We found this shopping trolley filled with potatoes on the Schwedter Strasse last week, and despite extensive research (google) we are still none the wiser to the point or the origin of this piece of urban gardening. This blog article speculates that it might be a new form of guerilla gardening, or perhaps even a PR campaign. I have no idea if it is still there, but if anyone knows what the point of the spud trolley then let us know…
Christian and I have been South Africa for four days, although with the experiences of the past 96 hours it feels somehow like we have been here for weeks. On Sunday morning we arrived at Cape Town airport and Andreas was waiting for us. We spent the first couple of days exploring the city and with a bike ride down to Cape Point, before squeezing into the seats of a Greyhound bus for the 22 hour ride to Durban where the semi-final was waiting for us.
Travelling overland you get a sense of the scale of the country, and passing through the neat vinyards with large farmhouses, next door to the shanty towns which presumably provide the workers for the fields, you can see the disparity in wealth of this country even through the window of a Greyhound bus. I have had too many thoughts and impressions over the past four days to list here, but it is that wealth gap that strikes the hardest, and shapes my impression of everything else.
We arrived in Durban weary but excited about what was to come. On the way to the stadium – an incredible and beautiful structure – the streets were filled with fans from both teams, and it was clear that the local fans had made their choice as well, and had been shopping to make sure they looked the part. Slightly more had gone for Germany, which I am sure is the result of the team’s performances up to that point.
The game itself? A disappointment from the German perspective, not because of the result, but the fact that the young team could not raise themselves as they had done against Germany and Argentina. For the first time you could sense the tension was there, and Spain with all their wonderful players were simply calmer and less afraid. Of course, Andreas and Christian were a little sad in the end, but it did not take long before the disappointment was overcome and we all agreed that this German team had played a wonderful tournament and in a great style, making new friends along the way.
Now we are back in Cape Town and are about to begin our journey overland to Johannesburg by motorbike. It promises to be a fascinating trip, and I am really looking forward to seeing more of the country. The South Africa I have experienced so far, in this short time, is beautiful and vast, with some troubling aspects, as I mentioned before.
These are of course the legacies of Apartheid, and 15-odd years is a very short period in the life of a nation. To look back at South Africa then, and to see what has been achieved is a credit to Mandela, Tutu, the other leaders and of course the people themselves. But there is clearly still a lot to be done, and until the poverty that is a reality for so many here in the country is lessened, the social issues that threaten South Africa will not be resolved. Crime, violence directed against immigrants, health issues, education…the key to everything is poverty, the poverty of jobs, of housing, of educational opportunity…and how the government tackles this issue will shape the direction of the country in the years to come.
The end of the road for German fans was Durban. But the next adventure awaits. Andreas will be back on the blog soon to tell you all about it.
See you soon,
Paul
(If you are interested in reading more about our wonderful city either before you come or once you’ve got home, Paul is selecting some of his favourite books about Berlin, starting with Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood)
Often packaged by the publishers as The Berlin Stories – alongside Mr Norris Changes Trains – Goodbye to Berlin brings together a fictionalised account of different scenes during the time he lived in the city from 1929-33. If you know a bit about history, you’ll know that those four years could definitely be classed as “interesting times”, a period bookmarked by the Wall Street Crash and Hitler’s rise to power.
The political situation is ever present in the book, which explores different characters and their social circumstances through the eyes of the English narrator. Whether he’s bunking down with a working class family in Kreuzberg, or attempting to teach English to a spoiled daughter of a rich family, Isherwood paints a picture of Berlin that stands as a powerful record of a certain time and place.
The most famous character in Goodbye to Berlin is of course Sally Bowles, who was the inspiration behind the film Cabaret, and who became more famous than the book that gave birth to her. Although much of the book is light-hearted in tone, what gives it a sense of melancholy and sadness is the knowledge of what happened in Berlin after Isherwood had left. As you try to imagine the fate of the firebrand Communist and some-time homosexual Otto, the Jewish Landauer family, or even the landlady Frau Schroeder, the book suddenly gives off a sense of impending doom as all the while Hitler and his cronies intrigue in the background.
Goodbye to Berlin is a portrait of a city on the edge of disaster, a portrait of bohemians, politicos, the rich and the poor…Isherwood manages in a surprisingly small number of pages to draw them all, and draw them well.
If you are looking for a good bookshop in Berlin, with a fine selection of second hand as well as new books, and a large selection of translated German literature, check out St George’s Bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg. Otherwise, you can find Goodbye to Berlin here on Amazon.co.uk.
(Our intrepid explorers J and J take the rest of the family on a trip to another corner of Berlin…the Wrangel Kiez)
Wrangel Kiez in Kreuzberg has a population density of approximately 27.000 people per square kilometer which is about the same as Manhattan. It also has a very young and ethnically diverse population which makes it one of the more vibrant neighbourhoods, even for Berlin standards. Of course there are plenty of scene bars and clubs including Madam Claude’s on Lübbener Strasse and Lido on the Curvy Strasse.
Josefine and I however like to hit Pizza Amore which is on Wrangel Strasse and just watch the street life. “Mister Pizza Amore” – that is his name – will try and convince you of to things 1) That he is Italian (he is from the Lebanon) and 2) That you need to put garlic sauce on your pizza as this is good for your “Amore”. Great bloke. We recommend pizza Kuku which is with Turkish spicy sausage, feta cheese and of course extra Amore. The easiest way to get there from the Circus is to take the U8 to Kottbusser Tor and then the U1 to Schlesisches Tor.
Andreas, not long after the final whistle…
Here’s an excellent recreation of Sunday’s game using that childhood favourite…Lego. It comes from the website Legofussball.eu where you can see recreations of loads of different World Cup, Champions League and Bundesliga matches. Possibly my favourite scene is their recreation of the American goal in the opening match against England. Somehow, even the lego figure manages to give off the utter sense of disbelief and despair that Robert Green must have been feeling as the ball squirmed into the net.
Video: Germany 4 England 1:
(Here is the diary of Andreas’s last five days in South Africa, from the response to the tight 1-0 victory over Ghana to the joy of stuffing England 4-1…)
Thursday 24th June
Johannesburg
1 am and back in the hotel…wrecked body and soul dead…a match that got me physically exhausted as if I played myself. Tense, tight and nervous…on and off the pitch. A team that is visibly insecure, immature. Beautiful strike from otherwise disastrous Oezil. Brilliant atmosphere, sold out crowd, and the most colourful crowd of Germany supporters I have ever seen. There seemed to be more Asians and Africans in BlackRedGold than Germans. My God, what a relief. Now England. Bring them on. Bring them on. Watching Italy hopefully being eliminated tomorrow at Ellis Park – Sorry Daniele – and then off to Blomfontein…small Stadium, small city…400 km from here, and it will be a cool ride..
Friday 25th June
A Love Letter to Emma and Daniele
When I walked over to Ellis Park today for the game of Italy I, of course, hoped that at the end of the day could celebrate an early exit of the Italian team from the world Cup, like anyone who loves this beautiful game. Why? Because of Inzaghi, even if he is not here, because of the arrogance this team shows on the pitch, because they got away too often with mediocre play, because they betrayed a brave Australian team of their greatest moment with a dive 4 years ago, because they were so arrogant to send this aging, boring and uninspired team to the Cup, because, well, we are Italy. But now, at night, back in the hotel, walking back, man, thousands of sad Italian fans. Sad? An archetypical type of sadness. Without a doubt no culture on this planet celebrates sadness as beautifully as the Italians do. Single tears…shock and agony…A drama worthy of the big screen. And, oh boy, well dressed. Sad and elegant. A spectacle in itself.
As you might have understood by now, I am writing this to let you know that I share your grief, your pain and your desperation. I am Italian tonight. And seeing you guys being last in a group with New Zealand, Paraguay and Slowakia does not make me laugh at all. Really not.
Oh, and I miss you both. It would have been nice to have you here tonight…
P.S. Now you can finally get your Germany flags out of the closet.
Saturday 26th June
Bloemfontein
In Bloemfontein, and there seem to be more English and Germans then actual inhabitants. The match is tomorrow and it feels BIG. The local media is going a bit nuts, and it’s a bit embarrassing, too. Examples? One national paper had the front page reading “Germany and England ready for war.” Bloody idiots. Another one had before the Ghana game the header “Ghana prepares for German Blitzkrieg” and after, under a picture of Oezil (!!!) ”Deutschland ueber alles”. Today the Star wrote ”We are ready for Ze English”…
A bit gross, that a countries media, that is complaining since weeks about the stereotypes and prejudice they see in foreign reports about South Africa is producing crap like that. Anyhow, we might have to live with this for the century. If we win it’s “Germany looking for freedom”, I am sure..
Of course, for us Germans, being the theatre loving people we are, it is top notch entertainment to sit back in the audience, and watch the drama of a once glorious nation to put all their hopes in catching a glimpse of that lost splendour into the hands of 11, intellectually- limited individuals – is there anyone actually taking Terry REALLY seriously? – every 2 years, only to see it failing again and again with an astonishing predictability, and then defeat being blown into biblical proportions by a hysteric media. That’s Greek stuff, isn’t it? Or better, it was the first 3, 4 times…Now it’s more like Monty Python..
And actually: the truth is, we love each other. Brothers, kind of. They have, what we want – a glorious past- and we have what they desire – a functioning society. Besides that, brothers. The nasty, raucous one, always a bit too loud and drinking too much, but clearly more fun, and the other one better in school, but with a stick up his ass…
Will we win? No idea. Whatever will happen, it will be highly entertaining, and, whoever will win, Argentina will be waiting, very likely, and that was that.
I am excited. Totally. The good way. It will be grand.
Sunday 27th June
Bloemfontein
Germany 4 (Klose, Podolski, Müller [2]) England 1 (Upson)
Monday 28th June
Hermanus, after a 1,100 km ride from Bloemfontein.
3 Lions – 4 Goals…Nearly half of the time on the bike today I spent singing “joyful, victorious”. It was a beautiful day. A justification for the whole trip. The sun was out, the atmosphere thrilling but peaceful, the game: unforgettable. I had endorphin rushes the whole 90 minutes, was dancing on the press tribunes after, gave a live interview to the Austrian radio, was shot by South African TV when ecstatically singing the anthem. It was beyond belief.
Seeing the 2 counterattacks up close, and subconsciously knowing what is happening, and see it executed, with surgical precision…priceless. Despite the Lampard shot, which I am very, very sad about that it was denied, there was a class between the teams, and here, you might be bored by now, especially psychologically. A kind of naive youthfulness, no “cleverness”, but a lot of passion, against a team dominated by vague sense of fear. Simply put, I don’t think it has ever been more joyful to be a German football supporter then in the last 2 days.
I know I should not say that, but I am quite sure we will go out against Argentina. I am afraid to see Mertesacker against Tevez, and I assume Mister Khedira will find his limits too against little Leo. Anyhow, no one can take that day away from me. Just a game, but I have been smiling for the past 24 hours.
Spiegel International