How do we observe culture?

Culture...little c...is something that isn't found in opera houses (although there are some cool operas here in Berlin playing right now), or in theaters or even in movie theaters. It's found in bars and restaurants, boutiques and grocery stores, newsstands and...in playgrounds.

The playgrounds in Berlin are here and there, on street corners in neighborhoods, in parks, in public gardens, in squares. Sometimes there are fountains, sometimes there are tables with nets for table tennis (ping pong?). I've also seen one with a place to play boule (boccia ball?). Generally there are benches along the periphery for mothers and /or fathers to sit and observe the play of their child(ren). Sometimes there are bathing pools where little kids play naked, something Americans generally don't understand. That's the little c: the things we take for granted, understand as given, and somehow expect other people to agree with us about. However, the agreement is definitely not something to take for granted.

Playgrounds are usually someplace for children to exercise their bodies and their imaginations. The one across Rhinower Strasse from my apartment has shrubs to hide behind, tunnels to go through, a wooden alligator to walk or sit on, hills and valleys.

That's all. No high tech, no fancy equipment. All natural materials. It's generally small children playing there--from those barely walking to those starting school. There's another playground just across the street for, I think, older kids. This one has a ping-pong table where I saw some teens playing, and there is a rope matrix to climb. And for the adults? Two blocks away there is a track and soccer field.



Living in close quarters (apartments in buildings 5-6 storeys tall on courtyards that magnify every sound, every baby's cry, every bottle that breaks as it is thrown into the recycler) makes having places to go to outside the apartment very important. People spend time in parks because it's cooler there on hot days. They need places to be outside. They sit in cafes on sidewalks, benches by playgrounds, under trees in parks. The public places are truly public, like this playground on Sunday in Boxhagener Platz (Friedrichshain/Berlin).



And this is part of what constitutes a culture--it's public places, shared by all. And the places it provides for it's children for creative and active play. It's so "menschlich" here in Berlin. The stress often associated with city living in the U.S. is less here. At least from my perspective after 5 weeks. And that's how I feel, even after being compelled to listen to some teething babies crying a lot and having the courtyard magnify that sound such that I thought it was in my own apartment. That sort of togetherness is not something I crave, but it is something that reminds me that I am part of a community here (or would be if I were staying).

Spielplatz in Kreuzberg