Life in lockdown: look on the bright side!

With all the doom and gloom out there, it may seem difficult to see any positives right now, especially for those of us living in lockdown. In Berlin, we have been in full lockdown for a month and a half and have at least two more weeks to go, if not longer. For anyone having to deal with home schooling (mostly mothers, but some fathers as well), the winter lockdown feels like an eternity. Nevertheless, there are some encouraging signs; we just have to look for them.

January is over

The worst month of the year, especially if you live in Northern Europe, is finally coming to an end. February is arguably not much better, but then it’s only one month to go until spring. We all deserve a t-shirt “I survived the January lockdown”! 

The days are getting longer

Just over a month ago it would be dark by 4pm, but now it’s still light at 5pm. That’s definitely an improvement. Time to celebrate!

The lockdown measures are working

Although it’s been and continues to be an absolute nightmare, the strict lockdown is already having an effect. In Berlin, the number of active Covid cases has fallen to November levels. Two of the lights of the Corona Ampel, i.e., traffic-light coronavirus-warning system, are still red (number of new infections and number of beds in intensive care), but the one corresponding to the reproduction number (or R value) is green. We’re starting to see the light!

We have several vaccines

The vaccination programme is painfully slow (only 2% of the German population has been vaccinated so far) and we are facing delays in vaccine deliveries. The EU is currently in a dispute with AstraZeneca and Pfizer over supplies and is introducing export controls on coronavirus vaccines made within the EU. Let’s not forget that 95% of all vaccinations so far have taken place in just 10 countries, meaning that people in low-income countries don’t have access to vaccines. Still, just the fact that several vaccines are available is an amazing achievement. Until a few months ago it wasn’t even clear whether it would be possible to develop an effective vaccine against Covid. One day in the not-too-distant future we will hopefully achieve herd immunity. 

If you need a further boost to your morale try any of the following

Exercise – go for a walk, join an online workout, follow a keep fit video, anything to get you moving. My son and I bought a skipping rope this week to exercise indoors because it was so cold outside! If you are allowed to leave the house, try to make the most of natural light and go for a walk whenever then sun comes out. 

Meditation – there’s lot of mindfulness apps to get you started and most of them have free sessions. Headspace is even on Netflix; it might sound like a contradiction (meditating while watching telly), but I found it quite relaxing and I enjoyed the graphics. If you have trouble getting to sleep, it might be more helpful than watching a thriller.

Escapism – there’s nothing like a good book or a good film to help you forget about your worries. I’m a fan of period dramas, but I realise they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. There’s one series that has attracted a lot of attention recently. I’m talking about Bridgerton. If you haven’t watched it yet, it’s quite entertaining. 

I enjoyed watching Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Vinterburg’s adaptation of the Hardy classic, also on Netflix. 

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is one of the books that helped me get through the spring lockdown and is a really good read. It follows the lives of 12 characters, most of them black British women, all very different but in some way linked to one another.

Friends – even if you might not be able to see them in person, you can still text, email, call or video call your friends. They will be just as happy to hear from you as you are to hear their voice.  

Creativity – try doing something creative… cooking, drawing, colouring, writing a diary, writing a blog, writing a story, playing an instrument… whatever you choose to do, you will feel the positive benefits. 

Finally, a word of warning, don’t spend too much time on social media!

The dark times are coming

Summer time is officially over. On Sunday we turned back the clocks, so this means that it is now a little lighter in the mornings, but over the next few weeks it will be getting darker and darker in the afternoons. This is not a good prospect, considering that we are currently facing the second wave of coronavirus and things are only expected to get worse. 

While Angela Merkel has been telling us to stay at home and to reduce social contacts, many in Berlin seem to be ignoring her advice. On Saturday night, the police broke up an illegal party in Mitte. In a tweet, the police suggested that “for the 600 guests the fetish party probably ended unsatisfactorily”. If you can read German, I would recommend following Polizei Berlin Einsatz on Twitter. Not only are their latest tweets entertaining, but they also show that the police are being kept busy by people failing to observe the AHA rules.

By the way, it is now AHA + A + L (Abstand, Hygiene, Alltagsmaske + App + Lüften), i.e. distance, hygiene, masks + Corona warning app + fresh air. Meanwhile on Sunday, roughly 2000 people gathered at Alexanderplatz to protest against the Covid rules.

The end of summer time this year coincided with the end of the autumn half-term or Herbstferien. As schools in Berlin restarted today, the question every parent and teacher will be asking themselves is: how long before things start to change? So far schools have been functioning fairly normally, but we have been advised of a stage-plan for Berlin schools based on the Corona Ampel, or traffic-light coronavirus-warning system for the city. The three lights correspond to the reproduction number (or R value), the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and the number of beds occupied in intensive care. Currently one of the lights is red and has been for some time (the number of new infections), one is yellow (R value), while the other one is green so overall the traffic light is yellow. Presumably we will know more later this week, as the situation evolves. 

Meanwhile, you might want to make a trip to the shops if you’re running low on toilet paper. After months of normal supplies, toilet paper shelves have started to look bare again, as panic-buying returns. Next time I go shopping I’ll check on soap and hand sanitiser levels!

Life in “lockdown light” – week 1

The first week of “lockdown light”, as it’s being called in Germany, is almost over. Compared with the first lockdown in the spring, when almost everything was closed, this is only a partial lockdown. Meetings are restricted to two households (a maximum of 10 people), both indoors and outdoors, and if you meet someone from a different household you must keep a distance of 1.5 m. Cafes and restaurants can only open for takeaway (thus producing more rubbish than ever, but they need our support to keep going). Bars, cinemas, theatres, operas, concert halls, museums, fitness and yoga studios, swimming pools, nail bars, beauty salons, tattoo studios, etc. have been closed since Monday 2 November. Unlike the previous lockdown, all shops and hairdressers are open, as are libraries and playgrounds, though the number of people allowed inside a shop is limited. 

Crucially schools and nurseries remain open and are not expected to close unless the situation worsens dramatically. As I mentioned before, there is a stage-plan for Berlin schools based on the Corona Ampel, or traffic-light coronavirus-warning system for the city. The Covid situation for each school and district is assessed at the end of the week and parents are informed of the required measures before the start of the following week. At the moment, face masks don’t need to be worn inside classrooms in primary schools, but if the traffic lights were to change that would be the next step. I was surprised to find out that swimming lessons will still take place, as they are part of the school curriculum in year 3, even though pools are closed to everyone else. 

Thus, this lockdown affects primarily the leisure, culture, beauty and catering sectors. Some argue that the closure of shopping malls would have been preferable to shutting down the arts and culture sector, but the government reckons that we tend to socialise more when we go out to the cinema or to the theatre than when we go shopping. The aim of the lockdown is to reduce social contacts by a significant amount to slow the spread of Covid-19. Even though it isn’t as restrictive as the previous one, the word lockdown has very negative connotations. Some of us still have nightmares from the previous lockdown. Others might have coped well the first time round but may be feeling low this time. Of course, the colder weather and shorter days don’t help, at least in the northern hemisphere. 

If you are currently living in full or partial lockdown, here are some more suggestions to help you get through these difficult times. 

Make sure you take care of both your mental and physical wellbeing. The two often go hand in hand. It’s normal to feel anxious or worried at this time. If you are experiencing severe anxiety, panic attacks, or other symptoms make sure you seek help. Talk to a friend about how you feel and consult a doctor and/or a psychologist. They can help you.

Try to get out as much as possible and exercise regularly. Walking, running or cycling are all great ways to keep active, especially in nature. Head to your local park, forest, lake, beach, hill or mountain. Even though fitness centres and swimming pools are closed, there are alternatives. For example, I’ve gone back to yoga and pilates lessons via Zoom. Although it’s not the same as exercising in a room with other people, there are significant benefits to digital exercise. 

Try to find distractions to help you switch off from all the negative and worrying news. This week the cliffhanger “US presidential election 2020” has provided a welcome source of distraction and entertainment. I can’t wait for Netflix to make the second season! What’s that? Are you seriously suggesting this is not a tv-series, it’s for real? 

Here are some other suggestions: read a book, watch a film, listen to music, bake a cake, look after your plants or buy a plant, call a friend, whatever helps you relax. 

Meanwhile, the list of recommendations to avoid the spread of Covid-19 gets longer and longer, as I discovered while cycling past this advertising board the other day. 

It used to be AHA, an abbreviation that stood for distance, hygiene and masks. Now it’s: 

• Keep a distance

• Wash your hands

• Wear a mask

• Ventilate regularly 

• Reduce contacts

• Use the app

Just to give you an idea of what they mean by “ventilate regularly”, classrooms need to be aired every half hour. That means opening all the windows, as well as the door, for five minutes every 30 minutes.  As the weather gets colder, schools and parents are considering investing in air filters for each classroom to avoid freezing when the winter really hits. Of course, the most effective air filters tend to be a lot more expensive. I’m waiting to see if they find a solution.

A new chancellor for Germany (not until Christmas at the earliest) and a female mayor for Berlin

It’s the day after the general election and we still don’t know who will succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor, after 16 years in power. According to Olaf Scholz, the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), it should be him, as his centre-left party won the biggest share of the vote (25.7%), albeit by less than two percentage points. However, according to Armin Laschet, the leader of the CDU, he should be the next chancellor, as his centre-right conservative party could still form a coalition government, for instance with the Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens. 

Too close to call

As expected, the results were very close, and the new coalition government will most likely be formed by three parties and not by two, for the first time since the 1950s. The Greens and FDP will act as kingmakers. Although the CDU came second, it had its worst election result in history (24.1%). Meanwhile the Greens, led by Annalena Baerbock, had their best ever result in a national election (14.8%), although they didn’t perform as well as they (and I) had hoped for. Nevertheless, the Greens are now the third party in Germany, followed by the pro-business party FDP (11.5%) and the anti-immigrant party AfD (10.3%). The left-wing party Die Linke just about managed to get into parliament by securing three direct mandates, though at 4.9% it fell below the 5% threshold needed to get into the Bundestag. 

Let the talks begin

Over the next few weeks and months, the parties will be busy discussing possible coalitions. Last time round it took them until the spring to form a government. This time the hope is that they will find a solution by Christmas. In Germany, the coalitions have funny names depending on their colours. Scholz would prefer a “traffic light” coalition (red-green-yellow) between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. However, other coalitions are still possible: “Kenya” (black-red-green), “Deutschland” (black-red-yellow), “Jamaica” (black-green-yellow) and grand coalition (black-red). Fortunately, none of the parties want to govern with the far-right AfD.

The election results by geography

If you break down the results by geography, the north of Germany and parts of the west are red (SPD), the south and the remaining parts of the west are black (CDU/CSU), while the east is blue (AFD). If you zoom in into the cities, most of them are green or mainly green. For instance, Leipzig is a red/green island in a blue sea, Munich is a mainly green island in a black sea, Frankfurt is a green island surrounded by red and black, while Cologne and Stuttgart are red/green. Berlin is green in the centre (Mitte, Pankow, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Schöneberg, Charlottenburg) and red in the surrounding neighbourhoods. I find it rather ironic that people who live in cities seem to worry more about the environment than people who live in the countryside, but clearly this election wasn’t just about the environment.

Queues and chaos in Berlin 

There were long queues at polling stations in Berlin yesterday. In some cases, people had to wait for up to two hours to vote. Officially polling stations were open from 8 am to 6 pm, but anyone who was in the queue by 6 pm was allowed to stay and vote. Anyone who showed up after 6 pm was sent away. The elections in Berlin were rather chaotic: in some places the ballot papers ran out! Things were made even more complicated by the fact that the Berlin marathon was also happening yesterday so many of the main streets were closed. 

The Berlin election

As well as the general election, Berliners were voting in local elections and a referendum. As a non-German EU citizen, I was only able to vote for my local district council (not even for the Berlin parliament), so I only had one ballot paper and one box to tick, but German nationals had several ballot papers and six votes in total. As far as I know, it is not possible to have British and German nationality now that the UK has left the EU, but do let me know if I am wrong. In any case, I already have two nationalities, but I would be interested in acquiring a third one if it meant I could vote.

The first female mayor for Berlin

In Berlin, the SPD is the first party, while the Greens are the second party (up by 3.7% from the previous elections), followed by the CDU and Die Linke. Meanwhile, Franziska Giffey (still not quite sure how to pronounce her name!) is set to become Berlin’s first female mayor. Apparently, she is open to coalition talks with all parties, except for the AfD, but it is likely that Berlin will continue to have a red-red-green government. As the Tagesspiegel put it, “Berlin will keinen Wechsel aber mehr Grün” i.e. Berlin doesn’t want a change, but it wants more Green.