Taize Berlin

Berlin Schönefeld airport, me and luggage, heavier than when going hiking. I am familiar with Berlin, summer trip seems to be like a month ago, so soon I am in Messe Süd, where many people with rucksacks are trying to find the way to the meeting venue. "Where are you from" "Estland". I get greeted in Estonian by an Estonian Reena. She explains to me what the meeting is about and after a short wait while she is explaining the same to Latvians, I find out that there are 2 more Estonians who came earlier to sing in the choir. It is 1pm and food time has just finished, but she advises me to first go to the food queue, then prayer at 1.15 and then choir practice at 2. OK. First it is singing and by some confusion I end up in soprano rows. Well, it is just for a bit, because I will hopefully play with the instruments group. Then instruments separate to different room. The venue is so confusing that I am not sure how to find the rooms tomorrow. Everybody has to play. My tune is rubbish, so bad, my lips are strange. Even after trekking >100 km Tour du Mont Blanc I could play better, or was it because I had 3 days to recover and play a lot outside on a field? We play all songs together and I hope my tune will come back. After dinner (which I had with Swedes....somebody I met in the summer! how nice!) and evening prayer, I hear Estonian, run to them and say that I am Estonian too. They are form the same parish and we can go together. Köpenick, other side of Berlin, in the East. In church we are welcomed and although the boys think we should all stay together, I had already given my form and and am told to go to a family with 3 Polish and 1 German. The host is supposed to speak Swedish and Polish. Another tram and soon we find the house. We are greeted by a German lady. Girls get one room (me on the floor because I do not mind), boys another. She invites us downstairs, but we are very tired. We decide it would be polite and so wonder down for a bit to speak with her and the two ginger cats, one like a tiger, another like lion, very furry. Eliza falls asleep immediately. In the morning we had arranged to start the shower queue at 5. When I wake up at 5.10, it is not my turn yet, so 10 more minutes. 5.20. Shower. Breakfast. Tram, S-bahn, Messegelände. We are late and have no idea where the choir practice room is. It is the same room as yesterday, but it has disapperared. Running, running, suddenly I see somebody with a saxophone case and there are other instrumentalists, so I follow them. Another practice. Dinner, evening prayer...home. Ohhh, Tuesday, I had told K, my friend who is married to a German that she can visit me. So we met before dinner and then went to prayer together. And then they accompany me on S-bahn and walk me home. Thank you! Another morning, early start, this time I am in the choir room on time. It is the day when we are separated into groups (there are 4 halls for prayer). It is the day when everybody is arriving. "Spanish, Italian, Polish, French, Russian....who else?" "Sweden, Estonia...." "They speak English anyway". So we could end up in any hall where there's English translation. I am assigned to hall with Polish, French, Russian-speakers and Latvians. The other Estonians are also there and one of the Polish. OK, lets eat, pray and play...and then play more and eat more and pray more. Some moments I was thinking that I should go and tell the sister I cannot play, I have no tune and it is not coming from anywhere, especially as there is not really a place to play on my own time. During practice times, even toilets were occupied with woodwinds and when we tried to go to some isolated place, we were always too noisy for some workshop. First day of playing, strange feeling in stomach, similar to like giving a talk but maybe even more scary. There is two of us, a French girl too. She is really good and fortunately for me, when conductor wants one to play a flute solo, they don't specify which of us, so very soon she knows she is sitting next to a chicken and unless we play two solos, she can play the single ones. I just play 2nd flute in duos. But I like duos! Especially Cantarei ao Senhor, I remember this from my first summer in Taize. Wednesday evening, we had been told that the host is taking two more people. In the near-home S-bahn station I meet Carolina, the German girl and we discuss that maybe they are English-speaking. The host tells us that thay are Spanish-speaking, from Chile and Mexico. Good! The conversation language will change! Or not, they both live in Czech Republic and speak the language (the Chilean, a talented exchange student has bene living there since August and can already speak). And Czech and Polish are similar enough for them to understand each other, only way for me to understand is to catch the few words that are similar to Russian. There are some! Tired, going to sleep, when Carolina and Sebastian are upstairs, playing the guitar. Soon everybody is there and after trying to convince myself not to take the flute out, soon we are playing and singing. Bedtime at 3, but next morning is easier, we only have to get to local church by 8.30, so just tram in same region, not travelling to another side of the city. We have prayer and then small group discussions. Me and Carolina are in group 20, but there is nobody else, so we decide to join the group nearby, without knowing it is the Italian-Polish group where one Polish teacher can speak Italian and so discussion happens in either Polish or Italian. The Polish is actually a German teacher, so on S-bahn she continues conversation in German andwe have lunch. In the afternoon I intended to attend a workshop somewhere in city, but was too late, so wondering in the event venue after the prayer, I found my self in a hall and without knowing what the topic was, joined because had nowhere else to go (or, did not want to get lost and ending up not going to any workshop). It was good! The topic, the small group that we formed, asking people nearby whether they speak English. If there was something that touched me most during this time in Berlin, it was this workshop, the group discussion. (too personal to share in public blog, so please ask) Food, prayer, S-bahn, home...... Friday morning. Prayer 8.30 in local church and then...surprise visit to a refugee centre. Unfortunately, I was not dressed stay outside in sleet and rain for long and had lost my hat two days before. Fortunately, there were some kind people, one of them shared his umbrella. Thank you Mattias! I was late going to the Messe, so no time to eat lunch, could just collect it. In the afternoon, I had to skip the workshop to go to town instead, to find an apotheka. Now I know why we learnt these dialogues about describing our illnesses. It was not self service, not even for paracetamol similar things. So, in bad German I could assemble single words into "paracetamol hot water headache fever" something. And I also bought vitamin C. In the evening, my host made me ginger tea, it helped! And chicken soup. Saturday morning. Prayer in church at 8.30, then to Messe. Lunch, prayer, then Estonian meeting in town, with Latvians. Food, prayer. It was the last day in Messe, it was the last day of the year. The prayer was beautiful, especially the light. And, finally, I enjoyed playing. It was sooo goood! I love these musicians! Even though we did not really have a common language apart from music. Evening prayer in local church. I am early and somebody asks me to read a passage in Estonian. Stupid me, I only took the English Bible that day, thinking that all group discussion will be in English anyway. Then, one Estonian has Estonian Bible, but the organisers have changed their mind. I have to read a prayer instead. So, two Estonians translate a prayer into Estonian, to read, so that three Estonians can understand it. It was many languages anyway. Fireworks by the river. We were told to go to a school (nearby?). Walk, walk, walk with many Taize people when a group of drunks start throwing fireworks at us. First I run backwards. Then forward. I lots the other Estonian. I think the best thing to do is to keep walking to the school. How scared was I! Later he told me that some people from the group also started throuwing glass bottles. Quite bad. In school, I am sure that whoever is going to Köpenick, I will go with them, because the school is very far. Trams have finished and many people disappointed that we were not told about distances. Walking was fine at first, but after the encounter with the drunk people, it got scary. Luckily, the Estonian decides to go home and then also some of my housemates. 3am, I sleep. In the morning I am told that the Polish came home at 5 and spent time in our room (but if course, I did not hear, I have been deep asleep next to somebody playing trombone too) I had told the Estonians to meet them at the mass at 9 in Messe Süd. Oh noo! I did not wake up, so just normal service in local church. Maybe better, maybe not. I wanted to go to the mass! Home, food, cleaning, goodbyes. Byebye Berlin! Next year, Rome!
Video from previous years.