Ah, To Capture the Magic

Where you look is not always where you find.   m.madagame

In a Jewish Cemetery in Berlin

I went to Berlin, Germany to find the unique, the fresh, what only my eyes could see.  Not what is there for tourists, for passers-through.  The parts of Berlin that make it a home to 3.4 million people, is what I was hoping to find.  

I looked at historical places, art and history museums, cafes, coffeehouses, book stores, department stores, food markets, train stations, underground metro system, trams, buses, parks and various kinds of restaurants.

I found unusual things that made me open my eyes a bit wider.  Experiences I jumped in and let the flow of the current take me where it would.  I was happy about being less nervous, less full of expectations, and less focused on the number of places I got to visit.  I felt satisfied with whatever I became involved in or with.  But, I couldn't find the magic that made Berlin, Berlin.

The Yellow Tram
Behind the Memorial to the Berlin Wall

Whenever I would end the day at Heidi's apartment, in Neukölln,  I let my vigilance relax.  For three weeks she allowed me to call her place home.  Whether she was working at Oslo Cafe, or with a friend, or was out with Elizabeth, I could come and go as I wanted.  Most of the time, when she wasn't working, we did things together.  

Heidi's Workplace in Berlin-Oslo Kaffe

The one place I didn't look.  And there it was.  I found so many unique and unexpected things I would never have found (and didn't), walking and searching the streets of Berlin.  

The sharing of meals with friends.  The open, mutual-respectful conversations.  The fresh cooked meals from bits and pieces she had or we got at the market across the street.  Appreciating the smell and taste of freshly ground coffee in the morning.  The connection she keeps open with friends and colleagues.  The sharing of her books, music and ideas with everyone.  The meeting up for movies, coffee or a walk.  This was Berlin.  The nonjudgmental, coexistence of a multifaceted group of people who live there.  There it was, where I didn't think to look.

I still saw traces of my baby girl, in Berlin.  She still likes to decorate a Christmas tree, and give presents.  She always asks my preferences and respects my choices.  She still gives great back rubs and accepts them from me in return.  She likes secrets and surprises and doesn't give in for any bribe.  She encourages, but isn't false with praise.  She calls crap, crap and a blossom, a blossom.  She doesn't fantasize her life there.  She's open about the difficulties, but doesn't let them stop her from achieving her goals.

Plant Used as a Christmas Tree
(Heidi's Apt.)

Heidi In Berlin

We watched movies together, read in coffeehouses together, shared Elizabeth (when she visited) and took time out to rest and relax together.  I'm amazed at the depth of her character.  Not surprised, just enlightened, seeing it fit so well in Berlin. 

She's an example of the magic of Berlin.  An individual willing to be open-minded.  A person willing to take the ups and downs with this versified city.  Someone who isn't there to change the city, but to experience and adjust to its rhythm.  Perhaps even enhance the rhythm with her own.  Learning, studying, adapting and adjusting to failures and successes.

I loved seeing the sights in Berlin.  I loved being able to spend time in a place so full of history and conflict.  But, the real Berlin isn't a place that can be captured in a photo.  It's a place constantly adapting to the changes initiated by the people who live there. 

A Mother Reading to Her Child on the Bahn

A Couple Waiting for the Tram with Their Pets

Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.

Rabindranath Tagore

A Mother Playing Pingpong in a Park in the City

Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.

Edward Everett