Afrikamarkt

Back in Berlin after three weeks spent abroad, as well as a weekend in Hanover, a city whose claims to fame include a royal family, world renowned shooting festivals, a very nice botanical garden and the fact that Hochdeutsch, i.e. the official, standard, dialect-free form of German, is spoken there. This sprawling city of 500,000 also happens to be the hometown of Daniel, which rather serendipitously fulfills the advice of my year 12 German teacher: hook up with the Hannoveraner (Hanover locals) if you want to speak high quality German. Ah Mr Roach, if only you could see me now. Hanging out and even speaking in German with a real, live German family in Hanover - shopping at the supermarket, drinking beer and being all concerned about punctuality just like a local.

Educational trucks: Refugees and the Water Truck

This weekend, I even assisted at the Afrikamarkt, a three day fair run by Daniel's dad, set in a picturesque landscaped park on the city's outskirts. Dozens of stalls with African vendors selling their wares, the constant beat of drums and a veritable feast of African delicacies on offer are the hallmarks of the Afrikamarkt, now in its 9th consecutive year. Traditionally, the Afrikamarkt is an important event on the Hempel family calendar, with all the kids pitching in to help with the stalls and general oversight of market. This year, the task at hand was the manning of two enormous trucks providing information to kids on the plight of refugees seeking to enter Germany and the perils of irresponsible water consumption. Upon entering each truck, the visitor was given an audio guide and then spent 20 or so minutes wandering through the various interactive stations, hopefully learning something about refugees and/or water in the process. The refugee truck, which actually simulates the experience of asylum seekers fleeing their country of origin, being kept in detention and having their claims processed complete with the granting of a passport at the end, was by far the most popular.

Kids loved the audio guides

Story time

The trucks turned out to be a massive hit with a handful of kids, who spent the better part of the weekend repeatedly running in circles through the trucks, which kind of reminded me of the excitement induced by the Happy Harold van in primary school (remember that friendly giraffe puppet who travelled around teaching kids about intestines, kidneys, exercise and healthy eating?) We sweltered in the sun for two days patiently waiting for brave passers-by to inquire about what the hell was inside the imposing trucks but we were bolstered by a steady supply of ice-cream, crepes and cocktails. There was even a bit of cow foot and an entire dried fish to taste, but I preferred to stick to the cous cous and rice.

Vendor demonstrates how his "devil sticks" work

A highlight of the whole weekend was the adorably cute kids toddling, or in most cases, sprinting around while their parents ran stalls, danced and drummed. Some even helped out with running the trucks, giving the rest of us a chance to go and curl up in a cool spot and fend off the effects of heat stroke. A diet of Fanta and Nutella crepes kept the kids peaking while the adults crawled listlessly out of the sun.

Hanging out at the Water Truck

The mood picked up as the sun fell lower in the sky, and I had ample time to wander through the stalls and view the dancing, story telling and poetry readings. By sundown, I was exhausted and happy to forego the party in favour of watching tv at home. On Sunday evening, we raced along the Autobahn at 150km/h to arrive back in Berlin at midnight and for me, back to lazy days spent reading and cooking and generally kicking back enjoying my last days in this super cool city.