As autumn is running its course and I have grown a little bit more domestic as of lately, I will have to write more about the joys to be found in the amazingness that is Berlin. You cannot possibly ever be bored in this city, and there is always something to discover. A domestic life in Berlin is probably still just as exciting as a few weeks of travel in some other areas of the world. I stroll through the city on small adventures, taking pictures with my iPhone, so very often. My first post of instagram pictures was on Leipzig and it was quite well received, so I think I will be doing instagram posts more frequently. In this one I am taking you with me to Schöneberg’s yearly pumpkin festival.
As far as neighbourhood festivals go, I feel like Schöneberg is the queen of hoods in Berlin: Primavera is their spring festival with a focus on asparagus, now the pumpkin festival is for autumn, and then there is the traditional and infamous LGBT festival in the summer. I quite like Schöneberg on the whole. It is laid-back, calm area with lots and lots of beautiful art nouveau city houses.
In between all of that, the pumpkin festival is on Akazienstraße and has your regular stands for jewellery, clothes, knicknackery and food – most of the latter offering pumpkin specialties adding to their regular offers. I have a heart-shapes waffle with apple-pumpkin-mush. Delicious! We also get to try different pumpkin chutneys and pestos, a pumpkin ginger jam, and of course pumpkin soup. There is also pumpkin decor on many stands. It is a grey day, but the bright orange does lighten it up a lot!
It also happens to be Harvest Festival weekend, in German: Erntedankfest. It is a Christian holiday (although not an official state holiday in Germany!) with some similarities to the American Thanksgiving. I remember it from when I was small as the weekend when our church would look especially splendid in its autumn decor with orange and golden flowers and corn. I am reminded of that as my friend and I stroll along the section of the festival that is actually dedicated to pumpkins, incidentally just in front of the Church of Apostle Paul.
The pumpkins come in all different shapes and sizes and have funny names such as Butternut, Hokaido, Baby Boo and Spaghetti. There are signs for each specific kind that tell you if you should grill them, fry them, cook them or pickle them. Some are round, some are long, some have funny pointy outgrowths that look somewhat indecent. But the way they are all lined up they are sure beautiful in their variety. And I do feel grateful for this harvest as I look at them and take my pictures.
Are there neighbourhood street festivals where you live? Do people eat a lot of pumpkins this time of year where you are from? Did you know they come in so many different shapes and sizes?
Oktober 13, 2013 at 7:56 pm
I really enjoy and appreciate hometown tourism and so look forward to your local posts in months to come! I also like Instagram posts because they somehow capture the mood of the moment in a way that our photography might not.
I love these photos! Very autumnal and colourful. We don’t eat pumpkin too much in South Africa, not as if it is an institution, just another seasonal vegetable, but yes, it is more popular in the UK.
Oktober 15, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Oh you *should* eat a lot of pumpkin, it’s delicious! I still have half a butternut and a hokaido left and I plan on finally making pumpkin soup this week, yum!! 🙂 I’m glad you like the photos, I found the colours amazing too, they made photographing so much fun!! The next instagram post will also be a colopurful one, so stay tuned!
Oktober 22, 2013 at 1:00 am
So many cool kinds of pumpkins and such cool pictures! I was just in Berlin this summer, and while it was beautiful, I can’t help but wish I’d been there for the fall and all these pumpkins, instead. 🙂
Oktober 27, 2013 at 7:22 pm
Haha, rest assured that in the summer you surely got to see many great things that you couldn’t have done in autumn – you’ll just have to come back! Berlin has so much to offer!