Germany: Bremen, Becks and Barrels

I returned to the north, but this time a bit more northeast, to visit Bremen. I think the motivation for going here is that I had been with my family when I was young and I wanted to see it again because I had a vague recollection of liking it. I still like it. It took a couple of trains to get here but it was worth it. I walked around the old town and enjoyed the atmosphere. I thought I was galleried out but as I started to explore beyond the old town I came upon a gallery and it was excellent. I hate to say it but when a gallery has an IKEA style arrangement, where they tell you exactly what order to visit the rooms, suits me so well. Finally, someone just telling me what to do rather than me trying to work it out and this gallery was organised chronologically from the renaissance to modern day. The most modern was a bizarre performance work on fashion and the early renaissance was also a little weird but the works in between were worth the visit! 

Consistent with my 'just tell me where to go so I don't have to make a decision' attitude at the moment, I opted for a walking tour which was well worth it. Walking tours specialise in fun facts and tour guides quickly realise that they have an enthusiastic listener in me so they say lots of stories and I am happy. Another advantage of the walking tour was that they took us to a part of the old town called the Schnoor which is the oldest part of the city. I had tried to find it and failed so it was great to go and I revisited it afterwards because I enjoyed walking around it so much. The houses were so narrow because the taxation was based on the width of the house so they tried to make them as narrow as possible (fun fact) which makes for picturesque streets now. 

Now, the reason for the title of this post, aside from the obvious advantage of alliteration, was that Becks is brewed here and is everywhere and delicious to have with a traditional german fish sandwich or a currywurst (both of which I have sampled) and they are also famous for manufacturing barrels. They are also famous for aviation manufacturing but that didn't work with the alliteration! I am really pleased I included Bremen in my trip and even though there was so much I didn't see, I was happy with how much I was able to explore and discover.

 

More of Germany...Dresden

It was sad to leave Berlin but I had my ticket booked so I headed south to Dresden lugging my now very heavy bag with me. It was a crowded train trip but I was sitting next to a really nice English couple who not only helped me put my bag in the overhead compartment. The polite greetings turned into an animated conversation for the whole two hours as we chatted about travel, AFL (he is a Collingwood supporter but still very nice) and teaching as they are both teachers in Newcastle. Travel opens up these opportunities to have great conversations and then you just go on with your lives as I don't actually think I even found out their names! The advantages of travelling alone is that you end up falling into these interactions and it is such a bonus. 

Dresden was an interesting city to visit. It was rebuilt after getting heavily bombed in World War 2 and there is a mix of new and old but it has an interesting feel to the place. There are obviously references to World War 2 but limited references to the history of Eastern Germany that I could see. I did see one mural that reflected this past but not as much as what I saw in Berlin. The warm weather was good but also the humidity has started to kick in so after spending the day exploring (including seeing the largest porcelain tile artwork in the world as included in the pictures below and that is my fun fact!) I took refuge in the cooler art galleries and museums such as the porcelain museum and other associated museums. While I was in Dresden there was a summer festival and I took part in Salsa Night! So, those of you who know me well would know that me taking part means watching it, enjoying the music and then making a quick getaway when there was a whiff of audience participation! The packed two days also included a boat trip along the river and just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere. 

Hello to Germany...Berlin

Berlin is a familiar city to me. I have had the privilege of visiting before so it was an opportunity to explore some different parts of the city. One of the familiar things about Berlin is being able to catch up with my very dear friend Stephanie. We have been friends for many years but we have not seen each other for perhaps 10 years but it was wonderful to catch up and have long and deep conversations about life, politics and everything in between. This time in Berlin I spent more time in the west of the city and enjoyed exploring, visiting galleries such as the Neue Nationalgalerie designed by Mies van der Rohes (the glass building below) and walking along the river. 

My one trip to the east was visiting the Stasi Museum. It was a well constructed museum but quite confronting. The museum was in one of the original Stasi buildings (it originally took up an entire city block). For those who don't know, the Stasi is the name for the State Security (police and intelligence) for the East German government during the Cold War. At one point in the 1980s, and this is my interesting fact (I can't call it a fun fact because it's not really fun), the Stasi had 90,000 employees and 180,000 informants. People were cajoled, manipulated or intimidated to inform on co-workers, friends and family members. Some of their tactics even included breaking into people's houses and simply shifting things around to make them paranoid or they might discreetly sabotage their work or relationships to isolate them. Nobody has been charged for these crimes and I admire how the German people have been able to emerge from such a dark time and can talk about it as a warning of how easily a modern government can become so corrupt. 

I don't want to end my Berlin post on such a dark topic so instead I will say the overall Berlin was wonderful and I loved the company, the food and being able to walk around the beautiful parks and walkways that have been established around the city. It was only four days but I could have stayed longer! Also, just to explain one of the pictures, the reason that I included a photo of the pedestrian light is that this is a legacy of East Germany which I really like and wanted to include it. They are not exclusive to Berlin (I am posting this from Dresden and have noticed the same lights!) but they remind me of Berlin. 

  

 

  

  

  

Denmark: Helsingor, Hamlet and Herring

I have had a wonderful four days in Denmark. I have been staying with friends Matthew and Regine in Helsingor which is just outside of Copenhagen. They have an apartment in the old town so I was quite spoiled with being surrounded by lovely little old houses on cobblestone streets just on the doorstep of the apartment. They took me on an extensive walking tour of Copenhagen on Saturday (I arrived on Friday night) and the weather was perfect for lots of walking. We visited the palace where the Royal Family stay for six months of the year, a tower with a view of the city which was designed to climb by carriage and various churches, the town square and so many other highlights. They share my love of fun facts so I have too many to mention but some include that Denmark has the oldest monarchy in the world and that they have the longest shopping street in northern Europe. It was interesting to hear about the differences between the countries within Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) and their shared history. The history is one of rivalries, occupations and cooperation in a mosaic of history. I have sampled the local fare - Carlsberg beer and Helsingor's own beer, pickled herring and also delicious danishes which ironically aren't called Danishes in Denmark!

During the time I was there the weather was up and down and Monday was very wet. Given Helsingor's location on the water (you can easily see Sweden across the Sound), it is also very windy. I chose to abandon my planned walk around Helsingor and instead visited Kronborg Castle which was the location of Hamlet (Elsinor). Apparently the play Hamlet only happened because some actors in Shakespeare's original acting troupe went to one of the famous parties held there by King Frederik and told Shakespeare about it so he decided to write a play set in what was now becoming the go-to party spot. I liked the castle and a highlight was Holger the Dane. This is a statue of a legendary giant who will waken if Denmark is attacked by foreign enemies. 

It was a very full four days with sightseeing, interesting long conversations and relaxation. It is sad to leave but there are more adventures ahead...

m

 

  

 

  

The Land of Tartan

I am in Edinburgh and yes I like tartan, so you will not be surprised that I have had no problem with every second shop in the main streets selling tartan everything from bags to kilts and that at any given moment you can hear the bagpipes being played somewhere. Arriving in Edinburgh by train from the south is probably the best way to arrive because it is a scenic trip along the coast and then coming out of the station you are surrounded by the old town on the left, the new town on the right and the gardens ahead (my fun fact - Edinburgh has more gardens within its city limits than any other capital city in Europe). My timing in Edinburgh has not been great in that the day of my departure marks the beginning of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. From my hotel room I can see the castle and as I type this I can see the rehearsal of the light show and there were even practice fireworks last night (I am hoping there will be some practice fireworks tonight!). I don't know that I could have afforded a ticket but based on what I can see from across the way, it will be amazing. I did go to one event in the Fringe Festival. I got cheap tickets to see a 'pre Fringe' showing of a one woman play called Me, Myself and Mary. It was about Mary Queen of Scots but also about her relationship with her sister and it moved me to tears. 

There are a couple of highlights of the trip. Firstly, the visit to the Royal Britannia was surprisingly good. I don't think I would have gone if it hadn't been recommended (thanks Stephen!). The Royal Britannia is the yacht belonging to the Royal Family and was basically their home when they travelled around the world. Both the Queen and Prince Philip were actively involved in the design and wanted to have the feel of a country house. In order to keep things as quiet as possible, the crew had to rely on hand signals more than yelling orders as they would normally do and they also did not wear full uniform as often to avoid the family having to return the salute all the time (apparently if you are saluted by someone in full uniform you have to salute back!). 

Other highlights have included walking along the Royal Mile, visiting various museums and exploring the city. I intended to climb Arthur's Seat but my inherently flawed sense of direction took on a path up to a lesser peak. This was disappointing at first but then I reasoned that I still got sensational views of the city and Arthur's Seat. I also visited Holyrood Palace which is the home of the Royal Family when they visit and according to Princess Anne (on the audio guide rather than in a personal conversation with me!) it is quite an intimate atmosphere. I think her idea of a cosy living arrangement is a little different to mine but I still liked it. The day I visited Holyrood it was pouring with rain and I decided to walk and got lost so it took me twice as long. The fact that I can still enjoy a place when I am wet and freezing (this is their summer!!) is evidence of how good it is. I can see why locals have raincoats rather than umbrellas because the wind is so strong that I am on my second umbrella and will need to get a third. I did consider a poncho when I was being battered by sideways rain but can't quite do it. 

Anyway, this post is probably a bit too long so I will sign off. All I will say is that Edinburgh has been wonderful to visit and I am in awe of the history of the place. 

m

Northern England - the Wonderful York

I was expecting good things from York and it didn't disappoint. The weekend I was there was actually a big racing weekend for York, which I only discovered when I arrived, so this meant more people but it was fine. I was originally going to just base myself in York and do some day trips but there was so much that I wanted to see that I ended up exploring all the sites within the town. I spent the first day exploring the cathedral (the York Minster) and climbed up the top to get some really good views of the town. I went on a great walking tour which lasted a couple of hours and helped me decide on some of the things to explore and some things just to leave. The town is a mix of Roman ruins, various skirmishes between protestants and catholics or kings and parliament so it is amazing that as much survived as what has. It doesn't have the industrial north heritage as it instead chose to make it's money through things like making chocolate and in fact the Kit Kat was invented in York and is one of the most popular chocolate bars in the world! 

I balanced my time between lots of walking and exploring but also taking advantage of the milder weather (except for the last day!) to sit and write. I also visited a really cute bookshop that i know if I lived here I would be visiting it every week and I wanted to buy at least four books but the idea of trying to fit more into my case was enough to stop me. Travelling on my own changed my eating habits - for meals I did it cheap with Tesco sandwiches (actually tasty and not as pathetic at it might sound!) and chose to spend a bit more on a pint at a fantastic pub on the river (thanks for the recommendation Annabel - it was really good!) or trying a Bakewell slice. 

I have now been away for a month and I am settled in the pace of travel and still loving it. There have been things happening at home that I would like to be home for to support others but I have had to contend with supporting from afar. This is probably the biggest challenge followed by finding reliable wifi. Overall, I enjoyed York but still feel there are other places I want to explore. As I caught the train up to Edinburgh (my Scottish post is happening soon) I saw so many towns that I would like to explore more but for now it is goodbye to England...