Berlin 5: And Elsewhere

While we were in Berlin the riots were occurring in England.  My sister called to ask whether we were we OK (because Peckham was in flames) - which was the first we had heard of the rioting in S London.  Then we used the telly and Internet to see the videos of burning shops on Rye Lane. 

It was worrying to say the least, but there was little we could do apart from reassure the family that Berlin was not in flames, and so we seemed to be OK.

Then we went off to Hannover (friends) - where we had a nice noodle-y meal outdoors (street food I think) and Hamburg, where we went to see the BIGGEST MODEL RAILWAY IN THE WORLD.

 Set in a warehouse, in the somewhat gentrified docks area, this covers two whole floors, and is whopping.  Many countries are represented (not the UK, but many others), and there is a working airport.  Highly recommended.

Berlin 4: Zoo

Berlin Zoo is wonderful, and huge.  We spent the whole day there. 

When the second World War ended, there were only around 90 animals left in the Zoo, but today there are thousands - all-in-all I took 188 pictures (or thereabouts), so these are just a smattering.

For me the obvious stars were the hippos, not least because you could see them swimming close by through the murky, green glass side of their pool, and the the floppy-eared aardvark that lived in the twilight, nocturnal animal area (hence no photo).  Just like Cerebus, only not so niggled.

Berlin 3: Out and About

Having finally got ourselves to Berlin and - on my part - survived the vertigo, we found our hotel (a hostel just north of Alexanderplatz, vaguely bohemian, near fun restaurants & cafes).Next day we went out and about...

This is a slightly unusual shot of Freidrichstrasse station, which acted as a border between East and West Berlin during the cold war.   I was amazed to discover (at the DDR museum) how the Berlin Wall affected  the undergound lines (S-Bahn etc).  Of course, the wall wasn't a straight line division of the city, and the trains crossed the broders and travelled under both parts of Berlin.  In the East, those stations on lines which lead to or from the West (or both) were closed.  Under Friedrichstrasse, two lines from the West met, I gather and it could be used as an interchange by West Berliners while remaining wholly under the East.  The DDR authorities set up a border control in the station and it became one of the few places where people could travel between the regimes.  

Berlin 2: Hauptbahnhof

If I enjoyed the swish DB railways, I really disliked the vertiginous feelings around Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the big new city station:

A massive, modernist glass and steel building, it does, I know, look fantastic.  But I am not a heights person, and it has just too many levels for all the trains that come and go.  It just left me feeling a bit wobbly...

Berlin 1: By Train

The Puzzle set a few days ago showed the beatiful wooden interior of part of a Deutsche Bundesbahn (German Federal Railway) carriage.   A few days after returning from France, you see, we set off again for Berlin.

Our Eurostar through Belgium broke down and had to be pushed into Brussels an hour late - but at least we saw a lot of Belgian railways.

But this is all we saw of Brussels when we stopped to change:

The next train took us through wonderful postmodernist lines of Liege station:

But however wonderful Liege is, it can't hold a candle to the building you find right next to Cologne (Koln) station - where we changed again:

And jumped on the luxurious DB train to Berlin:

Kurt Weill's "Seven Deadly Sins" - and several bonuses.

I appear to have acquired an annoying Amazon habit. 

However that may be, it meant that a few days back I impulse bought a copy of Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins sung by Marianne Faithfull (they really make it too easy to do that kind of thing). 

Really quite wonderful, and another reminder that classical opera singers tend not be so good at this more Music Theatre-y stuff.  

Of course, what I didn't notice in my hurry was that the CD had several other tracks on it, including The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, Pirate Jenny and Bilbao Song all sung by Faithfull.

And all fantastic.  Lucky me!

Poem of the Week

Pirate Jenny
Bertolt Brecht/Marc Blitzstein (English translator in 1954)
Music: Kurt Weill

1
You people can watch while I'm scrubbing these floors
And I'm scrubbin' the floors while you're gawking
Maybe once ya tip me and it makes ya feel swell
In this crummy Southern town, in this crummy old hotel
But you'll never guess to who you're talkin'.
No. You couldn't ever guess to who you're talkin'.
Then one night there's a scream in the night
And you'll wonder who could that have been
And you see me kinda grinnin' while I'm scrubbin'
And you say, "What's she got to grin?"
I'll tell you.

There's a ship, the black freighter
with a skull on its masthead
will be coming in.

2
You gentlemen can say, "Hey gal, finish them floors!
Get upstairs! What's wrong with you! Earn your keep here!
You toss me your tips
and look out to the ships
But I'm counting your heads
as I'm making the beds
Cuz there's nobody gonna sleep here, honey
Nobody! Nobody!
Then one night there's a scream in the night
And you say, "Who's that kicking up a row?"
And ya see me kinda starin' out the winda.
And you say, "What's she got to stare at now?"
I'll tell ya.

There's a ship, the black freighter
turns around in the harbor
shootin' guns from her bow

3
Now you gentlemen can wipe that smile off your face
'Cause every building in town is a flat one
This whole frickin' place will be down to the ground
Only this cheap hotel standing up safe and sound
And you yell, "Why do they spare that one?"
Yes, that's what you say.
"Why do they spare that one?"
All the night through, through the noise and to-do
You wonder who is that person that lives up there?
And you see me stepping out in the morning
Looking nice with a ribbon in my hair.

And the ship, the black freighter
runs a flag up its masthead
and a cheer rings the air

4
By noontime the dock is a-swarmin' with men
comin' out from the ghostly freighter
They move in the shadows where no one can see
And they're chainin' up people and they're bringin' em to me
askin' me, "Kill them NOW, or LATER?"
Askin' ME! "Kill them now, or later?"
Noon by the clock
and so still by the dock
You can hear a foghorn miles away
And in that quiet of death
I'll say, "Right now.
Right now!"
Then they'll pile up the bodies
And I'll say,
"That'll learn ya!"

And the ship, the black freighter
disappears out to sea
And on it is me.

German version:
Seeräuber-Jenny
Brecht and Weill

1
Meine Herren, heute sehen Sie mich Gläser abwaschen
Und ich mache das Bett für jeden.
Und Sie geben mir einen Penny und ich bedanke mich schnell
Und Sie sehen meine Lumpen und dies lumpige Hotel
Und Sie wissen nicht, mit wem Sie reden.
Und Sie wissen nicht, mit wem Sie reden.
Aber eines Abends wird ein Geschrei sein am Hafen
Und man fragt: Was ist das für ein Geschrei?
Und man wird mich lächeln sehn bei meinen Gläsern
Und man sagt: Was lächelt die dabei?

Und ein Schiff mit acht Segeln
Und mit fünfzig Kanonen
Wird liegen am Kai.

2
Man sagt: Geh, wisch deine Gläser, mein Kind
Und man reicht mir den Penny hin.
Und der Penny wird genommen, und das Bett wird gemacht!
(Es wird keiner mehr drin schlafen in dieser Nacht.)
Und sie wissen immer noch nicht, wer ich bin.
Und sie wissen immer noch nicht, wer ich bin.
Aber eines Abends wird ein Getös sein am Hafen
Und man fragt: Was ist das für ein Getös?
Und man wird mich stehen sehen hinterm Fenster
Und man sagt: Was lächelt die so bös?

Und das Schiff mit acht Segeln
Und mit fünfzig Kanonen
Wird beschiessen die Stadt.

3
Meine Herren, da wird ihr Lachen aufhören
Denn die Mauern werden fallen hin
Und die Stadt wird gemacht dem Erdboden gleich.
Nur ein lumpiges Hotel wird verschont von dem Streich
Und man fragt: Wer wohnt Besonderer darin?
Und man fragt: Wer wohnt Besonderer darin?
Und in dieser Nacht wird ein Geschrei um das Hotel sein
Und man fragt: Warum wird das Hotel verschont?
Und man wird mich sehen treten aus der Tür am Morgen
Und man sagt: Die hat darin gewohnt?

Und das Schiff mit acht Segeln
Und mit fünfzig Kanonen
Wird beflaggen den Mast.

4
Und es werden kommen hundert gen Mittag an Land
Und werden in den Schatten treten
Und fangen einen jeglichen aus jeglicher Tür
Und legen ihn in Ketten und bringen vor mir
Und fragen: Welchen sollen wir töten?
Und an diesem Mittag wird es still sein am Hafen
Wenn man fragt, wer wohl sterben muss.
Und dann werden Sie mich sagen hören: Alle!
Und wenn dann der Kopf fällt, sag ich: Hoppla!

Und das Schiff mit acht Segeln
Und mit fünfzig Kanonen
Wird entschwinden mit mir.