TAWOMG - Ghosts all around (2)

Dear Friends,

The past two weeks have been of intense financial volatility. Apparently the crisis that has been forming since August 2007 has now gathered momentum and is unfolding to its full extent. Friends that work at the financial markets in different countries have told me that it was Armageddon out there. We can only hope that the end may be near - the financial crisis end, I mean. The next big question is how far will it split over to "real" economy and cause recession around the world. More and more people think that some kind of recession is almost unavoidable in the richest countries. The most important question now, in case recession occurs, seems to be how long will it last and how fast can countries recover after it. A number of economists are writing that worse than a recession at the biggest world economy would be a weak and long recover. It would be very bad news if the American economy stays flat for too long and it takes time until it recovers from the foreseeable slowdown. Pollyannas around the world can nevertheless say that at least so far a depression is ruled out...

* * * * *

During my visit to Berlin weeks ago, one afternoon I met Marcelo, Chantal and their young daughter in a Café. It was a nice afternoon and it was a big pleasure to be there, sitting outside, enjoying being with them in a nice place, nice neighbourhood, and nice city. We talked about common friends, our daily lives and world issues. At that time the war in Georgia was fairly recent and a hot topic in café conversations. We were not very optimistic about how this war could change the geopolitical balance of power in Europe. I then said something like: "The world has become a dangerous and sometimes unpleasant place."

* * * * *

At the very moment that these words came out of my mouth, I thought: "How can you express such a common place being exactly here where you are now?!" In fact, only ninety years ago Germany was fighting at this huge carnage that was World War I. After WWI they had the economic crisis and hyperinflation, Nazism, Hitler came to power, Germany started World War II, lost it and was split into two countries. One of them endured four decades of Soviet domination and communism. The Café where we were was on former East Berlin and at the pre-war Jewish quarter, Oranienburg. In a place that had witnessed so many tragedies in less than a century, how could I dare to say that the world had become a dangerous and unpleasant place? The truth is exactly the opposite - after all the massacres of the XX Century, we are lucky people that can leave in a relatively peaceful world. At least in Europe, we can't complain.

* * * * *
This can be a good definition of Berlin and the reason why, in case ghosts do exist, most of them live there. It was either protagonist of last century's most dramatic events or, when they were originated somewhere else, their impact in Berlin were nevertheless significant. Surprising, intriguing, disconcerting, unique, all these are adjectives that could be used to describe the city. It is amazing that now that it is again Germany's capital and that so much money was poured on its reconstruction, it hasn't taken off. Marcelo told me that people continue to leave it. There are lots of apartments and offices available. In some places, the space between the two walls remained empty and not used, as you can see on the photo beside, taken at Bernauerstrasse. As a result, it is one of the cheapest European capitals. It hasn't (yet) attracted people and business enough to transform it in the big Central European Capital of the XXI Century. Who knows, maybe better so...

* * * * *
Before I left Berlin I thought that I could easily and happily live there. Maybe my problem is that I can say the same about too many cities: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Cologne and so many other places... I wonder whether one day I will settle down somewhere for good. The only thing that I can say about it is that, in case one day I move to Paris, then it will be the final destination. Before it happens, I could continue to move around for quite some time.

* * * * *

From Berlin I drove to Heidelberg. In my opinion it is the most beautiful city in Germany. Heidelberg played a key role in my life, though I was there only a few times and always on very short visits. Every time I have the chance, I go back there and remember how and why it became such an important place to me.

* * * * *

My last stop over in this long vacation was in Montbrison, in France, where I met Bernard and had dinner with him and his family. No need to say that it was a pleasure to see them and share such a nice evening. Shame that I couldn't combine it with a visit to Via, Fabien and their children in Lyon. The next day I went to Barcelona, where I stayed for a few days before flying to São Paulo. For the first time in more than ten years I could have a taste of what it means to be a tourist in my own (adopted) city in these days. I stayed in a hotel at the Olympic Village for a few days.

* * * * *

At this hotel there was a group of Swedes, all men, between 30 and 50 years old. I was shocked to see the way they behaved: it was outrageous! It is not only that they were drunk most of the time, but also the absolute lack of respect that they showed for other guests. After spending three months in Sweden, I am convinced that they wouldn't dare to do at home half of what they did in Spain. This is the sad side of low cost flights and the popularity of Barcelona as preferred European tourist destination. Every weekend hordes of people fly in to party - it is cheaper to do it there than in Scandinavia, England, The Netherlands and other places where alcohol is highly taxed and so expensive. As a result we, the locals, see our city invaded by people decided to have fun irrespective of anything else. They just don't care if they are disturbing others or not. Isn't there any other European city volunteering to take over this role?

Wish you have a nice week, if possible without crossing unwanted tourists.

Maurício

TAWOMG - Ghosts all around (1)

Dear Friend,

Berlin is one of the most fascinating cities that I have ever visited. During the nineties I used to go there fairly often. The first trips were to visit Clara when she was writing her PhD thesis at the Berlin Free University. When I lived in Cologne I went there a few times on private trips. Last time was many years ago. When I went there two weeks ago I was curious to see how the city had developed since it became Germany's capital.

* * * * *

I remember Berlin just after the fall of the wall, when there were huge open spaces everywhere. Usually people that haven't been there don't know that there were two walls, not one. The first one was built following the border between East and West Berlin. After building this first wall, East Germans demolished everything that was behind it, leaving a free space whose breadth varied from around 50 to 200 meters. Then they built the second one. They also made sure that this no-man's land in between both was very securely guarded, in order to avoid people crossed it and escaped alive to the West. The inner wall was seen on West Berlin side, the outer one was seen by east Berliners. Another curious thing is that many people imagine that the wall was around communist Berlin, making it impossible to flee it. It is surprising that so many people believe it, because in reality it was the other way round: West Berlin was an island inside communist Germany and the wall circled it. West Berliners were the ones inside the fence and the ones that could not freely move.

* * * * *

The wall's history is something that has always impressed me a lot, probably because it is so tragic and absurd. Many times I invited friends to figure out how life would be if one night, all of a sudden, a wall was built in the cities where they lived. It doesn't matter how you draw the line of this fictive border, at the end of the day part of your friends and relatives will always be on the wrong side of it. This is what happened in Berlin. You can argue that the two sides were very clear to everybody and the complete closure of the borders didn't really come as a surprise. Nevertheless, there remained room for thousands of private dramas. I remember that in December 1990 I travelled by train from Frankfurt to Berlin. At the same compartment there was a 60 year old German travelling with us. He told us his story: he was a young man and lived with his family in East Germany in 1961. However, the night the wall was built he was at a party in West Berlin. When he realized what was happening, he could choose to go back home, but if he did so, then he would not be aloud to cross the border back to the West. He decided not to go and stayed in West Germany, at the cost of not seeing his family and friends for 28 years! His drama was just one among thousand others.

* * * * *

One thing that has always impressed me a lot in post-wall Berlin is that after it was demolished, crossing it became just a banality. My hotel was very close to where once was Checkpoint Charlie. Everyday, more than once a day, I walked up and down Friedrichstrasse. Before November 1989 it was one of the best and most controlled borders between communist and capitalist worlds. All around Berlin hundreds of people lost their lives trying to go to "the other side". Thousands more probably dreamed of doing it, knowing that it was impossible. And then, one day the border is opened and people can freely cross it. Later the wall is removed and there are no longer two sides. Going from East to West and vice-versa is as easy as crossing a street, like in any other city. But because during so many years it was physically and politically not possible, Berlin is not like any other city.

* * * * *

After the Wall fell and was removed, the land between the two walls became a vast, flat open space in the middle of the city. It was particularly impressive around what in former days was Potsdamer Platz, one of the most important places in pre-war Berlin. It was very difficult to imagine how it was before the war, because nothing remained of it, even not the streets, let alone the buildings. The last time that I had been to Berlin Potsdamer Platz was already a huge construction site. By that time some of the buildings had been finished and it was already possible to figure out how it would eventually look like. This time I could see the outcome: Potsdamer Platz, Leipziger Platz and Leipzigerstrasse came back to life. All over the place fancy new buildings herald the XXI century Berlin. Twenty years ago the Philharmonic building was in the middle of nowhere. Today it is in the middle of the city. I was glad to see it so.

* * * * *

In the old days one of my favourite places in West Berlin was the old Embassy District, within a walking distance from the Philharmonic. Before the war many embassies were in the area beside the Tiergarten. After the war, this region was in West Berlin, part of Federal Germany's territory, whose capital was Bonn. As West Berlin was not the capital, there were no longer embassies there. Most of these old, beautiful buildings were just abandoned. The doors and windows were walled to avoid invasions and they were left behind. As embassies are considered part of the territory of their countries, there were legal issues that made it even more difficult to find an use for these abandoned buildings. I particularly remember the Italian Embassy, a beautiful Palazzo severely damaged during

the war. Promenading around this quarter was like walking on the streets of a ghost city. Now I went there to see what had happened in this neighbourhood. It is no longer a ghost city. The old buildings were either renovated, like the Italian Embassy, or demolished. New ones were built in their places. Today only the old Greek Embassy remains in ruins, as you can see on both photos beside, but apparently it will be soon renovated.

* * * * *

There is a lot more that I can tell you about my visit to Berlin, but I will leave it for the next posting. Meanwhile, I wish you have a nice week!

Maurício

TAWOMG - Driving back to Spain

Dear Friends,

I left Stockholm two weeks ago. As I was travelling by car, I had the opportunity to visit some friends on the way back to Spain. The first one was Björn, an old colleague at the company where I used to work. He lives and works in Västervik, a beautiful city on the east coast in Småland. Västervik can be a great destination for summer vacation in Sweden: the nature is gorgeous and there are plenty of activities for tourists. It was a short visit, but I am glad that I could make it.

* * * * *

From Västervik I drove to Vimmerby, the city where the world famous writer Astrid Lindgren was born. She is admirable not only for the books that she wrote, but also for the opinions that she expressed and the ideas that she fought for. Pipi Långstrump is maybe her best known character. Vimmerby is a beautiful, cosy, small Swedish city. Its old town is worth a visit, but the main attractions are Astrid Lindgren Värld and Astrid Lindgrens Näs. The later is the home where she was born and where she spent her childhood. Her father was tenant farmer at the rectory. Astrid bought the house in the sixties and had it restored to its original aspect. Many of the stories on her books were inspired by her childhood in the area. I joined a guided tour of it and it was inspiring. However I did not go to Astrid Lindgrens Värld. This is an amusement park based on her books. It is the ideal attraction for children that have read the books and know the characters. It can be a great idea for families on vacation in Småland.

* * * * *

After Vimmerby I stopped at Älmjut, where IKEA has its headquarters. When I lived in Portugal I had a good friend that worked for them there. He then moved back to Sweden, left IKEA, lived in Göterborg and the last news that I had was years ago: he had married, had a daughter and moved back to Älmjut. I didn't know whether he still worked for the company and whether it would be possible to find him, considering that he has the second most common Swedish family name. I gave it a chance and it worked. So, after many years, out of the blue, I suddenly was on the other side of the line, telling him that I was at IKEA. We met, exchanged our cards, updated each other what we have been up to during the last decade and then I left. Hoppefully we will keep in touch in the future!

* * * * *

On Friday night I arrived to Copenhagen. During the few days that I was there I could confirm the impression that I had when I passed by on the way to Uppsala in June: many things were built during the recent past and the city is very well taken care of. That is an evident sign of the economic growth of late. I was particularly impressed by all the new buildings in Amager Island, most of them very interesting from an architectural point of view. They also built a subway line and an artificial beach! It is like building a new and modern city in an area that in the past was mostly not used. Copenhagen also has two new theatres that you can see on the photo beside: the new Royal Theatre and the new Opera House. On Saturday night I went to the Royal Theatre to see "Revy 08". It was an entertaining show, but before it and during the break I could entertain myself searching among the public if anyone could fit any of the characters in my book. One of the two main characters is a Dane from Copenhagen. I think I could spot him, with his family: his sister was pregnant (good news, in the book they have no children) and was there with her husband. Other family members were also at the theatre. After so many weeks sharing a big part of the day with them, it was fun to try to identify them there!

* * * * *

In Copenhagen I visited my old friend Kalle. We first met twenty years ago, on a train travelling from Copenhagen to Munich. Kalle was then travelling with another friend, Nicolay. I was also travelling with a friend, Reynaldo. Kalle and Nico are Norwegians, but have long lived in Denmark (not in 1988). Nico moved back to Norway some years ago, but has just returned to Copenhagen with his family. Both have children, three each. It was a surprise to learn that Nico was back to Denmark and on Sunday we all met at the Amager beach. I hadn't seen Nico since 1997! He didn't know that I was coming to the beach with Kalle and his daughter. It was a surprise for him and together we shared a good day on the beach.

* * * * *

Kalle is an architect and instructed me about the new buildings in town. He also told me about the controversy around the new Opera House. Whatever the opinions, no doubt it is a great thing that Copenhagen could build two brand new, state of the art theatres in a short period of time and that the Opera was financed by one private person and donated to the city (or Nation, I am not sure). It is an evident sign of prosperity.

* * * * *

From Copenhagen I drove to Berlin, stopping over Lübeck, to visit the

Buddenbrookhaus, that once belonged to the Mann Family. This house and the city of Lübeck inspired the famous novel by Thomas Mann. However, it was destroyed during World War II and only the façade was saved from the flames. Today the reconstructed building houses a number of activities around the Mann family. Lübeck was a nice surprise, but the Buddenbrookhaus was rather disappointing. Compared to Astrid Lindgrens Näs or many other places connected with writers' lives, it was nothing special.

* * * * *

I went to Berlin mainly to visit Marcelo and his family. I have visited this city quite often in the nineties, but now I hadn't been there for a long time. I intended to stay for two days and stayed for four. I have always thought that, if ghosts do exist, most of them live there. There is so much to write about Germany's capital that I will leave it for the next posting.

Wish you all the best!

Maurício

TAWOMG - Goodbye to Stockholm

Dear Friends,

On Monday last week I finished to write the novel. I started to write it in the extremely cold days of winter 95/96, when I moved from Barcelona to Germany. At that time I was living in Wuppertal (or Suppertal as I like to call it). At a certain point in time, on the terrace of the penthouse where I lived for four months there was more than 30 cms of snow. I then made a snowman and took a photo of it. I was feeling very unhappy after two very good years in Spain. The novel, located in Barcelona, was a way to put on paper things that I had seen or experienced there. It is not a biographical novel, but I must admit that I have witnessed some of the facts described on the book.

* * * * *

Why did it take me twelve years to write it? The first good reason is because very soon I made new friends in Germany, moved to Cologne, participated in interesting projects at work and altogether the thirty months that I lived in Germany became the best of my life. It is easier to write when one is sad and alone and doesn't have an intense social life. As soon as my social life improved, I put the book on side.

* * * * *

I more or less knew from the very beginning how the story would develop. However, I must admit that had I finished it in 96, it wouldn't be exactly the same as it is now. I knew how I wanted the story to finish, but I didn't know how to make it happen. The last two chapters were inspired by the trip to Australia earlier this year. This means that this book could not be written before that trip. During many years I planned to go there. In 2007 I even had bought the plane ticket for a short trip to Sydney, but had to cancel it due to work commitments. I only made this dream come true in 2008. So "Eu tenho que ir embora…" on its current version could only be finished now, not before.

* * * * *

It was a pleasure to write "Fim" at the end of it. During many years this story and the characters in it only existed in my imagination. Now they exist outside me and independently of me. Soon I will travel to Brazil in order to look for an editor for the book. The day it will be published, the readers will have the last word about the characters and why they did what they did. They may like or dislike some of them. Their opinions, feelings and judgement will be the blow that will make these people come to life. The day this happens, my intentions or own opinions will just be irrelevant. The story will live its own life, until the day it dies because nobody reads it anymore.

* * * * *

That same Monday night I invited my cousin Homero and his family for dinner. I was about to leave Stockholm and I wanted to say goodbye to them. At the apartment that they made available to me I could find the right place to sit down and write. After dinner they invited me to a cup of Champagne at their home. It was nice to celebrate with them that I had finished the novel. The next day I went to Uppsala for the last time and on Thursday I left Stockholm. I know that for a very long time I will warmly remember this summer. Sweden is a country that I deeply love. Stockholm is in my opinion one the most beautiful cities in the world. I can only hope that this was not my last trip there!

Wish you have a nice week,

Maurício