This image was taken from the inside of the so called “Biosphäre“. It is essentially a large tropical conservatory outside the city center. It is actually quite nice inside with different thematic zones about plants, animals, sea life and educational activities. Of course there is a coffee shop inside as well. For an adult it is mildly interesting, the whole exhibition is tailored to children. And let’s not even talk about admission prices. I always find it curious that children still get reduced tickets while the adults, who are just there to supervise their kids, pay full price.

It was a rainy late autumn day and I think the last day before they had to close again due to another COVID19 lock down so we decided to just pay up and give our daughter a little adventure before the long winter would set in. The politicians said this lockdown would be a short “wave breaker” lockdown but I was not going to be fooled. I knew the country would lock down over winter and I was to be right.

Of course we had to visit a tropical conservatory with face masks on (thankfully our daughter did not need one). Guess what most people did? They pulled their masks down from the nose to get at least some air. Did I mention it is like 28 degrees Celsius with high humidity in there? This is why (amongst some other reasons) mask mandates will never work. People are people and they will find opportunities to be close to others without a mask or they wear one to comply with the law but keep their noses free for breathing. And of course no one wore a mask in the coffee shop for obvious reasons.

This is what all the fancy modellers, virologists and physicist running the pandemic response here in Germany do not get: Human behavior can’t be easily modeled and they often neglect to account for changes in human behavior in response to new rules and regulations. Maybe they ought to have consulted a couple of different experts but what do you expect from a childless leader who studied physics under communism. A leader who changed her limousine to a van because she actually calculated the air flow and thought that this might make her safer from a potentially infected driver. We are being governed by a hypochondriac!

Looking out of this window and seeing the cold, grey and rainy day I was wistful for the outside. There in the rain was freedom. I could breath free. I could see people’s faces. I could walk around without weird circles and lines prompting me to keep distance. But it was old cold, windy and wet. The little one had fun but I felt oppressed and lonely being forced to hide my face and unable to see other people’s faces. I wanted to be out there again and I did not care about the uncomfortable weather. I guess freedom is not supposed to be comfortable all the time.

Now almost nine months later I am out and I am meeting people. They are trying to scare us with new variants or new waves in autumn but I think the majority no longer cares. They put on their masks in the supermarket to avoid conflict but sit happily in packed restaurants or meet in groups inside and outside. It feels a bit like the Downfall with many of us knowing that most restrictions will fall once our leader of 16 years is gone in autumn. The next time I see such weather things will look brighter.

Photographic Notes:
Many people say that Portra 400 film or the film simulation is only good for bright days. But I disagree. Look at the beautiful autumn colors on the trees contrasting the grey sky and wet concrete. It is a beautiful photo.