the chill april clouds parted just enough yesterday to allow for a expedition into the brandenburgensian hinterlands. destination - schloss neuhardenberg to hear two dresdeners, durs grünbein and ingo schulze, read from their work and discuss the beginnings of their ink stained careers as part of renatus deckert's program 'wie menschen zum schreiben kommen' which follows his recent anthology 'das erste buch. schriftsteller über ihr literarisches debüt'. a bit thick for my blood but since ingo is a friend of a friend (and i had heard him read last year with günter grass at the adk) it seemed like a fine excuse to venture out amidst the pines. reaching the platform at berlin-lichtenberg i was heartened to see a rather new talent train operated by neb (the niederbarnimer eisenbahn). a welcome change from the old db regional bahn line. the sleek bombardier talent is quite comfortable, with plenty of space for bicycles, and boasts internet access, potable yet inexpensive coffee, a friendly staff, and large windows to watch the countryside roll by. running hourly between berlin-lichtenberg and kostryn at the border the talent makes wandering the mark brandenburg easier than ever.
debarking at seelow-gusow we pedalled over to schloss gusow to see old fieldmarshall derfflinger's digs. fontane remarks that schloss gusow is not architecturally significant but i would note that it does have a sort of disheveled charm, mostly due to the prussian history museum the current owners have installed in the rooms and the rangy park behind it, which would be quite at home in an edward gorey tale. in the dim stuffy rooms which comprise the museum the local history as it pertains to brandenburg, prussia and germany is illustrated by an assortment of books, furniture, and paintings, as well as busts and other objects - but most importantly by dozens of dioramas castles, battles, citizens and soldiers all rendered in tin. the museum's caretaker (and i suspect, its curator), initially gruff and suspicious, grew friendly and animated as soon as we paid the three and a half euro entrance fee. he then instructed us as to gusow's pivotal spot in world history - specifically its role in the destruction of three great empires. apparently the goths, vandals and assorted 'germanic tribesman' that brought down rome were quite enamored of the area and used it as a base for their attacks on the empire. later napoleon would convene three hundred thousand troops here for his march to moscow - of whom only eight thousand would return. finally the last great battle against hitler's empire - misnamed the battle of seelow heights - was actually decided here in gusow since, the russian armor being unable to climb the steep hills, bersarin instructed them to advance along the rail lines, the same lines we had just ridden out from berlin! truly the center of the world, we shall have to keep our eyes peeled to see how gusow brings the american and nascent chinese empires to their knees.
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