"Resonant Platinum Records"

Back in the summer I visited a very cool art gallery/performance space inside an old water reservoir made of yellow brink. Its called the Singuhr - Hörgalerie and is amazing inside. For this event a Canadian artist, Gordon Monahan created a sound installation. The tones were generated by 12 discs which hung from metal strings. A small motor on each controlled how much each would vibrate and send differing resonance tones to mix and combine in the space.

 The effect was to walk into a reverberating brick beat box. With the lights tinted red it was a surreal experience. Got some interesting shots...

Opening night.

More info about the space and the artist here:
http://www.singuhr.de/

The new apartment

Thanks to Rob, an expat Canadian from Toronto, I have a sweet deal for a small one bedroom apartment in Kreuzberg.

  Its one of the newer buildings so it has low ceilings and is a bit small but I'm not complaining. It has a great balcony with loads of sun. One of Berlins beautiful old buildings is right across the street taunting me with its high ceilings and architectural details.

Makes for a nice view.

  Rob uses the apartment as his recording studio on occasion, he writes lyrics and composes music professionally. That's the"couch" on the left. In exchange for cheap rent I look after the plants.

Its a tight fit.

Did I mention its rather small. Half a square metre of floor space to get what ever is needed, efficient!

Yep, one of those annoyingly small fridges.

Lightning a few months ago.

3pm and the skies open up.

and at 5pm its back to sun.

Out back it looks a bit like an orchard.

  I'm curious to see how cold it gets this winter and what the heat is like in this building. The pipes are old so the water pressure is very low, so far so good.

A quick update with autumn and winter:

  This will be a good base to make a life in Berlin.

My first try at a Marathon

I found out that the Berlin Marathon has a short version that anyone can run in, no cost with a free Breakfast at the finish line. Well, that isn't quite enough to get me to run 6km but the prospect of the finish line being in the 1936 Olympic stadium where Jesse Owens claimed his fame, that's a gimme.

  Despite the fervent coaxing of a few friends I got no takers and a few semi-believable excuses for not joining in. Oh sure, 24 hours notice is plenty of time to prepare :) Fine, read on and see what you missed.

 It started at 9.30 outside Schloss Charlottenburg:

A quick picture before we got to the start line.

 This was my first try with running since high school so I was there in regular shorts and canvas runners, the usual equipment. I had a knack for running back then and it seems I still do. I had a back pack with the camera, water, chocolate (never leave home with out it), and clothes. A bit more than most to carry but despite this I found it surprisingly easy. I only slowed to a walk when the crowd bottle necked at one corner. When we got to the stadium gate there was a big slow down which was bad as I was really into a good stride. Not speedy but consistent. And then it hit me. I think this is what runners call a runners high, all of a sudden I was full of energy with no room to use it until I cleared that gate. It felt like adrenaline but without any negatives, amazing.

 

  I was amazed that the stadium was in sight after just 20 minutes. I had no idea how long it would take to finish this but it was ending too soon.

The subterranean entrance. We traveled left to right down there with the historic marching grounds and bell tower in the background.

Traveling through the Marathon entrance to the stadium.

Entering historic grounds. at this point no one was running, just walking and taking pictures.

To the left are the people ahead of me and centre and right were those behind.

Still more coming in.

A bell with quite a story. The Nazi symbol is somewhat obscured.

Everyone sat outside the stadium to have breakfast and next to us was this original bell from the 1936 bell tower. Apparently the original tower was blown up after the war and the bell crashed to the ground. Later the tower was rebuilt and a new bell was placed up there. This one was put on display in the 60's with a slight change to remove but not eradicate the political history of its creation.

 So there I was in this stadium where dictators bellowed and athletes lunged and I was ready for another 6km. And I wasn't at the back either, loads of people in front and back of me so I think that's fairly good for a first try with one days notice and 6 hours sleep. I think it was about 35 minutes to do the 6km but it would be much less without the slow downs for traffic :)

  So, to all my Berlin friends, you have one years notice, expect a call in September 2013 for your turn.

  Funny thing is I have another connection to this stadium. Four years ago I was working on a CG model of it for the UEFA Euro 2008 XBox video game and today I ran a lap of it. Didn't see that coming. If this trend follows, I'll be driving like James Bond through Hong Kong or digging up an emperors tomb full of mercury... :)

Karneval der Kulturen 2012

My second year at the Karneval der Kulturen in Berlin back in May. Amazing time again and loads of good music, friendly people and great food. Last year I missed the Jamaican jerk chicken, not this year. REALLY good, best thing to come out of an oil drum ever.  And a few strange folks dressed up for the occasion, see below:

This guy was not part of any parade. He was just sitting on a bench in the middle of a park with the Karneval all around. An example of the bizarre side of Berlin. He was holding a bike pump handle and pumping it which seemed to be inflating his helmet....? Gas mask, webbed flippers and not a word said to anyone. I doubt anyone would get away with this kind of outfit in this situation in the UK or USA.

All over for another year...
Andy

Tour of Krakow

A few months ago friends Johnathan, Ewelina and I went to Krakow to have a look around for a weekend. They knew the city but this was my first experience with Poland and what used to be behind the iron curtain. We went in late winter so it wasn't exactly warm but still very busy with visitors. They definitely have the welcome mat out for tourists but it hasn't ruined the feel of the city...yet.

Couldn't sleep so took pictures.

  We took an over night train from Berlin. The trains are crazy cheap but slow and basic (unless you pay more:). Still, no problem if you have a sleeper ticket. On the return trip there was no chance for sleep as the old guy in the middle bunk snored like a buzz saw. We passed many cities and towns with a distinct industrial past coating everything. Krakow has this patina as well but its slowly being washed off.

 

Rather eerie ad that slooowly appeared through the frost as the train crawled out of this station.

Terry Gilliam could have shot from our Hostel window for Barron Munchhausen.

  We got a room to share at a local hostel, Momotown and were presented with the keys to an apartment divided up into 3 rooms with a private bath and only shared a kitchen. 10 Euro a night! Its in the Jewish quarter which is a great area. Lots to see and explore, good places to eat and drink etc.

The city castle, Wawel Royal Castle

Much of the city centre is classic old Europe with the castle and city walls at the heart never far from a river. Walking through the narrow streets is great, so much old stone architecture, so many little courtyards hidden behind worn wooden doors. And of course the central square, the traditional home of the market.

Courtyard of the castle.

Drain pipes from the Cathedral within the castle walls.

  As usual, I make a point of avoiding the western chain shops and going for something local. We of course tried the traditional Polish Milk Bar for lunch on Saturday, very good, filled us up and for about 3 Euro each. On Sunday we found an amazing place for lunch, an old restaurant called "Gospoda Koko" on Gotebia street, just south of the main square.

It may not look too fancy but the taste is amazing.

  I forget what it was called but it was some kind of soup with potatoes and smoked pork. Simple is good.

  It WILL be busy. The two dining rooms upstairs were full so we had to go down to the cellar. For me this is great but the down side is you have to pick up your order and bring it down IF you sit THERE. The stairs are old rounded stone and you have to turn 180 as you go. Doing this while holding a hot plate of soup sloshing close to the fingers is enough to wake you from any afternoon lull.

 Next door to our Hostel was a good restaurant called "Ariel". Its classic Jewish food. Good but a bit pricey, worth a try but I'd rather go back to the Koko place.

 On the main square is a cafe called Castor Coffee. I think it might be the polish version of Starbuck$ but despite that its really good. Chai late with a shot of espresso, nice change. The logo has what looks like a Beaver in it so the Canadian in me approved.

  I'd like to try Warsaw next I think, I hear its the next Berlin:)