Brunch with a musician

This Saturday I'm invited for brunch by my friend Jorge. I met Jorge while living in Berlin, he was doing the music for a show another friend was performing at Dock 11 in Berlin. After the show we realised we knew many people in common because of his other activity as photographer for museum and mine as color scientist being very interested by what people do with color and art pieces.

I used to meet these crowd anywhere I'm travelling at their working place allowing me to enter many museums by their laboratory door. That's pretty cool. But this time I meet Jorge at his place place for brunch. Cool place, full of electronic music instrument and I love atelier of painter to musicians. 

So a pretty cool brunch in SF.

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SF mini trip pic I Visiting musician friend, met Jorge a few years back in Berlin and for the first time I could see all his cool music instruments 👌🏻in SF. #colorscientistontour #spotterontour #sanfrancisco #california #blackandwhite #computer #synthesizer #electronicmusic

A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Dec 21, 2019 at 3:21pm PST

Seconde exposition finies!

[in approximative English below]

Le pitch
21 jours d'exposition pour cette seconde exposition cette année à Montréal. Une série d'image intitulée "Série Murale" où les images présentées avaient comme lien la présence de fresque urbaine comme on dit poliment dans le milieu.

Ca c'est passé à Montréal donc, au Sino, et jusqu'à maintenant j'ai vendu une image, à des gens que je ne connaissais pas avant le vernissage donc c'est plutôt cool. C'est l'image ci-dessus qui a eu un petit sticker rouge sous son cadre, une vue de Berlin.

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A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jun 13, 2019 at 9:50am PDT

[and now in English]

Some context
And exhibition of 21days, the second one this year in Montreal. A series of image called "Mural Series" where each of them contains at least a bit of street art in it.

It took place in Montreal as I said, at the Sino, and so far I sold one image to people I didn't even know a few minutes before the vernissage and that's pretty cool. It's the image above that got a little red sticker under its frame, a view from Berlin.

Berlin le retour

Etrange d'être de retour à Berlin après un an et un mois d'absence, absence parce que j'ai déménagé à Montréal l'été dernier. Revenir à la même période que lors de mon départ donne l'impression que rien n'a changé et que je suis parti hier. Avec un énorme plaisir je revois plein de têtes connues, après so many years à Berlin ca crée des liens forcément.

Donc plein de question trotte dans ma tête, pourquoi suis-je parti? Qu'est-ce que j'ai fait pendant un an? Cette année correspond aussi à mon plus long éloignement de l'Europe en durée, revenu en septembre dernier j'ai depuis passé 10mois en Amérique du Nord, vivant à Montréal et alternant excursion au Mexique et Californie.

Revenir en teutonie et refaire bilan avec les amis que je retrouve ici. Me répétant, mais toutes ces discussions aidant à analyser ces treize derniers mois.

Un travail avec des hauts et des bas où mon cerveau n'est pas vraiment mis à l'épreuve, je chipote un peu, mais j'ai appris pas mal de choses nouvelles aussi.

Du temps disponible donc,  à utiliser pour lire, rêver, créer. Des nouvelles images, un nouveau site et plein de piste à explorer.

Des nouvelles têtes, de belles personnes rencontrées, un autre mode de vie. Citoyen du monde fait un peu cliché mais c'est pas loin.

Berlin art galerie pilgrimage

The setup
Back in Berlin for a few days, equipped with a bike, bottle of water, a camera, I'm ready to my what's used to be my usual galerie tour. There is some much stuffs to see here, made me realised how small was the scene in Montreal in comparison.

The coffee
I stay at a friend's place near Rosenthaler Platz, so no other choices than having a first stop early in the morning at St. Oberholz, they have coffee, internet and usually good music.

The tour
Direction the South of Berlin and the Galerie Thomas Schulte. Finally visiting this address I have been passing so many times in the last 10 years. Beautiful building and space inside with a kind of corner glass house, very cool. Always or almost always an in situ art piece in this corner. Once inside there is more to discover. A beautiful very late discovery for me.

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A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Aug 14, 2018 at 1:49pm PDT

Deeper South into Kreuzberg
Direction König Galerie for the all in concrete church turned into a gallery. As usual the two persons at the entrance don't pay attention to you, quickly you go up the main big room above, this time a giant picture framed installation, very cool.

The classic
Now that I'm there, I just need to cycle a few meters away and the Berlinische Galerie is waiting for me. What can I say? It's always a good address to visit and if the temporaries installations do not suit you there is always the permanent collection. This really rarely happen to me as there is often something that pleases me, so one more time I found something, a new artist I didn't the work, but what do I know...

The artist Loredana Nemes is presenting her work (and here on Artsy). Her world was very inspiring to me, especially the series GierAngstLiebe in black and white such that you don't know if you are looking at negative images or not, beautiful.

Below what her imagery has inspired me to produce.

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A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Sep 12, 2018 at 5:18am PDT

A un moment il faut partir

below in English

9:09 am 
Assis en terrasse de la brasserie Augustiner qui a poussé sur le parking de l'aéroport Schönefeld je bois un café, accompagné d'un croissant au jambon/fromage dégueux sous le soleil et de schlager bavaroise qui passe en boucle, pas très berlinois tout ca. Dans 3h je quitte Berlin, changement à Reykjavik et atterrissage the soir même à Montréal.

J'ai rdv pour un café avec une péruvo-berlinoise qui doit elle rentrer à Berlin ce matin. En attendant je regarde les gens, les voyageurs s'empressent, habillés pour les vacances, une blonde en casquette blanche lunette de soleil aviateur et robe noire moulante fait l'essuie glace entre les terminales cherchant le comptoir pour son check-in en vain, elle n'est pas parti...

Il y a 10ans j'attendais l'avion pour retourner en Norvège, buvant un café avec le beau père de ma copine berlinoise de l'époque, prophétisant qu'on se reverra, presque vrai. Depuis j'ai bougé à Berlin mais perdu tout contact avec cette famille allemande, mais j'ai gagné une nouvelle galaxie d'amis.

9:59am

Je m'inquiète mon rdv café en met du temps à sortir de l'avion... Je tourne la tête et ce n'est pas une mais trois personnes qui surgissent, une Anne-Laure, une Géraldine et un Martin, banderole dorée étirée et ce n'est qu'un au revoir écrit dessus. Les fourbes ils m'ont eu! Dans leur poches cafés, lait, sucre, croissants et schoko-croissants (une aberration allemande) et la perpétration d'une tradition locale de ce groupe: si une personne quitte la ville il ou elle a droit à son comité d'adieu chantant. Les yeux rougis je bois mon café au soleil en partageant un très agréable dernier petit déjeuner. Cool d'avoir des amis partout mais dure de les quitter également.

3:30pm
En Islande pour quelques heures à l'aéroport de Reykjavik qui n'est vraiment qu'une cafétéria ikéa posée sur un tapis de lave séchée. L'aéroport est plein à craquer et je suis épuisé. Deuxième vol, côté hublot, je somnole et n'ouvre les yeux que pour voir le survol du pôle nord.

8:44pm
De retour à Montréal et bien décalé je récupère les clefs de mon nouvel appartement dans le quartier de St-Henri. Pour cette première nuit je dors encore chez un Alexis en fin de séjour montréalais, demain j'emménage pour de vrai.

A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jul 2, 2017 at 5:35pm PDT

and now in English

9:09 am 
Seated at the Augustiner terrace that did grow up in the past months in front of the numerous Schönefeld airport terminals I drink a coffee together with a disgusting cheese and ham croissant under the sun and some bavarian  schlager music, not so Berlin. In about 3h I'm taking off, leaving Berlin for Montreal with a short stop in Iceland.

I have a coffee appointment with a peruvo-berlino friend who should go back this morning to Berlin. Waiting for her I'm looking at the people arriving at the airport. People are dressed up for holiday, I can see one woman ready for party with a white baseball hat, aviator glasses, white sneakers, tide black dress desperately looking for her checking counter, she is not there...

About 10 years ago I was waiting for my plane to fly back to Norway, drinking a coffee with the step father of my now ex-berlin girlfriend, predicting that we will see us again, almost true. Since that I did moved to Berlin but lost contact completely with this family, but I also gain a new galaxy of friends.

9:59am

I'm worried because my coffee-mate isn't yet here thinking she quite slow to leave her plane.. I turn my head and I see three people arriving holding a banner with ce n'est qu'un aurevoir written on it. Not only Anne-Laure, Geraldine and Martin are holding high this banner, they are singing too and brought coffee, croissant and schoko-croissant! Bloody shysters they got me, it's the perpetration of a tradition within this group of friends: always be noisy and in party mood when someone is coming back or leaving Berlin whatever the time of the day. My eyes are red but I stay strong, enjoy this last moment with them before reaching the security check. Cool to have friends everywhere but always sad to leave them.

3:30pm
In Iceland for a few hours. The Reykjavik airport is a giant ikea cafeteria built in cold lava. The airport is over crowded and I'm exhausted. Second flight is coming, window seat, half sleeping half looking at the amazing north pole landscape. 

8:44pm

Back in Montreal in two weeks, pretty much jet-lagged, I get the keys of my new flat even so tonight I sleep at an old friend's place in the same area, St-Henri. Tomorrow I'm moving for real.

La fête dans ton Kiez!

below in English

Dernier samedi soir berlinois, cette fois ce sera Kreuzberg et les débuts des évènements kiezklang. Etant un peu connecté avec les organisateurs je sais d'avance que la soirée sera intéressante.

Il est 20h00 et il fait chaud. Situé à la frontière de Neuköln où les 48h battent leur plein le programme commence. Une suite de mini concerts où les artistes se succèdent dont Life Is A Cabaret, Biwald, les amis passent, les drinks coulent presque à flot et je ne réalise pas que je pars dans quelques jours de Berlin...

Un classique pour ce samedi où plusieurs nationalités se croisent, des connections s'établissent et les cercles se resserrent où comment un allemand et un francais réalisent qu'ils connaissent le même norvégien, quelque part merci au logiciel libre.

A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jun 24, 2017 at 4:35pm PDT

and now in broken English

Last Saturday evening in Berlin, this time it will be Kreuzberg and the first time of the kiezklang events. Knowing the organisers I'm confident.

It's 8:00pm, so warm tonight. Located at the border of Neuköln where the 48h event is reaching its climax the show can start. A program made of tiny shows by Life Is A Cabaret, Biwald and more, friends are there too, drinks are there too and I have difficulties to realize I'm leaving Berlin in a few days only...

A classic for this evening where many nationalities were present, new connections are established like this one where a German and a French realised they know the same Norwegian dude, somehow thank to free software.

Inception time

Curieuse sensation cette semaine.

Je suis en partance pour Montréal.

Je quitte Berlin après plus de neuf années, de Friedrichshain à Prenzlauerberg.

Chaque sortie est la dernière, donc c'est un peu étrange.

De plus avec ce long weekend la ville ne fonctionne pas à plein régime ajoutant une atmosphère ambiante un peu plus floue comme si tout le monde partait aussi. Un peu Valérian quand la time-line est cassée et que le monde se désintègre doucement.

Weekend in Madrid

I only took part in two bachelor parties, both were cool because my friends can behave I suppose. Once in Dublin a few years ago when I was living in Oslo and a second one in Madrid as living in Berlin, this weekend.

After weeks of strategic decisions Madrid was chosen, flight tickets were bought and the groom had no ideas what will happen to him this weekend.

Friday morning early, the mission from the Berlin team was to pick up the packape. So we did. Two French and Swiss/French are travelling to Madrid. Once arrived in the Spanish capital we meet semi randomly an Austrian coming from Vienna, a French coming this time from South of France, another French arriving from Göteborg, more Frenchies from Paris and a Portuguese, a French, a Greec, a Germnan/Israeli and even a British from London. L'internationale quand tu nous tiens. But that's the problem or the solution when you are traveling, speaking at least two languages and a bit open minded (I don't want to change my friends).

A lovely weekend filled with walk, street art tour, 5k run, servejas, jamon, crossing other bachelor parties sometimes less classy, a show at the circus, good food, good time, not long enough sleep, what else?

A post shared by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Apr 4, 2017 at 4:10am PDT

Panic routine

Winter is coming, winter is here, Christmas time as well and time to fly to Paris and get close to the family and other friends.  Arriving at your friend place, hearing rumours of another suicidal attack, in Berlin this time, spending the whole evening to find out everybody I know I safe.  The shot of panic is passed, time to relax a bit and to continue to live and to sleep actually as it's getting late. Still 2016, in Paris.

Studious Saturday

It all started with a cool workshop organised by the people behind wefactory where we had to build our own lamp made of concrete. My first concrete experience with concrete.

And it did continue with the - finally - uploading of the catalogue of my first solo exhibition of little planets. Exhibition that took place in Morlaix in Brittany June to August 2015. Ten of my images have been presented and the link below is re-showing them.


If you are interested by seeing more of my images, you can as well have a look to the catalogue of my latest exhibition that took place in Berlin September 2016.

Berlin Amsterdam New-York San-Diego

maybe in English below

Voyage un peu long mais ca va, de la place pour mes jambes donc je ne peux pas trop me plaindre et de plus tous mes avions ont réussi leur atterrissage. J'ai gagné pas mal de points sur Foursquare avec tous ces aéroports ainsi que quelques taches de sauce tomate sur mon t-shirt blanc... A retenir pour les futurs voyages: mettre un t-shirt noir et éviter les plats en sauce.

L'arrivée à San Diego ressemble à celle que j'ai eu à San Antonio ou Albuquerque. L'aéroport est vide, il fait chaud, il fait nuit, je ne sais plus dans quel fuseau horaire j'évolue. Mais rapidement je trouve mon bus, 2$ et 12min de trajet et j'arrive à mon hotel. Là je fais la connaissance de mon voisin de chambre, Alexandre prof brésilien comme moi venu écouter et aider sur place la conférence CIC. Il temps de s'effondrer, la session "short course" dont je suis un peu responsable débute dans 7h.

in live translated English

Journey a bit long but still ok, I had room to squeeze my legs so I can't really complain, besides my numerous airplanes did succeed in each of their landing.  I won a few points in Foursquare with all these airports as well as a few tomato sauce stains on my white shirt... Notes for the future trips: wear a black shirt and avoid pasta with tomato sauce.

The arrival in San Diego reminds me those I had in San Antonio or Albuquerque. The airport is empty, it's dark, it's warm, I don't know in which time zone i'm evolving. But quickly I find my bus, 2$m and 12min later I'm in my hotel. I meet my room neighbor for the time of the conference, Alexander a Brazilian professor coming like me to help and listen this week at CIC. It's about time to collapse, the session "Short Course" I'm involved in is starting in 7h.

Vernissage marathon by night

The EMOP or European Month of Photography did start this October. The chance to catch several exhibitions all over Berlin. I only have seen three of them so far but there were each pretty interesting.

Going to Brazil
Being relatively free in my schedule I could join a guided tour of the exhibition called The professor's Journeys - Six Expeditions Through Brazil In The 1930s with the curator. We were only four people, I was the youngest one, the pictures were in black and white and despite the photographer not being a professional the images were very clean and well composed.

Going back in time
Scanning the EMOP website it was difficult to keep in mind something as there are so many installations. But here and there images were catching my eyes, in particularly one from the Landesarchiv in Berlin and their exhibition Architecture on Glass - Photographs by Otto Hagemann. I decided to join the vernissage of this exhibition and to reach the place it felt like going to on an expedition. 

The Landesarchive are far far far away after the Tegel airport. I was basically cycling into the darkness for 12km. I arrived about 30min after the opening, just the time to listen to the last min of the opening speech. Opening speech declaimed in a lovely German administrative tone. It's not that it was in German, but you felt right away that you were not in a art gallery but in an official building, at the archive. 

Once again I was the youngest, the open bar was open and the pictures really interesting. I skip the photo-geek part, it was medium format images printed on glass plates and more important the images were beautiful. Architecture photography have this formal aspect that highlights the beauty in building as only good architecture photographers can do. Sometimes they succeed to go away from their purely archive duty thanks as well to the exhibition curator.

After the In the Off
Each serious festival should have an Off program as well.  So on my way back to civilization I stopped at the Wilmer Brauerei to attend another vernissage the same evening, this time the Monat Der Fotographie Off. 

Different location, typical Berlin style, semi abandoned industrial building with images every where or different sizes and formats. Different population as well. I keep in my minds the images of the desert in New Mexico and those specifically from the Very Large Array radio telescope in the middle of nowhere, probably because I have been there a few years ago and it still feels like images from another planet.

Less than a week left and a lof of photo exhibitions to catch!

Tape Art Convention 2016

Yesterday evening I went shortly to the vernissage of the TAC2016, it took place at the neurotitan galerie, a pretty cool place. And this Sunday I went back to take part into a workshop about tape art. What is it you may ask? It's the art of producing arty stuffs with tapes of various colours and shapes.

My first Tape Art Convention came right at the good time. I always like to play with stickers and coloured tape, but I never spend half a day on a piece of work trying to do something. Last time it was just to put some marks on the floor to guide visitors. This time I used more color. Needless to say it was pretty fun.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Sep 24, 2016 at 8:00am PDT

Workshop
The workshop was conducted by the artist Jay Walker who is also exhibiting his work at the TAC2016, if you have seen the giant heart and skull then you know. It started by a good discussion about his work and was followed by almost 5 hours of works for 5 of us.

My first attempt was - not surprisingly - a big failure as I don't master the technic at all, and by choosing an image - which I thought was simple to reproduce - was way too complicated and a bit frustrating... So I did follow the advices from the instructors: take something a bit easier that you like and try to work on it. I choose the album cover of the Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Then it became more fun and absorbing. Once I finished this warm up I turn the board we had each participant to work on a bigger scale surface with a white background.

What can I say? It was pretty interesting, good music in the background, I always like to play with lines and geometry so I was served, I wonder how I can create more curved shapes now, but for sure I will continue to explore this thing.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Oct 9, 2016 at 9:37am PDT

Catalogue Little Planets 2 online!

It's about three weeks that my exhibition Little Planets 2 is over.

Right about the time I needed to learn scribus and to create my first catalogue - and not to mentiokn the help of a few friends to be sure that I wasn't written with too many mistake and that visually it was ok-ish.

About 3 hours now that catalogue is visible on issuu.

Project Space Festival 2016 Week 1

Th3rd edition of the Project Spaced Festival, 31 days of organised ramble into the city to discover whatever you want to discover. Actually my approach is very naive when it is matter of art, at least as a first encounter I claim this approach for the pleasure to be surprised. I usually read the description of the event without too many expectation, wait and see. But after of course I like to get the feedback from connoisseurs in case I miss something.

day1
It's started at the ebullient space apartment project. Project space that I visited three years ago to interview Selda together with a friend Natalia. At this time Natalia had the idea to follow the festival program and to conduct interviews of each people behind the project spaces involved into the program, the result was pretty cool, all articles are here. Three years later the artists in residence at apartment-project have changed and the place is still full of energy.

day2
Sadly I couldn't join.

day3
This Wednesday it's the turn for insitu to be the art stage of the day. There is a tiny Tour de France spirit in this festival continuously traveling in the city. The event started at and in front of insitu and the people attending the event were shuttling between the space and the späti on the other side of the street. At some point the crowd slightly moved a few street numbers away to attend and be part of a group meditation. The weather was clement enough to not rain during the outdoor performance...

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:20am PDT

day4
In the program this year they are galleries, spaces from and outside Berlin. Tonight it's Köln and the people behind bruch und dallas. Having no physical place in town, their participation was the take over of a kind of no man's land located nearby the Gemäldergalerie.

The work presented reminds me signs left by aliens on the ground when they come to visit us, as many people I guess I almost walk onto the piece... The weather was so shitty that you couldn't distinguish really between the grey sky and the dark ground or the other way around.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Aug 4, 2016 at 9:34am PDT

day5
Arriving a bit in advance I used my time to get lost in the streets around the today's place Display. I usually don't stop around Yorckstrasse, just cross the area on my bike, now I know I should stop more often. That's also the pleasure for me with that festival, rediscovering Berlin by the mean of detours.

I enter the space, video installation in the first room and music instrument on the floor announcing later performance. People are slowly arriving. During the time I'm watching the video I can see people going to the back of the space, thinking they go to the bar, I also observe they are not coming back, so I went.

If the front room is full of natural light and toward the street the back is the complete opposite. One room with open door and people queuing to get in. A narrow room, lighted with candles, a bathtub and two women naked conversing while taking a bath and eating cheese, there is a big cheese wooden deck between them.

The spectators are watching the performance, there is something special with performances, it's not theatre, something between 3D cinema and live voyeurism and pure augmented reality or PAR not be confused with AR or VR... A down to the rabbit hole feeling, a visit into a parallel world for a short time, a strong contrast of atmosphere between the two rooms. Pretty cool.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Aug 5, 2016 at 9:36am PDT

day6
the shortest event ever. It started at 20:00 and finished at 20:05. I was one minute too late, could not get in but could see the people rushing to get in and out.

day7
a big part of my day was spent on my sofa reading. At some point I used the event of the day to leave early before meeting friends for a late Sunday drink in Kreuzberg. On the program a new place to visit for me called labor neunzehn. A slight touch of N.K. for the building and location of this project space, also music and before video projection. I only stayed for the video, pretty interesting even so almost nothing happen on screen, trucks working, glimpse of a people conversation, what I understood as a Californian environment judging the colors, like sitting on bench and watching, another PAR experience, qui a dit que le réel pouvait être ennuyeux?

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Aug 7, 2016 at 11:14am PDT

Tech Open Air under the rain

What is good? I don't know, that was my first TOA, Wednesday wasn't a success to me. I got very annoyed when the Über word is given as exemple for business model. For me it's the sign of too much AI, to much denial of human being, too much optimisation, too much shit, too much individualism, too much profits.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jul 14, 2016 at 1:08am PDT

The second day was a bit better and I didn't get a mousson rain shower as opposed to yesterday. The opening keynote by the former AI Facebook person was interesting, but if you are into science, CV, ML, DL for a few years there were nothing new. The conference is mostly marketing you could feel that only a few people got what the speaker intended to present, at least those same people got in their heads new buzz words.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jul 13, 2016 at 4:16am PDT

The overall observation was a lot of queueing and not enough places in the various conference room. There are zillion of satellite events around but again mostly marketing events.

But you can still meet interesting people, I guess.

Back to the island

First swim into the Spree yesterday evening from the top of Stralau facing Treptower Park. A place I used to pass several time when living in this area, that was on my jogging path. I have seen often people jumping into the water but never dared to join, I was running I just wrote.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jul 5, 2016 at 10:59am PDT

It's nice to be able to disconnect so fast in Berlin and switch from your office to a swim suit within a few minutes. It's close to 19h and I met a Steffen at a crossroad nearby my work place in Kreuzberg. Half an hour later we are at the extremity of Stralau in the water. Then it's just chilling with a beer and feeding the family duck watching the sunset.

Maybe the blue painted building in Waldemarstrasse was the subliminal message that pushed me to go the water later?

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jul 5, 2016 at 5:35am PDT

Fête de la musique du vuvuzela

Une fête de la musique en semaine, l'assurance de vivre quelques heures étranges, avoir l'impression d'être en weekend, aller de scène en bar en club en terrasse et de se rappeler passé minuit "mais au fait je bosse demain moi".

7:28pm
le moment de quitter le bureau, l'endroit est toujours calme, de plus l'Allemagne joue depuis une demi-heure donc le pays est calme, juste quelques "ahhhhhh" et "ooohhh" viennent briser ce silence. Je retrouve un Olivier en terrasse du Eckbert Zwo sur le bord du Görlitzer Park. Un cordon rouge chacun au menu, en gros un cordon bleu. Du parc les jumbés résonnent.

9:33pm
diner fini je pars en vélo faire un petit tour vers Sanderstrasse où sur une partie de la rue une scène a été montée. Impossible de reconnaitre des têtes connues, trop de monde mais l'info vient de tomber: mini rave-openair au Schillerbrücke, je file. Sur place je retrouve une amicale franco-péruvo-italienne, la musique vibre, les gens dansent, ils sont beau - parfois un peu ailleurs - et il fait beau.

10:00pm
les autorisations de faire du bruit sont effectives jusqu'à 22h, il est 22h, le dj stoppe le son et invite tout le monde au club le plus proche pour une soirée entrée gratuite.

La foule se disperse. Je quitte l'amicale, retrouve un Jon prés de la Sanderstrasse pour un coca glacé en terrasse. Dans les rues chaque späti est transformé en salle de projection, après l'Allemagne plus tôt c'est la Turquie qui régale.

11:22pm
je re-retrouve l'amicale franco-péruvo-italienne, cette fois ci près de Schlechistertor, rentre par erreur dans le mauvais bar le Chalet, juste le temps de demander au staff qui peine à gérer l'afflux de visiteurs "c'est loin le Birgit and Bier?" et de marcher 50m de plus au dit Birgit. Le lieu est une ancienne écurie, l'étable est maintenant un bar et les différents box des dance-floor.

Dans la queue des touristes, derrière moi du suédois, devant moi de l'américaines mal habillées, la tenue je sors au lavomatic en flip-flop yoga pant polaire, qui se demandent si on va les laisser rentrer sans ID,  c'est Berlin quand même...  même si la fashion police devrait être plus présente.  Je ne fais pas long feu, un apfelschörle des champions et je débute mon retour.

12:40am
la ville reprend doucement un rythme de semaine. Près de Eberwalderstrasse les bourrés se battent comme des bourrés, il faut slalomer entre eux, mission réussi. Mon royaume pour un lit, mon lit, sommeil.

Transporter 5

4:30am Berlin 
The transporter wakes up. He had a short night and he knows the day will be a long day. On his agenda a lot of packages to pick up. One first at Treptower Park with the mission to escort him - yes, this time the transporter is only taking car of dudes - to a remote and secure location on the side of Lake Geneva.

9:30am Geneva airport
The head, mind and body in the clouds we reach safely Switzerland. Next stop the rental car desk. Gps destination entered, we are on the road, fifth way of transportation for today after my feet, S-Bahn, airplane, bus and now a car.

We cross the city of Geneva, we soon cross the border, we are in France.

11:57am Evian
We are in France but there are German flags everywhere, a little Vichy touch I thought, but no, only the Mannschaft having of head quarter an hotel in Evian during the European Cup starting next week.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jun 3, 2016 at 3:26am PDT

There is market in town, my German package is easily attracted by all the cheese producers offering to try everything. I almost have to drag Steffen - let's call this package Steffen for convenience - out of the market place or all of our € would have been spend in a few secondes in cheese and saucisson. But really who can blame him?

One jack-jack cable for the car,  café and croissant, water from the source later and we are back on track. Next stop is the parking place of Intermarché in Lugrin to meet the local.

1:56pm Lugrin
We meet another big dude - let's call him JB for convenience - for another mission: to buy food for three days and seven people. Challenge accepted.

2:43pm Meilleirie
At home first before the rest of the group, the mission is to prepare the house. Our host JB uses all his electronic skills and fingers to bring light to the flat. Gipsy mission accomplished!

First beer, first cheese, first rondelle de saucisson and first jump into the water. It's fresh, so fresh but at least we know we are still alive. 10h before I was struggling to leave my bed in Berlin, now I'm struggling to not lose a finger toe in Lake Geneva but I'm definitively awake.

Then three more people arrive, only one is missing, that will be the last mission for the transporter today. For now people arrive from France and Germany, the last package will be picked up in Switzerland close to the French border arriving from Austria by train. For the first time I will have crossed three times a border.

10:00pm
I lost track on what are doing, mainly we talk - the people here almost all met in Norway about ten years ago - drink some stuffs, eat good stuffs, take pictures, watch Lausanne under the rain when we are not. We hope the weather will be fine for tomorrow as we plan to go higher in the mountain.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Jun 15, 2016 at 3:48am PDT

Local history 2

It's Sunday and it's bike day. A tour toward Potsdam with a neighbor, nous l'appelerons Caroline, our goal the villa Liebermann. We start slowly, crossing the city until Westkreuz and entering Grunewald with all the runners, hikers and other sporty people. We choose one way into the forest, we are alone, cycling and talking.

Once in Wannsee we just need to cross a bridge and we find the villa. All the opposite water side of S-Bahn Wannsee is full of huge villas loaded with history. The villa Liebermann has a small collection to exhibit - they were preparing another one so rooms were closed and so we took time to  learn about the place - and a lot to tell about what did happen around about 90 years ago: how some of the people were kicked out their houses when the little man was in charge.

I have been so many times in this area the last 8 years and I never stopped even only for a few seconds, today I stop. After the villa Lieberman we cycle a bit further to another villa, bigger and whatever the weather the place is cold and saddly very interesting. It's the Haus der Wannsee Konferenz. Knowing what did happen here, what the nazis were peacefully planning, with the view on the Strandbad Wannsee from the terrasse, the portrait of all the chiefs on the house walls, an impression of a basic summer camp is terrifying. No signs of bodies, or remains, just a beautifull villa with an amazing view where some people were politely brainstorming how to get rid of millions of Jewish people and more.

We left, slowly, visiting places with memories of your own history, this history, has weighted a bit our body. The time to digest this information before stoping to the next biergarten...

We reach Berlin two three hours later. It's late, almost night and this bike tour brought us back in time. Hopefully we are back.