Das Olympische Dorf 1936

The Olympic games are on in Rio de Janeiro. Closer, here in Berlin, I had seen ads praising another of the sought after "lost places", with decrepid buildings and lots of decaying surfaces that give such interesting motifs for photographers, mostly due to the great range of shades in midtones on the grungy old rusting structures. 
On the outskirts of Berlin, in Wustermark,  the Olympic Village, where 1936 the nearly 4000 male athletes were housed and fed and where they trained during the "Nazi" games, lies rusting and forgotten. 

It is 17 km from the sports stadium that was built for the games. The latter one, however, has been converted to a modern stadium and is nowadays the home ground of the football club Hertha BSC and one of the most sophisticated sports venues in Europe.  

We decided to have a look: 

 the swimming pool

 a vaulting horse

window front of the large sports hall

the "Dining Hall of Nations"

Jesse Owens won four gold medals. His room has been reconstructed and can be visited.

Unfortunately not many buildings can be entered, most of the area is cordoned off for security reasons - most of the pictures here were taken by peeking through windows or holes in doors. 

 After 1945 the area was occupied by the Soviet army, who abandoned the place in 1992. Their marks can also be found.

Excursions from Berlin : Im Spreewald

The plan for our summer vacation this year was to get to know the countryside around Berlin. We decided to start with exploring the "Spreewald". Spreewaldgurken (gherkins) are well-known even in the old west ever since the hilarious and bitter-sweet film "Good-bye Lenin", when Daniel Brühl tries to find these special gherkins from GDR times for his mother, who slept through the fall of the Berlin wall.

Spreewald is a large area of very little elevation which causes the river Spree to divert into many smaller rivulets and build a inland delta and freshwater swamp. The area is under protection, rare birds and plants find a habitat here. 

a rare kingfisher (Eisvogel - Alcedo atthis) 

We started in the village Burg and rented a canoe. My husband promised to take over the rowing and I sat in front with my cameras. Floating on the many small branches called "fliesses" is a magical experience. The air is still save for the occasional birds' calls above our heads warning of us intruders, light is filtered through the leaves and has a green tinge,  high trees, mostly swamp loving alder trees, line the banks and reflect in the still waters.

Blauflügel- Prachtlibelle (Calopteryx virgo - beautiful demoiselle)

an artistic impression of the dancing dragonflies:

.. and of the yellow Mummel or Teichrose (Nuphar lutea) 

not so rare but from a different perspective ...

these villages are serviced from the water only

with an infrared filter 

Garden Visit : Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons

What's a Graduation without a nice celebratory dinner afterwards? Close to Oxford, Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saison was our favourite haunt when visiting our son. They have a Michelin-starred kitchen and beautiful, comfortable, individually designed hotel rooms. Very expensive, a bit too expensive compared to anything in Europe, but nothing in England is cheap for the time being. The hotel maintains a garden providing not only healthy greens for the kitchen, but also lots of photo opportunities for garden lovers, with its several garden rooms, ponds and strategically placed bronze sculptures.  

 the kitchen garden

the pond with birds' sculptures:

the Japanese garden: 

the wild meadow garden, an apple orchard:

 hotel rooms on the estate

she picks flowers but he is distracted ... 


a crocket lawn:

Another robin to greet me ...

Graduations, Graduations ...

As it so happened, two of our offspring graduated within two weeks in July:

Regent's University's Graduation Ceremony was a nice affair in Marylebone Chapel followed by a party on the lawn in the University grounds of Regent's Park. 

The graduation ceremony at Oxford University was just slightly more formal in the beautiful Sheldonian theatre : a ritual of greetings and announcements in Latin with English pronunciations, marches up and down the aisle in groups, marching out and coming in again, stick banging and bowing. Not many changes in the past 800 years. 

They will continue as "cost-centres" as both decided to top up their degrees with Masters Programmes. My daughter decided to move to Sydney ... of all places! Has she no regard for her mother??? 

But in case the crazies take over here in Germany, we might need to visit down-under and take refuge there. Although speaking with this odd US American Republican candidate who wants to subject Germans entering the country to a special security clearing, the Australians might not like us either and not give us shelter. 
No - this is too serious to be joked at. We might wake up one cold morning in November and realize with a déja-vu feeling of dread, that the US Americans cold-heartedly and hot-bloodedly decided for a sort of "Amerixit". 

But before turning to that last resort of emigration, we might consider reviving our Germanic heritage and take out the long-swords, like the courageous driver who witnessed one of the attacks on innocents in Bavaria during our own  "septimana horribilis" in July, passing-by in his car. He directed his BMW at the attacker! An unusual way of assistance, but helpful in this case (the madman had managed to kill one person, but it might have become much worse). The killer was immobilized and will face justice. No twenty-seven virgins here :)! We all hope, the driver won't have too many problems with his insurance. And I seriously hope, the other whatever number of virgins, who await all the madmen in paradise, will act like the hopefully wise judges on judgement day, seriously kick in the murderers' faces and cut off their balls when considering their deeds. But knowing the superb support only too well that females can give each other when it comes to men, the desolate realization is dawning on me, that sisterly love might not extend to such helpful gestures.... 
But the times, they may be a changin ... 

The other cost-center is moving from Oxford to London's LSE ... and will certainly need an increase in allowance. Luckily it is only for a year. 

 in front of Pembroke College

and Oxford's "Bridge of Sighs"

As you can easily judge from this rambling post, the main problem of this increasingly  and speedily aging woman-writer-photographer is : admiration-tinged with-pride-tinged with-ENVY at what the young people nowadays are able to do!