Kaffee und Kuchen

Kaffee und Kuchen

I have been spending some days in Berlin. The weather has been typical--cool and crisp, occasionally rainy.  During the brief periods of sun Berliners eagerly make their way outdoors, to sit in cafés, to drink a coffee, or a beer. Then they might take a stroll in a park. I am sitting in a small café and have just spent a very pleasant 30 minutes chatting with a Hilda, a women in her 80’s who used a cane to make her way into the café.   As she entered she said, quite cheerfully:

“It’s a lovely afternoon, the sun is shining, I have just taken my walk in the Tiergarten and now I am having a coffee and cake.”

As the Turkish woman who runs the café greeted her pleasantly and took her order, she made her way to the small table next to mine and we began chatting. I told her I was visiting from the U.S. and that I taught and studied well-being and aging. She was excited to fill me in on her version of healthy aging.

“Walk, stay active, keep a positive attitude, cope with change, and strike up conversations with whoever is available and interested.”

In this case I was pleased to have become Hilda’s conversational partner. In a mere 30 minutes, she had stunningly summarized 30 years of aging research. 

What Hilda did not say, what she took for granted; was her access to places where she could walk, drink coffee or eat a meal, and chat comfortably without being pressured to leave. Not all places provide the opportunity for these simple and important daily pleasures. In my work exploring third spaces (places and spaces that are not our homes or our places of work) cafés, parks with walking trails, fresh food markets, and reasonably priced restaurants, having access to such places promotes health and happiness for people of all ages.  But with age such access becomes crucial. Such access reduces isolation, promotes happiness and well-being. And yet older people often find themselves in isolated and isolating spaces.  Perhaps they fear going out into a “dangerous neighborhood.  Perhaps they cannot find a store that offers fresh healthy food at reasonable prices. 

Social science research has proven a direct relationship between physical and social activity and health and happiness. For many of us long working hours and lack of access to walking trails or to healthy often leads to lack of activity and poor eating habits, which, in turn, accounts for high rates of obesity and increases in diabetes and heart disease.

When you embark upon any journey the only certainty is that it will be very different from what you anticipate. For my three-week trip to Germany, my former home, I planned relatively structured days of work and family visits. Instead Berlin enticed me and I fell in love with the city. I walked for many miles in the Tiergarten and thought about the next stages of my work and my life. Berlin invites you to walk and think and the past, the present and the future.

You can’t really see or feel Berlin (or any place), if you don’t walk through the city. My walking days in Berlin left me with a sense of existential renewal, a freshened perspective. While I walked, I took breaks in cafés and had conversations with elders, like Hilda.  Accordingly, Berlin is a great place to explore the notion of third spaces. The Tiergarten (a large park in the middle of the city) is one of the greatest third spaces I have encountered. Spanning several Kilometers, like Central Park in NYC or Fairmont Park in Philadelphia, it is in the middle of Germany’s most populous city. It is a good place to exercise, relax, and walk with a friend, drink a beer, snack on a sausage or eat a meal. Because the Tiergarten is brightly lit up with lovely old-fashioned lights, it is possible to walk or jog at all hours. Bicycles are available for rent at almost every corner for 8 to 12 Euros a day.  Well-marked bike paths crisscross through the park and follow many of the major thoroughfares in the city.  In public spaces, there are many places to rest. Benches are often situated in front of lovely ponds. 

Even on cold winter days, Hilda takes daily walks in the Tiergarten. She makes her way along one of the paths to the café where we are now chatting. She says that it is about 2 kilometers from the cafe to her apartment. One of here neighbors, also in her 80’s, often accompanies here.  After coffee and cake, they do their daily marketing and walk home.

This access to fresh air, exercise, and fresh food has resulted in a healthier old age for Germany’s elders.  In Germany, roughly 25% of the population is over 65. Unlike much of the rest of the world, German elders are not terribly stressed about finances and the high cost of health care. Germany, in fact, provides universal health care for its citizens. Of course there are challenges to providing a wide ranges of services an increasingly large population of elders, especially given Germany’s low birth rate. Accordingly, Germany has one of the highest percentages of elders around the world. In the next 20 years, Germany expects to have 7 million fewer people of working age and 8.5 million more people who are ready to retire. There are now four workers supporting each retiree. Within a generation there could be just two. 

With important demographic changes taking place around the world, it is important to explore avenues that help the large number of older men and women stay healthy and happy and perhaps employed, at least on a part time basis. One important way of promoting well-being and happiness as people age is to provide health promoting infrastructures like the ones in Berlin.