squirm

wandering the mark brandenburg

trouble in paradise...

Schloss Ribbeck

 

the weekend found us pedaling across the havelland, weaving past sticky clouds of gnats to reach ribbeck, home of a recently renovated schloß, schoolhouse, church and petting zoo. 

Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland,
Ein Birnbaum in seinem Garten stand,
Und kam die goldene Herbsteszeit
Und die Birnen leuchteten weit und breit,
Da stopfte, wenn's Mittag vom Turme scholl,
Der von Ribbeck sich beide Taschen voll,
Und kam in Pantinen ein Junge daher,
So rief er: "Junge, wiste 'ne Beer?"
Und kam ein Mädel, so rief er: "Lütt Dirn,
Kumm man röwer, ick hebb 'ne Birn."

So ging es viel Jahre, bis lobesam
Der von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck zu sterben kam.
Er fühlte sein Ende. 's war Herbsteszeit,
Wieder lachten die Birnen weit und breit;
Da sagte von Ribbeck: "Ich scheide nun ab.
Legt mir eine Birne mit ins Grab."
Und drei Tage drauf, aus dem Doppeldachhaus,
Trugen von Ribbeck sie hinaus,
Alle Bauern und Büdner mit Feiergesicht
Sangen "Jesus meine Zuversicht",
Und die Kinder klagten, das Herze schwer:
"He is dod nu. Wer giwt uns nu 'ne Beer?"

So klagten die Kinder. Das war nicht recht -
Ach, sie kannten den alten Ribbeck schlecht;
Der neue freilich, der knausert und spart,
Hält Park und Birnbaum strenge verwahrt.
Aber der alte, vorahnend schon
Und voll Mißtraun gegen den eigenen Sohn,
Der wußte genau, was damals er tat,
Als um eine Birn' ins Grab er bat,
Und im dritten Jahr aus dem stillen Haus
Ein Birnbaumsprößling sproßt heraus.

Und die Jahre gingen wohl auf und ab,
Längst wölbt sich ein Birnbaum über dem Grab,
Und in der goldenen Herbsteszeit
Leuchtet's wieder weit und breit.
Und kommt ein Jung' übern Kirchhof her,
So flüstert's im Baume: "Wiste 'ne Beer?"
Und kommt ein Mädel, so flüstert's: "Lütt Dirn,
Kumm man röwer, ick gew' di 'ne Birn."

So spendet Segen noch immer die Hand
Des von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland.

- Fontane 

empires rise and empires fall

 

but the Urn abides...

sleepy sunday under attack

a relaxed sunday afternoon formed the end of my brief summer vacation. took the train out to potsdam to check out mark and metropole, the current exhibition at the house of brandenburg prussian history. the exhibit attempts to trace the interdependence of the city of berlin and the mark brandenburg, the state in which it is embedded, and while it had its high points - such as theodor fontane's desk chair and the axe of one of berlin's medieval executioners - the narrative began to grow thinner after the end of the nineteenth century. perhaps this was due to the primarily east german sources of much of the documentation, or the arrival of modern disposable culture with the onset of the twentieth century. but, berlin obsessive that i am, i still found myself thrilled by the antique photographs of journalist marie goslich and the oil paintings of local scenes. decided to return to the city by boat, or at least to cover some of the distance on the water, and so booked passage on the good ship paretz over to wannsee. as we cruised under the lange brücke and along the freundschaftsinsel it was a breezy, beautiful day and the havel was thick with sailboats and pleasure craft. little did we know that we were being still being attacked from the air by those dastardly british! early this afternoon the 250 kilogram bomb was discovered by construction workers....

gusow - mittelpunkt der welt

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.