Greetings from the refreshing Havel in Berlin! Christian Schmidt, 45, works in the advertising industry and lives in Berlin-Hohengatow. He is involved in the cultural association “Kladower Forum” and is a member of the Gatow rowing club Collegia: collegia.de. Here he talks about his club, gastro dreams, New York and a festival that does not yet exist in Gatow. As always, the interview first appeared in the Tagesspiegel newsletter for Berlin-Spandau. The newsletter is available in full length and for each Berlin district at tagesspiegel.de/bezirke.
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Dear Christian Schmidt, where am I catching you? “On the go. I want to go in the rowing boat today.”
How often are you on the Havel? “Oh, that works. I’ve been with the club for 12 years, 10 of those as event manager, but I want to train a little more often now. Why am I rowing at all? Motor boats were too loud for me, I’m too dopey for sailing, I liked rowing. But that’s not as easy as you might think as a layman: coordination, rhythm, roll seat…all at the same time! My goal now is the helmsman’s diploma.”
You are a member of the rowing club Collegia… “…the readers may know it by sight: just to the left of the Gatow fire station.”
You told me the other daythat there are ideas to reactivate a small gastro on the club premises. “Yeah, downstairs overlooking the water where the big swings are. We used to have a small, internal club pub, but after consultation with the district, a new tenant is also allowed to open to the public. We are currently looking for him and are in contact with interested parties from Kladow and Gatow.”
Go crazy! “I dream of a garden bar where club members and walkers can sit and talk. Where you might be able to get beer and herring for 12.80, where you can enjoy the view of the Grunewald and the tranquility of the Havel in the evening – when one of those noisy motor boats isn’t rushing by.”
What kind of association is Collegia? “Everyone says ‘special,’ right? Mmm, what makes us different? What I like: We said goodbye to tough competitive sports and opened it up to others. It’s not so strict, so tightly scheduled, we offer recreational rowing on a beautiful club site. And the numbers are right: We are getting more members, despite Corona! We are now 170 athletes, including the children and young people. And we’ve had a women’s department for over 100 years anyway. If you want, you are welcome to come around and get to know our club. We also still have places available in the holiday camp.”
Where are you from? You have such a singsong in your voice. “I’m from hamburg. We lived in Charlottenburg until 2009, but then we found an advertisement: Terraced house in Hohengatow, beautiful in the countryside – we liked that. I just came from New York, and the previous owners had one of those typical New York City subway train pictures on their wall… that was a sign. This is the short form (laughs).“
[Heidi Hetzer, Remise, versteckte Kunstwerke: 5 Ausflugstipps, die Sie in Gatow kennen müssen – hier von mir im Tagesspiegel.]
The town hall reads along: 3 things you wish for Hohengatow. First? “A small shop – unfortunately there is nothing here except for restaurants.”
Secondly? “Secondly, I would like to see better cycle paths in the village of Gatow: We’ve been welcoming the idea of moving the Havel cycle path through the Buchwaldzeile for some time.”
And thirdly? “I see so many people driving through the streets here in SUVs: I would like to get to know many faces. I would love a district festival here in Gatow. Something like that is still missing here.”
Best place in Gatow? “Down at the Große Badewiese, where the Havel makes a slight bend: The view of the Grunewald Tower – I like that.”
[Konkrete Bezirksnachrichten, Termine, Tipps: Die Bezirksnewsletter vom Tagesspiegel gibt es jetzt einmal pro Woche kostenlos hier tagesspiegel.de/bezirke]
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And here are the topics that you will find in the current Tagesspiegel newsletter for Spandau.
– Interview with Spandau’s best-known author Renate Bergmann about her 1st reading in Spandau, about the old town, heat and savings tips
– “Not only schools affected”: In the newsletter, the city council reveals which road construction sites in Spandau were stopped by the billion-euro austerity package
– Where are new school buildings anyway? planned in Spandau? There is now a new list in the town hall, from Siemensstadt to Staaken
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– Heinrich Böll School: Key handover after 30 years of history
– Spandau gets new trees: the number, the planting time – and which well-known streets from Staaken to Haselhorst are involved this time, the newsletter reveals
– 1. Kiezblock planned in Spandau – the story behind it goes back many years
– Reader photos from the port of Kladow: There are also new parking spaces for cars – and P signs without end at Wannsee
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– Excursion tips: Hahneberg, citadel – and lanterns in Little Venice
– Sport: Mayor’s cup with mayoress at Spandau Kickers – and SC Gatow introduces new kick-off times
– Water police distribute flyers on the Havel – and shows a nasty video
– Returns about the Spandauer SV return?! Citizens want to revive the legendary club
Our district newsletters already have more than 265,000 subscriptions. Try us too! There you will find – bundled, once a week – concrete news from your district, neighborhood debates, many dates and tips. We look forward to you!
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