This website has moved.

After five years of writing this blog from Berlin - for neither fame nor monetary reward - I have now finally moved on. I now live in Bonn. It's warmer and more pleasant (but that wasn't hard), but the question people keep asking is: "yes, but what about its coolness?".

If you would like to see Euroblog continued from the new location, then let us know with a comment. If you'd like to see it stopped, then we'd also like to hear from you. Or what about a name change? Let us know. If you couldn't care less... then why did you read down this far?

Ode to "the Crazies"

My number of remaining days in Berlin is coming down into single figures. So, it's only right that at this juncture I take time out to thank the fantastic mix of "crazies" (Ger: Spinner) that make this city what it is. There's a guy that lives near us that always writes messages about ravens. I really don't know what he wants to tell us. Here's a translation of his latest poem:

Gondel Gukolya Abraxas

In April/May 1993 I found a half-dead "raven",
because of my nut tree which is not allowed
to be harvested. But then it was!

I have a sneaking suspicion there could be a hidden sexual or political reference in there somewhere. Any help you could give me would be much appreciated.

Of course the personal stories of these people are often sad ones. Their behaviour may be because of earlier (or ongoing) drug use or alcoholism - their lives may well have been spent mainly on the streets. Most visitors to Berlin will have seen them in the train, just circling the city on the Ringbahn spouting wisdom to anyone who cares to listen. After five years here, I still always just stand up and move off when I feel my personal space is being encroached upon. I really must try to talk to one of them one day. Schwach von mir, sehr schwach.