Journeys I´m made of... - Hamburg (2004)

Dialogue in the Dark entrance.

In June 2004 I visited Hamburg and the 'headquarters' of Dialog im Dunkeln (Dialogue in the Dark). This is an exhibition that changes us for ever. We are given a stick at the entrance and then blind guides take us through and lead us to different real-life experiences in absolute darkness. We go to the park, to the market, we walk in the street, take a boat ride, have a drink at a bar. We are excited, desorientated, totally dependent, trying to find our way through, afraid of falling or bumping onto something or, worse, someone, judging people from their voices... And we only trust our blind guides.

My friend Andreas Heinecke, a beautiful, sensitive person, a social entrepreneur, is the man behind this. He has taken the exhibition to more than 25 countries and 150 cities all over the world, creating jobs for thousands of blind people. There are also permanent exhibitions in Italy, Japan, Israel and the USA.

View to one of Hamburg´s canals from the Dialogue in the Dark building.

It was beautiful that trip to Hamburg. People from all over the world had gathered to discuss the 'Dialogue', the weather was nice, we had a memorable cocktail on the Dialogue building terrace in the end of an afternoon; an even more memorable dinner, followed by a latin party, with live music, where I danced a mambo I´ll never forget with another amazing, sweet, surprising man, George Hein, author of the inspiring Learning in the Museum. Quiet drunk (after a couple of glasses of wine...) and still amazed at meeting him and finding out what an incredible person he was, I told him: "Tonight, when I call my husband, I´ll tell him that I danced with George Hein!". He smiled shyly and answered: "Tonight, when I talk to my wife in the States, I´ll tell her that I danced with Maria."

One of my nicest memories is a boat trip. After leaving the busy and agitated harbour, the river boat took us to the calm waters of one of Elba´s tributaries, where we enjoyed the colours and air of the countryside and a beautiful sunset.

P.S. Already missing Madeira... Thank you, dear friends.