Got home from Kreuzburg late last night after we all got kicked off the bus at Halensee so had to piss about waiting for one going to my stop...where i‘m staying in Charlottenburg is very posh but some have said it’s full of Russian mafia types.Mostly such talk is fanciable at best but last night the road I walk down to the hotel( Herthastrasse) had four goons outside a huge gated house all dressed in regulation goon gear of dark suits and stern expressions.As I was about 15 metres away a huge fuck off black car sped into the drive and the electrical gates slammed shut with two goons following and two left guarding the gate...I walked past without making eye contact and remember thinking „“whatever you do don’t look back“. I did‘nt look back...so maybe the Russian mafia thing has some substance after all.
Shop‘s open.Gonna grab some breakfast and hopefully actually make it to Tiergarten this time...damn you gotta be on your game at these supermarket checkouts.They fling that stuff down like Michael Holding off his long run...I swear if you just held your bag open at the end of the counter they‘d happily throw that shit in.No time for small talk either.No „“oh hello Doris,are those big fat ankles of yours still playing up?“ In the UK a chat to the checkout girl is the only human interaction some people get.Not here,it’s ruthless...
Managed to get in to Tiergarten which as achievements go is not that great as it’s smack in the middle of Berlin between Brandenburg Tor & Postdammer Platz.Not quite climbing Everest though I do have my own Sherpa to carry my water & tabs.First thing isaw was a hawk chowing down on an unfortunate rodent.Took some pics but couldn’t get close enough for anything decent...Anyhoo it’s a lovely spot.Be great to cycle round here...
Funny going back to a place after a year to see the differences,or not.Dropped into a cafe bar I used a lot last year opposite Birkenstrasse U-Bahn.Nice place,always welcoming and still is.The sexy barmaid is still there but sadly didn’t recognise me.That‘s fair enough we‘ve never discussed Lemmy‘s peccadilloes or indeed anyone else’s for that matter...what does seem to have changed however is over the road outside the U-Bahn exit where all sorts of shit was going down 24/7 .There were dealers & pimps swarming all over the place and now it’s empty.Don‘t know if there’s been a purge or if they’re just taking a break for a light lunch...i‘d braced myself going up the stairs where I was always met with a few dubious offers of one kind or another and it was a case of nothing to see here...
Talking of dodgy.I got warned off going to Dresden by a fella last night(too late i‘m booked) said it was full of right wing thugs.It‘s true they did vote nearly 22% for the AFD there but by my reckoning that still leaves nearly 80% who did‘nt so the odds are good.He did add that I should be ok because i‘m white! Best to stick to football as a conversation piece I s‘pose.
Incidentally it’s pronounced „“Dreesden“ we‘ve been saying it wrong for years.I like to pronounce names properly although I draw the line at the „“fffffff“ in the middle of Barcalona ——Oh a big police van‘s just turned up and parked outside the U-Bahn exit.So that answers the question I posed earlier——anyway some people think you’re a bit of a ponce if you pronounce foreign names properly.Ironically They’re usually the same people who get their knickers in a twist over Americans pronouncing it „“Lie-sester-Square“ so fuck em‘...
Lucky i‘m not paranoid a la Henry Hill in Goodfellas ,cos‘ when I got to Gölitzerbahn there was another police van and eight or nine coppers outside but surprisingly no purveyors of dodgy grass.If I did‘nt know better i‘d say there’s a concerted effort to clean up dodgy U-Bahn exits around the city...failing that they really are following me!
See you all tomorrow...as Long as the cops don’t get me.
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