So in an effort to not loose all mobility in my body I've decided to start running again... yay... but seriously I was out in a blizzard yesterday running in the snow while thoughtful Germans were pulling their children on sleds probably thinking that I was going to get sick because in Germany having a head that is exposed and therefore cold = getting sick.
The point is I've been running in Volkspark Friedrichshain which is extremely close to my apartment. I've been telling everyone (aka Duncan) lies about how it was made in the DDR time to be a park for the people, hence the name Volks (people's) park. Lies, all lies. Today I read the placard to discover that the park actually dates back to 1848 and is the oldest park in Berlin. Oops!
The cool news is that the hills that I've been trying to avoid because they KILL MY LEGS/HEART/MIND are actually parts of an old bunker and an air raid tower. During WWII the Nazis made a only few above ground bunkers which were often meant to look like normal buildings but actually had 3 meter thick concrete walls. All of this was concealed even more by the trees, leaves, and bushes in the park. After the war basically everything in the area was destroyed and the allies decided to make Trümmerberge (literally, rubble mountain) out of the old bunker. Two hills were created with help from a sizable amount of the surrounding area's war rubble. Imagine my surprise when I realized I'd been running over the rubble from WWII. Currently they look just like normal hills that have been highly manicured, but I can't wait for the snow (yes, snow in March) to melt and then I'm going digging for WWII relics in the mountainside.
Also I've lived in my apartment for five months and sadly have never been to the park before last week! It's so bad! Sometimes living in another country gets so wearing that you forget you're supposed to be interested or amazed at the color of the tram or the punctuality of German buses or the beautiful buildings or even the war rubble you've been running over for three days. Well seeing as I'm moving soon I should really enjoy the park while I can.
Here's the Wikipedia page if you're interested Volkspark Friedrichshain.
First photo from this website and the second from the Wikipedia page.
(What the park looks like currently)
The point is I've been running in Volkspark Friedrichshain which is extremely close to my apartment. I've been telling everyone (aka Duncan) lies about how it was made in the DDR time to be a park for the people, hence the name Volks (people's) park. Lies, all lies. Today I read the placard to discover that the park actually dates back to 1848 and is the oldest park in Berlin. Oops!
Also I've lived in my apartment for five months and sadly have never been to the park before last week! It's so bad! Sometimes living in another country gets so wearing that you forget you're supposed to be interested or amazed at the color of the tram or the punctuality of German buses or the beautiful buildings or even the war rubble you've been running over for three days. Well seeing as I'm moving soon I should really enjoy the park while I can.
Here's the Wikipedia page if you're interested Volkspark Friedrichshain.
First photo from this website and the second from the Wikipedia page.
No comments:
Post a Comment