A day in Potsdam

A great day trip out of the heart of Berlin is the short train ride to Potsdam, viewing the map, you may feel like you haven't really left Berlin, the change becomes apparent stepping off the train.

The cityscape Iis entirely different to nearby Berlin, you immediately view the bright colours, the feeling of movement and openess.

The feeling of freedom was not lost on me, more expansive areas to enjoy leisure activities, a less restricted life beckons. Potsdam just seemed a more friendly place.

Berlin waterways

The wonderful waterways of central Berlin are interesting from a historical context, the old style watercraft are seen berthed just out of the central area. A complete transport system must have been in use probably right up to the segration of the city, even now, marine craft are still in use for construction activity.

The bridge mechanism on the canal heading towards museum island is an excellent example of machinery that was not only functional, engineering can look good too.

Potsdam police cars

A pair of luxury cars in Australia, the German police get to drive around in BMWs and Mercedes Benz, how is that for a police presence?

Bab's apartment

For us, this was excellent timing, my good friend Babette was yet to move into her new apartment, we were free to stay without disrupting her life too much. We were running low on cash and this was an opportunity to save a few Euro before embarking on the next phase of our trip.

I tried to get the apartment ready for her to move in, she had been paying rent since the start of May, we were getting to the end of June and he apartment was still vacant. Hopefully, we would both benefit here.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed spending time with her and young daughter, these are the moments that really make a trip. Instead of just hitting city for a day to a week, we gained a sense of belonging in this city.

I like Berlin, I like hanging with Babette even more.

It was a case of "Ich bin ein Berliner" for me, this, of course was way from the truth, but I was feeling relaxed there.

Berlin waterpumps

We were walking down Leberstrasse towards Babette's apartment when we came across this old disused waterpump on the footpath, I was dumbfounded, this is what I expected to see in an African village, not the German capital.

The pumps still work, however, the water is now not drinkable, this was not always the case. In the immediate period after the defeat of Germany in world war two, the German capital lay in ruins from strategic bombing and then later fighting street to street. Essential services such as water, electricity and gas were damaged to the point of non operation. People lined up in the streets to pull water manually from the system as the main pumps providing flow and pressure were damaged.

In this older section of Berlin, the housing and streets maintain pre-war construction, I was informed the buildings in the street and immediate surrounds are used for filming period movies.

Catching up with friends in Berlin

I have been to Berlin maybe half a dozen times, I always enjoy my time there, but I don't go there for the sights. Of course, during the day, I will head out to Unter der Linden, Potsdamer Platz or the Brandenberg Gate to fill the day in as my friends are working.

I was lucky enough to hang with one of my friends from my Turkish diving days. She was hardly changed in that time, her command of the English language is excellent, I still have to concentrate to fully comprehend her thick Eastern German accent, or as explained, the former GDR.

She has done very well for herself, her two young boys are very intelligent, why wouldn't they be, she has a PhD and works at the museum researching marine creatures, her special project has brought government funding to the museum.
I never had the opportunity to meet her husband this time, he was off on an expedition in the Atlantic on a large research vessel searching the ocean depths for life. He had been away seven weeks at this stage, a fair amount of time at sea, I'm not envious of him.

I am neither envious or jealous, I am very happy her life is turning out well. Her husband is not a professor as such as explained by her, he has a PhD himself and works at the museum conducting research. However, he has been granted teneture, I am not sure if he teaches there. I am still a little unsure how the whole German university system works, I know a number of years ago they moved from a domestic to international qualification system. I would love the opportunity to chat with him and his research, I very much respect people working in this area.

For me, meeting up with friends is the holiday, wandering around seeing sights - that just fills the day in.

More Berlin street art

Walking around the streets of Berlin may seem a little drab for some, then you look up and this street art just jumps out at you, certainly not drab anymore.