Month: November 2016

Well I’m here, finally ensconced back in Bologna and happy to be here but also happy to really be heading home now. A day of travel is always exhausting as we all know. Its subways, planes, busses and tramping in between (Amsterdam is lovely at this time of year!!). The last straw was the Bologna airport bus only going to the central station which was the final walk with 2 heavy cases. Anyway I got here and am staying in the apartment right next to Fabrizio’s surgery which is a bit awkward. She was here to meet me…a bit awkward. She was worried that she should do something with me tonight but I said I just wanted to go for a walk and I’d pick something up when I was out. We were both relieved about that but I fear I won’t get off so lightly tomorrow night. I must say they do their apartments well though. They are the best ones I’ve ever stayed in.

So I went out and walked around. I got a meal (aaaahhhhh…back to Italian food…thank goodness) and half a litre of wine…all as it should be.

I’m not sure if this email is going to make it. My hotmail account (the only one I can send with) has again shut me down because they think in their wisdom that they have detected a security breach…thanks very much guys!!!!

More tomorrow but soon there will be no more. By the way its much warmer here!!

It was a nice day but not a lot to report. The weather has picked up markedly and I no longer even take the hat and gloves with me. Its a balmy, autumnal 14 deg. The wind blows and the autumn leaves swirl around…it’s lovely. So this morning I set off and went back to that ‘cool’ area, Neustadt. I trammed over the river and just wandered around the area poking my nose into lovely little shops but not buying!! I went back to those courtyards that are decorated by artists and soaked it all in some more. I had coffee and I had lunch and basically just cruised with no main goal. I got back on the tram and then got off it before it crossed the river. I’d picked the tram because of the bridge it used to cross the river because when I was at the gallery of Old (or was it New??) Masters I was struck by a painting of Dresden painted by Canolletto (an old friend from the Sloan Collection at Lincoln’s Inn Field). I had worked out where he had painted it from and I got off to try and capture it with my camera…you can imagine that that wasn’t so successful but I gave it a go!!

I came back to the old town and wandered around the setting up of the Christmas Markets. Some are starting to open so I got a Gluhwein and some donut thingos, then I wandered off home and started to do a bit of packing. But no food in the place at all so out I went again to my lovely ‘Keller’ and had a meal of chicken with a horseradish crust. It was delicious and I was able to polish off the chicken but the masses of wedges defeated me totally.

Well that’s it. Have to get myself out to the airport in the morning. I’ve worked out the subway station and I can walk there without too much trouble so I should be OK.

Allah willing my next update will be from Bologna.

Another busy day in Dresden. I’m just settling down in this city. Starting to know my way around, exploring all the areas and becoming familiar with the trams. 6 days is just about what it takes to settle in!!

After writing last night I decided I didn’t really know that there was no Einsteins here…so I googled and lo and behold there was one. So I went in search this morning. I had the address and I went up and down the fucking street with my tongue hanging out. But no luck, it definitely wasn’t there. So that wasted an hour or so. I got back on track and got on the tram to go to Pfunds Molkerei. LPG told me it was the Guinness- certified “world’s most beautiful dairy shop”. And beautiful it was…all tiled and frescoed. A real treat but first up I got into trouble for taking a photo (she gave me such a fright the photo is totally blurred!!). So I poked around and I went into their cafe for a coffee. That is when I went totally mad and decided I should try the dairy. So I got an Iced Coffee and a piece of cheesecake. How insane can you be?? I struggled through the iced coffee feeling like Gluttony itself. I, of course, make it through a third of cheesecake and had to leave the rest. I felt bad about that all day!!

Then I got on the trams again and headed off to the Militarhistorisches Museum for a bit of Military History. Not something I would normally go out of my way to do but it got a really good rapp. And it was a great museum…not at all boring and was really inventive in its display of the effects of war. I was there from 11 until 4. It was huge. They also had a special exhibition on Spies…the German Secret Services. I paid for both but by the time I finished the permanent exhibition I was done….and it was starting to get dark outside. So I flew around half the Spy Show and then called it a day. Big day, so back on the tram to the centre then hoofed it home.

A night for finishing off leftovers and clearing out the fridge. I’ll definitely have to eat out tomorrow night. One more day and I’ll return to the places I’ve particularly liked in a final walk around the city.

This time next week I’ll be in my bed and hopefully I’ll be warm!! (as long as the planes stay in the sky)

One Museum Card successfully (and cleverly) acquitted. Off I went this morning but first my only complaint about Dresden. Crap Coffee. No Einstein in this city and not a decent cup to be found which shits me. Also as an aside have I told you how great the weather has been. Well into double figures from 14 deg up to 16 deg…after 1 deg in Berlin this has been heaven…no totally dorky hat for a few days in order to restore my dignity briefly. But today it started to squirt rain upon my head so the hat went back on. I looked at myself in a mirror and truly you either laugh or you cry. Fortunately I don’t know anyone here but maybe the hat has something to do with the fact that people weren’t talking to me. In fact now that I think about it the hat came off in Dresden and people have suddenly been so friendly…THATS IT!!!!!

Anyway back to business… Museums…quickly, got to acquit them today because that’s it for the card. Have I also said I hate these cards, they don’t suit my style at all. Anyway this morning, after crap coffee, I went to The Albertinum Museum of New Masters. And it was great, some great stuff and the German artists expand my knowledge of art. I focus on the Germans to try and learn something. So I absorbed Otto Dix, Gerhard Richter, Max Liebermann etc with a cheeky look at Chagall, Degas, Monet, Manet etc.

That took ages and by the time I finished I needed a break so I got some lunch and recharged then I went off to an Exhibition nearby of Flemish Landscape painting including the wonderful Breughal Paintings of Paradise on Earth. I actually really love those Flemish artists with their fine detail and beautiful colours and cheeky birds, flowers etc. It was fun.

After that I spent some time walking along the Elbe which was nice. Then I went into the Katholische Hofkirsche…the Catholic Cathedral built to uphold the Catholics end in answer to the Protestant Frauenkirsche. And wouldn’t you know it, it was also gutted during WWII and has been laboriously rebuilt…this town is something else. The reconstruction of the city after total devastation is beyond my mind’s ability to fathom.

Still raining…but I’d seen a wine shop I wanted to go to to get my last bottle. The man there conned me into buying a $25 bottle on the grounds you had to pay that much to get a decent bottle of German red wine. Not my experience in Berlin but Oh Well!!

Home I trudged in the rain and had a leftover dinner. That’s it for another day. 3 Sleeps left in Germany counting tonight. Another mueum tomorrow before they close for Monday so last chance and this one isn’t covered by that bloody card so it’s OK!!

Good night darlings. I’m starting to really looking forward to getting home now.

You are receiving this from a modern day, elderly super hero!! When I arrived in Dresden I bought a Museum Card…pay 21 Eu and visit as many museums as you want…the catch…in 2 days!! Now this girl likes to do a Museum a day, 2 if pushed but that means brain going to mush. However the imperative that trumps (sorry to use that word) all others is getting value for money. I planned 2 museums today and 2 tomorrow but that meant losing a few.

So, I set out this AM, after saying good morning to Lou Boy, I had a strong coffee and off I went. First cab off the rank was the Museums in Zwinger (a palace built by Augustus the Strong _ great name!- nearly as good as Friedrich dei Grosse). The Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister i.e. Old Masters Museum was first. That was pretty impressive which, as the name suggests, was full of the old masters such as Raphael, Rubens, Cranach, Rembrandt, Vermeer etc…spent ages there because I do love following these mighty men around the world. Thinking it was a 2 museum day I took my time and calmly moved on to the other gallery in the Zwinger (there are 3 but I decided to ditch the Mathematisch- Physikalischer (I did think you boys would probably have loved it) and chose instead the Porzellansammlung i.e. the Porcelain Collection from China Japan and of course Meissen. Half way through that Museum I thought it was fairly boring but then it really got interesting and there were some amazing pieces that I loved…I kept thinking how Loris would have loved it!!

By this stage I was exhausted so I stopped for a bowl of soup and a sit down for a while. With this I revived and it was only 2.30. So I decided to go back to yesterdays venue, the main Schloss, the Residenzschloss which is also now a whole lot of museums. This is the site of yesterday’s Historisches Grunes Gewolde which was amazing. So this time I made for the Neues Grunes Gewolde (The new one!). It was equally overwhelming…it truly is amazing they are both just overflowing with the most remarkable jewels, intricately worked objects of all sorts in ivory, shell, ebony, gold, silver and all jewel studded. It’s impossible to describe, it is awe-inspiring, overwhelming and beautiful. I loved it as I loved yesterdays. It also has the biggest and only green diamond in the world (biggest and only of course not being possible but I’ll leave it at that), a cherry pit with 185 faces carved on it. Anyway, enough of that. In the same building is the Turkish Cammer..a bit of a disappointment actually which was a relief because I’d had it. But the huge turkish tent was impressive.

That was it I was done!! It was 5 pm and dark so I headed to a ‘Keller’ recommended in LPG for tea but as I arrived so did 50 or so tourists off a bus so I was outta there. I headed back to the restaurant near home where I went on the first night. It was so early I was able to get a table despite them being fully booked…as long as I left by 6.30…no problem for me! This time I ordered a goulash and again it was HUGE. But I’m wise now so I carefully ate half and asked to take the other half home…2 meals for the price of one…very clever!! And home to get those shoes off.

Did I tell you how mean the provisions are in this BnB…Overall its totally fine, in a brilliant position and has everything I need but they cock it up by not having a few basics like a good knife (or any sort of cutting knife), no chopping board, a really crappy corkscrew that almost defeated me last night but desperation wins in the end. And finally not enough toilet paper to last the 6 days I’m here. But fear not I’ve taken up the challenge and am about as economical as is humanly possible!!

A day exploring Dresden and I have to say this seems to me to be the Jewel in the Crown. A hard call given the pleasures of both Hamburg and Berlin but Dresden just epitomises an amazing spirit of regeneration. I’m in awe as anyone would have to be visiting this city of the way it has risen up and rebuilt itself. And it is so COOL!! And the people are SO lovely. Twice today people actually came up to me and asked if they could help when I was peering at transport maps.

So where did I finish off? I think I was just heading out to dinner…which I did, to this lovely, very ‘typical’ restaurant just a couple of blocks away. The waiter was so sweet and helpful. I asked him what I should order and he recommended this sort of corned beef (only sort of), dumplings and sauerkraut…being very typical of Saxony. OK said I let’s give it a go. Delicious it was, but so huge. The dumplings were like 2 massive apples!! Anyway I worked my way through about a third of it, which I tell you was quite a substantial meal, then I had to give up. They brought me a very alcoholic digestive and gave me a doggy bag for the leftovers. Then they told me there was a very typical desert which, being the sucker I am, I agreed to… a pancake with all things sweet and German inside. I waddled home. I took a photo to share with you but my phone refuses to send anything from it so I can’t get it to you.

This morning I set off. First I have to say that I bought a Dresden card for all the Museums. But it is for 2 days so I didn’t want to start my 2 days today so I had to find things not covered by the card. First I went to the local train station to suss out the way I get myself to the airport and to buy my weekly ticket. Both accomplished. Then I went into the centre to firstly the Frauenkirche, the massive cathedral in the centre of Dresden. This is a story in itself. totally destroyed in the massive carpet bombing of Dresden in February 1945. Once they got rid of the Russians in 1989 they started to meticulously rebuild the massive edifice from the rubble that had just remained there. So between 1994 and 2005 it was totally reconstructed. They have a film about it and they were happy to show it to just me, rather than have me wait for a show time. I have to say I ended up with tears in my eyes (I know, I know, very easy for me) but it was totally extraordinary.

Then I went to the Residenzschloss, the massive Saxon palace in the centre of Dresden. There are a number of important museums within but I went to the Historisches Grunes Gewolde (the historic green vault) which is the only one not covered by the Dresden Card. Amazing again…just dripping with beautiful silver, gold, ivory etc…and jewels…wow…emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds of very grand proportions. That took a few hours and was totally overwhelming.

Then I decided to use my newly purchased public transport ticket and get a feel for the other side of the river in Neustadt. This is definitely where the cool cats hang out. Its Fitzroy, NeuKolln, St Pauli all on steroids. Amazing street art, cafes, artists etc. I had lunch in a very groovy restaurant Die Scheune which was built on a bomb site in 1951 as a Youth Club. The waiter was, again, totally gorgeous and talked to me for ages telling me about the restaurant and the politics of Dresden and Germany as he saw it. Neustadt largely escaped the bombing in 1945 except for the block where the restaurant was. I left there and walked the streets looking at the street art. The best part was the Kunsthohpassage. These are these 5 or so courtyard spaces all linked together and taken over by artists who have made them beautiful and who are still there working and selling their art. It is a fabulous space that I loved. Time to go home exhausted. But I needed wine and bread. Now there’s a challenge!! Not the bread but I couldn’t find wine for some reason. Anyway to cut a long story short I did eventually find some in a horrible Chadstone-like space back in my hood.

So I staggered home after another long day. Last nights leftovers for tea were a godsend. I think I should be spending more time in Dresden but not at the expense of coming home!! Oh that reminds me, the other brilliant thing about today was that it was 10…yes 10 degrees…double figures no less!!!!

Museum day tomorrow!! Off I go to the Zwinger I think.

Well i made it to Dresden and have just spent the last 3 hours wandering around and getting a feel for it. Magic!! A really gorgeous city. Reminds me a bit of Prague without the Disney and feeling that it has been taken over for tourism. It’s early days but I just loved it this afternoon despite the rain and gloom and the descent of darkness so early. I’ve started to get my bearings which is good because there is a sense of urgency with only 5 days after today to get to see and do all I want to see and do. I found the Tourist Office (after a few wrong turns) and they were incredibly nice and helpful so I have my map, my information and ticket for the Museum so I’m off and running.

I was up and at it fairly efficiently this morning to finish packing, cleaning up and getting myself onto the crowded bus with my 2 cases. Got to the Hauptbahnhof OK, had a bit of a wait so off to the Einstein’s there for my coffee. The train was delayed and getting onto the train is always a challenge. In Italy you can fairly much rely on someone helping you lift your cases up but not so in Germany. But no worries and the guy in the carriage heaved them up to the luggage racks for me (but he was Spanish!!!!…it’s those latinos, you have to love em when you’re not building fences). Anyway all good. I was met at the station by the mother (Jana) of the Airbnb woman which was enormously good of her and a huge help it has to be said.

So that’s my day. There is apparently a restaurant just near here that Jana told me about so for the first time in ages I may venture out at night and test it out. So off I go. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I survive walking the dark streets alone!!

Well, last day in Berlin is over!!!

Yesterday I didn’t write because there was much to write about. I did a little bit of small Christmas shopping but nothing exciting at all. I find it hard to find exciting things in this global world. Anyway, I wandered around, popped in and out of shops and sat down to a nice lunch, something I haven’t really done before. As I’ve commented before the lovely squares are now full of Christmas Markets under construction, including the lovely Gendarmenplatz. Good thing I’d seen it before. I came home after the day to do a load of washing and start to move my head into moving on gear.

There was all this hype about the Super Moon and I’m in the perfect position with a 360 deg. view from this apartment. So I waited and the moon rose as expected. I watched it for ages and it was bright but not a lot different from your normal full moon. A bit of a disappointment in my view…how was it from down under??

Today I set off for my last hurrah. I went for my last coffee at Einstein (Check Point Charlie…the best people watching venue on earth…and god people are stupid but sometimes I do find myself laughing out loud!!). Then I set off for…oops the Museum Island. I’d walked around there and the museums are all so utterly overwhelming that I couldn’t cope and I hadn’t been to any of the Museums. So, I had a day today and I decided to choose one and to go to it. I chose the Pergamon Museum with its splendours of the ancient world. But first I got waylaid when I went up to Freidrichstasse Station and decided I hadn’t taken the time to take in the Tranenpalast ( The Palace of Tears) the border crossing pavilion where the East Berliners had to say goodbye to their visitors from the west. So I went in there and spent ages looking at the displays, videos etc. For the first time the thing that really struck me was how naive and stupid I was and what a dangerous position I was in when I blithely found myself in East Berlin. I had a real ‘Oh My God’ moment. You stupid would be adventurer!!

Anyway I made my way from there to the Pergamonmuseum. And I’m so glad I didn’t miss it…it was amazing. The first thing you walk into is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. Massive, impressive, beautiful and reconstructed within the museum from an archeological site. I knew they had all these wonderful treasures and like the British Museum there is a certain uneasiness about how these treasure were acquired and removed from what was Mesopotamia/ Syria/ Jordan/ Iraq / Iran. But as you look on these amazing structures from places like Aleppo you have to think thank God they were removed because otherwise they would now be lost to us all. So, the long and the short of it was that it was an afternoon well spent and I was very happy that I’d made the effort. N.B Half the Pergamonmuseum is closed and under renovation so I will have to return to see the Pergamon Alter in 2019!!

I emerged to a horrid day of rain and wind which was in fact nearly over as the light was fading. So I galloped home on the subway and now have to turn my energies to packing and cleaning up. Dresden tomorrow. I’ve really loved Berlin but am happy to be heading for new horizons tomorrow. This time in a week I’ll be back in Italy (god willing!!)

More from Dresden tomorrow….loads and loads of love, I’m missing everyone and starting to look forward to being home.

Another day has ended in Berlin. Only 3 more days to go. Today I went off to find another Market Hall, the Arminius-Markthalle. It is an area that is well off the tourist trek but I found it and it was great. It was like the other Market that Chris and I had gone too but not as crowded and friendlier, possibly because of the lack of tourists. It was full of food stalls to graze from as well as cheeses etc to buy. So I ate a bit, wondered around endlessly and stocked up some more with food for the fridge to last until I leave Berlin.

It was a nice time and I took my time. I left about 2pm and started to make my way with my purchases. Then I decided there was time to do something else so I got off the bus and walked down to Hitler’s Bunker. This has been something I hadn’t bothered to do and indeed there is absolutely nothing to see at all it having been decisively blown up by the Russians. Still, there was the story and it was an eerie feeling to be standing there (with multiple tour groups just in case the feeling got too eerie!). Then I walked back to the apartment but on the way I passed the Currywurst stall that I pass on multiple occasions. They were also selling Gluhwein and I was very cold so I stopped and I actually got myself a CurryWurst as well as a Gluhwein. Then I came home.

I can’t tell you how cold it is getting. In the mornings the roofs I look down on are all white from the frost. Usually the frost is gone pretty quickly but today when I got home there was still ice on the roofs. It is fucking freezing and I’m just glad I’m not facing a full winter. I’d have to get a new wardrobe!!

Tomorrow I’m booked into the Potsdam palaces so have to be up and going to get myself there. It will, I think, be a very big day. I’ll let you know!!

Goodnight…happy day before your birthday Hammy my darling. Hope the weekend celebrations are going well.