I'm off on a school trip today so you'll find nothing new here for the next week. We leave north-west England at ten and head for Dover, crossing to Calais and then (hopefully) arrive in Berlin tomorrow morning. I've never been to Berlin so I'm pretty excited about it- plus, by stroke of good fortune and German efficiency, we'll be in Berlin when Germany play in the World Cup Final and are hoping to find somewhere outdoors to watch it, safely, with sixty-four teenagers. Whatever the result, it should be an experience. We've got a load of sights to see- the Olympic stadium, Sachsenhausen, the Berlin Wall, the TV tower, some museums, the Reichstag, Tiergarten Park. We've got two days in Berlin and then we make for Krakow, visiting Auschwitz and Krakow's Medieval market, before returning home next Thursday by an extremely long bus ride from Krakow to Calais.
There are so many Berlin/Germany musical references I could put here- any number of West German krautrock bands, Kraftwerk, Cabaret (the only musical I can really live with), German techno, Johnny Rotten's screaming line in Holidays In the Sun 'I was looking over the wall and they were looking at meeeee!!!', Nena and her ninety nine red balloons, Iggy and Bowie recording several of their best albums and lovers meeting by the wall, Trio's novelty hit from the 80s, various things Dirk and Walter have posted...
How about Michael Rother, ex-Neu!, and something from his 1977 beaut of an album Flammende Herzen (with Jaki Leibzeit on drums)?
Feuerland
Enjoy your trip, mate, I do hope it'll be a safe one most of all! I'm sure Berlin will turn out to be kind to you and your gang! Also I hope that Auschwitz won't have the same impact on you as Dachau had on me when I was a teenager ... I still remember every horrid second of this visit. Then again I suppose that's the way it should be ...
ReplyDeleteHave a great time SA. I loved Berlin, so much to see, so much history and brilliant sausages and beer.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will be already but if not check out the Holocaust memorial it really is quite something, difficult to describe but very affecting
Go easy on the beer, SA.
ReplyDelete... and step lightly from the brown Schnaps!
ReplyDeleteEldest has recently come back from similar: she had an excellent time. I puts some Michael Rother on a playlist for her. I'm not sure she listened to it, but you never know.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels.
Berlin is a fantastic city. When we were there 7 years ago I found many record shops. Jo insisted I vist as many as possible and spend as much as I wanted!!! TV Tower is great...
ReplyDeletei was there in 1986 w/similar school tour vibe. I would worry the teacher if he knew the shenanigans. But it is unreal place and was full of greats sights. The trebants (sp?) were everywhere at the time. And being in the throws of a New Order phase, I felt the starkness of the bleak heroes parks in the old East very much in line with my view of how things should be at the time..It was in March and very snowy..we practiced out Ian Curtis looks in the snaps that we took at the time. As i recall you could buy fireworks which were 1 down from sticks of TNT!. Watch the little bastards if they start with that stuff.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy SA. nice way to start the summer.
don't forget: those continental people all drive on the wrong side.
ReplyDelete