Wow that is an incredible family history, it must have been amazing to read your late grandfathers notes. Beautiful colour in these Ari - I'm loving the tram image!
Thank you Lin, I really appreciate that. As I’m older (maybe not wider) I’m so grateful for all the research my grandpa did into the family history. I hadn’t really thought about the fact we had German forebears until I moved to Berlin, which felt so far away and alien, yet incredible to think my direct family lineage once called this place home and experienced the ups and downs of life in this city.
As a history major and someone who has always wanted to know more about my family history, what an amazing gift that you know who the many generations before and their stories too! So cool! Amazing photos. I’ve seen mostly western Germany on a family trip to visit German relatives but have always wanted to visit Berlin. Hopefully I’ll eventually get there!
I’m increasingly grateful for all the work my grandpa put into this. As someone who doesn’t and has never had any connection to Germany; it’s kind of mind blowing to grapple with the fact that my direct family lineage once lived in this city. Berlin was a place that felt so alien to me after moving from Montreal two years ago, so there was a comfort in knowing my forebears once experienced the highs and lows of life here and walking the same streets. I’m guessing if you have relatives in Germany then your connection to the country is much more recent than mine.
Yeah, my parents emigrated to Canada after World War 2, so I have many second cousins and distant relatives whom I have only met once on that family trip. I'm glad that that family lineage seems to have solidified that sense of place in Berlin. I have also found that in Winnipeg, having not grown up in the city, however, it is where my father was born and grew up in his childhood years before moving away. It is a more recent and direct connection, but it has similarly given me a sense of place in the city that I call home.
A deeply interesting take on the 20th Century historical tapestry—or shall I say, melting pot—that is Berlin. I visited the city only once, well over a decade ago, when I recall feeling confused and unsure of what to make of the place. Ironically, it struck me as without an initial character and identity, especially when compared to the other, more quintessentially European capitals. This was a strange take, I felt, but couldn't quite put my finger on why. All I could perceive were the underlying effects of tension and an internal strife within the place, especially when faced with Socialist Brutalist monuments—which I normally love—juxtaposed against a modern German Liberal righteousness and wave of commercialization. Your thoughts and especially the paragraph on "modern history's ultimate accidental city", which I enjoyed most, do a wonderful job in putting my observations and resulting confusion into a cohesive idea.
Wonderful to see the Tatra Motokov banner still in tact on Karl Marx's street.
Thanks Philip! I can absolutely understand why your initial impressions were like that because I felt similarly on my first visit. Berlin is a complicated city and I’m still forming my impressions of it. It’s certainly a very odd mishmash.
when the weather gets better, snow has melted and we can finally see the dog shit remains covering every centimetre of the pavement in berlin, I hope that we find time to fart around together in this city.
Love these winter photos while I am finally here & so is the sun! I look forward to discovering more of this city every day…and lord help me, I cant stop taking photos!! Keep the stories & pics coming Ari!
Thanks for these interesting ancestral data mixed with keen observations about your city and combined with appealing photography. Hats off! I subscribed.
Wish i'd been able to spend time wandering Berlin with you Ari dear. Great writing and images.
Thank you Lesley; I really appreciate that. I would have loved to show you around
Wow that is an incredible family history, it must have been amazing to read your late grandfathers notes. Beautiful colour in these Ari - I'm loving the tram image!
Thank you Lin, I really appreciate that. As I’m older (maybe not wider) I’m so grateful for all the research my grandpa did into the family history. I hadn’t really thought about the fact we had German forebears until I moved to Berlin, which felt so far away and alien, yet incredible to think my direct family lineage once called this place home and experienced the ups and downs of life in this city.
As a history major and someone who has always wanted to know more about my family history, what an amazing gift that you know who the many generations before and their stories too! So cool! Amazing photos. I’ve seen mostly western Germany on a family trip to visit German relatives but have always wanted to visit Berlin. Hopefully I’ll eventually get there!
I’m increasingly grateful for all the work my grandpa put into this. As someone who doesn’t and has never had any connection to Germany; it’s kind of mind blowing to grapple with the fact that my direct family lineage once lived in this city. Berlin was a place that felt so alien to me after moving from Montreal two years ago, so there was a comfort in knowing my forebears once experienced the highs and lows of life here and walking the same streets. I’m guessing if you have relatives in Germany then your connection to the country is much more recent than mine.
Yeah, my parents emigrated to Canada after World War 2, so I have many second cousins and distant relatives whom I have only met once on that family trip. I'm glad that that family lineage seems to have solidified that sense of place in Berlin. I have also found that in Winnipeg, having not grown up in the city, however, it is where my father was born and grew up in his childhood years before moving away. It is a more recent and direct connection, but it has similarly given me a sense of place in the city that I call home.
A deeply interesting take on the 20th Century historical tapestry—or shall I say, melting pot—that is Berlin. I visited the city only once, well over a decade ago, when I recall feeling confused and unsure of what to make of the place. Ironically, it struck me as without an initial character and identity, especially when compared to the other, more quintessentially European capitals. This was a strange take, I felt, but couldn't quite put my finger on why. All I could perceive were the underlying effects of tension and an internal strife within the place, especially when faced with Socialist Brutalist monuments—which I normally love—juxtaposed against a modern German Liberal righteousness and wave of commercialization. Your thoughts and especially the paragraph on "modern history's ultimate accidental city", which I enjoyed most, do a wonderful job in putting my observations and resulting confusion into a cohesive idea.
Wonderful to see the Tatra Motokov banner still in tact on Karl Marx's street.
Thanks Philip! I can absolutely understand why your initial impressions were like that because I felt similarly on my first visit. Berlin is a complicated city and I’m still forming my impressions of it. It’s certainly a very odd mishmash.
when the weather gets better, snow has melted and we can finally see the dog shit remains covering every centimetre of the pavement in berlin, I hope that we find time to fart around together in this city.
Sounds like a plan!
I love just wandering new and familiar cities without any plan. These are awesome!
Thanks Alex, I appreciate that! I also really like wandering around new places without a fixed route in mind.
Love these winter photos while I am finally here & so is the sun! I look forward to discovering more of this city every day…and lord help me, I cant stop taking photos!! Keep the stories & pics coming Ari!
Thanks for these interesting ancestral data mixed with keen observations about your city and combined with appealing photography. Hats off! I subscribed.