“Before the law stands a doorkeeper. A man from the country comes up to this doorkeeper and begs for entry into the law. But the doorkeeper says he cannot grant entry now. The man considers, and then asks whether this means that he might be allowed entry later. “It is possible”, says the doorkeeper, “but not now”.”
Franz Kafka, Before the Law
Berlin
I had not appreciated until now how pertinent the concept of “uncertain walls” was to the city of Berlin. It was our thirteenth anniversary, and we decided to go, after five years of voluntary exclusion. All the landmarks are there, and we could retrace our steps, from the new airport to Friedrich St. and Museum Insel. But it was still winter, the usual grey sky and the icy wind. The city was quiet, we would see crowds again at the Philharmonie, and as we left travelling back to the airport.
Anhalter
We walked from our hotel on Anhalter Str. to Ritter Str. and the heart of Kreuzberg. Distances were deceptive, as we had criss-crossed the area mostly on bikes. Soon I could feel the ache on the old legs. Desolation is an understatement, and I wanted to believe this was an effect of the temperature. But no, the piles of rubbish and the boarded up businesses were real.
Alte Gallerie
We spent time at the Alte Gallerie, and I was hurt by the thought that those treasures, Toten Insel, the Courbets, the dragon atop the tower, all those had been there, all the time. We took the S-Bahn to reach Viktoria Park, and walked to the monument to the Liberation war of 1813-1815. Monumenten Str. and Eylauer Str are there too, unchanged. We walked back along the Dreieck, and I missed the bike.
Philharmonie
The concert at the Philharmonie was the peak of our short stay, Jakub Hrusa conducting, Leos Janacek, Beethoven concerto for piano no5, with Seong-Sin Cho, Bela Bartok: divine. I lost Sarah at the interval, it had to happen. The following day was even more wintery. We took the long way to a working tram line to Wedding. We got off at Seestrasse, and I had to shed a few tears near our door. We walked to Plötzensee, noticed the devastation in the Cemetery on Seestrasse: did the municipality expect a wholesale death of residents then? The park was quieter, except for a few joggers. On the way back we stopped at the small Trattoria, the simple fact that it was still there cheered me up.
Franz Kafka
On our last day we visited the Jewish Museum, and a fascinating exhibition dedicated to Franz Kafka’s writing, which I thought was very appropriate to the circumstances. The walls were more uncertain than ever. Now I have to unpack all of it, and reconcile myself with the reality: posters inn the streets hailing the rearming of Germany. Let’s pray.
>>
Leave a Reply