Autumn in Kreuzköln

Last Sunday I experienced my first truly perfect autumn day. The transition between seasons is not particularly stark in Sydney. We avoid blisteringly cold winters, but also miss out on what there is to celebrate about more defined seasons. On this day the sky was clear blue, intensifying the colours of the leaves on the trees which were various shades of red, orange, brown, yellow and green. There was a highly energised feeling in the air. A transition that had been happening gradually was suddenly in full swing. It was quite a surreal feeling. There was a slight breeze and a few times during the day it picked up, causing a crop of leaves to fall down and swirl around like snowflakes. Groups of parents and children were raking up piles and then watching, mesmerised, as the bright orange garbage trunks came around and sucked them up. This was likely to be the last temperate day for quite a while, and most people seemed to be outside making the most of it. This last week has been bitingly cold, against a backdrop of grey skies and ever more skeletal trees.The price to be paid for enjoying such a wonderful autumn day. 

Die Heilig Kreuz Kirche

There are a lot of beautiful churches in Berlin, the majority having had to undergo significant restorations after the war. One I particularly enjoy and whose beauty I never tire of, is the Heilig Kreuz Kirche. I ride past it nearly every day and always take a moment to admire it. On day I took these photos, the contrast between the bright blue sky and red-brown of the church was especially striking.  

Kulturforum

Whereas Alexander Platz is generally horrid and to be avoided, Potsdamer Platz has a lot to offer. The aesthetic, while still fairly harsh, is not so grim as Alex. There are the familiar towering, intimidating buildings, but everything is a lot newer and shiner. And just five minutes from the UBahn is Kulturforum, a cluster of first rate galleries that I have returned to again and again. In the main building there is the Gemäldegalerie (European art from the 13th-18th century), Kunstbibliothek, Kupferstichkabinett (specialises in prints and drawings), and the Kunstgewerbemuseum and just nearby is the Neue Nationalgalerie. I have seen some really excellently curated exhibitions here. The considerable collection of the Kunstbibliothek enables curators to draw on a wide range of artworks to create interesting and in-depth explorations on a theme. 'Von Mehr als einer Welt', art from the enlightenment, was one such. The satirical responses of a number of the artists to the elevation of science and optimism of man's capacity to master nature were particularly memorable. A number of exhibitions this year have dealt with the Englightenment, as it is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Frederick the Great. Another gem, 'Am Rande der Vernuft', communicated the dichotomies and ambiguities within the enlightenment with impressive clarity. I generally prefer seeing curated exhibitions based around a theme, as opposed to a singular artist. However, I very much enjoyed the display of Cornelius Bega's works, a 17th artist from Haarlem, whose depictions of seedy 'drinking dens' carry with them an unambiguous warning of the dangers of drink and bad company. These have probably been my favourite exhibitions, yet I found all that I have seen to be well executed. Kulturforum is also less busy than other more well-known galleries around Berlin, enabling you to enjoy the art in relative peace. I find the cluster of buildings quite striking, modern in style with the St. Matthäus Church an impressive contrast.  

London

For a week in October I swapped Berlin for London. I have visited the city a few times and while I always find it slightly overwhelming I am never lost for something to do. Being a market fiend, my first stop was Borrough Market, near London Bridge, with sensational cheese and friendly store holders. Conveniently, the Tate Modern is only short walk away, at which there is presently a Munch exhibition, whom I've been drawn to ever since seeing The Kiss (one version of many) at an exhibition in Melbourne. While the actual paintings didn't blow me away, the themes of repetition, compulsion and obsession in his work have stayed with me. (All this, I'm well aware, demonstrates my absolute, irrepressible middle-classness, which I am, like most of my kind, a little embarrassed about.) 

I am not as in love with London as most seem to be. I no longer dream of living there, as I did when I was younger. Without any real evidence, I find the people there a little unimaginative, they don't seem to be particularly receptive to things a bit strange or different. I am well aware that the 'wackiness' of Berlin is very conscious, but I think it is a far less judgemental city than London, where you seem to have to fit into a particular mould in order to be accepted. I became far more self conscious in London, and I didn't much like it. I am sure it is a different matter living there, you would find your niche and break through the tough exterior. The Berlin I have come to know is certainly very different from how I saw things during my first month. 

Grunewald

Last Wednesday, 3rd october, marked 22 years since the German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung). Demonstrating my enduring disconnection with everyday life here, I was not aware of the holiday until my flatmate suggested we head to Grunewald, in the south-west of Berlin, for the day. I was enthusiastic as during the summer I had been to and thoroughly enjoyed Schlachtensee, a beautiful lake on the edge of Grunewald. I was also uncharacteristically keen for some nature and physical activity. Grunewald is a lovely area, peaceful and idyllic, surprisingly close the the city centre. It was a fairly warm and brilliantly blue autumn day. After walking for an hour or so through the woods, the trees a lovely golden-green, we stopped for lunch by a lake and snoozed a while in the sun. The walk back was a little more difficult, another 5 or so kilometres, often uphill and I seemed to have developed a head cold during my post-lunch nap. It was then I decided that I preferred to sit in nature, rather than struggle through it, but it was lovely to have experienced the area in two seasons, and to briefly escape the chaotic city streets.