Extraordinary Potsdam, Extraordinary Twentieth Century.

I think that the word extraordinary, like the words strategy or sophisticated are overused and have been diluted by advertising people and other vandals of the English language over the last hundred years or so. But for a westerner like me it is an extraordinary place. Maybe not as extraordinary as Hyderabad in India or a small settlement near the Atlas mountains in Morocco. But nonetheless extraordinary.

Going back to my schoolboy Geography I suppose that Potsdam is a defensive site. If, in a parallel Universe, I were planning the defence of Potsdam as a military commander, I suppose that all things being equal I would wish to have concentrated my troops on some of what appear to be the narrower strips of water towards the North West of Potsdam . This seems to have been universally important in the days of yore. Interestingly(?), Braunschweig (where MAN lorries hark from, amongst other things) , a medium sized German settlement some 200 kilometers west of this is entirely surrounded by the river Oker; which must have made it ideal from a defensive point of view. And I guess that if I were more conversant with the geographical layout of Germany, I'd be able to reel off a number of other exapmles. Sorry Folks.

But, I understand that until well into the eighteenth century Germany was a collection of principalities ruled by the local dukes. Now I am no historian – far from it – but I would think that would make defence of one's patch all the more important.

I suppose many of us would like to think that we were not ignorant; but my ignorance of Germany until recently, I now find quite embarrassing. I actually asked someone a few months ago whether Germany was land-locked. And I really thought – despite having studied German at school, been on a German exchange and travelled around Germany as part of an interrail trip a few days before my teenage years drew to a close – that the border of the former East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), went through Berlin from top to bottom.

I now realise that this shows a fundamental misunderstanding of postwar history. The last thing that I want to do is to patronise the reader, but I only just realised that until the closing months of 1989, West Berlin was an enclosed enclave within the Soviet controlled East Germany. Potsdam is some 25 kilometers South East of Berlin, but the 'Iron Curtain' as the late great Sir Winston Churchill called it passed through Potsdam.

Famously, there is a metal bridge (see 'photo), where the western and eastern countries used to exchange spies. And I think it's amazing (too many superlatives) as we drove over that bridge to think that only twenty years ago, you might have been shot and you certainly would have been ostracised if you had traversed that border without the appropriate paperwork from the power that were.

The scenery in Potsdam is fantastic. Wherever you look there is water, parklands (i.e. decorative land surrounding a stately home) and beautiful and imposing buildings. But I think there are other tales of Potsdam beyond that; that are actually more interesting. More contemporary. Like the story of an East German family living near the border who wanted to escape by digging a tunnel. Now the East German authorities were generally wise to that, and took the necessary steps (regular monitoring, from what I understand) to ensure that people were not allowd to do that.

But they didn't reckon on the water table being lower in the summer months. So this family were able to dig a tunnel with (I believe) a proper spade and a childs toy.

I've waxed lyrical before about the value of having local people to show you the sights. But I think it's so true. I was talking with the local resident, who had kindly put us up about how extra-ordinary it was that a border could be sustained in that manner; and so recently in history. But he stopped me. And he showed me a tiny section of the map that we were perusing. This was a section of West Germany consisting or perhaps one block. No road, water or rail links out. Only accessed by air. But this was an established part of West Germany prior to 1989, entirely enclosed within soviet controlled East Germany.

Extraordinary Potsdam. Extraordinary twentieth century.

Volunteering in Glenquoich

Well people, at it's inception this was supposed to be a blog about volunteering. I hope that I have jotted down some moderately interesting things since I started blogging at the end of January this year. But I have not managed to write about any volunteering so far. And the reason for that is quite simple, I've not done any. But at the weekend I righted that wrong. I volunteered.

At 1800 on Friday, I met up with 8 other willing volunteers on Waverley bridge in Edinburgh and we were picked up in a minibus by our esteemed leader. We were headed for Glenquoich in the Highlands of Scotland. This trip is regular, it happens every year; I had been before in 2005 and 2006 but not since then. It's a great way to spend a weekend. The aim of the trip is to maintain footpaths and drainage channels around footpaths (to stop water getting onto the paths and damaging them). Our crew would be working together with three other teams to do this along a section of pathway.

I had high hopes for the company on this trip as well. Some of the people on the trip I knew a little, others I knew very well and some I didn't know at all. And I always think that is good as well, in a volunteering team. You're not all complete strangers, but there are some new people to get to know. It's not just all the same faces again.

The route up to Glenquoich is a scenic journey and the weather was looking great. It's a four to five hour trip, and at first we were jostling with all the other traffic vying to get out of Edinburgh on a Friday night. But soon we were onto the M9 motorway and whisking our way North West up the Forth valley. During that part of the drive most of the scenery is of arable land; but then we turned off onto the A84 to Callander we knew that the scenery would soon change. Arguably Callander lies on the 'Highland line', and I knew that we were in for some great scenery (particularly with the good weather and the long summer evenings).

We stopped briefly in Callander to pick up a few bits and pieces. The scenery was great as our minibus whisked us through the Trossachs. Soon we were in Crianlarich. There are signs to Crianlarich from all over Scotland, which is is strange, because it is no more than a small village. It is still a major road junction (between the A82 and the A85) and used to be a major railway junction as well, which - I think - would explain the number of road signs to such an apparently inconsequential place.

We stopped in Tyndrum, just up the road for fish and chips in a newish and very good chip shop. The next hour or so is arguably the best scenery for the whole trip. Glencoe is a mecca for hillwalkers, climbers and mountainbikers. The scenery is dramatic and stark, with some of the most stark landscapes in the land. A couple more hours in the car and we were in Glenquoich as night fell.

Well a quick chat and a beer or two was all that we had time for before bed. The next day and the work starts. We had a morning briefing by the Gillie (a Scottish word for the person that looks after fishing hunting and estate management issues generally on a Scottish Estate). One nice thing about this endeavour is that you get a good mixture of volunteers from elsewhere (like us) and many local people. Also having been there several times before I recognised some of the local volunteers.

We were split into four teams and we had to climb up a section of path with our hand-tools and start work. Most of the work involved making or refurbishing cross-drains (Drains constructed of large stones emebedded into the ground to transport water across the path, and so stop the water flowing down the path and eroding it.) and digging or widening existing drainage channels on either side of the path. The weather was quite warm and sunny which made it quite hard going. During Saturday, I was working with one other volunteer improving a cross drain and re-digging the drainage ditch which fed it.

My simple packed lunch which consisted of ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce tasted great when we stopped for lunch. Half the fun of these volunteering type events is the banter between volunteers. Practical conservation somehow lends itself well to banter between volunteers as they work. I think that this banter is also instrumental in developing camaraderie, which helps to glue a team together. The afternoon passed by quickly as we worked. And after we stopped working it was so warm that many of us took a dip in a nearby burn (Scottish word for a small stream.) before returning to base.

On Saturday night the kind hosts lay on a great feast in one of the barns. The Gillie's wife is German and is a chef on the oil rigs, so we get an array of great German food. The puddings are particularly good. Being in Scotland the drinking goes on into the night, and this year we had a fiddler for additional entertainment in the barn. I'm ashamed to admit that I was so tired by 10.30 pm that I had to retire to bed.

On Sunday, we did some further work of a similar nature further up the path. By 1pm it was time to finish up and start making our way back to Edinburgh. But not before a further chance to sample some wonderful German puddings. Glenquoich is probably one of the remotest places in the UK (possibly in western Europe). You might want to take a look at the aerial view.

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=&countryCode=GB#map=57.08492,-4.972271232&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:57.0644:-5.13278:14Coille%20Mhorgil,%20ScotlandCoille%20Mhorgil,%20Highland,%20Invergarry,%20Inverness-shire,%20Scotland,%20PH35%204

This trip was so enjoyable for me. We improved a short section of footpath in Glenquoich, we worked together towards a common goal, and we enjoyed each other's company. For my part, this is why I love volunteering, and I would encourage you to volunteer as well in whatever sphere you choose. I'm never quite sure what it is that makes volunteering so special, but in my opinion, it is a tremendously rewarding way to spend your time.