the 7th before the 7th :: 2024
A few years ago I reflected my long time stay in the 7th district a lot, simply because (literally over night!) it had come to my mind that - thank you, coincidence! - I had landed in one of the most liberal places of the whole country (THE most liberal that time, to be correct), one of the most interesting urban places in all Europe, and had spent xx years here without feeling bored a single day. That of course filled me with endless pride (see also: what the greeks say/ choices 24). Places find you if you look out ! :)
Indeed we had rules that were different from most other places. The code* was wild, all people I ever met loved that place, no matter from which country or continent they came from. Those who moved away had good memories forever. There was a „common ground“ that needed no words. Everything was natural, easy, never boring.
At the same time the place started to change, first to the exciting, experimental, then to the weird (call it neoliberalism, call it conservative, call it 9 to 5, call it the opposite of what the place stood for). It felt like dissolving, like losing it all.
But then I noticed, there still ARE these places, places that were here before even long-time inhabitants like me moved here. Legendary places were built up by the generation/s before us about 40 years from now. In the 90s the 7th was already called free, creative, rebel wild, different. We would go there, to these very good cafes, enjoying the free spirit there, or to one of those wild pioneer organic stores.
These places still exist, these people are still there. They kept quality by keeping values and passion. If you look a bit deeper i´d say they are still the best in town. They have a history, they are built from freedom, and knowledge. There was a 7th before the 7th. There was a place before I moved here. This is weird. I kind of forgot. But maybe there is always a „before“
* see urban theory: every quarter has kind of a hidden „code“, a „language“ of its own among people living there. the code consists of visual and text elements presented there publicly via cafes, shops, traffic signs etc etc, one can read the „spirit“ of a place from that, the spirit of the people living there ::
a just renovated house/ a new shop (c) 70th :: 24/ 22
