the top of Berliner Dome

Near the Deutsce Museum in central Berlin

The magnificient Brandenbury Gate at night

A Bear at Berlin Zoo. This bear is the funnist of the lot and never ceases to entertain people.

Young Girls having fun with a street musician near Alexander Platz

A street performer near the Europa Center, Zoological Garden

With some American friends near the Berliner Dome

Babelsberg Filmcity – A Nostalgic World

It was a cool and bright Monday when I found myself in the Babelsberg Filmcity, near Potsdam. Founded in 1912, the Babelsberg studio is located inside the Bebelsberg Filmcity and covers a vast area of 270,000 square feet. This studio boasts of being the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. The list of some of the most noteworthy films shot at Babelsberg studios is long and can be accessed here.

The filmcity offers an opportunity to delve into the magical world of children. Countless entertainment objects and activities unravel the beauty of the world of children. Walking through the witch town with its sound and light effects and models of witches, skeletons and monsters are sure to send a chill down the spine. The Jurassic Park showcases models of animals within a natural setting where one can be shocked by a sudden roar or a dinosaur and the burst of water canons from strange Jurrasic age creatures. Add to it the countless swings, drawing and painting rooms, toy boat racing, electric car rides, jungle rides in boats etc., all geared to satisfy the creative urge in children. 



The sets of the famous Hollywood movie "The Pianist"



A replica of the old western town



The witch inside a accurately designed witch-house. As you peep inside the witch-house through a window you hear sounds of laughter, groaning and strange noices.



A huge radio-shaped house

The caravan that carries rides people inside the studio

A child getting a face-tattoo from the makeup artists inside the studio

A cute restaurant

 


Lost in Translation – My Linguistic Experience in Germany

With just 2 days left for my travel to Germany for the EU research project I was asked to pickup some basics of the German language. Next day I bought a book on German language and in the boring Air India flight to Frankfurt, mugged up some basic words.

But perhaps the linguistic confusion was fated to happen. Next morning I deboarded in Frankfurt and stood in the platform to catch the train to Potsdam. There I saw a whole bunch of strange words – on passing trains and the platform. Turning to the gentleman next to me I asked him how I could identify my train. He replied in a coarse voice, “Deutsch”. I said “Oh…ok..Sorry, I English.” Then I headed for a lady. “Mam, can you help me identify my train to Berlin from this ticket?” Within a split second the lady began a lengthy narration which I thought was a sonnet from Shakesphere. She went on and on, for about a minute. Finally when she stopped I asked her the way you generally talk to Koreans, “Train…train to Berlin…which? You knowing?” At this her face grew pale and she threw her hands up in the air and said, “Englishch? Nein.”

There I was, standing in middle of the platform with trains and people zipping around me. Whoa! it was like meeting aliens. Oh God! What if I miss the train amidst all this stupid confusion of languages? I wracked my brains and tried to calm myself. “All is well, all is well,” I said touching my heart. Suddenly I saw a guard standing in front of an ICE train. I showed him my ticket. He nodded and said, “Yes, Yes, this train.” No sooner did he utter that I jumped like a kangaroo onto the train -- bag and baggage.

Description of an an ancient object in a German Museum

Somehow I could manage to reach Potsdam and by then I was confident of managing things. But the linguistic monster struck again! In Potsdam station nothing was written in English. One board said “Ausgang” and another said “Eintrag.” I looked at these terrible words and thought that “Ausgang” perhaps is the name of some shady gang of muggers around and I should avoid it. And the word “Eintrag” appeared something like a ‘Rag’. By then everyone disappeared in the direction of the “Ausgang” but I did not budge. Then I saw someone coming down the steps and asked him the exit. He was a student who knew English and he told me that “Ausgang” was “Exit” in German. Confirmed, I moved on.

The language issue kept haunting me every now and then. One day in Berlin it was quite late at night and I decided to head for the nearest railway station. Suddenly I noticed a “Bahnhof” (railway station). On the entrance it was written “Nichtraucher-Station.” I immediately pulled out my train route-map and tried figuring the station called “Nichtraucher.” I searched minutely but there was no station with that name.

Frustrated I headed for the nearest man I could get hold of. Two or three of them said, “Deutsch, sorry,” and left. Then I saw a young man walking towards me, “Hallo, any problem?” “Ya, this Nichtraucher station is not on the map,” I observed. To this he had a hearty laugh and said, “Nichtraucher station” means “Non-smoking Station”. “It’s the Alexander Platz Station.”

The NETTO store displays name only in German

The most pathetic tussle with language was when I visited a food store near where I stay. The first day in the NETTO grocery store I could not make a word of the food items displayed. All names were strange. I was looking for eggs and so found an executive who again did not understand English. Determined to make him understand I began, “Egglu..no? ok Eggu…Eggti…no? ok…egz..coming out of the hen…” As I tried to give him a whole lot of options…he kept nodding his head in refusal. Frustrated, I pulled out a frozen chicken from the freezer and pointed to its ass and said…”coming from here…round…round.?” “Ah…Eier,” he said and bought me a dozen eggs. 

That was the first day. The second day I thought of acting confident and smartly walked inside the grocery store. There, I picked up a nicely packed Pizza. It read “Pferd Pizza.” I went home baked the pizza, ate it and slept. The next morning I learnt that the pizza was a Horse Pizza, with Horse meat. "Pferd" meant horse and was not the name of a brand. Instantly I could fell a horse yelling from inside me, “Bhaisaheb…mujhe to chor diya hota?”

And here’s the irony that jolted me one day. I learnt that English language originated in Western part of Germany and when some of these people migrated to Britain the language was adopted by the British who modified it further, and so on.

Berlin’s Creative Street Culture

Berlin is an lively city. The city is multicultural and is teeming with scientists and creative people alike. Much of the creative potential of the city is visible in public places across the city. Performers of all hues and affiliations can be seen performing in the open, in the many spots across Berlin. Although the city is strewn with countless places where you will find such creative people, I experienced the best form of creative street culture in such as Brandenbury Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Alexander Platz and around the museum complex, all within a few kilometers from one another. While every moment in these places are exciting the best time I thought were the afternoon and the evenings when these places are teeming with activity and people.

It could be a gloomy cloudy day or a bright day, the weather becomes an insignficant elements for creative performers. As you stand in these popular hangouts you witness unusual street performances and also get to meet unusual people and then your evening changes. This street scene changes everyday and even within different times of the same day as its almost impossible to see the same bunch of creative performers again. Perhaps these prople also keep moving around and never stick to the same place.

In one of my visits to Potsdamer Platz, in the evening, I met an automotive scientist, on the street. He was displaying his electric car that could run at 100 kms/hour and could travel upto 1000 kms with a single charge of the battery. In a discussion that lasted half an hour we discussed a lot of issues. What was surprising about this amazing gentleman was his passion to reach out to people, directly. He was there to create awareness about electric cars and dwindling petroleum fuel and also gathering feedback on his product.

In many of the other evenings I saw hoardes of other things – a music performance where an old lady was dressed like a rabbit, a young Micheal Jackson fan and bubble blowing activity. Even in nondescript locations in Berlin you can witness many such activities performances by artists of all hues and backgrounds – painters, singers, guitar players, saxophone players, violin players and techno-musicians.

Creativity perhaps knows no boundaries and spatial limits. It is everywhere. Be it the lively side lanes of Kolkata during the Durga Puja or the streets of Berlin, creative masters keep moving. Its this bunch of people who make our lives interesting and lively and the world a beautiful place to be in. Its perhaps such masters who leave an indelible impression on our hearts about cities, towns and countries. Unforgetable.

Bubble blowing in Branderbury Gate in Berlin	Musical Group performing in Alexander Platz
With an automotive scientist in Potsdamer Platz. Seen behind is his invention	A musician performing near Pergammon Museum
With a painter near the Pergammon Museum	Alexander Platz at night
Music with Rabbit Dance in Potsdamer Platz	A young Micheal Jackson lookalike performs in Brandenburg Gate

The Iconic Reichstag is Amazing

Any visit to Berlin is perhaps incomplete without a visit to the Reichstag -- the seat of German government. The grand Reichstag towers in the heart of Berlin city and is located just at a 10 minutes walking distance from the Berlin Hauftbanhof (Main Railway Station). Over the years this grand structure has been central to several historical events, including the coming to power of the Nazis and Hitler.

As you stand in the front in the vast open fields leading to the Reichstag you are overwhelmed with anxiety. The grand building weighs down on you by its sheer humoungous size that confers it a certain strength and character, and life.

Almost everyday the Reichstag is visited by more than 3000 people from across the world. Everyday a long queue of visitors stand outside waiting for their turn to enter the building. The gate opens every half an hour and lets in hundreds of visitors, after going through a rigourous security procedure.

Once inside, visitors are led by security people to a huge lift that takes them to the top floor of the Reichstag that has a glass dome. Visitors are handed small mobile like devices with earphones that can be played to learn more about the history of the Reichstag. Inside the dome there are walkways where visitors can walk and go to the top inside the dome. All along they can plug in the electronic device and learn about the history of Reichstag.

The glass dome is an architectural marvel. As you walk inside the glass dome you find a glass tower in the center that is encircled by a gallery displaying photographs of the Reichstag and the historical events surrounding it. There are pictures of the Reichstag up in flames, an event that is believed to have given Adolf Hitler the opportunity to pass a resolution and capture absolute power in Germany.

Towards the back of the Reichstag is a river where visitors can enjoy a ride in open ferries. On the right of the Reichstag, just about 100 meters is the Brandebury Tor (Gate) that is one of the other most important and iconic places of German history.

Here are some photographs of the Reichstag that I experienced:

 The Glass Pillar in the center of the Glass Dome	 The walkways inside the Glass Dome in the Reichstag
The Glass Dome as seem from outside. The dome is visible on top of the Reichstag when seen from afar	 The functional wings of the German Government as seen from the roof of the Reichstag 
The backside of the Reichstag that displays the flags of German and the European Union	 The Waterway that touches the reichstag from the back 

German Culture – A World in Itself

It’s been a while in Berlin and Potsdam and I was slowly getting acquainted with the intricacies of German culture. Coming from India I could easily distinguish the small cultural fragments that existed here, from the countless interactions I had with people, everyday. The way Germans live and practice their culture is so different from other nations around the world. It’s rich and perhaps  what makes Germany a great nation.

The everyday German culture carries a lot of subtle tones that can only be understood by the keen observer. Much like the Bengalis in India Germans are soft-spoken and very courteous. Whether it’s someone with an imposing stature or a short-statured, there is no dearth of politeness, patience and sophistication in the way people communicate and interact with one another.

Men and women do not forget to thank you (Dankey) for even the slightest of gestures, such as allowing someone to cross you in a crowded market place or allowing someone to get down from the lift first. Even in crowded places people wait patiently take care not to inconvenience others in any way.

My first week in Germany was a little difficult. I faced certain problems in interacting with people because not many spoke English. Then there was this transportation system and the direction maps etc. that were written in Deutsche and was not easy to comprehend. However, I slowly got accustomed to the things here, thanks to the help of people I met.

During my interactions with regular citizens I learnt that even though language was a problem the intentions were not. Whenever I asked people for directions or to click my picture people were more than willing to help. In cases where my counterpart could not speak or understand English, I was readily handed a small hand-drawn map on a piece of paper or guided to the nearest information counter. Germans love to be of any little help to others. Only perhaps they expect you to sign-off with atleast a “Dankey,” which you surely must do.

Within a week I felt at home in Germany. I felt that there was nothing to despair or feel tensed about. I was in a safe place – between sensible humans. Add to it the lovely weather in September – neither too hot or too cold – Berlin and Potsdam were heaven. I could not have asked for anything more. To say in German, Es ist eine schöne Welt hier (It’s a beautiful world out here).

In Germany there exists no distinction between men and women, unlike in India where certain cultures consider women as the lesser mortal. Women in Germany are safe and it shows pretty clearly in their gait and confidence levels. The issue of women rights, so often voiced in countries like India is absent here. Be it child rights, elderly rights, women rights or the rights of any group or community, they have all been weaved into everyday practice. Every public system in Germany is sensitively designed to be of equal help to all groups of people – young or old, children or women.

Germans are also brilliant communicators. Social conversations are endowed with a display of balanced timing and message. Germans know where to draw a line during a conversation and also how to begin or end a conversation. Everytime you approach someone in Germany you greet him or her with a quick “Hello” and follow it with your message. The response to any question from your counterpart will be quick, direct and crisp. During my interaction with Germans in various social situations the conversation mostly ended with my German counterpart saying, “I hope you enjoy your time in Germany.” And I would lend an honest smile and say, “Dankey…Thank you very much”

Potsdam - A Beautiful Township

Potsdam, located about 25 kilometers, on the east of Berlin, is a township of exquisite beauty. With a total population of about 3,00,000 people, the city is a visitor's delight. The town is dotted with historical buildings and architectural masterpieces that entwine with the modern in a very interesting way. Here are some pictures of in and around Potsdam.


  Old Market 	 The Dutch Quarters 
 View of the town from Nicholas Church 	 Standing atop the Nicholas Church 
The residential quarters near the old market	Potsdam Houfbanhof (Main Railway Station)
A Jungle Track on the outskirts of Potsdam	Potsdam University Campus