Carola
Not all flights have been cancelled []
Daffodils
Cycling to work this morning - spring is here! What a beautiful sight... [Carola]
Home Office Stil Life I
[Carola]
It's back...
[Carola]
Essential items
Although many shops are closed, bookshops so far have been allowed to remain open. Food for thought. [Carola]
Stay safe, look stylish
It is possible to take precautions and still look good. I fancied the flowery model, but unfortunately, due to the lockdown, the shop is shut... [Carola]
I wandered lonely as a cloud...
probably our last (brief) escape into the countryside for the coming weeks. We walked around a small lake, keeping a safe distance from everybody else. Lovely weather. It is going to be hard to miss out on spring. But how many chances do most of us get in our lifetime to be heroes and save lives? [Carola]
Home Office Still Life II
[Carola]
Beer
Preparing to meet with a friend for a beer... [Carola]
No progress
I should be making great progress with all my unread books - why do I spend so much time just surfing the web and reading articles that are depressing? [Carola]
Crime Scene
The playgrounds in Berlin were closed about a week ago. I wonder which crimes were committed here. Looks peaceful enough! [Carola]
social distancing
no social distancing for these little fellows, congregating and procreating in the spring sunshine [Carola]
rainy sunday
today the weather is encouraging us to stay home [Carola]
Winter is back
winter returned briefly to Germany today [Carola]
Corona on my brain
This is a delicious sweet with dates and rhubarb... but it reminds me of something else [Carola ]
Homecooking
For nearly three weeks, we have been preparing all our meals at home. no sandwiches, no quick lunch at the canteen, no restaurants. It is strange to be doing so much cooking. But it is not boring yet. [Carola]
Vacation
Next week, I am officially on vacation. Won't be going anywhere much, but it will still be nice not to have to check email. [Carola]
Next door
They have only just finished building the new house next door. The yard is still unfinished, but the new neighbours are already enjoying their outdoor space. What a time to move into a new home... [Carola ]
No Sitting
Sitting has been outlawed [Carola]
Supermoon
The moon doesn't care ... it just waxes and wanes regardless of what goes on down here. [Carola]
Exercise
All the sports equipment in the park has been cordoned off ... but if you bring your own at least you can be sure it‘s hygienic [Carola ]
No Burgers
This rather scruffy burger-outlet is usually open (and smelly) day and night, but now they have a sign on the door, saying they are closed due to the corona-crisis. Strange - there is no ban on take-aways. Perhaps there is not enough business because people are no longer dropping in for small-hours-burgers on their way home from clubbing. [Carola]
Quiet
This evening, we went for a walk around our local area. It was so quiet, it was like walking around a provincial town, not Berlin. It felt very peaceful. [Carola ]
Easter tree
Today, the kids who live in the ground floor flat put up an Easter tree in the yard [Carola ]
Keeping in touch
On this lovely warm evening a neighbour is sitting out on his balcony with his laptop [Carola ]
Rain
Woke up this morning to the sound of raindrops on the window. After nearly a fortnight of dry sunny weather it is a relief. The surroundings of Berlin are on forest fire alert already. A small reminder that climate change doesn’t stop for Corona. [Carola ]
Home Office Still Life III
Back to work today after 10 days of leave... [Carola ]
Still life
Today I spent the day working from home. Then I had supper and phoned my mother and a friend. Then it was bedtime. I need to make time for some fresh air and exercise... [Carola ]
Blue sky thinking
With the sunshine outside it was really difficult to stay at my desk and concentrate- luckily it’s Friday [Carola ]
Resilience
They planted new trees in our neighbourhood only last week - and this week they are all in flower. I hope our society will be as resilient. [Carola]
So near and yet so far
We drove out of Berlin today and walked along the river Oder. The hills in the background of the photo are Poland. For the first time since probably 1990 the border is closed. This feels very strange [Carola ]
Change
Last week, the German government announced that from today, the lockdown would start to be relaxed. Immediately things have started to feel more hectic. I had to go out. The athmosphere was not positive. It doesn’t feel like an eruption of Lebensfreude - more like the rat race is starting again. I was quite glad to get home. [Carola ]
Inside
Didn’t leave the flat today [Carola ]
Corona-Weather
On the weather forecast, they said today would be another day of Corona-weather. It is uncanny how blue the sky has been for weeks [Carola ]
Take away
People waiting for take away meals this evening - I never realised this slightly uninspiring-looking restaurant had so many loyal customers [Carola ]
Time travel
I was doing some tidying in the flat today and found a folder with mementos of a trip to Moscow in 1992. It was still (just) the capital of the USSR then. It was nice to travel in my head. But not all my memories are happy. I was a privileged westerner. But it was a time of existential crisis for most Russians. They were still kind and generous to us. [Carola ]
Beautiful
The sky was beautiful today - but still no rain [Carola]
Three’s a crowd
We are now officially allowed to meet one person who does not live in our household- as long as it’s outside and we keep a distance of 1,5 m [Carola ]
Lilacs
The lilacs are in blossom. Berlin is fragrant. Especially at night. [Carola]
Forget-me-nots
The very lovely cemetery down the road has been closed for the las few weeks. Now it’s reopened and -appropriately - there is a great show of forget-me-nots [Carola ]
Everyday is distance day
The market in our local square only takes place once a week, but the Corona markings are there all the time... [Carola ]
Yuppie Masks
I went to the local Yuppie market today. All the stalls were selling „artisan“ masks. So the new frontier for the wealthy is looking stylish in a mask. I was told these need to be hand washed. That seems to rather defeat the purpose. [Carola ]
Mir rennt die Zeit davon
The little sign says: time is running away... during the last eight weeks I have had the feeling that time has run more slowly. Still in retrospect I wonder where the time since March has gone... [Carola ]
Pretty cloud
My day was pretty uneventful. Didn‘t go out at all... so here’s just some pretty clouds I can see from the window [Carola ]
Playground
The playground has reopened [Carola ]
Teamwork
These two old folk warmed my heart today - isn‘t it lovely how they pull their shopping cart together? [Carola ]
Tired
I don’t know why, but I feel shattered this evening... [Carola ]
Out of town
Amazing weather today, so we headed out of town [Carola ]
Colourful
To brighten up these times someone has asked people to paint a stone and add it to the collection in a local park. There are already lots of them and some are quite imaginative [Carola ]
Waiting...
...for the washing to dry. [Carola]
A break in the clouds
Today it rained all day, but now the sun is coming out... [Carola]
Evening concerts
Up to 50 people are allowed to assemble in the open air in Berlin now, as long as they keep their distance. This group had assembled by the brandenburg gate to sing and meditate. They are abiding by the distancing rules... [Carola ]
Meeting
Went for a short walk around the block at lunchtime and encountered this little chap [Carola ]
Restaurants reopened
Today, restaurants reopened in Berlin. Some had quite a few customers, other less so. The cool temperatures probably kept the number of customers down. [Carola]
The answer my friend
Is blowing in the wind... [Carola ]
1,5 metres
It’s more than most people thinking [Carola ]
The first beer
At our local since the reopening. Kind of nice, but didn’t feel that spectacular... [Carola ]
Corona Victim
I have just heard that they are closing Tegel airport for good. It had been due to go for a while, but now the air traffic has dwindled to nothing, they have brought the date forward. I’m feeling a little bit sentimental. We used to see the planes come in from our back window. But it is the right thing to do. [Carola ]
Fleeing the devil
Came upon this sculpture in he countryside while walking today. The subject matter is strangely apt for our times... [Carola]
Red
The poppies are out and so are the revolutionaries... [Carola ]
After the rain the sun
Today, the weather was like April. Look closely: there is even a trace of a real rainbow in the picture. [Carola ]
Blooming
Usually, there are posters for concerts and live shows all over Berlin. But now there are no concerts and the hoardings are mostly empty. The company that owns them has put up posters of summer flowers instead. So now we have blooming meadows all over Berlin walls. [Carola]
Evening walks
We are continuing our evening walks around the neighbourhood that we started during lockdown. Today the light was beautiful. And there are always photo opportunities. [Carola]
Closing time
Berlin used to be proud of being the town where there was no closing time for pubs and bars. Currently, those hostelries that are allowed to open have to close at 10. In some ways, it's ot such a bad thing... [Carola]
Perks
When I work from home my husband sometimes makes me coffee and brings me a cookie. [Carola ]
Carola
Our new neighbours aren't making much progress with landscaping their yard. But it doesn't stop them enjoying their outdoor space and each other's company. So that's fine.
Moonshine
At the end of a very exiting day for me the moon shines brightly above the houses [Carola ]
Mixed message
What does communism have todo with Corona? [Carola ]
Orange bloss
On the day Italy reopened its borders, the little orange tree on my balcony is blossoming [Carola ]
Tourists
The first tourists are coming back to Berlin. [Carola]
Strawberry
I grow strawberries on my balcony. This year's crop looks very strange. Does this reind you of something? [Carola]
Mask
nice homemade mask sign - if you know its a mask, you can tell its a mask! Otherwise it could be a sombrero - or a hotdog in a roll... [Carola]
Photosoc
This evening, our photosoc met for the first time since February. We met outside. There was wine. There was laughter. There were lots of photos. It was great to see people again. [Carola]
Postcard
People are starting to go on holiday again - today we got our first postcard [Carola ]
Stylish protection
[Carola ]
Public transport
Today, I traveled on public transport for the first time since March [Carola ]
Long evenings
The longest day of the year is approaching fast - 22:30 and its still not dark [Carola ]
Away
For the first time since late February I will not be sleeping in my own bed tonight [Carola ]
Red Alert
In the south of Germany they take preventive measures more seriously than in Berlin [Carola ]
Country corona
Orthographically challenged notice in the window of a pub in a small Bavarian country town offering Sunday meals to take away [Carola ]
In the pink
In the countryside, life just seems to go on... [Carola ]
© Carola