Day of arrival… Flight was long but ok. The drive from Tel Aviv to Haifa of another 3 hours by Israeli “Marshrutka”-Taxi a big fault (by train only 1h). Exhausted we arrive in our holiday flat. Its not far from the beach  and most of our neighbours are originally from Ethiopia …

Day 1.

First day at the beach in Haifa, just relaxing and watching the people (no European tourists at all!!) mostly coming from Russia or US visiting their relatives or friends. Then in the evening my first “Shabat” with delicious fish and vegetables and afterwords relaxing on the terrace with a wonderful view to the sea and the green vegetation which is typical in the northern part of Israel.

Day 2

Trip  to Cesaria, a living place of the upper class Israeli with a rich historical background. Half-lying in the “Beach Bar” with some live Jazz music in the background, waching the sea and the sailors you can really forget your reality in the rainy Germany and just dream of  becoming rich one day…

Day 3

Again at the beach.  Realize that the third official language in Haifa (besides Hebrew and English) is Russian. That is very comfortable for us and we feel homelike. On the way back home a short look into a russian food shop, small but with a good sortiment of some delicious russian snacks and foods – feel safer with shopping it then the ”other” food  because its still difficult to read in Hebrew.  In the afternoon a short but impressive walk through our neighbourhood looking for a cashpoint to get more Shekel. Talking with a man in a park (also a Russian immigrant) we learn, that our neighbourhood has some more cultural diversity than we assumed first. We like the people here. It`s very easy to get in contact and get some help.  I examine the  architecture of the apartment blocks in Neve David (our place) with about 8 to 13 floors  they differ from those ones you can see in e.g. Eastern Europe. Because of small earthquakes (my suggestion)  almost all of the blocks are built on a kind of cement stilts, the walls are very drab coloured with small windows and grills infront of it. In the evening most of the people are outside sitting and talking. Some men are walking to the small synagogue to get together to the evening prayer.  Younger men with Kipas are hanging out and smoking cigarrets…

Day 4

Sightseeing in Haifa: Museum, of Israel Navy and immigration,  cable car to the monastery “Stella Maris”, Ben Gurion Avanue. , the  Metro with its 5 stations and the Zoo. I think we`ve already seen most of the touristical places in Haifa for this city is not as popular for tourists as it does Tel Aviv, Elat or Jerusalem.

Day 5

Went to Rosh Hanitra by car, near the Lebanon boarder. I take a nice pic with the soldiers. Nevertheless it`s a really strange feeling to be at a boarder of a country which is still not in peace with Israel.

Day 6-7 Time at the beach, then eventually get to the car station to rent a car to feel more mobile and to do some trips around Haifa.

Day 8

Decide to visit the old city of  Acre (an hour drive to the north of Haifa). The city walls and all the buildings are mostly built in the Ottoman period in the 18th century. The prison in the old Citadel and the Hamam bath have been used a long time until the middle of the 20th century. Around midday we  start to walk back to the car but suddenly get into a  crowd of Arab men. Police men stop some streets and the traffic. More and more people come from the narrow streets of the old city, now mostly women in black dresses, all of them crying and shouting. Then some men are carrying 4 coffins in the crowd…we better keep some safe distance to this unpredictable event. Later we find out it is a funeral of 4 young men who had an accident a day before in Haifa, all of them belonging to one family in Acre. We try to get out of the city as soon as possible to avoid any conflicts due to my snow-white summer dress.

Day 9 At the beach we try to sort our impressions from the days before and plan our trip to the See of Galilei tomorrow.

Day 10

The weather is cloudly and its not too hot (locals would say it`s cold). Our destination is the Sea of Galilei near the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley. We plan to do a round trip with some stops starting in Capernaum. Coming to the sea we are just overwhelmed by its beautiful landscapes. The view from the northern point radiates a very special atmosphere of calmness and peace. We find a very calm place signposted for groups of pilgrims to pray at the holy coast where Jesus lived and preached.
Then getting back to our car we are just shocked… One of the car windows is broken and my bag is stolen…Unbelievable. Obviously those holy places are much more dangerous then the “normal” ones in our atheopean ghetto. Sadly we have to interrupt our trip and go back to Haifa with some fresh wind from the open side-window. The only good thought is that inside my bag have been just a few chewing gums, a bottle of soap bubbles and my sunglasses.

Day 11-13 Stay at the beach, eat at the beach and just walk in the evening to avoid more unpleasant adventures. Nevertheless, Israel- we like U and hope to come a second time!

See the pics here:

Kinder-Photographie

Meine neue Homepage ist nun online. Die Shooting-Angebote umfassen alles rund um das Thema Kinder und Familie. Seien es einfache klassische Familienportraits im Studio oder aber etwas anspruchsvollere Inszenierungen an einer Location Ihrer Wahl – jeder findet bei mir etwas Passendes. Bei einem Vorgespräch wird der Ort und das Thema des  geplanten Fotoshootings festgelegt und die Zeit abgesprochen. Ich nehme Aufträge im Raum Bergedorf und Umgebung an, in Ausnahmen auch in anderen Stadtteilen Hamburgs.

Bei mir sind Kinder immer willkommen und Ideen gehen mir nie aus. Zeit und Geduld (wenns nicht auf Anhieb klappt:)  bringe ich ebenfalls mit! Kontaktieren Sie mich gerne unter www.kinder-photographie.de

Photography has always fascinated me. At first it was just the posing by itself,  but more and more it was also the challenge  to see objects, landscapes and people from my own perspective. The light, the motion, unforgetable moments and faces are captivating me more and more.

Now, in April 2011  my new homepage www.kinder-photographie.de got online. I offer shootings for families and kids in Hamburg (Bergedorf).   Shootings in spring and summer time will be mostly outdoor because kids have more fun and feel free and easy. In autumn and winter time it`s also possible to shoot in studio. It makes me happy if I can hold unforgettable moments of happiness .

Als Mutter ebenfalls zweier Kinder bin ich bestens mit der Thematik vertraut uns kann die Sorgen, den Stress und natürlich auch die manchmal aufkommende Verzweiflung verstehen und gut nachvollziehen. Mir, sowie auch anderen Eltern auch, wird das Buch in dieser Beziehung also kaum etwas Neues bzw. Überraschendes zu Tage bringen.

Was allerdings den Leser offensichtlich schockieren soll ist der Ton in dem es geschrieben ist und von den Autoren gleich zum Anfang angekündigt wird. Dieser ist, um es noch milde auszudrücken, unangenehm zynisch und durchweg abwertend. Die detailtreue Erzählweise betont die Ehrlichkeit dieses “Elternbuchs”, jedoch hinterlässt es einen unangenehmen Nachgeschmack des offensichtlich stark überforderten Elternpaares, das sich den Frust vom Herzen schreibt. Diese Darstellung ist allerdings nicht nur subjektiv und eindimensional sondern auch enttäuschend und man fragt sich welches Zielpublikum damit erreicht werden soll? Sind es andere frustrierteund enttäuschte Eltern oder sind es kinderlose Paare (die sich Kinder wünschen)? Beide würde das Buch einfach nur verwirren. Lösungsvorschläge zu den angesprochenen Problemfeldern bringt das Buch ebenfalls kaum.

Wie schön das Elternsein doch ist, trotz der ganzen Schwierigkeiten, kommt erst im letzten Kapitel und sozusagen “auf den letzten Drücker”. Wäre es nicht viel angenehmer auch zwischendurch mal etwas Positives zwischen die Zeilen zu schreiben anstatt vehement zu behaupten wie “kacke” das Leben mit Kindern oftmals ist? Sollten (werdende) Eltern vielmehr motiviert werden in ihrer überaus wichtigen gesellschaftlichen Rolle, insbesondere Frauen, die oft mit vielen Dilemmata zu kämpfen haben?

Die Autoren haben ein Buch über sich selbst geschrieben, welches für andere Eltern allerdings meiner Meinung nach eher uninteressant ist und kaum auf Begeisterung stoßen kann.

It`s NOT a post about the US-series which is quite popular by some of us…

It IS about modern women who a often torn between their familiy life, household and career. It sounds like another popular topic but I think I can talk about it now more sensitive and analyzing `cause I`m feeling stuck in this dilemma right now. So this is what I`m worried about. I want to pick out just some main subjects to talk about here:

1. Why the technological progress doesn`t really help in the household?

2. Ideas about priorities in modern family-life and a differing reality

It took me some time to realize that a hoover, a washing machine, a dish washer, a microwave and several other household appliances are indeed helpful with our housework, BUT do not really save time at all!! All day long women are operating all those machines knowing about their technical efficiency and asking themselves how our grandmothers could survive without it. At the same time our grandmothers are a remembering the times when they had to do the household with their bare hands and wondering why modern housewives are still complaining about the masses of work they have to do at home. So why? Are we just getting lazy? Are our grandmothers hero’s of housework?

Their next reproach is our reluctance to get just one child instead of  3 or even more! So we often hear our grandma saying:”When I was as young as you are (certainly already married), I had already 5 children and I never complained…!S0, don`t make such a fuss about it!” Are we incapable to get on with just one kid? Are we just too selfish, thinking only about our freedom and self-realization?

I think the main reason for our (women) excessiveve demands is the ongoing individualization in our society and the feminism paradigm which are just pushing us more and more into the dilemma I`ve described above! Telling about their “heroic deeds” our grandmas forget to tell us about the task sharing and the strong family bonds in the past. No woman or mother of  5 children had to wash, cook, clean up, shopping foods, watch her kids and doing homework with them, being perfectly styled and having a part time job at once!!! It`s just impossible! Extended families have been sharing the different responsibilities. Everybody has been conscious of  her/his work to do. Grandma`s have been cooking and caring about children all day long, while the younger women (not just one person) of the family did all the homework and the men earned the money. I know,  this paradigm is not popular in our modern society but at the same time it`s also not realistic to burden women with all those work! When do Men realize it and don`t ask questions like “What do you do all day long sitting here at home?”, when do Women realize that its no sign of weakness to ask for help and when do Families realize that solidarity and family bonds are essential and necessary to keep it going? Unfortunately women in modern society are often very alone with their tasks and kids, families are at odds with each other, partnerships are unstable and patchwork families are normal.

The pressure on women is growing enormously especially in terms of decision for or against starting a family, being a good housewife or wife and growing up children. Many of us have serious doubts if they have to “give up” themselves for a new life full of problems. Indeed it is quite hard to have the heart to start this new part of life but I think it`s also a new chance for Your family to be awake of those values I talked above. A new family must not to repeat the faults of unrealistic (modern) ideologies or outdated advices of parents. Rather, it is in your hands (women and also men) to brake up our desperation!

Because of the centralistic economic structures before 1989 it has been a radical turn towards the market economy during the period of transition. The relative stable economical situation as well as the high acceptance in the population made Vaclav Klaus (financial minister of Czechoslovakia from 1989-1992) to choose the radical strategy of the so called “shock therapy”.  One in all the liberalization of the prices and markets showed a positive development of the GDP especially in the end of the 90ies and 2000 (see chart).

The main reform in the economic restructuring plan has been the privatization. Private ownership should be replaced by public ownership to get the basics for market competition. Coupons and restitution made sure to involve every Czech into this process.  By the end of 1992 there have been about  100 000 units of small and medium-sized enterprises being privatized (so called “small privatization”), mainly enterprises of the retail, gastronomy and hotel sectors. Therefore the part of the tertiary sector rose to 68%.

Privatization reform in the retail sector had a strong impact on the commercialization and formation of a  city in Prague (in terms of a CBD). The demand of foreign companies for modern office and retail estate in the old town center grew steadily from the beginning of the 90-ies. To preserve and to avoid the modernization of the old city structures the old town has been declared as UNESCO world cultural heritage by the city administration.

In these times the „ decisions of the central government as well as local politicians have been grounded in a neo-liberal approach, which has seen the free, unregulated market as the only mechanism of allocation of resources, that would generate a wealthy, economically efficient and socially just system” (Sykora).  This reserved point of view in terms of market regulation as well as the lacking competence of this stakeholder group   is typical for the institutional reorganization during transition, which will be discussed in the next posts.

Coco avant Chanel

See Audrey Tautou in one of her best roles! She has interpreted the French legend of design Coco Chanel in an absolutely amazing way! Her charming nature is flowing though out the film and everybody is a bit disappointed when the story suddenly stops at a quite interesting point – the beginning of Chanel`s career. But obviously, that was the intention of the director Anne Fontaine.

She didn`t want to present Coco`s biography just as a chain of events. In fact her focus has been more on the second phase of Coco`s life when she left the orphanage and started singing in a Varieté.  The following acquaintance with Etienne (Benoît Poelvoorde) set an end to her (a little bit embarrassing) performances as singer but let her run into an ambiguous “love” relationship with him.  Her strong, determined but  feminine character mirrors Chanel`s typical cuts and styles. Her romantic relationship to “Boy”  (Alessandro Nivola) is moving and very well interpreted by both actors. Especially their dialogue about the meaning of a marriage against the background of “Boy`s” arranged wedding with an “Englishwoman” reveals and explains Chanel`s further attitude towards men, also after “Boy`s” fatal car accident.  He was her “big love” and she never married, though she had numerous love affairs.

The film gives a just small but essential insight into the roots of Chanel`s work and character. A short portrayal about her former collections and the absolutely revolutionary effect on the female world of the 30ies and 50ies still would have certainly fit very well into the film.

Cherkizovsij Rynok

The latest news report just a “preliminary closing” of the market because of  ” failors of  sanitary and dealing norms”.  In fact, the market is considered to have a criminal touch in terms of the way of making business and the trading goods. The missing certifications and other documents for many goods are then the simplest delicts. A closing of the “Cherkizovskij market” has been tried  several times since 2001, but without any success.

Is the current situation  more  authoritative then it has been in the past? Now plans to build a sport and entertainment center as well as a modern shopping center, instead of the shabby market hall, the kiosks and the large parking for the trucks with (illegal) goods, becoming  more and more realistic.  Shortly the Chinese deputy secretary of trade who visited Moscow and showed interest in finding a con-sens regarding the destiny of the over 60 000 Chinese who worked at the Cherkizovskij market as well as the goods to the amount of 5 billion US-$, which are still in the area. He confirmed that the Chinese government is willing to invest about 1 Billion US-$ in building a new shopping-center as well as  a large-scale logistic center  and customs terminal. This project would take at least two years in case of the final clarification of the matter.

Until then hundreds of  police officers are patrolling around the housing estates to prevent a rising of criminal incidents.  It`ll take some time to stabilize this tense situation with thousands unemployed Asians who are just hanging around the Metro stations and nearby “Izmajlovo Park” awaiting the issue.