by Petra Vogel
Here is a little story of our visit to the Buddy Bears in Berlin at the end of August, 2005.
A friend from Argentina, Ani, came to visit us. Together we decided to go on a short trip to Berlin, so that she would get to know the capital of Germany. Of course my daughter Romina and I wanted to use the opportunity to see some of the Buddy Bears. Preparing our journey I looked up the locations of several bears at the Buddy Bear homepage. Above all I tried to find Bears I've seen in pictures together with Jackie. Once in Berlin, I explained the story and message of the Buddy Bears to Ani and when I came to mention Jackie we found out that she also is a great fan of Jackie for a long time. Funny, what a surprise!
Together we went to find as many Bears as possible but we realized that a lot of those Bears are hidden from public or have vanished totally, probably along with the shops that sponsored them once. We managed to find some Bears in the back yards of hotels (Palace-Bear, Disco-Bear) after we asked several people and finally found someone who would lead us to the hidden Bear. What a pity! For I think, even if they aren't new anymore they are still loved by the public. I don't understand why such beautiful
Bears as for instance the Disco-Bear that is covered from head to toes with tiny mirrors like a disco ball and attractively glittering in the sunlight - is hidden in an enclosed backyard of a hotel. The Bears we found in the street were always surrounded by a bunch of people and we had to wait for our turn to take a picture. But that was nice too, for people from differnt countries had the same intentions and helped each other taking photos.
I sent you some pictures of our favorite Buddy Bears: Romina fell in love with the Rocking-Bear at the Mercedes Automobile World. It is exactly like a big rocking horse. Ani and I liked the Buddy Bear Kicker that is a huge version of the table soccer game they have installed with regard to the Soccer World Championship next year in Germany. In the entrance hall of the Hotel Gates we saw a Buddy Bear with a real computer from which the guests can surf the Internet. In front of the fair ground you can see a Buddy Bear with a head like a taxi that stands close to a piece of the Berlin Wall on which the Berlin Bear and the Radio tower is painted. On one Bear - the Aigner Bear at the Gendarmenmarkt - (also a little hidden inside a restaurant) we even found an autograph of Jackie and the waiter told us that they had a great time when Jackie was here and mixed some cocktails. Though we were a little disappointed that so many bears have vanished we also were surprised that we found several new ones, above all sitting bears
but also mini teddies that are really nice and handy, and we came home with tons of photos.
Jackie's autograph is on this bear.
HPW Team's Double Bear
Buddy Bear Kicker
Rocking Bear (Mercedes World)
Blue Acrobat Buddy
