Olfactory travelogue
Steps: approx. 228.2 // Smells: approx. 6 axial and 32 peripheral
Noted by JS Kpok, December 2002
You’re standing at the spot where you found your stone. Turn around so that your back faces the blue box and Hotel Petul, and you can see the street-facing side of the cemetery, and then begin to read.
“I’m met by the scent of freshly mown grass. And the earthy, somewhat sour smell of mulch. I follow the smell down Essener Strasse.”
Now walk to the main road and turn your body to the left. The main road should be on your right. Stop walking and continue to read.
“Now the smell of diesel rises into my nostrils. A small excavator seems to be digging a grave here. I catch the scent of damp, freshly turned earth. I keep walking.”
Now walk straight ahead on this side of the street toward the tram stop “Krankenhaus Stoppenberg”. Read on whenever a scent wafts into your nose. Your rhythm will be just right:
“Suddenly I’m met by a thick, sticky smell. Is that a linden tree in bloom? Is it too intrusive? All the same, I don’t cross to the other side of the street. I see a church in the distance and imagine the particular smell of its interior. The thick, oak wood door hasn’t smelled of anything for some time. My gaze wanders back to the side of the street with the new construction, the left side of the street. What do I smell there? Dust, cement, and burnt diesel again. The new housing development that’s under construction. I leave the cement behind me and continue down Essener Strasse. Now I smell cigarette smoke and cologne that reminds me of my grandfather. Matthias Werner and his son, the undertakers, are standing in front of a building, smoking. I smell the other side. Mulch, still. The Stoppenberg cemetery, which stretches along Essener Strasse, is apparently being landscaped. Somewhere in the distance I smell a sugar high and childhood thoughts.”
You have arrived at the Krankenhaus Stoppenberg stop
“I smell a poppy seed pastry. I’ve arrived at the Krankenhaus Stoppenberg stop. I’m reminded of the smell of the broken air conditioner, sweat, and chewing gum in the 107.”
Continue reading on page 32.