Treffpunkt 8 Uhr J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin 2012

My late father was from Berlin. Born right in the midst of the darkest times of the last century, he had to witness the Second World War as a child. A few years later, when he was just old enough, he left Berlin, ended up in another big city several hundred kilometers away, and built a life there. He rarely saw Berlin again, and so it didn't play a significant role in my life either. Nevertheless, I have always felt a special connection to our exciting capital, and so I tested the fragrances from the house of Schwarzlose Berlin mainly because of the brand name.

Besides the authentically linden-blossom 1A-33 (2012) and the sultry "Rausch | J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin," I was especially taken by Treffpunkt 8 Uhr: not sweet, green, slightly fruity. Modern with a touch of nostalgia.
I see my father as a very young man, riding his bike through a warm summer evening full of anticipation. He has dressed up nicely and left early to avoid being late for his appointment. The wind is warm, the evening sun creates light reflections on the asphalt. The air smells of summer, of freedom, of carefreeness; a carefreeness I would have wished for my father, but which the war took from him and which he unfortunately could allow himself far too rarely later in life. Treffpunkt 8 Uhr wavers for me between lightness and melancholy, because despite its freshness, it is not a particularly cheerful scent for me, even though ginger and mango in the top note do let a bit of joy for life shine through. The fragrance is fresh, herbaceous, slightly spicy, and the vetiver in it is wonderfully light and bright. Overall, it is a bright scent, pleasant, not too strong. And yet melancholic, a bright melancholy that allows one to look back at the past while always pulling one back into the present.

My father and I didn't always have it easy with each other. That he could have been my grandfather in terms of age was hardly noticeable from his appearance, and yet sometimes there was too much time between us. But alongside all the strictness and stubbornness that sometimes made life difficult for me, he was also a person who enjoyed life, and I am sure that I could have sparked his interest in my passion for perfume. Perhaps we would have tested ourselves through the most diverse fragrance samples together. And Treffpunkt 8 Uhr would surely have pleased him just as much as it does me.