Berlin had recently piqued my interest as an emerging “world city”, one that has had an exciting transformation and an art and music scene people have compared to 1970s New York. Thus it was to my surprise that I received an invitation from my friend Joel to spend a few days in the German capital in November. I quickly grabbed the opportunity to experience first-hand this intriguing city and its much written about creativity and originality. And there were initial clues that Berliners had that quality in them – the landlords for the two rental apartments we booked were both American artists who have migrated to Berlin, one an African-American dancer in his 40s and the other a 20-something musician from Virginia.
It was wintertime when I visited Kyoto and I was resigned to viewing its gardens and pavilions before they peaked in beauty and color in the springtime. I was expecting to see the gardens at their most drab, but I figured I should, at least, try to visit. So I took the public bus from my ryokan and then walked a few more blocks until I reached Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion) in the eastern part of the city. It felt like a typical winter day. I actually thought the temperature was pretty comfortable. But there was a crispness in the air that forebode something magical was about to happen. And then, suddenly as if on cue, light snow fell quietly onto the scene and I was spellbound …
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” “
A side trip on the way to Guanajuato led us to a simple, somewhat forlorn, church atop a hill near a silver mine. A caretaker opened the gate for us. We were captivated by what we saw…
