Pretty much the only water they have in Europe is sparkling water, which I've mostly gotten used to. It doesn't seem to really satisfy thirst, though, and you can't guzzle it like still water. *sigh*
Munich is really cool, although most of it looks just like Berlin and Cologne. I checked out the Residenz, the former residence of Bavarian kings. The original castle on the site was built in the 14th century by the Wittelsbachs and has been continuously added to since then so it forms an immense sprawling complex of palace wings and courtyards. I spent several hours in the museum and took about 150 pictures...the museum pieces are beautiful and most of the interior is the sort of rococo, gold-covered design that makes me cringe from the opulence at the same time that I'm drawn to the shininess and bright colors. My visit to the Residenzmuseum also further confirmed my...discomfort...with the Catholic religion. There is an entire room filled with reliquaries holding relics of various saints, etc. Stand-outs are a femur, several skulls, and even the bodies of infants housed in beautiful and ornate cases. The infants are complete and are supposedly the bodies of babies killed in King Herod's purge. Icky. Why can't they just let the poor things go back to nature where they belong?
Next stop was the Stadtmuseum, the State Museum, housed in the former arsenal building built in the 1400s. The exhibits document the history of the city of Munich including a fantastic film and photo exhibit of the Nazi era. The museum also distributes booklets for a walking tour through the city to visit sites that were important in the growth of the Nazi movement. I didn't know before this visit that Munich is where Hitler got started and where the cult really took hold. I didn't get to do the walking tour since the brochures are tucked away in a corner of the film/photo exhibit and I didn't get there until almost dark...I did inadvertently visit or at least walk by a lot of the sites on the tour, so it will be interesting to read more about them. The Stadtmuseum also has a huge exhibit on marionettes and other circus paraphernalia, which was really amazing, though a bit creepy.
Other places I also visited were the Hofbrauhaus (I walked through it and used their bathroom but didn't eat there because I'd bought some groceries at the Penny Markt this morning), Frauenkirche (kirche = church), St. Peterskirche, St. Michaelskirche, the Propylaen, Neues Rathaus, and Feldhernhalle (more about these last 2 and their history when I can post pictures. Hint: they have to do with the Nazi stuff and I want to read that booklet I got.). How's that for a one-day tour?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Germany Tour - be jealous...very jealous
I was planning to write a long post tonight with a description of what I've been doing for the past few days and a few pictures. But...the hostel where I'm staying, although it advertised internet access, does not, in fact, have internet access. The other girl in my room (she has fantastically pink hair) and I have been mooching off of someone else's wireless nearby. So...just a quickie and no pictures!
I left Berlin on the 22nd for base camp in Heiligenroth, which is a small town in Westerwald region of Rhineland-Pfalz. I stayed with Markus and Birgit, distant cousins from my dad's family. Long story short: it was an awesome time! Here's the bullet list of what we did:
Jan. 22: train from Berlin, met all the family in Heiligenroth, relaxed!
Jan. 23: visited Trier, about a 2 hour drive from Heiligenroth. Trier is a Roman city founded in 16 BC and is also the birthplace of Karl Marx. Saw the Roman amphitheater, the massive Basilika, the Porta Nigra (erected in the 2nd century) which was part of the medieval defensive wall and is the oldest German defensive structure, and the Forum Baths. I also got a nice driving tour of the Mosel River valley (mondo wine production here).
Jan. 24: visited Cologne, about an hour drive from Heiligenroth. Saw the Dom (Cathedral), which is the largest building I've ever seen by far. It's also incredibly beautiful if you like gothic architecture (like me), and very cold inside in the winter. We also went on a very brief pub tour to sample some Kolsch, the beer made exclusively in Cologne. I think Markus said that there are about 100 different breweries in Cologne? We tried Sion Kolsch and Gaffel Kolsch, both quite good. Dinner this evening was in a restaurant in Nassau castle, a hill castle on the Lahn River.
Jan. 25: visit to Koblenz to see the Deutsches Eck (German Corner), the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Then a tour of Marksburg, the only hill castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. Construction was begun in the 1200s and it's been continuously lived in since the 1280s. Current owners are the German Castles Association and the castle houses their main office and residence of the general secretary.
Jan. 26: brief tour of the family history in the Westerwald district with Markus. We drove through the towns where various family members lived hundreds of years ago, including the town that my grandmother's mother's family lived in before coming to America. Very cool. And took the train to Munich today!
Jan. 26-28: exploring Munich.
Jan. 28-29: exploring Nuremberg.
Jan. 29-Feb. 1: back to Berlin until I head to Krakow in time for classes on the 2nd!
I left Berlin on the 22nd for base camp in Heiligenroth, which is a small town in Westerwald region of Rhineland-Pfalz. I stayed with Markus and Birgit, distant cousins from my dad's family. Long story short: it was an awesome time! Here's the bullet list of what we did:
Jan. 22: train from Berlin, met all the family in Heiligenroth, relaxed!
Jan. 23: visited Trier, about a 2 hour drive from Heiligenroth. Trier is a Roman city founded in 16 BC and is also the birthplace of Karl Marx. Saw the Roman amphitheater, the massive Basilika, the Porta Nigra (erected in the 2nd century) which was part of the medieval defensive wall and is the oldest German defensive structure, and the Forum Baths. I also got a nice driving tour of the Mosel River valley (mondo wine production here).
Jan. 24: visited Cologne, about an hour drive from Heiligenroth. Saw the Dom (Cathedral), which is the largest building I've ever seen by far. It's also incredibly beautiful if you like gothic architecture (like me), and very cold inside in the winter. We also went on a very brief pub tour to sample some Kolsch, the beer made exclusively in Cologne. I think Markus said that there are about 100 different breweries in Cologne? We tried Sion Kolsch and Gaffel Kolsch, both quite good. Dinner this evening was in a restaurant in Nassau castle, a hill castle on the Lahn River.
Jan. 25: visit to Koblenz to see the Deutsches Eck (German Corner), the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Then a tour of Marksburg, the only hill castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. Construction was begun in the 1200s and it's been continuously lived in since the 1280s. Current owners are the German Castles Association and the castle houses their main office and residence of the general secretary.
Jan. 26: brief tour of the family history in the Westerwald district with Markus. We drove through the towns where various family members lived hundreds of years ago, including the town that my grandmother's mother's family lived in before coming to America. Very cool. And took the train to Munich today!
Jan. 26-28: exploring Munich.
Jan. 28-29: exploring Nuremberg.
Jan. 29-Feb. 1: back to Berlin until I head to Krakow in time for classes on the 2nd!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Gedachtnis-Kirche (more Berlin)
Ok, so I actually haven't been in Berlin since Thursday but when I came online to write a little about my weekend I realized that I hadn't finished Berlin yet. A quick post about Berlin and maybe I'll get caught up on what I've been doing in the rest of Germany before I go BACK to Berlin on the 29th.
These pictures are from the Gedachtnis-Kirche (the "a" has an umlaut (sp?) on it) which was consecrated at the end of the nineteenth century and bombed during World War II. Most of the church has been removed because it was ruined, but they left the front hall and built a new, very modern-looking, church right next to it. I love this building!
Mosaics on the ceiling inside. We got there just after it closed so even though the lights were on and there were still people in there, we couldn't go in. The doors are all glass, though, so I was able to peek in and snap this shot.
Chris!
This is the new church. It's an octagon. All the sides have this honeycomb-ish surface with stained glass.
You can see through it! There's no glass in that opening, only a mesh barrier. Maybe to keep out birds?
Seen a little while later after dark. Chris and I wandered down the street to the HUGE department store, Ka De We. It's seven stories and each one goes on forever in all directions. We bought some yummy baklava on the food floor (# 7) and walked back by the church while munching. The tower on the right is a free-standing belltower that goes with the modern glass church on the other side.
Kind of creepy-looking?
In Jules Verne, the restaurant where we ate Wednesda night.
These pictures are from the Gedachtnis-Kirche (the "a" has an umlaut (sp?) on it) which was consecrated at the end of the nineteenth century and bombed during World War II. Most of the church has been removed because it was ruined, but they left the front hall and built a new, very modern-looking, church right next to it. I love this building!
Mosaics on the ceiling inside. We got there just after it closed so even though the lights were on and there were still people in there, we couldn't go in. The doors are all glass, though, so I was able to peek in and snap this shot.
Chris!
This is the new church. It's an octagon. All the sides have this honeycomb-ish surface with stained glass.
You can see through it! There's no glass in that opening, only a mesh barrier. Maybe to keep out birds?
Seen a little while later after dark. Chris and I wandered down the street to the HUGE department store, Ka De We. It's seven stories and each one goes on forever in all directions. We bought some yummy baklava on the food floor (# 7) and walked back by the church while munching. The tower on the right is a free-standing belltower that goes with the modern glass church on the other side.
Kind of creepy-looking?
In Jules Verne, the restaurant where we ate Wednesda night.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
How about something about how I got here? I flew! For two days (47 hours, to be exact). Notable moments: 1) Heathrow and Gatwick are not, in fact, the same thing. This revelation required some last minute hotel cancelling, bus reserving, and hotel booking action when I got to London. Note to self: when your plane tickets say that you are arriving in England in one place and leaving from England in other place...they mean it. 2) The British have the best antique shows (including an awesome bargain-hunting/antiqueing game-show!) and, of course, the best murder mysteries. 3) We popped out of the perpetual England cloud-cover on Saturday morning and I counted 7 or 8 planes outside my window. And not flying somewhere off in the stratosphere visible by just a contrail but close enough to count the windows and read "British Airways." 4) The Krakow airport is definitely my favorite of the 6(!) I visited on my way here. It's teeny teeny tiny and still had an enormous Christmas tree, like 30+ feet, complete with lights, tinsel, and red and silver ornaments as big as my head. It was also made out of very warm-looking dark yellow stone. I think my basic point is that it was different from the basic airport scheme of BWI = Heathrow = Gatwick = Frankfurt = Berlin. 5) The best notable moment! While waiting for previous passengers to disembark from the plane that was supposed to carry me from Frankfurt to Berlin, a woman got off with a cat-carrier in each hand! One was a beautiful light gray cat with a squashed Persian-y face...short fur, though, and golden eyes. The other was a big orange tabby. They both looked quite annoyed with the whole idea of air travel.
Pictures! Some of the things I've seen wandering around Berlin.
Statues near the Siegessaule, a famous statue in the middle of the Tiergarten in western Berlin (pics below). Not sure who the people are, but they look cool.
Street signs near the Siegessaule. I took a picture because they look rather fairytale-esque. Julie, thought you might like these. :)
The Siegesaule. None of my pictures turned out well, unfortunately...
Another fairytale-esque sign on one of the paths inside the Tiergarten.
Everything on this monument is in Russian...Chris looked at the German and says it's a memorial in honor of Soviet war graves. This monument is one the side of Unter den Linden, the street that runs to the Brandenburg Gate.
Fake Soviet tank.
and again.
Pictures! Some of the things I've seen wandering around Berlin.
Statues near the Siegessaule, a famous statue in the middle of the Tiergarten in western Berlin (pics below). Not sure who the people are, but they look cool.
Street signs near the Siegessaule. I took a picture because they look rather fairytale-esque. Julie, thought you might like these. :)
The Siegesaule. None of my pictures turned out well, unfortunately...
The House of World Cultures. Awesome-looking building on the north side of the Tiergarten.
Another fairytale-esque sign on one of the paths inside the Tiergarten.
Everything on this monument is in Russian...Chris looked at the German and says it's a memorial in honor of Soviet war graves. This monument is one the side of Unter den Linden, the street that runs to the Brandenburg Gate.
Fake Soviet tank.
One of the paths in the Tiergarten.
The Reichstag.
Brandenburg Gate!
and again.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Berlin wall
Arrived in Berlin midnight Saturday! Sunday afternoon activity was a long walk along the East Side Gallery, the east side of Berlin, to see all the murals and graffiti. Unfortunately it got dark and turned kind of rainy, but the pictures turned out ok! Today I did the "monument tour" and saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Siegessaule, the House of World Cultures, a bunch of random monuments scattered around the Tiergarten, and the Tiergarten itself. Pictures of these later since I already uploaded a million of the Berlin wall today.
The red writing above says "Give me a wall so I can escape."
This one's for Dad! See the rabbit-ears?
Her wings are tree limbs, each one sheltering a group of dancing/hugging people. The picture below shows one of the groups of people, since they didn't really show up in this first picture.
Random little people on the wall - each one is about 4 inches high.
I took this one because it says "Catalonia is NOT Spain - freedom!" There was graffiti for just about every independence movement in the world.
"Total democracy."
Peace doves!
"Money can't buy life" in white on the blue background below. No idea what the German says.
It doesn't really show up in this picture, but there are names of some of the major cities in the world on this panel along with the huge "Berlin." You can see "New York" pretty easily.
I liked the black bird.
"Blood of the red zwergs..." Chris doesn't know what "zwergs" means.
"Save our Earth." Not just graffiti for independence movements, but for plenty of other types of movements as well.
Two suns devouring the earth. The US and the Soviet Union, perhaps?
Ideal hopscotch!
Forgot to turn this picture right-side up. I liked the flower. :)
Sun coming up over both sides of the wall.
Man peering over the wall (the blue bit in the picture). Also, "Valencia!"
I thought this said cold when I saw it on the wall, but now it looks quite clearly like "colp." Whatever that means.
This was really small writing in the word "colp."
Cool dragon.
A gate in the wall.
"There are many walls to unbuild."
The Berlin wall version of La Guernica, "La Buerlinica."
I got a picture of this blue guy because a) he's kind of cute and b) his beard says "Do the war against mind's walls."
This says "Many small people in many small places doing many small things can change the face of the world." I'm sure someone famous said something similar, but all I can think of is Galadriel saying "even the smallest person can change the course of the future" to Frodo in the first Lord of the Rings movie...
The red writing above says "Give me a wall so I can escape."
This one's for Dad! See the rabbit-ears?
Her wings are tree limbs, each one sheltering a group of dancing/hugging people. The picture below shows one of the groups of people, since they didn't really show up in this first picture.
Random little people on the wall - each one is about 4 inches high.
I took this one because it says "Catalonia is NOT Spain - freedom!" There was graffiti for just about every independence movement in the world.
"Total democracy."
Peace doves!
"Money can't buy life" in white on the blue background below. No idea what the German says.
It doesn't really show up in this picture, but there are names of some of the major cities in the world on this panel along with the huge "Berlin." You can see "New York" pretty easily.
I liked the black bird.
"Blood of the red zwergs..." Chris doesn't know what "zwergs" means.
"Save our Earth." Not just graffiti for independence movements, but for plenty of other types of movements as well.
Two suns devouring the earth. The US and the Soviet Union, perhaps?
Ideal hopscotch!
Forgot to turn this picture right-side up. I liked the flower. :)
Sun coming up over both sides of the wall.
Man peering over the wall (the blue bit in the picture). Also, "Valencia!"
I thought this said cold when I saw it on the wall, but now it looks quite clearly like "colp." Whatever that means.
This was really small writing in the word "colp."
Cool dragon.
A gate in the wall.
"There are many walls to unbuild."
The Berlin wall version of La Guernica, "La Buerlinica."
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