Berlin Week

Although I only spent the first three days in Berlin, the week was dominated by this work-related trip.

On Monday (27 May) morning, I boarded the first of three trains that took me from Ludwigsburg to Berlin, a journey of about 620 km one way. Much to my surprise and delight, all three trains were almost punctual - I caught all my connections, the seats I had booked were available, and I arrived at Berlin Alexanderplatz with enough time to spare before the 4:30 pm meeting at the hotel where I was staying.

The hotel wasn't really at Alexanderplatz, in spite of its name - it was almost 1 km away, but it was an easy walk with my little red trolley suitcase. After checking in and moving into my room, I went downstairs to see who was there already and grab a coffee.

My room was modern, comfortable and surprisingly quiet.

This explains the quietness of my room - my windows faced a church (St. Bartholomew's).

On the way to my room

Staircase

The meeting (the annual general assmbly of the association of Data Protection Officers [DPOs], of which I am a member) took place as planned, with no big surprises. 

We had a few minutes to ourselves afterwards before the informal Get Together started. Maybe some of you think that DPOs are not among the most exciting folks to party with, but believe me - there are some colourful and inspiring characters among us, and one never lacks of topics for conversation (where data protection does not feature as highly as you'd expect).

Good food and drink were provided, and I had a fun evening before retreating to my room relatively early, tired after the long journey.

The conference began in earnest on Tuesday (28 May) with sessions from 9:00 to 5:00. Before, in between and after, we were very well cared for in terms of food and drink, and there was a good choice of talks and presentations to attend.

The evening was dedicated to a gala dinner with an award ceremony. Not too posh to feel stiff, and again, with very nice food, drink and conversation.

A longer than usual coffee break mid-afternoon allowed me to pop across the road to Volkspark Friedrichshain, a beautiful park with plenty of fountains and sculptures to discover. I would have liked to explore more of it but of course time was limited - still, it was good to have the chance to stretch my legs and air my head.

The church as seen from the street.

Märchenbrunnen ("fairytales fountain") in Friedrichshain park

I loved the stone basins each with two pups looking over the rim!

This elephant was my favourite sculpture. There were loads more, but schildren were playing there, and so I didn't take more pictures. 

Wednesday (29 May) was the second and last day of the conference, again with a series of (more or less) interesting talks and good meals. Because of my long journey home, I didn't stay until the very end, knowing that I wasn't going to miss anything terribly important, but left early in the afternoon. Again, my trains were on time, and by 9:45 pm I was home.

One of my fellow DPOs had her 1-year-old dog with her. He was extremely well behaved.

Good job that Thursday (30 May) was a public holiday (yes, another one) in my part of Germany! Much as I enjoy such trips and events, they are tiring, and I was glad to have a chance at sleeping in and then spend the day at my own leisurely pace.

The weather was better than expected, and I enjoyed a walk of a bit over 2 hours late afternoon. Also, I got a few things done at home which I had meant to do for a while but hardly get round to on a normal working day.

Cornflowers are supposed to be all blue, right? Not these ones!

On Friday (31 May), I finished work early and met my sister for a few errands in town. Back home, a late light lunch was followed by the usual cleaning round in my flat. I packed the little red suitcase for the third time that week and headed to the station. Quite miraculously, my trains were on time yet again! I arrived in Offenburg with a delay of only five minutes or so.

Our customary and always delicious meal of salad, bread and cheese, accompanied by a bottle of wine, started off O.K. and my weekend together.

Friday had already been a largely wet and somewhat chilly day, and Saturday (1 June) looked to be no different. It rained almost all day. 

Mid-morning, we were invited to a birthday brunch in a small town nearby. A few hours at home followed, then another invitation, this time within the village. One of O.K.'s fellow musicians in the village band and I have been preparing something for the upcoming fête marking the band's 100th anniversary, and the family of five invited us to stay for a meal as well.

Sunday (2 June) was a little better weather-wise. After it had been raining rather heavily all night and the entire morning, the sun came out, making for an uncomfortably hot and humid afternoon - it felt like I imagine the monsoon season in tropical latitudes (not that I've ever been anywhere near a tropical country). We wanted a walk, and while it was good to be out and about without constant rain, it was also exhausting due to the muggy heat.

We had been listening to the news several times during the day. There were severe floods in the south of Germany, and while our area was not immediately affected, the local rivers were running rather high, and several trains were cancelled because their routes were through flooded areas. 

It didn't look great for my trip back to Ludwigsburg on Monday morning, but it appeared even worse for the Sunday evening, and so I decided to remain at O.K.'s and go home on Monday morning, as planned.