thank you Qantas

my journey to Alice Springs began well
for a start
there was leftover gumbo to be had
before attempting the journey to the airport
then
we made it to Adelaide in record time
meaning
the Youngest and I had time for a double-shot moccha
at Lucia's
- a South Australian institution for longer than i can remember,
setting an impossibly high standard for coffee

Lucia's is my number one coffee house [after home]
closely followed by Cafe Trieste in North Beach
and Kaffeehaus Einstein [Berlin - the original one, not the Einstein chain!]
but i digress

arriving at the airport
by a miracle there was hardly a queue
and
i got my boarding pass quite quickly
it wasn't until i was rummaging for the laptop
and going through security
that i realised the boarding pass said Business
and not
economy.
thank you Qantas. it was quite the nicest flight i have enjoyed all year
the view over Australia was marvellous and
even the refreshments were nice.
[and in case the management is reading this, Penny deserves a pat on the back
she goes out of her way to be nice to passengers!]

Alice Springs is a curious place. the water in the bath was blue
[i'm told it comes from deep under the earth]
i was instructed on arrival not to walk about after dark on any account
and
i picked up a "welcome flea" who was frankly not at all welcome.

there was a Hugh Grant moment at Vinnies
the scene where his character [as PM] is doorknocking in the dodgy end of Wandsworth and someone says to him
"hey, you're not who i think you are, are you?"
those very words were addressed to me
at least
they were better than some i spoken to me in Wisconsin
where a body, having observed me draw near over a period of five minutes
walked up to me and said
"you're not who i wanted you to be"
could be worse.
you could be waking up on a sunday morning after 40 years of marriage and being told that.

anyhoo, i'm here to teach a two-day class
that hasn't been advertised
and
was only confirmed about a fortnight ago
not even sure exactly what they're hoping for
as
despite questions
nobody has managed to put it into words.
so
tomorrow
i shall be winging it...with a bundle prepared, just in case

homeward bound

on the way to the Jewish cemetery in Prenzlauer Berg

[where i needed to go because on Saturday, Shabbat, i heard someone

singing prayers in the dark as i passed by the walls in the night]

there are two men playing Bach at the Alex

Bach pierces the heart when found accidentally like this

much more so than when sitting among the stuffed shirts at a formal concert

in the cemetery all is quiet

here and there a stone rests on a bigger one

- a sign that someone has visited

the graveyard dates back to the 1700s, i think

the Nazis vandalised it 

more recently, others have too

i don't understand why 

on a lighter note

here is a treasure i found at one of the fleamarkets

[it's destined for a friend]

when you hold it up to the light

there's a face at the bottom of the cup

fingers crossed it survives the baggage handlers...

babbling in Berlin

Berlin is a place of intensities
some you can't really put a finger on
a city with subterranean sadnesses
but on the surface quite friendly
reminds me of New Orleans in a way
especially since Katrina
complete strangers will invite you to dance
while down in the U-bahn
little ratties play amongst the rail ballast

i carry coins to drop into the cases of musicians playing in the street
in the long passage between lines under Stadmitte
a young woman uses the accoustics of the space
to transform simple improvisations in a minor key
to the music of the angels on her shabby violin

wandering on i stop to let my fingers read the braille of old bullet holes in the stones of battered buildings

in the less salubrious streets a respiratory filter is probably necessary
when walking at night
judging by the tide-mark of graffiti
otherwise you'd be breathing in a lot of of stray spray

above arm-reach the walls are smooth cream, yellow, white,grey
flowers bloom on balconies
and some even sprout trees

under the Alexander platz a young man asks for money
he's thin and unkempt
and surprised when i buy him a cheese and salad roll at the sandwich bar
i consider it an excellent investment and wish him Guten Appetit.

Berlin

in Berlin you can buy a day ticket for the U-bahn

that will be valid until 3am the next day

there are lots of trees

and for some reason the public parks grow long

meadows in the middle of the city

cost cutting as opposed to lawn cutting, perhaps

it looks beautiful

and attracts the bees

but perhaps not these ones

they are Napoleon's particular passion

and you can find them in the Museum der Deutschen Geschichte

where we cram 1500 years into an hour

on the way to a quiet moment at what is left of the wall

and the monument created so that we won't forget

daisies bloom on this part of the Wall

elsewhere there are aprons

both in the stores

and

in the museum [mentioned above]

in Berlin you can take your dog to the public house

to a shop

and on the underground

and below some paper sculpture spotted in the window

of the smallspace gallery

[closed for Sunday, fair enough]

exhibition "knots and facets"

Jens Risch & Michael Hansmeyer