Mo Hayder Blog from Germany
Friday 19th March 2010
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Berlin. The most magical city for me because I was here on Christmas day 1989. I stood at Brandenburg gate in the middle of a street party and watched families coming through the wall from the East. I will never ever forget the look of complete awe, excitement, amazement on their faces. Especially the children who could not believe that west Berliners were permitted to stand so close to the wall. (despite popular myth it is correct to refer to someone as 'Berliner'. But you must never say 'ein Berliner') What an incredible time that was - the westerners shaking hands with the easterners, strangers hugging, little kids drinking champagne, people crying, others chipping away at the wall with chisels and hammers. Now of course the city is united. Or supposedly so, because there is still a sense of otherness - West Berliners still recognise East Berliners and vice versa. When I came here in 2000, 2004 and 2007 it was very fashionable for artists and writers and musicians to live in the east section. Now in 2010 that trend seems to be reversing with a lot of them moving back to the West. So there is still a subtle division although there is no physical evidence of it and a lot of Germans can no longer recall which streets were East and which were West. My hotel is sumptuous. It is in the East and used to be the headquarters of the East German communist party. God only knows what radical decisions were made in my bathroom. My daughter joined me today. She is being spoiled by the staff who brought her huge bowls of sweets and popcorn and her own mini gown and slippers. How posh is that? Paris Hilton better check over your shoulder my lovely.
Tonight's event was in the SoSch bookstore. A smaller audience than last night, which was over three hundred, but equally enthusiastic. I just can't help loving some of the compliments they give me. I met the lovely Marie who is a regular contributor to the forum. Hi Marie!
Sadly I've landed myself a screaming case of conjunctivitis and can hardly see so I've been skulking around in dark glasses. Well it makes people think you're famous, right? Patti Smith was in the hotel bar yesterday (I am not worthy) and SHE had dark glasses too. I think I noticed her looking at me (probably wondering how to summon the courage to come and say hello)
Anyway I guess that's all from me for the time being. I'll try to drop in when I go to Lyons next month and bring you a report from the frontline at the Quai du polar festival. My thanks to all the wonderful German readers who made the events such a pleasure, also to the stunning actresses who made my work come alive for the audience, to amazing Margarete and Helga Mahmoud (who works in publicity and is my minder and my mummy while I'm here - what a gem). Most of all thanks to all of you who bothered to drop by and read my mindless rambling. You deserve a medal.
Lots of love and tata for now
Mo. Xxxxx
Thursday 18th March 2010
Hi all
I'm in Cologne today. And although yesterday I swore on everything that is sacred I wouldn't mention the W word can I just note that this was a once beautiful city that was almost completely destroyed by our bombers. Pretty much all they left was the cathedral, which is an astonishing piece of architecture. It is said that the bombing precipitated the second wave of the so called Baedeker raids on the uk though I think the real reasoning behind those raids may have been a bit mythicised. Anyway - the city was totally rebuilt but it retains a really arty atmosphere with a famous carnival and various festivals - including lit Cologne which has been going for ten years now.
German audiences love to hear a writer read their work aloud. Hence the actress, who reads sections of the book in German in between the sections I read in English (and a beautifully enunciated and nuanced English it is too ho ho)
Margarete - who is one of those brain-the-size-of-a-planet people who can switch from German to English mid sentence and never lose her train of thought - asks me questions then translates them into German although the audiences usually understand most of what I say. Here again they put us to shame with their level of education - everyone understands English. And usually they speak it almost perfectly - although I did spot a swine flu warning at the airport that said 'please cough sanitarily'. I've spent two days worrying about how to do that and, embarrassed to ask and show my lack of breeding, have decided that, should the need arise, I will excuse myself and go to the nearest loo to cough in private. Shame I didn't apply the same principle to mentioning the war, isn't it.
Oops. There I go again. More tomorrow from Berlin
Lots of love
Mo
Wednesday 17th March 2010
Well here I am in an up market hotel in Hamburg doing my best to blog my way into the twenty first century (twitter and facebook is just E comm overload, sorry) My journey from Heathrow was stress free thanks to Lufthansa, Willy Walsh's outfit eat your heart out. Who says the Germans do everything better (the Germans do everything better) My event tonight was held at the Thalia Bookstore in Hamburg, where I had fantastic support from my presenter Margarete von Schwarzkopf and actress Dennenesch Zoude - both of whom covered up cleverly for my utter ineptitude with the German language. Dennenesch is famous here in Germany so I made sure I tagged onto her and enjoyed basking in her reflected glory. The audience were wonderful, the Germans have a true enthusiasm for all things literary - seriously they put us to shame. Talk about erudite.
Only one mild tragedy - beforehand I'd made myself promise not to mention the war but - oh dear - it just sort of popped out. I can't help myself sometimes. The audience were good humoured enough about it, until I got vicious and started ranting about the Battle of Britain then I think their patience began to wear thin.
Only time now for my nightly cocoa. Hopefully the mini bar will have a supply of goat testicle wine (a speciality of the area that I was introduced to years ago by some well meaning locals) More on that some other time maybe.
Off to cologne tomorrow. Ta ta for now
Mo