'Modern'

It took me a while to get my head around this prompt. After all, most things I photograph are decidedly unmodern. Old buildings that would probably have been modern in their time, but their time has come and gone a long time ago. And then I stumbled upon this photo. I have wanted to show it before, but didn't quite know when or how. This is the perfect moment though.

When I was in Germany a little while ago, we stayed in this tiny village called Klietz that is in the former East. It was like so many other villages in the country: sleepy and quiet. And full of little gems. Buildings that had been beautifully restored to their former glory, others that had fallen by the wayside and looked as if the only family happy to live there would be mice!

The building I am showing you now is a lovely big building that has only been partly restored to former glory and colour. Now, you have to remember that during the reign of East Germany, the only colour allowed for houses was drab. Beigish, brownish drab! After the wall fell, people didn't want drab anymore: they wanted it like they had it before: lovely yellows and soft pinks, bright whites and creams. On the left of the photo you can see the house as it was during the cold war, on the left the way it can be done up, including satellite dish!

By the way, the reason so many houses have fallen by the wayside and are not being restored is this: after the fall of the wall, many people moved away to the West. Also, many of those houses may have belonged to people who passed away during the Second World War (especially in cities and towns: many Jewish people had to leave their houses behind). And sometimes it is just impossible to find out who exactly owned the house and it then falls into disrepair.

This is my 31st entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?