CHARITABLE Donations

We might be experiencing one of the most notable signs of inflation, but that is all the more reason to help organisations that are donating their time and efforts for selfless causes. 

I have three recommendations here:

The first doesn't actual require you to donate your own money, but rather that of the business whom you're purchasing from. 

Buy your my Deutsche Bahn tickets through the following link, and the Deutsche Bahn then passes on a donation of €0,90 up to €4,50 depending on the type of fare. Ikea also have an arrangement of donating 9% of your purchase, and there are many many more businesses with this arrangement. 

This specific page supports Samojden Nothile - a nordic breed dog rescue organisation.

https://www.wecanhelp.de/485113001/shopsearch

An organisation that I have been very involved with actively assisting, is one that has unfortunately come about because of the war in Ukraine. Partners in both Germany and Ukraine are helping stray dogs (often born in the city dump, or left at the market square to die) to have medical assistance, be sterilised, and re-homed. The organisation is looking to expand, but is currently reliant on direct GO-FUND-ME contributions:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-stray-and-disabled-ukrainian-animals

And finally particularly those in the UK, a friend is "Hiking against Hunger", raising money for two charities who are combatting UK food Poverty - “Magic Breakfast” for kids who start school hungry and also the Tri Services Veterans Centre who supply emergency food parcels to Ex Armed Forces, on hard times. His hike is the 3 peaks of Yorkshire this Wednesday (17. May)!

£25 feeds a whole classroom of kids for 3 days.... £55 provides one child with breakfasts for a WHOLE YEAR. You can donate by clicking on the link below:  

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/get-up-give-back-2023---hike-against-hunger-11

So the next time you are needing to make an online purchase and like the idea of helping out a charity directly, use the links and see the donations and good work grow!

1 Euro per Day Public Transportation Tickets

It seems like every second day Germany is in the world press announcing ideas for reducing Carbon Emissions and improving its Public Transportation system. 

When I observe even the smaller cities in Germany, the accessibility for residents to still take public transport is incredibly impressive. Even in a village in Thuringia of 80 residents, there is still an hourly bus connection. 

And yet, Germany or germans are still willing to push to the extreme. An article in the Guardian on 14 February 2018 describes how in cities like Bonn, Mannheim, Essen and (hopefully) Berlin they are planning a test period for completely free public transportation use. The Guardian Article here.

Of course, this would require a massive overhaul of the system and far more frequent trains and trams to cope with the demand. But still, what a courageous step to take. 

Regardless of what the test period demonstrates however, there is a second option currently being mooted and petitioned, which is a yearly transport ticket to be made available for €365, ie €1 per day. 

You can sign the Petition here. 

Again, whether this project is financially feasible should not be the sole purpose. This idea of making Public Transport more affordable and more frequent should result in roads being safer and less conjested, carbon dioxide and monoxide levels dropping, as well as general air and noise pollution being reduced, and surely more employment for the driving, maintenance and planning of the extra services. 

Win win!

Now, if only I could also get my Deutsche Bahn tickets for that cheap...!

Donate to charities via online shopping

Charities are obviously a great and necessary thing.

But with so many organisations, persons and things needing assistance, sometimes the pressure surrounding our own life prevents us even contemplating how to help out on a volunteer basis. 

We have recently become involved with a Charity called "Samjoden- Nothilfe" - which is a charity that fosters and adopts the nordic dog breeds into Germany. Their dedication to ensuring the dogs are fostered correctly and appropriately is admirable, and it seems that most of the people running the organisation are volunteers themselves. 

https://www.facebook.com/Samojeden.Nothilfe/

While we plan to foster and eventually adopt another husky, I have been supporting the charity through a really fantastic link, which enables one to donate through online purchases. It doesn't come directly from you, but rather the business has an arrangement, which then passes the donation on from your purchase. It is called "we can help" and the link for the Samojden Nothilfe is directly here:

https://www.wecanhelp.de/485113001/shopsearch

For example, I now buy all my Deutsche Bahn tickets through the link, and the Deutsche Bahn then passes on a donation of €0,90 up to €4,50 depending on the type of fare. Ikea also have an arrangement of donating 9% of your purchase, and there are many many more businesses with this arrangement.  

So the next time you are needing to make an online purchase and like the idea of helping out a charity directly, use the link and see the donations grow!

MJT

It's NOVEMBER ALREADY??!!

How on earth did that happen?!

It seems like October simply disappeared - between returning from Düsseldorf, being reunited with loved ones at home in Berlin, new opportunities and work places, more travel to and auditions in Copenhagen, Deutsche Bahn strikes, performances and Halloween; There just wasn't time to do any posts. 

So I now have some catching up to do.

Coming up this month - a few more recommendations about Düsseldorf. 

Upcoming performances of Menotti's THE MEDIUM:

Friday, the 14.11.2014 at 20:00

Sunday, the 16.11.2014 at 16:00

Hauptstadtoper Berlin, Landsberger Allee 61, Friedrichshain. 

www.hauptstadtoper.de

Tickets 18€ / 10€ for concession and freelance artists / 8€ Students

Plus some new culinary discoveries, coffee places and depending on the mood, perhaps some rants - but one should stay positive.

Thanks for reading!!

M

Berlin getaway series: #1.0 SZCZECIN

BERLIN EXCURSIONS: SZCZECIN
For those based in Berlin but looking for a "getaway" excursion, I can definitely recommend the city of Szczecin, Poland.

Image care of http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Szczecin

We were looking around for a cheap, last-minute, relaxing holiday and Szczecin appealed to us, as it is only a two hour train journey from Berlin.

(C) MJT

Historical Museum (C) MJT

The city and surrounding area has certainly had an interesting history. It was originally the capital of Pomerania (hence the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle), but came under swedish control until it joined Prussia as the Capital of the Province of Pomerania, becoming an official part of the German Empire in 1870. Since 1945 after World War II it has belonged to Poland and the germanified name of "Stettin" returned to the Polish "Szczecin".

(C) MJT

(C) MJT

I look forward to writing a number of posts related to Szczecin, since there is so much to mention, but firstly: getting there!

(C) MJT

TRAIN is by far the easiest option from Berlin, as there are direct trains or as we did, a single yet convenient transfer in Angermünde. However, DO NOT trust the Deutsche Bahn website, as there is in fact a €10 per person ticket from the VBB (www.vbb.de) which you can buy from the machines at most Berlin train stations. One travels on the Regional Bahn (regional trains) regardless, and for such a short distance it is not uncomfortable and the scenery is very pretty.

Train Station (C) MJT

We stayed in the Novotel HOTEL, which is almost in the centre of the city yet an easy walk from the Bahnhof (Szczecin Glówny). A big deciding factor for choosing the Novotel was their "two-night city-break" deal, which included breakfast, free wifi and the use of the pool, spa, sauna and fitness room. The hotel was extremely satisfactory in all regards. Definitely will be returning to the Novotel!(Novotel Szczecin Hotel Website here)

(C)MJT

In regards to navigating around the city, there is an extremely good Public Transport system of trams and busses (in fact, Berliners will recognise the yellow BVG trams instantly). However we didn't need to use any, as the city is very walkable and mostly flat. There are some major roads and freeways intersecting the city and the river, and we did see some full-on rush hour traffic (in case anyone is considering driving there). Generally though the drivers seemed very aware of pedestrians, and throughout the city there are zebra crossings where the drivers always stopped for us.

(C) MJT

Unfortunately I only discovered on the last day of our visit, sitting in a coffee shop, that there is an app available for your smartphone, which gives you a great overview of what-to-do and where-to-go in Szczecin. Very simple to remember: "Visit Szczecin" - duh! Luckily though, we had already discovered many of the app's recommendations!

Get the app! (C) MJT

Finally our initial impressions of the city were very positive, and there is a real vibe for progress within the city. Walking around was very manageable, however places of interest are spread far and wide. There seem to be real pockets where restaurants (particularly) are concentrated, yet walking one street away you could miss it (as we did). Architecturally there is a real mix of historical Pomeranian fortresses, to Prussian grandeur, through to dilapidated Soviet apartments all the way to very contemporary design influenced eye-catching buildings. And so this eclectic mix appears to be feeding a real entrepreneurial vibe and progressiveness to the city. Everyone whom we met spoke English extremely well, and many seemed to also speak German.

Katedra (C) MJT