Our newest team member Phil was born in Dublin in 1989 and spent the 90s
pursuing a soccer career which never quite materialised. Turning to books he studied history with a
particular focus on 16th century Ireland. This in turn inspired the search for exotic escapes, Argentina, Japan, the travel seed was planted. Phil finished his degree in Melbourne but found the incessant sunshine and general
sense of optimism crushingly at odds with the Irish spirit. In this light, Berlin seems an appropriate place for Phil to have settled down, for the time being as least...
With winter approaching, what are
your plans, the to-do-list of getting acquainted with Berlin
during its long, dark months?
Aside from those two relatively unambitious goals, I really want to immerse myself in the language by taking courses. In school I had the option to
study Spanish or German. As I was deciding which, I vividly remember
uttering the words 'I'll never live in Germany', before going with
Spanish! Berlin is also a centre of ideas and I'd like to become more
acquainted with some of the groups that organise and campaign
for alternative solutions to some of the big issues of the day. Before I
left home I was becoming a bit more politically conscious and engaged
and I'd like to continue down that path, in a city of enormous
importance.
It seems we have a few rock climbers on our team. Brandenburg is
not really known for its mountains though. How is your new home
treating you in terms of this hobby? Have you explored any of the urban climbing centres in Berlin, or have you found some free climbing locations?
What Berlin lacks in 8000m peaks, it
more than makes up for in 8000mm teaks. Actually, they're tropical and
not native to Berlin so that doesn't quite work, for lots of reasons but
the backspace on my keyboard is broken so it stays. No, this is not the
place for climbers! I have sampled some of the indoor walls the city
has to offer but the real satisfaction has always been that time in the
outdoors. A beautiful setting, good company, a rope, some (climbing)
gear and a crag. The fulfilment at the end of a day on the hills is
impossible to get at an indoor wall, sadly!
In every other facet of life Berlin is immensely satisfying but that is one void I've yet to fill. Unless there is an undiscovered fault line running under the city it's likely to always remain very flat, certainly for the duration of my stay here. I've made my peace with that.
May I probe the subject of how you ended up moving to Berlin
anyway? How does one working in a museum in Dublin come about a life opportunity in Germany? Are you enjoying working outdoors,
touring through the city as a living museum?
I moved
to Berlin for a woman. Very cliché, isn't it? While in Dublin I met a
student of
Humboldt University doing her internship and here I am. Ira
is originally Siberian, a fact which bemused my mother who thought only
bears and wolves live there. We were quite fortunate finding an
apartment and are nicely settled in leafy
Wilmersdorf. I've usually
lived in places next to cars propped up on bricks and areas filled with
hooded youths masquerading as urban jedis so this has been an
interesting change of scenery.
Berlin's parks are wonderful and
I'm right next to one with lots of ping pong tables and plenty of other
facilities. Those small details make a huge difference. Walking through
the city on a daily basis, I'm always amazed how much it's been through,
a living museum, like you say. Everyday I feel like I'm discovering and
understanding more, bit by bit, day by day. I can't think of a better
way to gain that understanding than leading others through the city.
Yes! There have been so many of those moments that only feel possible
in this city. The one that leaps to mind happened very soon after moving
here. Myself and Ira were wandering around Ostkreuz and stumbled upon a
protest around the issue of housing on the grounds of an old derelict,
abandoned warehouse. An interesting collection of individuals and groups
in attendance- anarchists, environmentalists and so on. It was all very
typical and standard but just as it appeared to be coming to an end a
convoy of trucks pulled up and the protest hit the streets. Huge numbers
joined in as they crawled along the busy roads while pumping techno
music from enormous speakers which were mounted on top! The atmosphere
was incredible and it felt absolutely unique to Berlin. Definitely one
of those moments when I felt privileged to live in such a weird and
wonderful place.
Your enthusiasm is contagious Phil, thank you!
