Published: 07.10.2017
5th and 6th October 2017
As a witness, it's difficult. You sleep when the wall falls or only catch a glimpse of it when Xavier rages. In the case of Xavier, we are grateful.
We still experience the beginning of the storm of the century in Berlin-Mitte. We flee into the subway. We are not alone. The announcements inform us that the S-Bahn has stopped operating, so places in the underground transportation system are in high demand.
Between the home station and home, we see the first damages and quicken our pace. Up the stairs, windows tightly closed, that's how you can endure the storm. Only the clattering is annoying, tomorrow the seals will finally be glued.
On the next day, we save ourselves trips to the city center. The radio has informed us. Several trams and buses still don't run, what does run is packed.
So we walk along our riverside path and suddenly see what actually happened and what's happening now. Several uprooted or simply broken trees block the way and force us to take detours. The canal is already being cleared, a digger is pulling half forests out of the water. We do our shopping and retreat to our apartment for another day. Damn! Forgot to seal the window again!