I learned recently that one way Germans greet each other for New Year is by saying “Guten Rutsch!” Some think that the expression derives from a contraction of the Yiddish or Hebrew, Rosh hashono tov. In the 18th century Jews would wish their Christian friends a schone chadosche, a way to distinguish how the Jewish versus secular years are called. See here for some brief etymological speculations.
More recent images from around town:
I love these elaborate and intense building facades! Belle Epoque? Art Nouveau? Note the two guardian owls at the top. This building is the Volkshochschule Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
That good ole German sense of humor…
Even the Chinese restaurants (and Buddha) love Christmas lights.
My wife and I chanced to ride by this sculpture on bicycle the other day. Made by Veryl Goodnight, it was a 1998 gift from the American people to Berlin to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. I assume that the five horses jumping over the rubble of the wall symbolize freedom, a trait alluded to by the graffiti on the wall fragments which yearn(ed) for freedom and expression. Even while standing the Wall had been transformed into a permanent art exhibition protesting political inertia and short-sightedness and looking for transcendence to a new and saner way.
May 2016 be a much better year for all of us!
Thank you for linking back to my post. Shana Chadasha or Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr to you 😉
My pleasure! Thanks for the informative, insightful and entertaining reading. Happy New Year!