Exporting the cat

I am back in Michigan at the moment, theoretically trying to get my classes ready for the next semester and also getting the poor innocent cat ready for her journey to Berlin. She needs a harness to go through security, a carrier that fits under the seat, a rabies certificate that shows her vaccinations, and a chip implant that provides an id number -- the latter to conform to a new European Union directive. She actually already has one identifying chip, but the format is apparently not EU-compliant, so she either needs a new chip or I need to carry a special scanner to read her old chip.

She likes hiding on a chair under the table (see picture) and would hide more earnestly if she knew what will happen in 8 days.

Joan and I actually saw a movie in a movie theater today. Since "Becoming Jane", which had been recommended to us, was not in town, we saw "Amazing Grace", which describes the campaign of William Wilberforce to end the British slave trade. This is the sort of topic that veers readily into the sentimental or overly heroic, but director Michael Apted avoided both. The portrayals of political figures like Pitt and Fox seemed in keeping with what I learned in my British history classes, as also was the Duke of Clarence.

I wonder a bit how this movie will be received in Germany, which has no slave trade / slave owning past and therefore perhaps less immediate sense of the shame and eventual triumph when the bill to end the slave trade ends.

Bibliothekskongress in Leipzig

I spent the week in Leipzig at the German Library Congress. I have taken part in the German library association meetings for something like 6 years. I have liked it in part because it is a tenth the size of the ALA conferences. You really can see pretty much everyone. The pace seemed a bit more measured as well. In the past, however, I was just a visitor. Attending the conference as an Institute Director significantly expanded my contacts. I also had 40 students at the conference, and needed to make some effort to introduce them to key people who might be future employers. The students organized an event called "Wir sind wie Pizza" ("We are like Pizza") that metaphorically described the ingredients that make a Humboldt library education unique. Over allI had more fun than ever and was very tired at the end.

Leipzig is one of the success stories of old east, but it is not yet as well off as Berlin. Parts of the city center looks as rich as any west German city, with a lot of new construction and gold name plates on the doors. But there are also empty buildings, including the old and very grand hotel Astoria right across from the main railroad station. This pattern of beautifully renovated buildings next to empty buildings with boarded or broken widows repeats in the western part of the city where my hotel was. It may be that all of these buildings (many of which are quite handsome) will be renovated in time. It may also be that Leipzig has lost population like many other east German cities, and the empty buildings just are no longer needed.

Furniture

It has been three weeks since I updated this blog, and I notice a tendency to slide out of the habit as life in Berlin becomes both more ordinary and more time-constrained. Joan was telling me about research that suggests that part of the efficiency of expertise is knowing what one can skip when pressed for time. The blog, alas, is not on any critical path.

While Joan was here for 2.5 weeks, we bought furniture. The concept of furniture buying that we know from America consists of going to a store, picking out an object, and arranging for delivery. In Germany it more resembles planning for the invasion of Russia. Everything is modular and everything (or virtually everything) is custom built. It is not merely a question of finding the right store, but the right manufacturer that deals with the right store, and then finding the right advisor in the store who knows that manufacturer and can explain all of the details about which modular component can or cannot go with which other. Only then does the real joy of decision-making begin. All of this requires a good bit of abstract imagination, of course, since there are never exact models on the floor with the right fabric or color or cushions or number of shelves or drawers or height or frame or doors. We succeeded in ordering a sofa, a dining room table, six chairs, and a wardrobe for the bedroom. The wardrobe is a combination closet and dresser -- German dwellings rarely have build-in closets (which is a plus for flexibility).

The first photo at the right is a sofa bed that we ordered (in a different color). (Future guests take note!) The second photo is of a restaurant in Hamburg, where I had a meeting last week.