Detail of the High-pressur Compressor Building of Shaft XII, as yet not restored

Sunday morning in Gruga Park, Essen. Just after 9 a.m., around 12 degrees Celsius, next to the Beos and grey parrots. The chattering and whistling of the birds did not disturb the self-absorption of these two gentlemen.

I’ll be off then – I’m going on a trip to the fair, if rarely mentioned city of Essen, treasure of childhood remembrances and coal-blackened past, European Capital of Culture in 2010 (the whole region is, not Essen alone) and place of the World’s Cultural Heritage of the UN (or whatever it’s called), the Zeche Zollverein. Tomorrow, I’m...