The Karl Marx and Capitalism exhibition at the German History Museum in Berlin

On July 4th, I visited the “Karl Marx and Capitalism” exhibition at the German History Museum in Berlin, twice in one day. I did the exhibition first in the morning, and then went back in the afternoon for the guided English tour. It was a really good exhibition, and remarkably well put together and thought out. It was very text heavy, so there weren’t a lot of images, but I enjoyed the presentation of Marx’s ideas within the context of their time.

The German History Museum also conducted an interesting survey of Germans and their opinions of Marx in 2021. Not surpassing, the East Germans have a much more positive vision of Marx than those in the West. I am posting some highlights of the exhibit here, but if you happen to be in Berlin this summer, it is well worth a visit.

An amazing weekend

So after a week of COVID isolation, I tested negative just in time for the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Since I was not at home in the U.S. to hit the streets for a protest, I went to Christopher Street Day in Freiburg instead. We also went to a massive flea market (and I bought three new typewriters) and on Sunday we went to to see the Marriage of Figaro at the Stadttheater Freiburg. Lots of escapism!

A gift from Germany

Well, after avoiding this damn virus for over two years, it finally caught up with me. I officially have Covid and I am sick as a dog. I have had 4 doses of Moderna, so I hope it passes quickly. For now, I’m just pounding the fluids.

Mourning the loss of my father-in-law

I can’t think of any other occasion for which I would ever post photographs of Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush on my website, but I am making an exception here because my ex-father-in-law passed away last night in his sleep at the age of 93.

Since my own dad and I had a difficult relationship (and he died suddenly in 2001 after we stopped talking in 1998), Velitchko Velitchkov was like a surrogate father to me for the last 24 years. Even after my divorce from their son, my ex-in-laws welcomed me into their home and invited me to sit at their table for major holidays. I just spent Orthodox Easter with them in April. I was always happy to share Sunday afternoons with him while in Sofia. We often debated politics and watched soccer matches together, and he helped me immensely with my research in Bulgarian over the years. It was peaceful and fast, and I am happy that he did not suffer, but I will miss him dearly.