Life in lockdown: week six

Another exhausting week of lockdown and homeschooling is over. The biggest challenge, in addition to trying to master German grammar (is it really necessary to use the word Selbslaut when the self-evident term Vokal is also in the dictionary? Somebody really ought to have a word with German schoolbook writers!) has been getting our energetic seven-year-old to fall asleep at night. 

Sleep, or rather lack therof, has always been a sore point in our family; the last time I had a decent night’s sleep was eight years ago. With playgrounds and sports facilities still closed, I resorted to YouTube fitness videos for kids, hours of bouncing on a trampoline, running, sprinting and cycling. Unfortunately, long walks no longer do the trick and my yoga classes are unappealing. We’ve also been putting an alarm every morning and waking up earlier and earlier. At least the weather has been consistently good, with five more days of uninterrupted sunshine. The weekend was a different story. We couldn’t believe it when we woke up to a grey sky on Saturday.

Spring is the season of awakening, as Berliners know all too well. The combination of endless sunshine and lockdown has meant that this year the feeling of renewed life and energy is stronger than ever. On Wednesday we cycled through Prenzlauer Berg to the central district of Mitte. There were people everywhere: taking pictures of the cherry blossoms close to Bornholmer Strasse, admiring the “Lord of the Rings/Ice Age”-inspired street art in Mauerpark (Gollum’s precious toilet paper stolen by Scrat the squirrel), queueing up  –  at a distance – for ice cream, sitting on the steps of the Bode Museum –  currently closed –  or soaking up the sunshine on the banks of the Spree river.

The Spree river seen from Museum Island.

The high number of Berliners out and about can be explained by an easing of the lockdown restrictions this week. The biggest change in Berlin is that we no longer need a good reason to leave the house so we are allowed to move freely within the city, as long as we keep a 1.5 m distance from others. As before, we are only allowed to be with members of our own household or with another person from a different household (so that means two people 1.5 m apart). Gatherings of up to 20 people are permitted, but only for funerals and baptisms. Masks are now compulsory on public transport, though even a scarf will do, as long as you keep your mouth and nose covered. Still no parties or barbecues in the park, but quite a few shops have reopened. Once again, I have to acknowledge that it’s difficult to keep up with all the changes, especially as they are not always reported correctly in the media.

Unfortunately, this newfound freedom has meant that thieves also don’t need a good reason to leave their houses, as I discovered one morning when my bike saddle was stolen. So, no more bike rides for me until my new saddle arrives. On a positive side, bike shops have remained open throughout the lockdown to enable Berliners to keep on cycling.

Last week I was feeling rather stressed and under pressure to be more productive, when most of the time all I wanted was to read a book in the sunshine, while sipping a cup of tea. And I really couldn’t be bothered with cleaning or baking. This week, however, I have felt more energetic and I have tried to involve my son in some house chores. We were very proud of our first ever homemade bread. (We actually found a bag of flour in the supermarket! Still no toilet paper though.) We cleaned the floor together and tried to turn it into a fun activity. Being in lockdown is a challenge, but it also has some good sides. Perhaps one day I might even find the time to work on my second novel.

Life in lockdown: week five

The Easter holidays are over and so is the first month of quarantine.

If I had to find a word to define each week up to now, it would be:

week one – anxiety

week two – homeschooling

week three – tonsillitis

week four – Easter

week five – exercise and cherry blossom (ok that’s four words).

I have practically got over the virus that I presumably caught from my son, who most likely caught it at school (back in the days when children went to school). So, I have been able to exercise properly again this week. I joined two yoga classes via Zoom, I went for long walks with my son, among the cherry trees in bloom, and for a family bike ride along the Berlin Wall trail at the weekend. Exercise is one of the things that has helped me remain fairly sane until now.

Spring has brought colour back to Berlin: pink and white cherry blossom, green leaves and blue sky. The sun has continued to shine every day from morning until evening, breaking all previous records. This has to be the best spring ever!

We’re lucky to be in Berlin and not just because of the weather. The situation here seems to be pretty much under control, at least for the time being. The hospitals are not overloaded and the health system is coping. We can leave the house with other members of our household, as long as we keep a distance from others. The most likely place to see our friends is still a computer or phone screen, but we sometimes are lucky enough to bump into someone we know (well not literally, as we have to keep a distance). 

There are plans for schools to restart, albeit gradually. Only pupils in the final years of primary and secondary school will go back to school over the next couple of weeks. We still have no idea when the other years will restart. Kitas (nurseries) probably won’t reopen until after the summer. So it’s back to homeschooling and being a teacher again from Monday.

Life in lockdown: week four

We are now in the second week of the Easter break. The weather in Berlin has been exceptionally good this past week, so in a way it has felt like being on holiday. I can’t remember the last time we had so many consecutive days of glorious sunshine. Perhaps it’s never happened before. 

Luckily, we are not in complete lockdown here: we are still allowed to leave the house to exercise. Walking, running, cycling, rollerblading is permitted as long as we respect the rules. I must admit that this is not always easy, as they keep changing. 

Initially, we were told that we must always carry ID with us; now it’s no longer necessary. Playgrounds and sports facilities are closed, but parks are still open. Initially we weren’t allowed to sit on benches or on the grass, but now we are, as long as we keep a distance of 1,5 metres on a bench, or 5 metres on the grass, from the next person. 

Also, we are only allowed to have short rests so no barbecues or picnics! Easter egg hunts in the park were not permitted this Easter, so we did ours on the balcony. The police regularly patrol parks and outdoor spaces to make sure everyone complies. Apparently, they are making a special effort to be friendly and understanding. Last time we went for a walk in the park we saw three police cars, but they didn’t stop to speak to us as we weren’t breaking any rules.

It’s amazing how quickly we have adapted to the new normal. In my case, Spotify has completely replaced the BBC World News app. Usually I listen to the radio every day on my phone. Now it’s only music or audiobooks.

Still, however much we try, we can’t quite eliminate the coronavirus from our minds. For instance, we have a new greeting whenever one of us walks through the door: “Have you washed your hands” has replaced the obsolete “Hello”. This is especially necessary when my husband returns from work after sending reassuring news, such as, “We had three confirmed cases of Covid today!”. When this happens, I also shout: “Just pretend you’re in the operating theatre”. Otherwise, he’s not very good with hygiene.

Also, when painting Easter eggs last week, my son added an interesting detail to one of his pictures. He drew a park with red tulips and the sign “no picnics allowed due to coronavirus”.

Life in lockdown - week three

While the rest of the world was fighting COVID-19, I was at home battling against tonsillitis. Fortunately I had a powerful and effective weapon on my side - antibiotics - so I was able to extinguish the fire in my throat relatively quickly. Unfortunately I had to give my video yoga classes a miss and, as I could only communicate by whispering, phone or video calls were a no go. 

The week began with a dramatic change in the weather: Berlin saw its first and probably last snowfall of the year. The temperature plummeted, the sky went back to its usual grey tones, so for a few days nobody missed much by staying at home.

It was the last week of homeschooling before the Easter holidays and I spent most of it with my head under a towel inhaling steam. Schools in Germany are supposed to reopen on 20 April, but it seems unlikely at this stage. By the way, is it der virus or das virus? Luckily one of us knows the genders of German nouns. My son and I have found a way of making home lessons even more entertaining. We take it in turns to be the teacher. If you live in Berlin and you've heard a child laughing his head off, that was probably my son after I gave a wrong answer.

So what will we do with ourselves now that we are "on holiday"? Not to worry: we have plenty of ideas, including planning a Formula 1 quiz so that we can play with the rest of the family on Skype. We are determined to make the best out of this situation and, so far, we've done a pretty good job.