#26

Autumn is painting the city in its most beautiful colours at the moment. - Wait a minute… we somehow know this line… Ah, right, that was the beginning of the last newsletter. But, for the last weeks Berlin has indeed shown itself in beautifully strong shades of red …

yellow...

and green.

Colours - not only these ones - are also the theme of the exhibition „Farbwunder Tropen“ (eng.: tropical colour miracle) at Biosphäre Potsdam. Especially wonderous plants can be admired in this exhibition until the end of the year in addition to the colourful jungle world of the greenhouse. Its exotic animals, a butterfly house and the underwater world make Biosphäre an absolute must-see on a family trip.

Berlin itself also turned into a colourful bustle in the last weeks, especially the art scene. An exciting mixture of political activism and skilled sculpting was the „Taube vom Kotti“ (eng.: pidgeon of Kotti i.e. square Kottbusser Tor). The colourful figure was supposed to raise awarness to the pollution of Berlin´s streets with waste. Its stomach was filled with litter over the weeks and demonstrated clearly how everyone can contribute to a cleaner city.

Political on an international level is what we would call the art action “Landless Stranded“ by Spanish artist Pejac, who attached a sculpture onto the cross on top of the church Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche at Hallesches Tor (just one subway station away from us). A child in a life vest holding a signal torch draws attention towards the great urgency of the refugees´ situations in many parts of the world. It is also a call for donating to Sea Watch. You can see the torch glow red every day at noon, 12am, and 6pm. (© Photo: Tom Weasly)

Corona. 

Well, what were your first thoughts hearing this word? Probably not the Spanish word for crown. How Covid-19 affects the world community and what impact it has on our values, our daily life and our emotions is what the exhibition “Corona Culture“ depicts at eventlocation Alte Münze in Berlin´s district Mitte. A refreshingly different way of seeing this overall present and not really pleasent topic.

Those of you who have had enough of thinking about this crisis might prefer some christmas nostalgia. At square Nikolaikirchplatz in the quarter of Nikolaiviertel (which is, by the way, the oldest neighbourhood in Berlin) we can already enjoy Winter-Film-Festival and three times a day fall in love with Heinz Rühmann in the evergreen „Die Feuerzangenbowle“ (the entrance is free). Should you not know the movie and don´t speak any German you could still fancy a cup of real Feuerzangenbowle. If you have never tried it before, be warned: its dangerously tasty and yes, you might not feel it immediately, but it does contain alcohol….

Because we have not heeded our own advice yesterday, we arrived at Orania in the early morning hours. Never mind. In Kreuzberg every child knows about the ancient wisdom: 

Orania in the morning keeps away the mourning.