The Path of the Berlin Wall

56 years ago, on the 13^th of August, 1961, 30,000 soldiers surrounded West Berlin and put up 160km of barbed wire overnight, separating the entire city. Thousands lost their jobs, families were separated and even their homes. This was another turning point in Germany's troubled history, one that is still felt today. The Berlin Wall grew, going from a barbed wire fence guarded by soldiers with guns, to a fully secured border zone, almost impossible to cross. At least 138 people lost their lives in Berlin trying to cross and only about 5,000 managed to escape into the West.

It's been 27 years since the Wall fell, and its damage can still be felt in the capital. A scar runs through the entire city, marking where the Wall had stood, and memorials scattered along it, mourning its victims.

Sunday was the 56^th anniversary of the erection of the Berlin Wall and many gathered to remember those who died trying to escape or even guard the Wall. Every year since 2011, an ultra marathon is held in Berlin, over the entire course of the Berlin Wall. Either solo or in teams, the runners run a distance of 160km, or roughly 100 miles. The record, by the way, is of 13 hours and 6 minutes!

I know I could never run that far, but cycling seemed possible. Some colleagues and I decided to try and cycle the entire length of the Berlin Wall in one day. If people can run it, we could cycle it. Our leader, William, offers to do about half the length as a tour with When in Berlin, so at least we had someone with us who was familiar with the course.

Photo credit: William Mollers

We set off at 6am, starting at the Brandenburg Gate, a historic place where many Berliners came to celebrate the fall of the Wall on November 9^th, 1989. We headed south and slowly made our way around the entire length. We started off at a good pace, stopping every so often at important sights and memorials, and taking breaks when necessary.

Here, Germany and Europe were separated until the 13th of November 1989 at 6pm.

Watch Tower near the Havel River

We passed Checkpoint Charlie, the famous American checkpoint in the centre of the city, and Checkpoint Bravo on the outskirts of the city, separating East Germany and West Berlin. At Wannsee (a big lake in southern Berlin), we took the ferry across and stopped for lunch at a Biergarten. After a beer and some hearty German food, we headed out once again, this time at a faster pace. Some of the roads after lunch were quite rough, some not paved at all, but mostly beautiful. We cycled through forests, next to canals and rivers, on roads and finally back into the city, ending our journey 13 hours later right where we starting, at the Brandenburg Gate.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Bravo, or Dreilinden

Wannsee

In total, we cycled 140km (we skipped a 20km detour around Wannsee and took the ferry instead), which took 7.5 hours. With all our breaks and stops, our journey took exactly 13 hours, just as we had planned.

Five days later, my thighs (and butt) are finally not sore anymore, but my head is still spinning. I learned so much that day, about “unofficial” victims, what the Wall really looked like outside the city centre, remnants still standing, how much was destroyed in order to have this built, and how much is still left to rebuild because of it. It definitely gave me a renewed appreciation for how lucky I am to have been born in a country like Canada and how fragile it all is.

Near the very first Checkpoint to have opened on November 9th, 1989

I'm alive!!!!

The route itself was gorgeous, well marked and easily to follow. Other than a few parts that were quite rough on the bikes (big, uncared for cobblestones paths, for example), but for the most part, it was smooth sailing. You can be sure I will be doing this next year again!

Badeschiff

Badeschiff is another really great place in Berlin that I recently discovered. Badeschiff, which translates to bathing ship, is a floating pool in the river Spree. It's slightly hidden between several old abandoned factories and opens up to a beach bar with a great boardwalk-looking platform with lawn chairs and the pool on the river.
There are parties and events almost every night, or even yoga classes during the day! It's definitely a refreshing area with a great view of the Molecule Men and the Oberbaum Bridge. You work a 9-5 job? Well that's fine! It's open from 8am to midnight every day, so you can enjoy the sunset on the river!

I went there at the begining of the month on a very hot day in Berlin and though the water was a little cold, it was a lot of fun! It's only 5 euros for a day pass, so make sure you head out there!

5 Things I'll Miss Most About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is one of those cities that's very easy to complain about. It's absolutely freezing cold for half of the year (hence the nickname Winterpeg), and you get maybe 2-3 months of nice, sunny weather, it's not exactly a famous touristy city, and the transit system is beyond awful.
But you see, Winnipeg is my home. I was born and raised here and I think it's a beautiful city. Maybe it's because I've travelled that I can come home and really see its beauty. The prairies may be flat and seemingly boring, but all you have to do is try a tiny bit and you'll always find something to do in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is home. I'm definitely going to miss it while I'm gone.

Skating on the river is one of my favourite things about winter. It may be way too cold, but when the river is frozen, you forget about it all. It's the longest ice rink in the world and you can go whenever you want. I've also run on the river a few times, on the snow trail next to it. The best part? A rum & hot chocolate to warm up afterwards.

Winnipeg Folk Music Festival is my favourite festival by far. I practically grew up at this festival, going almost every year since I can remember, whether it was my dad on stage or some random band from across the globe I'd never heard of before, I owe this festival some of my best summer memories. Some years, it rained so much the week before that we would walk around barefeet in the mud (you can imagine how much fun that is as a child), or you would get the most perfect July weather, with a few sunburns. It's truly a place of happiness and music.

Festival du Voyageur is the outdoors winter festival almost every Franco-Manitoban waits for all year long. Every year, we would go with our class and learn a bit about the fur trade era and our history, all while having a ton of fun in the snow; climbing things, getting lost in the big snow maze or going down the ice slide, and don't forget the tire sur glace! As young adults, we go there to party, see some really great live bands, admire some fantastic snow sculptures and drink some caribou. It's where we get together and pretend it isn't incredibly cold outside. We all know once Festival is over, the summer isn't far away.

Camping season. Okay, so this may not exactly be a Winnipeg-specific thing, but Manitoba in general has so many beautiful places to go to during the summer, that it's definitely something I need to add here. I love going camping and spending time outside. The sunsets, the fresh pine-smelling air, the lakes... Manitoba is a lot prettier than we give it credit for.

The People. If there's one thing I'll miss more than anything, it's the people. Winnipeg has been my home for 21 years, and my roots are deep. I have made some truly great friends over the years, and I am so grateful for the people I have met. You have grown with me, inspired me, made me the person I am today.

There you have it! The 5 things I'll miss most about Winnipeg. Though I'm sure I can find all of these things in Berlin in one way or another, it just won't be the same as good ol' Winterpeg. Until next time!

Running During the Summer

Summer is the time when you see all the runners come out of hiding. You can't go a day, if not an hour without seeing someone braving the heat to go for a jog. For most of the summer, I wasn't part of those brave souls. Mostly due to an injury, but also because well, I hate running during the summer. In Winnipeg, the temperature can rise up to 35 degrees Celsius and running in that heat, with the sun glaring down on you is a recipe for a heat stroke/disaster. The obvious solution would be early mornings or late evenings... but I'm not a morning person and I work evenings... So what solution could there be?
I did my best. But hey, having an injury definitely helped with the excuse of not running! I still managed to get a few good runs in this summer and honestly? Some of them really weren't so bad. It also means all kinds of new running gear (always a win), and the landscape is pretty amazing.
You wouldn't believe it, but every single one of these pictures was taken within the city limits. We have some beautiful paths and I loved getting to discover them.

Sometimes you can find all kinds of little treasures, like this chess table in Assiniboine Park.

 

Sometimes during a long run, you can admire the gorgeous dance of colours that are our prairie sunsets.

The thing with summer is finding a way to stay cool during the harsh heat... Sometimes it's shade, or water, or just toughing it out. Some (crazy) people like to wear layers! Or sometimes, it's the clothes themselves that keep you cool.  - Yes, there's another blog post about this! Stay tuned!

Now it's time for some cooler weather.... Perfect for running, sweaters and cuddling. Just a few of my favourite things.

Mud Hero and Dirty Donkey

This summer, not only have I been running a lot of half-marathons, I have also been running a few 5km runs, including Mud Hero and Dirty Donkey. Both of these include a lot of mud and some pretty great obstacles! The end result is always the best part, when you're covered in mud. The courses are 5 and 6 km but it definitely doesn't feel that way! With friends music and obstacles, the run goes by so quickly!
Most of these types of races travel and also give all their proceeds to a charity, like Mud Hero travels throughout Canada, and with each city, the company picks a new charity. This year, Mud Hero Winnipeg gave to CancerCare Manitoba, so it makes you feel a little better about the registration prices.
As you can see, you are literally covered in mud from head to toe! Some obstacles were designed specifically to get you as dirty as possible! And in some cases, the mud is so thick, you feel like a zombie stuck in quicksand!

Now here are some pictures of the dirty races!

Thank you to Cam, Pat and my sister Nat for running with me!

Until next year!

Folk Fest 2015

Ever since I was little, my family took us to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. You can read about last year's Folk Fest here. The difference this year? I camped! It's the first time I've ever camped at Folk Fest and so it was a whole new experience, one that I highly recommend to anyone who attends the festival.

There were over 70 artists this year from all over the world, some of my highlights were Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Bahamas, Shakey Graves, Donovan Woods, Royal Canoe, and The Dirty Catfish Brassband. There was such a variety of artists, and many local artists showcasing our Manitoba talent.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Bahamas

After the Main Stage show one night, my sister and I spent about an hour playing with glowsticks, making all kinds of shapes and things, including mushrooms, flowers and a turtle shell that I wore all night long.

My turtle shell

While I was volunteering at the Festival Music Store as a cashier, I was given a bunch of plastic geckos and frogs, which I then starting sticking to my water bottle... Those 6-hour shifts went by much quicker with this arts and crafts activity, though it really made me look like I was on all sorts of drugs, but hey, it was fun! Even my co-volunteer Sanjay helped me with this art project and we came up with a whole background story for the different animals on there. And yes, I did keep the bottle.

More Folk Fest art:

It was such a hot weekend, that I bought myself a scarf from one of the vendors and walked around with it only head all night, with my sunglasses too, and at some point, I decided that I became a hippie Jedi... I was probably the least "out there" of the people in the campground... From angels with 6-feet tall wings, to glowstick gladiators, to just plain naked. You'll always be surprised and it makes people-watching that much more fun!

As you can see, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and it's just a beautiful place. The lack of sleep doesn't even phase you and you get to hear incredible music all night long, even after the concerts are over, as bands and people are playing music in the campground all night, and the sun rises, just like the people, are incredible.

See you next year, Folk Fest!