Berlin

I travelled to Berlin a bit earlier in order to acclimatize myself; to synchronize the rhythm. Yet on only the second day, I experience culture shock.

I open all the windows in my hotel room, the bells of Saint Michael’s Church are ringing. A new sight: the timeless, harmonious contours of the church in the midst of prefab high-rises. I later reach the conclusion that this kind of “collage” is typical of Berlin. Once you know the history it is logical. Sadly, the church is closed. Next to the entrance there is a camp with sleeping bags. Is someone sleeping there? Right next door, on the ground floor of the high-rise, is the Red Cross office. Should I perhaps say something? Naïve? What would genuine Berliners do?

I decide to make things cosy and to “stew” myself a warm, homey meal like a genuine Berliner would. Yet, at the shop I stand in front of locked doors. It’s not a corner shop, but a regular supermarket. My first culture shock! The egocentric, primitive annoyance that I feel at first soon disappears and I become a convicted advocate of this marvellous arrangement. I go to the most central parts of Berlin. Even around the zoo everything is quiet. Only a few people are out and about: some parents going for a walk or to an event with their children. Some couples are on the way to the C/O Gallery. I am surprised to see something in a city that I have not experienced in a long time: Sunday rest. It is a feeling of frugality. That is not a word used often in the age of global hypermarkets.

In Latvia, heated debates are going on at present about whether shops should stay closed on Sundays. It seems the society is not mature enough for it, however. The times are not far off when one could purchase either nothing at all in the shops or just old, ugly and mildewed articles.




More entries from Undīne Adamaite’s Berlin Journal:

Berlin, 5.1.2013: Neither a False Tourist Nor Truly a Local
Berlin, 7.1.2013: The Berliners’ Lightness of Being
Berlin, 8.1.2013: At the Tagesspiegel
Berlin, 9.1.2013: A Monthly Portion of Courtesy
Berlin, 10.1.2013: A Play in a Foreign Language Remains a Façade
Berlin, 12.1.2013: At the Theatre in Knitted Caps
Berlin, 13.1.2013: An Intermediate Summary
Berlin, 16.1.2013: Fired with Premium Fuel
Berlin, 19.1.2013: Blind Date
Berlin, 21.1.2013: Old Fashioned and In Demand
Berlin, 26.1.2013: Čus, Berlin!