Over new year our good friend from London, Michael, is visiting again having arrived with Ryanair on Friday evening. So yesterday we had the whole day to do something as we did not want just to hang around. What do you do with visitors around? You look for exhibitions and museums. Michael had been in Berlin for a few times, especially with Derek in the period when I had no contact with them. Then you start thinking what he might not know already.

Then I remembered the GDR Museum, which had opened here in Berlin on 15 July 2006. It is a relatively small museum, giving a good overview however of the every day culture in the German Democratic Republic. The concept is quite interesting as well, one may touch many exhibits or even leaf through notes or test GDR games. A visit costs you about an hour if you do it thoroughly and it is well worth a visit in any case.
Just an additional personal thought: I as a total West German I hardly have any GDR experience at all, and therefore I visited without personal remembrances. And honestly, for me the museum could as well exist in the West with a title like “Petit bourgeois in the 60s and 70s”. Apart from the political specialities of course, but then these were an expression of peziz bourgeoisie as well.

With the right weather, autumn can be really wonderful. This morning the environment passed by quite fast, blue sky in the background. The sun started its warming routine and drove the dampness from the meadows. The milky white combinded with the brown to red colours of autumn. Then you like to blink into the sun and think, yes, this may be winter: not damp, not too cold, sunny and merry.

Whoever thought that they cultivated an individual style or has thought that Fins are dull should look these images of an exhibition in Helsinki.

(via kid37)

What a pity that I had to be in Hamburg when the Berlin TV Tower was lightened. But in the next two weeks there surely will be opportunities see some lights.

Maybe I should use this spot for advertising Hannaxel on TV? Or is the one you see when clicking on the image better?
(via Kid37)

Before giving some comments on the election results in Berlin I just want to say the the National Democtrats have gained enough votes to enter the state assemply in Mecklenburg-Western Pmmerania, they received more than 7% of the votes. In Berlin however it isnot much better: even if they did not make the Berlin Assembly, they will enter into 5 of the district assemblies, one in the former West-Berlin, all others in the East. If one wants to be a cynic one could say that many people in the East have managed a smooth transition from State- to National Socialism Democrats.

In the West the behaviour of protest voters is different and confirms another prejudice I have: in several district assemblies you now find “Die Grauen” (The Grey Ones), a party representing the interests of the elderly. Very often I have stated that West Berlin is over-aged. In general the result in Berlin is as expected: thanks to the Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, the Social Democrats now have a choice for a coaltion.

Refreshing as very often is the result in our district,  Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: with 33% the Greens have the strongest group, and the Chritain Democrats (party of our federal chancellor) only manage 4th place with 8.8%. The district seems to be as colourful as the boutique below, which we had seen on our way back from casting our votes.

Results in both states are discussed in the English edition of SPIEGEL ONLINE.

On Sunday we will have state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the latter being the Northern part of the former GDR. What is frightening is that the right-wing NPD is expected to gain the minimum 5% of votes and therefore will enter parliament, as DER SPIEGEL writes in its English edition.

Main reason is that the turnout will be low for the election. One can only hope, that more voters now decide to use their rights.

If my Canadian readers look at this blog, they might be amused by this American account of a visit to TIFF.

Yesterday I visited my mother again, and when crossing Warschauer Strasse at the traffic lights, he hit me, the young bicyclist. He had managed to pass several other pedestrians without reducing speed, but I was too much of an obstacle and directly came towards me and hit me, I fell down. In spite of my protest he did not see the need to stop, as I was still showing signs of life. To the contrary, after briefly glancing back he chased away, it was clear to him that several people had seen him ignoring the red light. Well, I just had some abrasions and a bruise near the knee, but I was somehow shocked that he was just letting me lie there to save his own skin.