hagen
Half an hour (M) below Elbe: The lower Elberfelder Straße has many cheap shops and a somewhat deserted square. And what else?
I know the man from somewhere, at least visually. “Hello. Enjoy your meal!” The pensioner laughs, “Thank you, thank you. We talk briefly in the lower part of the town in front of Brödis. There is hardly a moment when there are no people in front of the cheap bakery. eat, “I tell the man. He throws a piece of curry with a small fork and bites into a dry roll.” I’m often here. At least I can afford it here. I can eat two currywurst there. ” His companion nods. “So have a good day, you two.”
Word game (M) lower Elbe
I continue walking along Elberfelder Strasse in Hagen. (M) untere Elbe – I remember the pun before. But it doesn’t look really lively here. A number of artisan vehicles line the street and block the view from the shop windows on the opposite side. A woman with a prescription in her hand goes to the bear pharmacy, a young couple coming from Woolworth put their purchases in a backpack.
On the sidewalk in front of a clothing store is a weathered box with worn-out hangers. “Free takeaway” is written on the cardboard. But no one cares – at least for now – about the hangers-on.
“Sören” presents a sporty fashion in the elegant, chic all-round showcase. The clothing store with a dressing room in the higher price segment has been extraordinary in the lower area of the city center for years. The operators do not rely on passing customers, but on regular customers from Hagen and especially the neighboring towns.
Radiant heaters provide heat
In front of Vincenzo’s cafe a few meters away, some people are sitting and drinking cappuccino. Plexiglas sections protect guests from the wind, while radiant heaters provide heat. Looks comfortable, I’d like to sit here for a few minutes, but I spot a friend across the street.
I’m flying over. “Man, I can’t see for a long time. How are you?” I ask my former school friend. We’re talking about this and that, “yes so, be careful, maybe I’ll see you again soon.”
+++ Read also: Hagen: What enlivens downtown?
The space above the Märkische Bank underground car park is vast and almost always looks deserted. It’s just not a worthy marketplace in an Italian old town. I sit on a bench, do nothing. Somewhere I hear a bird chirping, a car sounds behind me, three young women two benches away talking and laughing out loud. A little too loud for me.
Opposite, on the sidewalk, is a bed with sprouting meadow flowers. A bit of nature, a bit of a striking and beautiful colored splash in the otherwise rather gray looking lower area of the city center, which is somehow “not fish and not meat”. Not alive, but not dead either. Not beautiful, but not without exception.
A homeless man placed himself with his sleeping bag in front of an electrical box. He begs silently and unobtrusively. Two women – one pushing a carriage with a child in front of her, the other holding a small child – head for the train station. One of the mothers discovers the tired-looking man, rummages in her bag, puts a coin in his gift basket, says “All the best for you.” The man nods silently and smiles.
The episodes of this year’s summer series “Neulich in Hagen” can also be found on our website www.wp.de/neulich-in-hagen.
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