Snow is predicted yet again here in Berlin, but at least it’s not supposed to be as cold as the -12 we’ve been hitting recently. Some photos of summer barbeques and seriously looking forward to family, friends & grilled meats and garden patios. All photos by me.
When I am trying to relax, to slow my heart-rate, and calm my mind, I lay and look out of the window and from my view I see the top of a neighboring apartment building and the leafy crowns of several tall trees.
On Friday, it was particularly windy in a city that is often windy, but it was unusual in that they had been calm for a while but picked up again. The trees bent with the wind, sometimes showing their pale grey trunks, their leaves rippling furiously like the sound of rushing waters…and a bird, a lone bird fought against the wind.
There are many crows here, large ones, though grey and black, unlike in the area of the US where I’m from where they are all black. They are quite strong and known to be crafty. With a flurry of wing beats, it continued to fight, though still barely moving ahead. It paused, it tested, tried to glide for a moment, yet still made little headway before giving a sudden valiant burst, tilted it wings to the side and with a perfect dip caught an updraft. With renewed effort and almost a sense of avian triumphant it shot upward, over the next trees and from my view.
My heart and spirit has felt like this bird, my namesake: that I’ve fought, and am still fighting. I’ve been honest and stood for what I believed in while still respecting others. I write and express with all of my heart, and never with deception or ulterior motives, nor would ever consider trying to “get back at someone” for whatever reason, justified or not, but instead try to appeal to them for reason, yet for some, they seem incapable. I’ve been fortunate to meet some truly extraordinary people during these times also, that are perfectly ordinary in that there are many good people out there, struggling their themselves in some ways, making sense of their world and needs, but instead of trying to tear down others to build themselves up, the offered truth and honesty. The special beauty of just being human.
After a stroke in April 2012, I recovered somewhat, but my health is problematic at times. There are things I cannot do anymore, strength I don’t have physically especially after major surgery just a few months before that. A full time student, with public transport: working at another venue and time spent in transit equal to a full time job, besides Flying With Red Haircrow and being a single parent of a special needs child. You get very, very tired anyway besides health issues. You do what you have to, however….
I’ve always been very independent, and would tell myself, “You can make it!” even when I was in so much pain, whether emotional, mental or physical. I literally just kept putting one foot in front of the other because there was no option for stopping, no reason, to keep going on was all I knew how to do. For the first time in decades this year, I almost reached the point where I didn’t feel I could go on. I was utterly exhausted by so many things, and inexplicably bombarded by so many others, when I felt darkness falling it seemed like a mercy after fighting for so long but like that bird, instinctually, knowing there was no other true option, it, like I, had to find a new way. Move a new way. Sing a new song or one that you had forgotten.
I made it to the lake this past weekend, and though still feeling physically poorly, it felt good to be there.
Contemplation by Red Haircrow
And the song that was playing in my head and heart…
When it’s hotter in Berlin than it’s been all year. When you’ve worked long and hard at more than one job and there’s still more to do. When certain aspects of bureaucratic non-sense at the university adminstration office plus the subjectivity of empowered online know-it-alls makes you just want to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all? Sometimes, deadlines or not, you have to take a break. As curious as the name is to pronounce, for my break, I went to Müggelsee (Mooh-gul-Zay).
Not often frequented by foreigner tourists but definitely a favorite with locals, it is the largest lake in Berlin, spanning parts of the city’s eastern edges with borders in the districts of Treptow-Köpenick, Friedrichshagen, Rahnsdorf and Muggelheim. Definitely off the beaten path, and suggestive of the clearly communal, yet somehow private lives the average German leads, at the weekend, after working their 9-to-5? Many get naked and lay out, bat the ball around, wade in the water or just sit around and enjoy beer and bratwurst or a barbequed boulette.
For me and a friend, who’d suggested the outing, we found a quieter, more secluded little beach out of the sun and away from the crowds, and spent the cooling evening hours alternating between swimming and a little dicing as the sun set on a fine day.
Entrance/Exit by Red Haircrow
Waiting For My Brat by Red Haircrow
Renovations by Red Haircrow
A Stretch of “Man” Sand by Red Haircrow
Views of the lake:
Reflections by Red Haircrow
Gentle Pier by Red Haircrow
Ready For Your Turn by Red Haircrow
Other Side of the Bridge by Red Haircrow
Berliner Bürger Brau Brewery by Red Haircrow
Rowers by Red Haircrow
Idlers by Red Haircrow
Incoming Waves by Red Haircrow
Strand View by Red Haircrow
Little Beach With Villa View by Red Haircrow
Contemplations on Cold Water by Red Haircrow
Sunset at Müggelsee:
Spreearche View by Red Haircrow
Sun Burst by Red Haircrow
Silhouette by Red Haircrow
Final shots:
Silhouette Two by Red Haircrow
Packing Up To Go by Red Haircrow
Apricot Evening by Red Haircrow
The Motion of Water by Red Haircrow
And afterwards? A nice stop at the Havanna Club at Treskowallee for a light supper and few cool Schöffhofer’s, a rather nice hefe-weizen bier. The Afro-Cubano rhythms were perfect counterpoint to conversation as was the night air through the open door.
Tall, Cool Goodness by Red Haircrow
Summer Salad & Candlelight by Red Haircrow
Colorful Tree by Red Haircrow
“Next Year In Havana” by Red Haircrow
All photos were taken by and copyright to me. Please do not use them without express written permission.
Poet, Writer & Independent Publishing Professional
Both traditionally and independently published, Red Haircrow is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, poet, private chef, reviewer and former law enforcement officer of Native American (Chiricahua Apache/Cherokee) descent who lives in Berlin, Germany. They are completing a degree in Psychology and operate the indie publishing label "Flying With Red Haircrow," which opened on 31 October 2010.
Among other things, Red Haircrow loves photography, traveling, learning languages and cultures, and spending time with friends. The two-spirit author is active in Native American life and affairs, and can also be found playing RPGs, browsing 2nd hand shops, practicing QiGong and savoring the meditative Zen of archery with the medieval Longbow.
