Lost - Hotel Hunters

Whilst our particular island is not quite the exotic paradise found on the famous TV show Lost, that despite the monsoon and tropical storms, it does have its fair share of lost travellers.

We have exactly one hotel on the island proper but quite a few surrounding it, the one on the island was built just after I came over. There was a bit of a stink about its construction as they pulled down a DDR landmark to build it. The Ahornblatt was a supposed to be a protected building due to its unique design and was even featured on a stamp. It was also a community centre and theatre, but who cares about community when you can get a new shopping centre and hotel right? The hotel is quite popular, I am deliberately not mentioning the name as you can find it easily enough and they haven't paid to advertise on here.

The local U-Bahn station serving it is the Spittelmarkt. To get to the hotel you come out on the east side and cross the bridge walk 50 metres and the hotel is in front of you on the right. I mention this because it seems that people are having difficulty locating it in true Lost form. I am sure John hasn't moved our island as the only flashes of light recently have been accompanied by thunder. It doesn't help that all the street signs on our corner of the island are marked as Fischerinsel, so you get Fischerinsel left and right and straight on as well. It is no wonder the tourists are confused. They have maps but are unable to correlate a canal a bridge and an U-Bahn station to locate the position. or perhaps they use GPS and its being jammed by Others.

This year another hotel has opened again served by the Spittelmarkt station and this one appears to be even harder to locate, even though it is as easy as; East side exit (direction Alex) of U-Bahn turn right walk 50 meters and there it is on the right. But still the maps and jammed GPS plague the weary traveller.
If one were to stand on the bridge and charge 50 cent for each set of directions given one could make enough for a good night out after a hard days directing.

OK I have decide to relent and name the hidden hotels well two at least. They are the Novotel and the Best Western respectively. I do this in fairness to the poor wanderers looking for their bed and breakfast and to save the locals the constant questioning of the their whereabouts.

Dazed and Confused

The heat wave shows no signs of abating, except for the brief cooling the rain brings, but we haven't had any rain now for days.  The sky is full of threatening clouds but they seem unable to release their watery load, they hover in and out all day in an endless tease of needed coolness.

The people on the island are suffering a little too in the alertness area. A week ago and old woman in her 70's tripped and fell over the Mound, the mound being a particularly large bubble in our moonscape paths, she lay there for a while as she gathered her senses ,stared at the bump, rubbed her hip and then wobbled on her merry way. I am sure she will have bruises all over for the next week or so.

This week a cyclist decided to attempt to leap the bubble on his bike. Of course not having the right kind of bike and safety equipment resulted in a a very nasty fall and a bloody elbow. He also stared at the mound in disbelieve, funny how when you fall over something you stare at it to check that it really is real and that you didn't just fall over from lack of muscle control.

The reservoir is shrinking rapidly and if we don't get rain so the birds will have to resort to drinking from the canal, what is the point of having a natural water source if natural is so unpredictable. Still it looks like it will pour down this weekend so the birds will be happy.

So remember next time you visit the island remember to keep your eyes on the ground lest you tumble and fall in a bruised bloody mess.

Industrial Skinny Dipping

The heat seems to be taking its toll on the tourists this summer, not only do we seem to have a non stop stream of boats at the Green Street Harbour but they seem to be loosing their natural shyness.

The Green Street harbour, a made up name by the way, is a small Sport boat jetty with an over night parking bay. The fact that it is nothing more than a platform in the canal with a big blue P warning of a 24 hour limit, doesn't seem to stop the long weekender's.

When I say no facilitates I mean non, not even a waste bin for the wannabe yachters to dump their long stay rubbish in, but more on that another time. No it is intended as a tie-up point in the city to allow boaters to stretch their legs. The hot weather and inordinate amount of rain has lead some to take the tropical paradise idea a little further, and  instead of seeing a reasonably clean canal, for a canal that is, they appear envision a tropical pool and proceed to strip off and dive in. Skinny dipping in industrial water ways, will it catch on I wonder.

Now I have seen it all before, 8 years in the navy prepared me more than adequately for the sight of naked men, so I wasn't shocked in the least, but a little concerned for the health of the poor divers  should they forget and swallow some of the water, still, they looked healthy enough. And the boat came equipped with showing facilities so all was washed clean in the end.

I had a little trouble finding pictures of the event suitable for a mixed audience. I didn't want to scare anyone unduly or make any small men feel inadequate. But  these boys had no shame, and why should they they certainly were big enough to know their own minds. I only wish we could have a little more sexual equality during the Fischerinsel Skinny Dipping season.  Maybe we will get a pensioners coach tour group stopping by for a cool down, not sure I will be able to find the camera quickly enough  for that one though.

A final note these guys were loud and boisterous when they arrived and enjoyed themselves by the sound of things. They only stayed one night and took all their rubbish with them when they left, unlike other marine visitors, but more on that another time.

Water Conservation

Despite the weather and a rain fall that should be measured in metres the government still feels the need to maintain the old and trusted  system of water conservation used on the island.

In an attempt to limit environmental impact on our tropical nature reserve that is the Fischerinsel, they have decided to leave our current water catchment system in place for yet another year.

I have to admit a mild fascination with this occasional little fresh reservoir, I say occasional because it has fresh surface water for most of the year, but lacks maintenance and so is full of rotting vegetation at the lower depths.

The main attraction on our corner of the island for the local sparrows and pigeon, who frequent it with the gusto of seaside makers of the 60's. Occasionally local dogs either very brave or mentally damaged from thirst, frequent this little watering hole, which is like a stagnant Oasis in the crumbling desert of broken tarmac. But the main beneficiaries of this natural spar are the millions of insect visitors that return to its shore to bread every year, like some miniature Salmon they find their way back to the stinking puddle they gave them life and so continue the cycle of life each year a new.

Just how long this sunken water feature has existed is open to doubt, recent studies by the University of Oddities as yet to draw any firm conclusions but they have promised that Carbon Dating should provide the answer, if only it warranted the cost.

You may wonder how deep this pools of verdant stench is that it attracts so much attention the Naval survey team is in the process of completing echo soundings but initial results but it a an average depth of 20cm at the deepest, shallowing off to a mere few centimetres on its sandy shores.

And for those wondering yes it is visible from space, even our friends at Google cartography are aware of it. I include recent satellite imagery as proof positive that this is not some fantasy story written during some Malarial fever.

So next time you out for a hike around the moonscape of the Fischerinsel canal banks stop for a while by its pungent shores for a rest and enjoy the lapping sounds of its shore. There is a quaint old bench nearby and one of  few bins in the area too, more on that later, so you can watch the wasps at play.

Green House Effect

Following on from my last post where I hinted at the effects of the Monsoon weather we have been experiencing here on the Fischerinsel. I thought it would be nice to do a piece on nature. The deforestation of the planet and its effects on CO2 levels seems to be all over the press in recent years. Berlin seems to have found a unique way of increasing forestation rather than decreasing it.

The solution taken here on the banks of the canal is wholly natural and has a zero CO2 foot print, no heavy machinery are used, nature is left to its own devices. The result a verdant green foliage covering the boring concrete and steel of the man made edifice. Healthy young trees now sprout out of once dead construction, giving life where there once was non.

Of course I am sure you can see the problem with cheap naturalisation of the canal bank. You are right it is destroying the bank and causing a hazard to walkers trying to enjoy a summer stroll. Is this a new problem, no, these trees have been left to grow unattended for years, and the resulting damage is quiet significant. The cheap tarmac covering is more like crazy paving and the roots have penetrated the concrete of the canal walls.

Nothing seems to gets done here any more, we have a recession and before that Berlin was hit by a financial crisis all of its own the city is effectively broke. But before the canal collapses they will have to fix it, and the longer they wait the more work will be required and of course the higher the cost. Cities don't pay for things their citizens pay, and mostly through the nose. Berlin is full of short sighted examples of cost cutting in terms of maintenance budget, that in the long run will end up costing us all more.

It isn't just the cost that concerns, there is a real danger created by this wanton lack of maintenance, many old people live on the island.  Just the other week I watched a confused old woman fall flat on her face as she tripped on one of the many root mounds in the footpaths surface. Anywhere else in the western world she would have sued the arse of the city but not here, justice is for the rich it seems.

So next time you are out enjoying the sunshine keep an eye on the ground unless you want to end up kissing it.

Monsoon Season

This summer is turning out to be a little strange weather wise. We have had so much rain in the last few months it seems we are in a perpetual monsoon cycle. First the clouds then the thunder followed by wind and rain. The clouds then disperse a little and the sun pokes through to warm the ground, and evaporate all the water. This then condenses in the cool air and falls as rain.

I remember this weather pattern from south east Asia, but it is very strange to have it here in northern Europe. I guess all this global warming has to have to effect on us too, turning the Fischerinsel into a sub tropical rain forest, even the trees seem to be growing faster, and they are certainly doing a great job of destroying the canal banks. More on this later, so welcome to the site and please call again!