Berlin - 1900-1910

Time to time travel again - I've already buckled up my seat belt and am set to go!

This particular journey is the result of seeing a most poignant piece of footage - Berlin between 1900 and 1910, just before the carnage that was World War One.

People seem prosperous and confident, a world of such seeming certainties - the ultimate calm before the storm.

There's the hustle and bustle of the streets - just a slice, across the social spectrum, of ordinary people going about their daily business.

And images of individual people, close-ups of shadowy figures frozen in time, people about whose lives I can't help speculating about.

And snatched impressions of old and new forms of transport, and famous landmarks, such as the Brandenburg Gate.

Finally and to lift us out of being too maudlin, there's a bunch of folk on that new-fangled, the bicycle - performing a cute though perhaps not-quite-Busby-Berkeley-standard routine around a cobbled square!

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• old film
• Berlin
• Berlin 1900-1910
• travel
• time travel

[anothersexyguy]

does anyone know what is the song played in the background? :)

thanx

[nickwallacesmith]

hi anothersexyguy - the music is Erik Satie's 'Trois Gymnopédies' - i like it so much and find it hard not to use it all the time. and it's nicely reflective sounding - good for a look back into the past, don't you think? cheers

[yabba234]

much more alive and fascinating than these days.. :(

[nickwallacesmith]

hi yabba234 - yep, i'd like to jump into a tie traveling machine and spend some time in pre-WW1 Berlin

[tahititom10]

I was born in Berlin in 1929 - and certainly have no memories of these scenes. But they give me a perspective these 80-some years later. Thank you and God Bless.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi tahititom10 - very good to hear from you. and pleased the footage gives a perspective on berlin of 1929. i went to the city in 1974, before the wall went down, and then again in 2003 - it was so strange walking through the brandenburg gate, something that, had you walked to it in 1974 would have got you shot. best, nick

[anothersexyguy]

@nickwallacesmith thank you :)

[nickwallacesmith]

hey Videomanjohn - great you liked it - no idea why i find this footage so fascinating - i guess it's like time travelling! cheers

[Videomanjohn]

Great footage, really enjoyed your video.

[nickwallacesmith]

hey the1only2enidan - glad you liked the film - the music is Erik Satie's 'Trois Gymnopédies' - really like it myself - try not to use it too much!