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Hi, I am Sig (junge1),
I was born in Dominikus- Krankenhaus in Berlin-Hermsdorf, Bezirk Reinickendorf in December 1939. Bezirk Reinickendorf was one of 20 Bezirke that made up Gross-Berlin before World War II and one of 12 Bezirke that made up former West-Berlin, the other 8 Bezirke were Russian occupied and became East-Berlin after the war. Moved from Berlin to Neurohlau (Nova Role) Sudetenland (now Czech Republic), in August 1943 (our entire block of apartment buildings was bombed out in November 1943) and returned back to Berlin in November 1945. Saw my dad the first time in my life in August/September 1946 after he returned from POW camp. Attended elementary school in Berlin-Waidmannslust, high school in Berlin-Hermsdorf, and trade school in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Was an apprentice for the trade of Klischeeaetzer (photo engraver) at Burrath & Schmidt on Friedrichstrasse between U-Bahnhof Kochstrasse (near to what later became Checkpoint Charlie) and Hallisches Tor.
While watching Allied planes supplying West-Berlin by air during the Berliner Luftbruecke in 1948-49 I developed my love for aircraft. I guess I could be considered a 'Berliner Grosschnauze", or at least I used to be.
'Wanderlust' led me to leave Berlin in summer 1960 to emigrate to Toronto, Canada and in February 1962 to move from Canada to New York City, NY, USA. In January 1963 I joined the United States Air Force, one step ahead of Uncle Sam drafting me. Became a United States citizen within 7 weeks after it became a security issue because of my military career. One day after I was sworn in as a citizen in Seattle, my entire unit left for Southeast Asia in June 1966. After nearly 5 years of active duty (extended 11 months to make it an 18 months overseas deployment) I got discharged and moved to New York City. In 1973 I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and two years later joined the Arizona Air National Guard.
Received my higher education at Arizona State University and the University of Georgia and worked for 22 years for the Arizona Department of Water Resources in various capacities. Upon military retirement in 1999 and State retirement in 2005 I looked at a number of things to keep me occupied. Traveling and joining 'renderosity' in September 2007 were a couple of them,
Sig..
Comments (20)
jayfar
A hive of activity and a nice shot Sig.
ronmolina
Nice shot!
emmecielle
A great image, Sig! Thank you for this wonderful series! :)
drifterlee
Cool people shot!!!!
jocko500
very wonderful
UVDan
Great shot!
starship64
What a fascinating place!
whaleman
Nice mixture of old and new!
renecyberdoc
i can smell the spices,the human sweat and their farts lol.i hate crowds.
farmerC
Shining shot.
Rob2753
So much to see , lovely shot
dakotabluemoon
Nice capture here hon i like the look on the guy's face lol.
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
flavia49
great capture
danapommet
A massive collection of shops! I am surprised to see so many signs in English and TVs overhead. I know they make money from visiting tourists but I thought the 'religious police' would be tougher in this area. Is that the Lotto on those TVs??? :)
auntietk
Fascinating! The outdoor stalls with handbags and whatnot hanging everywhere is more visually appealing to me, but I bet there are fabulous shots everywhere in this place!!
ontar1
Wow, that is fantastic, outstanding capture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tigertim
Interesting photo!
Faemike55
very cool capture. It does seem a bit out of place to see the overhead TVs in there but that is progress for you
debbielove
A very cool shot full of colour and people going about their daily lives.. Lots of interest, great shot! Sorry I'm so late commenting, lots going on here.. Rob