Treasure Island

Today we headed off to another example of German efficiency, Museum Island.  The five major museums in Berlin are grouped together on a small island.  This has become a Unesco World Heritage Sight.  Of the five museums the two we are most interested in are the Pergamon and the Neues Museum.  

Unfortunately the star attraction of the Pergamon, it's name sake alter, is under refurbishment until 2019.  That notwithstanding the rest of the exhibits are breathtaking, specifically Ishtar Gate and the Market Gate of Miletus.  

The Ishtar Gate and its accompanying processional are from Babylon around 600 B.C.  It is spectacularly adorned with blue tiles and gold reliefs of animals.  The Market Gate is a marble monument built in the 2nd century A.D.  It was destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century and was rebuilt in the Pergamon.

Next stop, the Neues Museum. The star attraction here is the bust of Queen Nefertiti of Ancient Egypt.  This thirty three year old painted stucco-coated limestone bust has become a cultural symbol of Berlin as well as of ancient Egypt and is breathtakingly beautiful in person.  Another interesting bust is known as the Berlin Green Head.  This statue is an amazingly modern-looking and realistic representation especially considering it dates from 100 B.C.   

All this museuming tired us out so we proceeded to drift across the river Spree for some lunch.  We stopped to admire a beautiful Muslim bride who was having her wedding photos taken.  Our lunch on the banks of the Spree was so enjoyable that Judy's sweet crepes attracted all the wasps in Berlin.   

We headed a little deeper into East Berlin to visit the East Side Gallery.  The gallery is a one mile long strip of the Berlin Wall which has been covered in murals.  We were a little disappointed to see most of the wall behind fencing, however, the portions that weren't covered were badly defaced with graffiti.  

Heading home we noted that East Berlin has a totally different and not near as pleasant vibe as the western section.  

One last stop - the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  This is a large site covered with 2700 various sized concrete blocks set up in rows.  Although there is absolutely no descriptive text anywhere the effect is quite moving.  

Without a Care

Today we took the S-Bahn all the way out to Potsdam to visit Frederick the Great's hideaway.  This small palace and its gardens was where Freddy went to escape the hubbub of Berlin.

 Fortunately for us the tours of the palace were backlogged for hours so we had to make do with strolling the gardens.  This turned out to be a plus.  The gardens are immense, sumptuous and designed to complement the palace.

 We strolled for what seemed like hours then headed back to the bus.  On the way we spied an inviting beer garden and stopped for lunch.  On the bus ride to the S-Bahn we noticed what an interesting city Potsdam is and marked it down for another trip. 

Arriving home we decided to search out an interesting spot for dinner and discovered a funky, comfortable hole in the wall.  It was obviously a local favourite.  The menu was extensive, the prices reasonable, the portions generous and the service top notch.  On the whole the wait staff in Germany has been very friendly and professional.  

Berlin Noir

We awoke to a grey and drizzly day and decided to take the hop on/hop off bus tour rather than slog through the rain.  For two hours we toured most of the important sights while being entertained by our bilingual guide.  His commentary was apparently as funny in German as it was in English.  We stopped at the Topography of Terror where we recapped 20th century German history.  There was also a good length of the Berlin Wall.  

Hopping back on the bus we headed for probably the most blatant example of tourist attractions we've seen, Check Point Charlie.  This isn't even the real Check Point Charlie as the original was dismantled after the fall of the wall.  You can get your photograph taken wearing a Russian military hat while posing with two phony American GIs.  

As we had an important event this evening we headed back to our hotel and changed.  After a bit of drama finding a taxi we sped, and I do mean sped, off to the Berlin Philharmonic.  For Kelly this was the highlight of the trip.  She had purchased the tickets the moment they went on sale in May.  The Berlin Philharmonic is the best of its kind in the world and plays in a modern, specially designed concert hall.  The phrase "not a bad seat in the house" may be a bit of a cliche, but in this case it is true.  We were entertained with works by Strauss, Shumann and Dvorcak.  Unlike Kelly I am not that knowledgeable when it comes to classical music but I do know music extremely well layer when I hear it and this was amazing. 

Then We Take Berlin

Today we left charming Dresden and headed for Berlin, but first we had to get out of Dresden.  The big reunification party, scheduled to begin this evening has totally closed the square, so taxis can't get anywhere near our hotel. We haul all our stuff a couple of blocks to a tram stop and head for the train station. 

Instead of the familiar silver or red DB Bahn train we catch a blue Czech train complete with our own compartment.  

We arrived at the amazing three story Berlin main train station.  Having survived the taxi ride of death we make it to our base for the next five days, Hommage a Margritte.  Located in the trendy Charlottenberg area, we chose this B&B based on its quirky nature and extremely high reviews.  We were met by the owner's daughter, Sophie, who led us down the art draped labyrinthine hallways to our room. 

With some afternoon daylight left we decided to see some of the sights.  First stop, the iconic Brandenburg Gate.  This is the only remaining vestige of the walls that used to surround ancient Berlin. The Godess of Peace riding in her four horse drawn chariot top this monument.  

Our desire to be able to walk through the gate was thwarted by fences blocking off the area in preparation of Berlin's reunification ceremony. We headed over a block to the Reichstag, the site of Germany's parliament.  This building has had an interesting past. A mysterious fire in 1933 was instrumental in Hitler's run for power.  It was rebuilt in 1999 complete with a new glass dome.  People line up for hours to get tickets to walk up the ramp inside the dome.

 We decided to have a bit of a sit on the enormous front lawn and watch tourists, protesters and Gypsies parade by.  Heading back home we stopped at two interesting memorials. The first - a bunch of jagged slates honouring the opposition politicians murdered by the Nazis.

 The second - a row of white crosses set to remind us of the people killed trying to escape East Berlin. 

We're Never Going Bach

One of Kelly's strongest wishes on this trip is to go to Leipzig and visit the grave of Johann Sebastian Bach.  Kelly, one of our two resident classical music expert daughters, tells us that JSB is the father of modern music and the most influential classical composer.  We boarded an ICE train and headed to Leipzig.  The Leipzig train station is one of the largest in Europe and contains the priciest washrooms in Europe (Mr. Klean) and biggest Starbucks we have ever seen.  

We tracked down a tram and headed to Thomaskirche where Bach was a choirmaster, composer and just about anything else.  The church itself is fairly plain when compared to some of the bling encrusted we have visited lately.

 And there near the alter was the resting place of good old JSB.  Mind you they are not sure, JSB was not super popular immediately after his death.  He was buried in a simple cemetery.  When his music was rediscovered one hundred or so years later they dug around and found three skeletons, and using the scientific method of seeing which one looked most like the paintings of Bach, they re-interred him near the alter.  

Having paid our respects we headed across the street to the small and amazing Bach museum.  Aside from some original Bach manuscripts (priceless) there are many fun and inter-active exhibits.  For example, in a room housing all of the instruments used during Bach's lifetime you could press a button and hear what part this instrument played in this particular piece of music.  Not knowing much about JSB we came away much more knowledgeable.   Bach was extremely prolific, having written literally many hundreds of pieces of music to say nothing of his family of 20 kids.  

We stopped in at Coffe Baum which is reputed to be the oldest coffee house still in use in Europe. We finished our snacks which came with a side order of surly service and headed back to the train station. 

As our train was scheduled to leave at 16:31we stopped in at Starbucks to relax. Arriving on the platform with 15 minutes to spare we stood and waited for our train, and waited, and waited.......

The electronic board kept us informed, 20 minutes late, 30 minutes, 40 minutes late, 60 minutes late, then it dropped right off the board. We had noticed that no trains had pulled in or left our part of the station while we were waiting and panic was beginning to set in. Checking the schedule board we found a regional train that was leaving in 15 minutes on a track down the way.  Judy fought for a seat for the three of us and we were ready to go.  It was late when we got home and we were starved and thirsty.  Fortunately there was a Hofbrauhaus near our hotel.  All that hype about German trains always running on time is about as true as anything that comes from Donald Trump's mouth. 

Eastward Bound

Today was a travel day as we headed from the medieval city of Nuremberg to our first former East German city, Dresden.  Considering its recent history we did not know what to expect in Dresden but are looking forward to it.  Dresden did not disappoint, although on first glance it looked like a medieval city that had been invaded by Bedouins.  There were white tents everywhere. It seems that every year one of the state capitals celebrates unification day with an enormous fair.  As Dresden is the capital of Saxony, this year it's its turn.  Our hotel is located on the edge of Altemarkt Square which would be lovely if it wasn't covered by enormous white tents.  

Settling in we decided to have a quick look around. Our first stop was the Frauenkirche which was a landmark for the rebuilding of the city after the infamous firebombing of 1945.

  We were quite taken aback by the design of the church.  It does not follow a cross-shaped layout like what we have become accustomed to and is more a theatre in the round designed complete with tiered balconies.  We went to the Brauhaus next door to our hotel and retired early.  

A Zwinger of a Day

We have come to realize that Dresden gives a very upbeat and alive vibe.  Almost all the old town area was incinerated in the Allied bombing of February, 1945.  Not much got rebuilt during Dresden's days behind the Iron Curtain.  But that has all changed.  Many of the old classic buildings have been or are being rebuilt.  Dresden has been a rich city through most of its history and was the capital of Saxony. We decided to spend the day wandering this beautiful city.  Our first stop was the historic Green Vault. The Historisches Grünes Gewölbe is actually a series of 9 treasure rooms, each one having a theme based on the treasures it contains, for example, the Amber Cabinet, the Bronze Room and the Hall of Precious Objects.  Unfortunately, like a lot of museums and some churches, no photography is allowed.  On top of that security is the tightest we have seen anywhere.  All bags and cameras and purses must be stored in lockers and entering and egress are through a series of double doors.  Thoroughly overwhelmed we left the vault and began our walking tour of the city.

 Everywhere you look there is another amazing building, the Semper Opera House, the Royal Palace and the Zwinger complex.

 Although the Zwinger looks like a palace to those of us who don't know any better it was never lived in.  It was only a place to hold royal parties.

 One feature of the Zwinger was the Glockenspiel, but instead of the regular tubular brass bells it has chimes made of porcelain.  

Probably the most interesting thing we saw was the 250 meters long ceramic mural depicting the royal history of Dresden.  Because this mural was made from ceramic tiles it survived the firestorm intact.  

Wandering through the Old Town we came upon a promenade along the banks of the Elbe River and decided to sit in the shade and enjoy some ice cream. 

A Chequered Past

So far on our trip there has been no real evidence of Germany's recent dark past.  That changed

today.  Because of its ties to the Holy Roman Empire (the first Reich) Hitler chose Nuremberg to hold his immense party rallies.  He made plans to construct a grandiose permanent site to hold these rallies.  

These included the Congress Hall, Rally Grounds (the Zepelin field) and a planned soccer stadium which was to be the largest in the world seating 400,000.  

The remains of the immense Congress Hall have been turned into the Documentation Centre, a first class museum documenting how the Nazi party came to power and its effect on the German people. 

Considering the subject matter this museum is a must see. It's exhibit, called "Fascination and Terror", clinically documents how Hitler was able to gain so much momentum and influence.  Finishing up we needed some fresh air and stopped at Gutman's Beer Garden by a pretty swan-filled lake.

After a nice lunch we strolled on to the Zepelin field.  Nature is slowly reclaiming this gigantic edifice, however it is still used for a major car race and various concerts. 

Catching a tram back to the old town, we strolled down the pedestrian strasse.  We made a mandatory stop at the Staedeler Flagship store where you can buy everything from a make-it-yourself pencil kit to a fountain pen they wouldn't even put the price on.  A little further along we crossed the river and saw a hospital donated by a rich merchant in the 14th to 15th century. 

Further along we came to the imposing Frauenkirche which was built on the site of a former Synagogue.  To commemorate this it has a Star of David in the floor.  Entering the church we lucked out as a young man was practising on the gigantic organ.  After enjoying a brief concert we headed for dinner, ice cream and home. 

To get around in Nuremberg we used their amazing transit,  squeaky clean and unthreatening subway system paired with trams and buses.  We purchased a day pass which covered up to 6 people for all zones, all public transport, all day for an unbelievably low €11.  Translink, you should be ashamed.