Waiting in Wannsee

Wannsee, on the outskirts of Berlin, is perhaps best known historically for being the setting of the notorious Nazi conference that was to decide the details of the "Final Solution", and it was to visit the house in which this heinous event took place that brought me there. The house is now a deeply moving, but chilling, musuem. Wannsee is however more than this – the lake itself is a magnet for day-tripppers from bustling Berlin, with a fabulous variety of boating possibilities, beaches, wooded walks and shoreside cafés. I took this picture at the end of a very pleasant day there, waiting for the train back into the metropolis. Everything here is so perfectly German – from the lettering of the station sign, the symmetry of the benches and two waiting passengers, and the striking colours of the S-Bahn on the opposite platform. There is a kind of beauty in the connection between the man and the woman – they are both alone, both waiting, but they do not speak. They must be aware of each other, but sit politely in their own individual worlds. Wouldn't it be magical if one of them turned to the other with a romantic smile... Location: Wannsee - Berlin, Germany