Acum un an eram in Stockholm, inspirand aerul celui mai nordic punct in care am ajuns pana in momentul de fata. Anul asta, in aceeasi perioada, eram in Berlin, inspirand aerul unui loc pe care il cunosc si il iubesc atat de mult...
Nu o sa va dau detalii multe despre drumul pana acolo: am plecat pe la ora 13:00 din Coventry, avionul meu decola pe la 18:45, am avut senzatia ca o sa il pierd pt ca la ora 18:15 anuntau deja ultimul apel (dar nici macar nu deschisesera poarta de imbarcare, asa ca am stat la o coada foarte lunga). Am fost atat de emotionata si nerabdatoare in privinta calatoriei per ansamblu, dar cand am ajuns in Berlin totul mi s-a parut atat de natural...Mai putin faptul ca mi-a luat o ora si jumatate sa ajung in casa lui Daniel (pt un drum de aproximativ 45 minute), caci BVG-ul a inceput lucrari de reparatie, iar traficul dinspre Schönefeld a fost dat peste cap (practic, fiecare statie era ultima statie, asa ca trebuia sa cobor si astept trenul ce venea pe cealalta linie).
Ce-i drept, a trebuit sa o astept si pe Lidia in Schönhauser Allee, caci ea nu stia drumul si nu aveam timp sa ma duc la Daniel si sa ma intorc la statia de S+U-Bahn sa o recuperez...
Telefonul a inceput sa sune destul de repede - prieteni ramasi/sositi in Berlin. Am cunoscut-o si pe mama lui Daniel, o persoana deosebita, iar in scurt timp m-am reintalnit cu Tamara si Jesus! A fost incredibil! dar, din nou, atat de normal...Pana si atunci cand Daniel ne-a deschis usa mi s-a parut ca nu ne mai vazusem de o saptamana, nu de 4 luni...Poate ca asta inseamna prietenia...
Am stat de vorba, am primit complimente pentru accentul imbunatatit (pe bune?) pe care il am acum in engleza, ne-am pregatit si dusi am fost in club! Am ajuns mai tarziu decat ne prospusesem (oricum plecarea a fost pe la ora 01 00) pentru ca am mai asteptat niste persoane pe care le cunosteam. Am reusit sa imi pierd vocea in seara aia - am ales unul din putinele cluburi din Berlin unde fumatul este permis - dar atmosfera a fost super, ca intotdeauna. Nu am reusit sa vedem rasaritul, asa cum ne obisnuisem, caci soarele acum se iveste mai tarziu, dar ce sentiment de satisfactie am avut cand am ajuns "acasa" pe la 06:00... :)
Doua fete cu flori in par :)
A doua zi ne-am trezit destul de tarziu, cum era de asteptat, iar dupa o masa copioasa (si ieftina!) la un restaurant indian, am fost in Mauerpark, unde inca se tinea Karaoke. Desi spuneam ca as fi vrut sa cant si eu ceva, parca melodia pe care as fi ales-o nu se potrivea cu tema (neoficiala) saptamanii - Libertatea. Asa ca ma pastrez pentru data viitoare :) Insa nu m-am putut abtine sa imi iau ceva din Flohmarkt: o (alta) brosa original DDR si o bratara überlcool :D
Dupa ce ne-am intalnit, din nou, cu Tamara, Jesus si cativa alti prieteni, ne-am indreptat catre centru, spre Poarta Brandenburgului, de urma sa cooptam alte persoane - Eva (din Republica Ceha) si Celine (din Franta). Pe ele le-am cunoscut tot in Berlin, dar cand am mers in iulie (caci au fost Erasmus in al doilea semestru) si nu am avut ocazia sa ne apropiem foarte mult atunci. Insa acum sunt foarte incantata ca am avut ocazia sa le cunosc mai bine si sa imi confirm opinia: sunt doua persoane extraordinare!
Am mancat apoi din nou, pentru a doua oara in aceeasi zi intr-un restaurant indian (cred ca dezvolt o pasiune pt astfel de mancare).
Eva si Celine (de la stanga la dreapta)
Brosa mea original DDRCum zilele si noptile sunt lungi in Berlin, am mers, mai tarziu, in casa unor prieteni (pe care ii stiu din Schlachtensee, de anul trecut), sa (mai) bem ceva...Ne-am intors in casa lui Daniel mai tarziu decat planuisem, caci am pierdut un tramvai...
Luni a fost ziua cea mare: Festivalul Libertatii - Fest der Freiheit! Pentru ca ne-am intalnit pe la ora 16:00 in Potsdamer Platz, am putut sa ne plimbam in voie pe langa Domino, pana sa se aglomereze, cel putin pana in fata Portii Brandenburgice (desi Dominoul mergea mai departe). Am vazut doar o parte din cele 1000 piese, pictate de diversi artisti din diferite tari...Nu cred ca as putea sa aleg o bucata ca fiind preferata - toate aveau o semnificatie atat de importanta, toate transmiteau un mesaj atat de puternic...
Erau si ingeri pe cladiri...Noi ne-am pozitionat pe partea celalata a Portii, unde au pe la ora 19:00 au inceput festivitatile, printr-un concert de muzica simfonica. Un concert exclusivist, doar pentru inaltii oficiali, as putea spune, pentru ca noi, publicul, nu puteam auzim mai nimic (in ciuda sistemelor de sunet amplasate acolo). Asa ca, la un moment dat, toti am incepout sa scandam "Lauter, lauter" ("mai tare, mai tare") - fara succes, insa. Boxele au inceput sa functioneze abia dupa finalul concertului, cand a inceput transmiterea televizata.
O multime de lideri politici - o Angela Merkel drept gazda (alaturi de Klaus Wowereit, primarul Berlinului), un Mihail Gorbaciov care a facut istoriA, un Lech Walesa memorabil, o Hillary Clinton mult aclamata, un Gordon Brown foarte serios, un Nicolas Sarkozy intens huiduit, un Silvio Berlusconi care a adormit la un moment dat, un Traian Basescu in spatele lui Gordon Brown...
Cei mai importanti dintre oaspeti (si gazde) au tinut discursuri, desi mi se pare ca reactia publicului nu a fost proportionala cu evenimentul in sine. Lumea tinde sa uite semnificatia caderii Zidului si a anumitor nume, aducand in scena unele personaje pe care le transforma automat in eroi, desi inca mai au multe de dovedit. Mai exact, Hillary Clinton a fost primita cu mai mult entuziasm decat Gorbaciov, desi parca nu ea a fost cea care a "deshis" portile Europei de Est prin anumite reforme la finalul anilor '80. Nu mai spun de intampinarea mesajulului presedintelui american Barack Obama - acelasi Obama care a fost laureat recent cu Premiul Nobel pentru Pace (?), probabil pacea lui sufleteasca, alta n-am vazut in politica lui externa - parca ar fi fost al doilea JFK in Berlin.
Pe de alta parte, Sarkozy a stranit reactii negative, desi clar nu era momentul. Mai ales in contextul in care declara ca a luat parte la evenimentele de acum 20 de ani (ma rog, asta e versiunea lui, in presa s-a nascut o intreaga controversa...). Inteleg ca poate Franta nu trece prin cea mai buna perioada a istoriei sale recente (dar care stat se afla intr-o pozitie excelenta acum?), insa seara era dedicata berlinezilor, libertatii, unitatii etc, nu unor francezi nemultumiti de presedintele lor. Eu i-as fi invitat politicos sa il astepte pe Sarkozy pe aeroport in Paris si sa il huiduie acolo, nu in Berlin!
Au fost invitate sa ia cuvantul si diferite personalitati ale miscarii de dizidenta est-germane, s-a amintit de momentul Leipzig - 9 Octombrie, s-a cantat din nou (Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Van Dyke, Adoro), s-a mentionat de efortul de atunci al celorlalte state comuniste (numele Romaniei nu a fost pronuntat nici macar o data, desi a avut cea mai sangeroasa revolutie anti-comunista a anului 1989...) si, evident, Dominoul:
Am reusit sa pun cap la cap cateva dintre filmarile pe care le-am facut in timpul daramarilor succesive ale bucatilor de Domino
Nu imi pot gasi cuvinte care sa exprime ceea ce am simtit pe toata durata festivitatilor...Poate ca pentru turistii veniti din Vestul Europei nu a fost decat un motiv in plus de a vizita Berlinul. Dar pentru mine - o persoana nascuta intr-o tara comunista si crescuta intr-un stat fost-comunist, o persoana care a studiat Razboiul Rece si stie ca Berlinul reprezinta Alfa si Omega a acestei sumbre perioade (totusi, cea mai interesanta din istoria umanitatii, in opinia mea), o persoana care apreciaza curajul unor oameni care vor o schimbare - evenimentul a avut o alta semnificatie. Si sunt mandra de mine ca am fost acolo, precum o piesa din marele domino...
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Noaptea am terminat-o cu mancare thailandeza si cu luat "ramas bun" - de fapt, "La revedere" este expresia cea mai potrivita. Am dormit putin (din nou), asa ca de dimineata - zborul era la 09:30 - am fost tare ametita la aeroport: scapam in continuu pasaportul din mana (noroc ca peste tot sunt persoane din din Servicul de Securitate al aeroportului si mi-au atras atentia), dar, pana la urma, am reusit sa imi pierd/uit ochelarii de soare in avion...Nu va mirati ca ii aveam cu mine, in Anglia era soare cand am plecat, plus ca la miile de metri altitudine la care zboara avioanele automat dai de soare si ai nevoie de ei. Am sunat si am lasat un mesaj la departamentul de Obiecte Pierdute, dar nu am primit nici un raspuns (nici nu cred ca mai am vreo sansa de acum incolo). Asta e..macar o sa am ce face in Bucuresti, cand vin acasa - sa imi caut rame pt o noua pereche!
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Noaptea am terminat-o cu mancare thailandeza si cu luat "ramas bun" - de fapt, "La revedere" este expresia cea mai potrivita. Am dormit putin (din nou), asa ca de dimineata - zborul era la 09:30 - am fost tare ametita la aeroport: scapam in continuu pasaportul din mana (noroc ca peste tot sunt persoane din din Servicul de Securitate al aeroportului si mi-au atras atentia), dar, pana la urma, am reusit sa imi pierd/uit ochelarii de soare in avion...Nu va mirati ca ii aveam cu mine, in Anglia era soare cand am plecat, plus ca la miile de metri altitudine la care zboara avioanele automat dai de soare si ai nevoie de ei. Am sunat si am lasat un mesaj la departamentul de Obiecte Pierdute, dar nu am primit nici un raspuns (nici nu cred ca mai am vreo sansa de acum incolo). Asta e..macar o sa am ce face in Bucuresti, cand vin acasa - sa imi caut rame pt o noua pereche!
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Am lasat mai mult sau mai putin voit o pauza pana sa scriu despre calatoria la Berlin. Am fost si putin ocupata, dar am si vrut sa imi sedimentez gandurile. Nu stiu cat de mult am reusit si nu stiu cat de mult va puteti voi da seama de asta - oricum, nu am planuit niciodata ca prin (sau in) acest blog sa imi transpun sentimentele online. Astea raman pentru mine sau sunt impartasite in discutii directe, blogul ramane strict pe rol de jurnal (in sensul clasic al cuvantului).
Insa mi-am dat seama acum ca "primesc" fiecare desprindere de Berlin cu mai multa usurinta, devine un gest firesc, pentru ca realizez ca pot(aproape) oricand sa calatoresc acolo, nu e un lucru imposibil. Nu mai exista atata tristete cand avionul paraseste spatiul aerian german, ci doar mai mult optimism: ma voi intoarce acolo, candva, poate pentru totdeauna (sper ca, in timp, alt oras sa nu ma "corupa" si sa imi schimbe visul), dar pana atunci am alte prioritati si locuri de bifat...
Intre timp, aproape in fiecare noapte visez ca sunt la Berlin, uneori retraind momentele in care imi iau ramas bun de la prietenii pe care i-am cunoscut acolo (chiar aseara am visat ca o imbratisam pe Elena), dar dimineata cred ca ma trezesc, intr-o oarecare masura, cu zambetul pe buze - nu este asa greu sa mentii legatura cu persoanele dragi, care au lasat o amprenta asupra unor momente frumoase ale vietii tale...
Chiar si la 20 de ani de la caderea sa, Zidul Berlinului inca mai aduce oamenii impreuna! :)
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20 Jahre Mauerfall
A year ago I was in Stockholm, breathing the aer of the northernmost point I have ever been to by now. This year, during the same period, I was in Berlin, breathing the air of a place I know and love so much...
I won't give you too many details of the trip there: I left Coventry at 13:00, my plane was taking off at 18:45, I had the feeling that I'm going to lose it because at 18:45 they were already giving the final call (even though they didn't open the gate so I had to queue). I was so nervous and excited about this trip, but when I reached Berlin everything seemed so natural...Except the fact that it took me an hour and a half to get to Daniel's place (for a 45 minutes road), because the BVG started maintenance work and the traffic towards Schönefeld has been blown away (basically every stop was a final stop so I had to get off and wait for the train on the other line). I also had to wait for Lidia in Schönhauser Allee, as she didn't know the way and i had no time to go to Daniel's place and back to the S+U-Bahn station to pick her up...
The phone started ringing pretty early - friends who stayed/came to Berlin. I've met Daniel's mother, a lovely person, and shortly I met again Tamara and Jesus! It was unbelievable! But again so normal...Even when Daniel opened the door for us it was like I haven't seen him for a week, not 4 months...Maybe this is what friendship means...
We started chatting, I received compliments for my improved English accent (really?), we got ready and down the clubs we went! We arrived later than we planned (anyways we left home around 01:00) because we had to wit for some more people we knew. I managed to lose my voice that night - we went for one of the few Berliner clubs where smoking is allowed - but the vibe was high, as always. We didn't catch the sunrise, like we were used to, as now the sun comes up later, but I had a great satisfaction coming "home" around 06:00...:)
The next day we woke up pretty late, as expected, and after a delicious (and cheap!) meal in an Indian restaurant we went to Mauerpark, where they were still having Karaoke. Although I said I would like to sing something, I felt like my song wasn't appropriate to the (unofficial) theme of the week - Freedom. So I'm saving myself for the next time :) But I couldn't help myself and buy something from the Flohmarkt: (another) original DDR brooch and an überlcool cuff :D
After we've met again with Tamara, Jesus and some more friends, we headed to the city centre, to Brandenburger Gate, where we were supposed to pick up some more people - Eva (Czech Republic) and Celine (France). I've met them in Berlin, but in July (they where Erasmus for the second semester) and I didn't get the chance to become closer then. But now I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to get to know them better and I must say: they are two extraordinary persons!
We ate again Indian food, for the second time in the same day (I think I'm developing a passion for these dishes).
The days and nights are long in Berlin so later we went to some of our friends' place (I know them from Schlachtensee) to have some (more) drinks...We came back to Daniel's place later then we planned because we lost a tram...
Monday was the big day: Festival of Freedom - Fest der Freiheit!Because we've gathered around 16:00, in Potsdamer Platz, we were able to walk along the Domino before it got crowded, at least until we reached the Brandenburger Gate (though the Domino was going further). I've seen just a part of the 1000 pieces, painted by different artist from various countries...I don't believe I could pick one as favourite - they all had an important significance, they were all sending such a strong message...
We settled on the other side of the Gate, where the festivities begun around 19:00. First there was a classic music concert, an exclusive one, I may say, just for the officials, since we, the public, weren't able to hear something. So at some point we started to chant "Lauter, lauter" ("louder, louder") - unsuccessfully though. The speakers started working only after the concert finished, when the TV broadcast commenced.
Many political leaders - Angela Merkel as a hostess (along with Klaus Wowereit, the mayor of Berlin), Mihail Gorbachev, the man who made THE history, Lech Walesa, memorable, Hillary Clinton so much acclaimed, Gordon Brown very grave, Nicolas Sarkozy intensely hissed, Silvio Berlusconi falling asleep, Traian Basescu behind Gordon Brown...
The most important guests (and hosts) held their speeches, although I believe that the public reaction was not proportional to the event. The world seems to forget the meaning of the Fall of the Wall, bringing into light some characters and automatically transforming them into heroes, even if they still have to deliver. Precisely, Hillary Clinton has been greeted with more enthusiasm than Gorbachev, although I remember that it wasn't her the person to "open" the gates of Europe through some reforms at the end of the '80s. I should mention the welcoming of American President Barack Obama's message - the same Obama who recently received the Nobel Prize for Peace (?), probably for his inner peace, otherwise I haven't seen any in his foreign policy -as if he was the second JFK in Berlin.
On the other hand, Sarkozy aroused negative reaction, even if it was the proper moment. Especially considering that he stated that he took part of the events 20 years ago (well, this is his version, in the media there is a big controversy...). I understand that maybe France is not in its best period of the recent history (but which country is in an excellent position now?), but the evening was dedicated to Berliners, to freedom, to unity etc, not to some discontented French people. I would've politely invited them to wait for Sarkozy on the airport in Paris and boo him there, not in Berlin!
Some personalities of the dissident movement of Est-Germany had the opportunity to say some word, the 9th October-Leipzig moment has been remembered, then again some music (Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Van Dyke, Adoro), they mentioned the effort of the other communist states (Romania's name has not once been pronounced, though we had the bloodiest anti-communist revolution of 1989) and, obviously, the Domino.
I have no words to describe what I felt throughout the entire festivities...Maybe that for the tourists from the Western Europe this was just an extra reason to visit Berlin. But for me - a person born in a communist country and raised in an ex-communist state, a person who has studied the Cold War and who knows that Berlin is the Alfa and Omega of this period bleak period (nonetheless, the most interesting in the human kind history, in my opinion), a person who appreciates the courage of those who seek for a change - the even had a different meaning. And I am so proud of myself for being there, as a piece of the big domino...
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The night ended with some Thai food and with "good byes" - actually "see you soon", this should be the proper expression. I slept just a bit (again), so in the morning - my flight was at 09:30 - I was so dizzy in the airport: I just kept on dropping my passport (lucky the security personnel of the airport is always there), but I still manage to lose/forget my sunglasses in the airplane...Don't get to surprised that I had them, it was sunny in England when I left, plus that you definitely need them when the plane is high above the skies. I left a message to the Department of Lost and Found, but I didn't get any answer (and I don't think I have any more chances from now on). Well...at least I'll have something to do in Bucharest, when I'll go home - to search for frames for a new pair!
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I took a break, more or less on purpose, before writing about my trip to Berlin. I've been a bit busy lately, but I also wanted to clear my thoughts. I don't know to which degree I actually managed to do this or if you can tell - however, I never planned to put my feelings online. These are for myself or to be shared in face to face conversations, the blog is strictly a journal.
But now I came to realise that I "receive" more easily every detach from Berlin, it becomes a natural gesture, because I know that I can travel there (almost) anytime, it's not impossible. There's not so much sorrow when the plane leave the German airspace, rather more optimism: I WILL go back there sometime, maybe for ever (I hope that, by then, another city will not "corrupt" me and change my dream), but till then I have so many thing to do and places to see...
Meanwhile, I dream about Berlin almost every night, sometime living again the moments when I'm saying good bye to the friends that I've met them (last might I dreamt I was giving a hug to Elena), but in the morning I wake up somehow smiling - it's not so hard to keep in touch with dear persons, the ones who left a mark on great moment of your life...
20 years later after its fall, the Berlin Wall still bring people together! :)
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