That special excursion from Alex ..... taking in a big square, a very tall building and ending with a museum

This is a tram story, although along the way it reveals a bit of detective work, includes one of those preservation societies and ends in a museum which was once the HQ of the secret police.

And it started with a series of tram pictures posted by my friend Kathy when she was in Berlin.

Now I can’t resist a picture of a tram and so when she posted a collection on to social media I was hooked.

This is tram 5984 on route 63.

Intrigued I looked over my pocket guide to Berlin tram routes, but nowhere is there a route 63, although there was once a 60 and a 66 which trundled  respectively along  Schöneberg, Lindenhof – Charlottenburg, Königin-Elisabeth-Straße and Schöneberg, Wartburgplatz – Steglitz, Thorwaldsenstraße.

But number 60 was withdrawn in 1962 and 68 the following year.

Undeterred I went looking for Sonderfahrt which appears on the destination board at the front of the tram only to discover it is not a place but German for special excursion.

This in turn led me to Historic Preservation Association Nahverkerhr Berlin e.V which in association with the Berlin Transport Company was running a special trip on May 20 from the Alexanderplatz, to Hohenschönhausen, which is now a museum but was once the headquarters of the East German Communist Ministry of State Security, the Stasi.

The Society and the transport company run regular trips once a month between April and November using historic trams.

This Sunday  “depending on the weather and technical conditions, the Reko train and the T24 with 2 sidecar are to be used”.  Now I have no idea whether Kathy’s tram was the Reko or T24, but someone will which which save me a search.

The trip apparently cost 6 € for adults and 3 € for children between 6 and 14 and on that sunny day in Berlin there was a choice of the 11 am trip or another at 2pm.

The Berlin tram network is one of the oldest, having been established in 1865 and is the third largest tram system in the world beaten only by Melbourne and St Petersburg.

Just leaving me to say, that Alexanderplatz is a major transport hub, is often referred to as Alex by Berliners* and one of the buildings close by is  the iconic Fernsehturm or TV Tower which is the second tallest building in the European Union.

Location; Berlin

Pictures; tram 63, in Berlin, May 20, 2018, from the collection of Kathy Lee

*Actually being pedantic, and not wanting to be told off, when Berliners refer to Alexanderplatz, as Alex, they generally are referring to a larger neighbourhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the Rotes Rathaus in the southwest or so Wikipedia tells me

Posters from the Past ........... no 2 Berlin, the Bauhus and an explanation

Now yesterday I introduced the new series, Posters from the Past with Peter’s invitation to Blackpool and here as promised is his explanation for how the project came about.*

“When I go travelling I always carry my camera with me in case I am inspired by that "perfect moment". 

And there I was travelling with my son and his wife on the Berlin U-Bahn when I came across a 1920s Art Deco style poster. It fascinated me to think that before the age of technology these posters were hand painted and 
reproduced by a lithographic process.

Not only were these posters incredible works of art but they were the prime source of advertising.

As we arrived on the platform the underground train was waiting for us. The children walked towards it and I saw "a moment in time". This was not just a photo opportunity but an inspiration to recreate the Art Deco poster technique of the 1920s and 1930s.

I had memories of visits to the Bauhaus, with its style of design based on a minimalist approach, clean lines with bold, simple colours. 

And then my mind turned to British artist Kenneth Hauff with his Whitby... It's Quicker By Rail poster and then to Charles Shepherd from Baynard Press, who studied art under Paul Woodroffe, and produced countless British Rail posters.

But... As Andrew keeps telling me... he tells the stories and I paint the pictures. So this leads me very quickly into describing an idea for a series of posters of Manchester, enhanced by stories from Andrew.”

Well that was last night and by this morning we had decided that the series would go worldwide, so having strayed up the coast to Blackpool, stood in the Berlin U-Bahn the series will return to Manchester before heading off to London and beyond.

Location; pretty much everywhere.

Posters; Berlin U-Bahn, and Blackpool, © 2016 Peter Topping

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

*Posters from the Past, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Posters%20from%20the%20Past

Bowling along on the Berlin Tram

Now I will apologise at the outset for the title and move on, to the interesting stuff.

The Berlin network is one of the oldest, having been established in 1865 and is the third largest tram system in the world beaten only by Melbourne and St Petersburg.

It runs 22 lines covering 430 kilometres and boasts 800 stops.

All of which made it a perfect subject for Peter to paint.

Now there are plenty more fascinating facts but I shall leave them for another day.

That said there will be plenty out there who will have lots to say including Peter who has done the Berlin tram routes and is therefore a better authority than me.

Location; Berlin

Painting; the Berlin tram © Peter Topping, 2008

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

Facebook: Paintings from Pictures https://www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures