It’s been a busy few weeks. I’ve moved and it feels like the last few weeks were filled with online shopping, planning, moving stuff, painting, moving more stuff and painting again. Slowly my new place is coming together and slowly I’ve got more time to do other things. As it happens the corona numbers dropped and life is slowly returning on the streets and in the restaurants. So my repetitive weekends took a turn and I’m still recovering from a jam-packed 2 days.
On Saturday night I actually went to the circus. It may not sound so exciting, but it really was. After a bit of a detour we finally found the entrance of a terrain bordering the train tracks. We passed a skate park and entered an artsy world that could fit into a movie. This felt like the Berlin that’s slowly disappearing. There was art made from junk everywhere. On a stage stood some robots with guitars and drums and we passed an open air bar. This place was hidden in plain sight. I’d often passed it on the S-bahn and saw the blue top of the circus tent, but never imagined this. I was surrounded by someone’s imagination.
At the very end of the terrain stood the circus tent. We checked in and then talked to a lady in what can best be described as a princess outfit, with lots of mesh fabric. She showed us some seats on the left at the front, practically sitting with our feet on the stage, with the comment: “They don’t pull people on stage. Don’t worry. At least they didn’t yesterday.” After a while the tent filled and the spectacle could begin. Music started playing and a guy with dreadlocks, a black hat and a thick blue jacket with golden accents enters the stage. He talks in between the acts, together with a tall, long haired guy with a Spanish accent. He enters the stage rolling on those shoes with little wheels you see some kids wear. Together they add a lot of humor to the evening.
There are a lot of different artists, from a DJ with a diabolo to a juggler and aerial acts. Two guys dressed in black show immense strength in their acrobatics. A girl performs tricks on the trapeze. The final act of the night was done by two girls dressed in red. Their hair was tied up in a bun, which they attached ropes to. The ropes lifted them into the air as they swung around in circles. It was a great night, filled with entertainment and lots of laughs in a mix of English and German.
On Sunday I got up early to explore another part of Berlin. By S-bahn and tram I got to Alt Schmöckwitz. From there a colleague joined me for a walk around the green island between the river Dahme, the Oder-Spree canal and some lakes. After a super sunny week, the weekend had turned a bit dreary, with thick clouds and cooler temperatures, but we didn’t let that spoil the fun. The walk was super peaceful and it was nice to be around the water. We saw a lot of boats, some windsurfers and many other people out for a walk or a bike ride.
At the Southern tip of the island we heard some rustling and froze. Not far from us was a wild boar with her 5 or 6 children. They were hard to count since they were running through the forest. I’d seen signs in Berlin saying there are wild boar, but wasn’t sure if I should belief it. Why would they be in such a populated area? But now I saw them for myself, Berlin’s wildlife!
We had a good pace so ended up expanding the original route we’d planned and crossed over the Oder-Spree canal for another loop on the other side. There was a hill on the map (all of 79m) and we wanted to see if there was a view. Well… first of all it was hard to define when we were at the exact top of the hill. It was certainly hilly, but also in the middle of the forest, so we couldn’t really see through the trees. We looped back to the bridge crossing the canal via the water’s edge. It would have been so nice if a boat could have picked up up at the other end of the canal. We had to walk the length of one side to reach the bridge and then return again on the other side. But after that we’d nearly reached the end of the walk.
We saw an ice cream truck on the side of the road and stopped to get one. On a bridge we enjoyed the view, the ice cream, and the sun which was finally coming out. Back at home I had a few hours to relax before I met up with a friend for some drinks and watching the football. I felt like every moment of my weekend was filled, but it turned out to be a great one!
