The conference ended this evening, though people were saying goodbye all day, dept on their travel plans and lives, so basically it was 10 hours of “I’ll miss you!” We technically keep meeting as a full group for the next two months, but it is all online from now on.
Overall, being a part of this group has been an incredible experience. I’m often the only woman in a business meeting, and do not have the generational history or pedigree of most of my peers. My political affiliation doesn’t match my industry, and no one else hugs as many trees as I do. It is often a very lonely, and exhausting, existence professionals. So to be in a group of people from around the world (US, Canada, Jamaica, UK, Germany, India, Hong Kong, & Singapore), with a variety of professions (doctors, community health advocates, social workers, artists, designers), 5 different religions, all genders and sexualities – it’s a little surreal to look around and see myself in each of them.
For the record, I was not the first person to cry today. (I was the third).
But before the tears, we toured a really incredible project today – another public cooperative but on a very large scale.
One interesting thing about Berlin is their relationship to time. In the states, if a project drags on for more than 2 or 3 years, it is looked at as a failure. The team has been working on this project for 16 years. I think that different expectation of timeliness allows them to commit to, and accomplish, projects that no one would ever even try at home.
They’re also happy with “good.” In the states, we often want great – which means a lot of projects that would still be good for the community never happen.
And, we over litigate. Our attorneys and our insurance agents are critical parts of our team. But today, we walked through an active construction site without signing waivers or wearing hard hats, into a second hand/reuse store that was open to the public (so the public was also in the site) where the community could also access tools (saws, etc) for repairs. And still, no waivers. Tenants in the first floor (of the active construction site) could also use these second hand materials and build out their own spaces – no permits, no architects, no insurance.
It’s interesting, because on the flip side, Germany has some stringent laws. If you’re in an accident, and you have any alcohol in your system, you are held partially responsible – even if you were not at fault at all. the law assumes that if you had been 100% sober, maybe you could have prevented the accident. There are also big penalties if someone uses your wifi for something illegal, so wifi in common/public areas is no where near as common as in the states.
Germans are a complicated people. with complicated chairs.
Then, after the conference ended tonight, I did my final Berlin exploring in an area called Kreuzberg district.
Stumbling Stones:
I’ve seen these before, but don’t think I shared them. This project started in the 90s, and now has over 100,000 plaques in 29 countries. They’re in the ground, and they mark the last spot that people lived, before taken in the war. Lots of Jewish remembrances, but also gays, Gypsies, and more. The plaque includes the victim’s name, date of birth, deportation date and death date, if known. One “interesting” thing is they’re throughout cities and neighborhoods, calling into question the idea that “regular” germans didn’t actually know anything was happening to their neighbors.
Street Art
It’s a very big deal in Berlin. It’s everywhere, and includes graffiti. In general, though graffiti is against the law, it isn’t really enforced, and property owners are not required to remove it. In Berlin at least, graffiti has always been seen as a form of free speech, and so it doesn’t have the same negative connotations it does in the US. And it is interesting – because you stop noticing it. Graffiti just becomes a part of the fabric of the neighborhood. I actually really like it at this point – and they’re “natural” parks/plantings. The amount of money we must spend in the US trying to make everything look clean and perfect is such a waste.
This is a portrait of Otto Weidt. He was a German man from a middle class background. He started a factory, producing brooms, that employed blind and deaf Jews. He did everything he could to protect them during the war, preventing them from being taken as his factory was considered “essential” and when he couldn’t stop them from being taken, sending food and money to them in the camps. After the war, he started an orphanage for children from the camps.
Turkish Market
There is a market that pops up twice a week – Tuesdays and Fridays – that I would probably call a farmer’s market, though there were other goods available as well – different fabrics and materials, household goods, light bulbs – all sorts of stuff. There is a huge Turkish population in Germany – they came to help with roads and construction when Germany was short on labor, and then just stayed. Lots of sundried tomatoes, olives, and goat’s cheese, as well as fruits and vegetables and Turkish specialties like baklava, kebabs, and freshly made gozleme—flatbread pastry with fillings.
Immigration
There is a ton of it in Europe – and even with all of the Syrian refugees, and the Ukrainian refugees, Germany still has 2m open positions with no one to work them. They’re in desperate need of workers at all levels. Their issue is housing – there isn’t enough of it – but the jobs are there, to the point that industries are stagnating because there isn’t a large enough workforce.
Scotland
There is a strong belief that Scotland will vote for independence. The Brexit thing is an absolute nightmare – the costs of goods have gone up dramatically, and there is a “threat” in the UK that they’ll have to start importing food from America, and our quality is sub par and unhealthy with all of our corn syrup. Apparently Margaret Thatcher back in the day negotiated a hell of a deal, and the UK got lots of special perks that no one else in the EU got. Well, now they’re out, so their perks are likely gone for good. It has really had a negative impact on life in the UK, so the scuttlebutt in this might be the final straw for Scotland.
East Side Gallery
This is an open air art installation. The art is painted onto the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. It is about 4,300 feet long, and was initially installed in 1990 – 118 artists from 21 countries helped create the murals. Many were repainted in 2009 because there had been so much graffiti – all of the original artists were invited back to touch up their work, and then a coating was put over their murals to make them easier to clean in the future. It is now a heritage protected landmark.
Misc Things on my way back to the hotel
The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-decker bridge over the Spree River, connecting two neighborhoods – Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. These two neighborhoods had been separated by the Berlin Wall.
This used to be a public bathroom, but now is a very popular restaurant for hamburgers.
And this is still a public bathroom.
The basket is a public trash can. The ring around it is so that you can place your bottle on the outside – so others can take them and return them for the .25 credit, without needing to dig through the trash. I’m told that it is very easy to treat everyone with dignity here.
And another funny little car.
Today is my last day of this adventure – I have to get packed up, and head to the airport around 6:30 in the morning. I’m pretty sad this is coming to an end; it’s all been amazing, but I could absolutely live in Berlin. Except for the housing shortage. And the lack of Mexican food. (There is ONE store in all of Berlin that sells corn tortillas!)
