Last full day in Berlin! I decided to go to see the “Green Week” exposition at the Berlin Messe (trade show center). This shows the path I took walking there in red and back in green. The distance each way is not that much; only 2.8 km (about 1.75 miles).
I had passed by this sculpture right near the hotel every day without noticing it, so I’m glad I got a picture of it at last.
There had been a light dusting of snow the previous day, so people took advantage of it to display their artistic skills and romantic attachments.
More sculpture along the walk to the Messe.
And assorted views on the way to the Messe. The first picture is of a postal service vehicle; some mail is delivered by bicycles.
At last! The trade fair center. I think half of Berlin had decided to go to this event as well. Think of it as a big home and garden expo in a space about ten times as large as an ordinary convention center. There was, of course, food and drink. Germans love them their beer!
Many countries (Italy, Romania, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and even Afghanistan) had exhibits at the event. Several pavilions had singers dressed in national folk costume. The people below are from Romania, Austria, and Russia.
A lot of exhibit space was devoted to flowers, with one large room showing very classy floral arrangements.
Of course, you need equipment to build the houses and grow the gardens, and you could see that here in spades.
At every fair, there’s a section that I call “bullshit boulevard,” where you can find all sorts of dubious gadgets and cure-alls. The following pictures shows the magic drying cloth, a high-tech massage couch, and reflex zone acupressure insoles—with magnetic dots! How could those not be effective?!
Some odds and ends that didn’t go anywhere else: ceramics from Turkey, a place to practice plate spinning, and green/organic everything else!
Then I got to the small animal/house pet area. The Berlin spider enthusiasts were there, along with reptile fanciers.
Of course, there were more ordinary animals like dogs. The second picture is of a dog that could have easily had a guest shot on the Star Trek: The Original Series episode with Frank Gorshin (yes, that’s a very geeky reference).
At last: cats! In Berlin, people were walking dogs all over the place, but I hadn’t seen any cats on the streets. One of the people working in the cat area told me that there are actually more cats than dogs in Germany, but almost all cats are kept indoors. They don’t have a big feral cat problem like Rome or Paris have.
Fun facts:
Here are pictures taken on the walk back to the hotel.
The first three are from the Russian pavilion at the fair. Hover over the ad to see what it translates to.
The pizza-as-thought-balloon is very clever. The second picture is from a driving school; the pictures are labeled “Before” and “After.” The third one is from a veterinary service.
This classy joint is a porn store specializing in XXX rated video.
And this is another branch of the idee arts and crafts store.
I saw some of the Buddy Bears in the evening, but didn’t have my camera with me. You’ll just have to settle for this bear in front of “Bärstark” (Bear Strong); I think it’s some sort of jewelry store.
I had the pasta with pesto at La Spiga. It was OK, but not outstanding.
