Post #123 8 March 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Hamburg, Germany, 14 -17 August 2016.

The main reason for visiting Hamburg was to see Mechthild (Matilda) Hirthe who taught German at our university. We became good friends and we wanted to see her again.

Matilda was an interesting person. She was born in East Prussia just after the War and the family fled to southern Germany where she grew up.  She went to Hamburg to study, worked as a teacher, married and had a family.  In her late 40s she got an urge to travel. Her husband wanted to stay put, so they divorced and Matilda got a teaching job in Seoul, South Korea. She spent ten years there, learnt the language and customs. Then she moved to China and worked in different places; we met in Qingdao when she worked at our university (that was to be her last job - she has now officially retired).

Matilda was full of energy and fun. She loved music and dancing and on many Friday and Saturday nights she could be found in Knuckles Bar (about 2 km from the campus), having a beer and dancing along to the Filipino band.

She was my age (70) and, despite needing a walking stick, still very active. The day after we left Hamburg she was off to Turkey for a month, not to sit in some seaside resort but travelling around the country. What a girl!

Here are photos of some of the things we did during our visit to Hamburg.

The ICE fast train from Berlin to Hamburg took just 2 hours, Hamburg is known for its harbour and trade, and we were surprised to learn that it is actually situated about 100 km from the North Sea, up the big Elbe River,

We stayed at the Meininger Hotel at Hamburg-Altona, about 10 km from the city center, because Matilda lived in that area.  Good train and bus services. 

On our first afternoon Matilda showed us around the old warehouse area along the river. True to its reputation, the weather in Hamburg was variable, and quite cool for mid-summer.

We had coffee & cake in this cafe, situated in a refurbished warehouse,

Inside the cafe, Matilda and Vera deciding what to order.  The coffee was excellent, and the cakes delicious, No wonder this place is so popular with the locals. We returned a couple of times,

Later the sun came out and it was more pleasant. It was Sunday afternoon and we came across a dance club holding a dance in  a public square - of course we had to stop and join in!

Matilda insisted taht we visit "Miniatur Wunderland" and we were so glad we did.  It was probably the world's biggest display of miniature railway - truly amazing. 

Miniature trains were running in all directions,

There were also scenes of towns and villages, even an airport with planes taking off and landing,

The main control room was full of computers.

Hamburg is a "water city" and of course we did a ferry tour along the Elbe River.

A view of the impressive new Arts Center on the banks of the river.

Hamburg has a huge port and trades with the world. This Chinese container ship was just leaving, helped along the way by tug boats.

I turned 70 on 15 August 2016; we celebrated with dinner on a converted "Feuer Schiff" which had served like a mobile lighthouse, helping ships navigate the mouth of the Elbe River. We drank local "red beer".

A view of the dining area on the converted "Feuer Schiff".  Below, the engine room is now used as a music venue.  After dinner we went downstairs and enjoyed a couple of hours of jazz. Very crowded, but great fun. A memorable night,

Herrings are a popular local dish in Hamburg - delicious!

1907-11 a tunnel was built under the Elbe River, to facilitate the movement of workers from one side to the other. 

We walked the tunnel - it is also accessible by bikes and cars.

Famous St Michael's Church. A lift goes to the viewing platform above the clock. Great views of the city (see below).

The alter of the magnificent St Michael's Church (known locally as St Michel). 

View from St Michael's looking up the river.

View from St Michael's looking down the river.

Some of the lovely old houses near St Michael's Church - most of the city was destroyed during the War, and some has been rebuilt in the old style.

Hamburg has two attractive lakes adjacent to the City Center, the Binnen Alster and the Ausser Alster. Sailing is popular on the Ausser Alster (photo above).

We were lucky on two counts: having a local guide and with the weather - it was cool and windy, but the rain stayed away.

Of course we had to see the infamous Reeperbahn Red Light district of Hamburg.  Matilda took us there one night. Lots of "working girls" and strip clubs, but they could see that we weren't buying so left us alone.  We had a look at the bar where the Beatles performed back in the mid-60s.

On 18 August we  said goodbye to Matilda (she was off to Turkey the following day), and caught the train to Montabaur near Bonn to see other old friends.  The next post will cover that visit.

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Best wishes, stay well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Wednesday 8 March 2017

(We arrived back in Canberra yesterday after our 3 week trip up north. Great news this morning - Caroline and Andrew have a baby girl.  We'll go visit them in Hong Kong shortly to see our new grand daughter - can't wait!)

Post #122 1 March 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post covers our visit to Berlin, 6 - 14 August 2016.

Berlin, the capital of Germany.  We had heard good things about this city, and they were confirmed.  It is much bigger than Budapest - takes longer to get used to the place - but it has something for everyone: cosmopolitan, sophisticated, cultural, artistic, historical, shopping, eating, etc etc.

We had 8 days in Berlin, and felt that we just scratched the surface.  A most impressive city.

We took dozens of photos - here is a small selection, to give a feel for the place.

Map of Berlin.  We stayed in Berlin Mitte (Middle Berlin). Visited Potsdam one day - nice city.  We took the train from Dresden, stopped at Leipzig for 3 hours and looked around the Old City which was opposite the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof.  Then another train to Berlin.  On arrival bought 7 day travel passes to get around the city, then took a bus to the Circus Hostel in Rosenthaler  Platz.  Berlin has a great transportation system of bus and tram and subway.

We stayed near Rosenthaler Platz in Berlin Mitte - the top right had corner of this map.  About 600 meters north of the Hackescher Markt. It was in the old East Sector, but most of the buildings have been tastefully renovated.

Rosenthaler Platz was well served by Subway, Trams and Buses.

We stayed in the Circus Hostel in Rosenthaler Platz for the first four nights.  Studio room, quite large but no a/c or TV (100 euro a night).  Then Andrew, Caz & Eddie arrived.  They booked a two bedroom apartment in the Circus Apartments around the corner, so we moved in with them for the next 4 nights.  These apartments were top quality.  

We visited the Museum to the Berlin Wall which was not far from our hostel. Quite small, but powerful.  The Berlin Wall was built on 13 August 1961 to stop the exodus of people from East Berlin to West Berlin (and West Germany).  It became a symbol of Communist repression during the Cold War.  The Wall was finally breached on 9 November 1989 following a popular movement by East Berliners.  It was an amazing moment. Soon after the Communist Party of East Germany relinquished power (as happened in other Soviet Satellite countries).  A year later East and West Germany were reunited after more than 40 years of separation.

The fearsome Berlin Wall as it was: 3.6 meters high, 55 km long. Built August 1961, breached November 1989. 

Across the street from the Museum are preserved sections of the Berlin Wall.

A view from the Museum across a section of the Berlin Wall.  In many places (like here) there were actually two walls with a "no mans land death strip'" in between.  Guard Towers were erected every  few hundred meters.

Part of a monument showing photos of people who were killed trying to escape the West.

A simple chapel near the remains of the Wall - starkly effective in its simplicity.

After visiting the Wall, we went to a huge "flea market" nearby, held every Sunday.

Another photo of the flea market.

After the flea market we met up with Tamara and Felix Baur.  Tamara taught German at our university in Qingdao and is now back in Berlin.  Her husband, Felix, is a policeman. They showed us around the Brandenburg Gate area (Reichstag; Unter den Linden, Checkpoint Charlie).

Later we met up with Gerhard Antretter, another German teacher we met at our University in Qingdao,

The Reichstag (or Parliament) Building near the Brandenburg Gate.  We wanted to do a tour of the building, but tours were booked out a week in advance.

Berlin has a very fine collection of museums.  There were usually long queues as August is the height of the tourist season.

A side view of the magnificent "Dom" Cathedral.

The interior of the Dom Cathedral; rich and ornate.  It was half-way through mass before we realised that it wasn't Catholic, but Lutheran (the sermon went on and on, which was a clue). Wonderful organ music.

Powerful memorial to war dead.

The impressive monument to the victims of the Holocaust, located near the Brandenburg Gate.

This bombed out church (Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche) on Kurfurstendamm near the Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten) has been kept as a reminder of WW2. It was built in 1890 and destroyed in 1943.  Locals refer to it as Der hohle Zahn (the hollow tooth). 

The stunning chapel next to the bombed-out church.

A street sculpture on Kurfurstendamm near the Zoo, which was the main shopping street in West Berlin. Berlin is a sophisticated city.

We went out to Potsdam to see the famous Sanssouci Palace, but all the tour spots were booked out until late afternoon. So instead we visited Schloss Cecilienhof (see below).

Schloss Cecilienhof in Postdam was built 1914-17 by the last Royal rulers of Germany. It is famous as the site of the Potsdam Conference held 17 July - 2 August 1945.  The leaders of the Allies met to discuss the future of Germany and its allies.   Berlin (including Potsdam) was occupied by the Soviet Army, which quickly planted the Red Star in the courtyard.  The Schloss (Castle) is now an interesting museum of the Potsdam Conference.

The three leaders who attended the Potsdam Conference, from left: Winston Churchill (UK); Harry Truman (USA - President Roosevelt died in April 1945 and Truman was the new US President); and Josef Stalin (USSR). This photo was taken on 25 July 1945.  Although the war in Europe ended in May 1945 with Germany's surrender, the Pacific War was still going on; Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945 after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs to end WW2.

Potsdam contains many beautiful mansions, most of which seem in very good order.  The city center also has the "Hollandische Vertiel" (the Dutch Quarter) because the distinctive look of the old houses. One day wasn't enough to explore Potsdam properly.

A fairly typical street in Berlin Mitte.  The buildings have been renovated - some quite extensively rebuilt. We were impressed by the number of small parks and children's play areas amongst the many residential buildings.  It's a well-planned,  livable city.

Another street in Berlin Mitte.  Many buildings have restaurants and small shops on the ground floor, and residential apartments above.  Usually not more than 5 floors.  Actually, it was quite strange coming from China, where cities feature 20 and 30 storey buildings km after km, to see very few skyscrapers in Berlin.

Andrew, Caroline and Little Eddie arrived on 10 August and we shared their apartment for 4 days. They are based in Hong Kong; on this holiday they spent time in Copenhagen, then Majorca, and finally Berlin.

Little Eddie has already visited more than a dozen countries and he is only 2.5 years old!

Lots of good eating choices around Berlin Mitte.

We spent a day around the suburb of Kreuzberg.  We had lunch in a nice restaurant overlooking a river. Parts of Kreuzberg were "edgy", with more immigrants visible (many young men from Africa and the Middle East, who didn't seem to have much to do).

Another section of the Berlin Wall which has been preserved.

On our last evening we had dinner and a beer (of course) at the large Prater Beer Garden. Lots of people, including families, drinking beer and eating, all well behaved and just enjoying a beautiful summer evening.

Sunday 14 August 2016 Andrew, Caz & Eddie left for the airport.  Shortly afterwards Vera & I headed for the station and our train to Hamburg.

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So ended our time in Berlin.

One day we'd like to return to explore more of this impressive city.

Some top-of-the-head impressions of Berlin

Well-organised; good transport infrastructure. Many cyclists (the city is basically flat). But there was quite a lot of litter on the streets (although few bottles because they bring cash).  Lots of building/renovating going on. Preserve/respect history (museums, churches, old buildings). Cobblestone streets. Lots of little parks everywhere, and also the huge Tiergarten in the center of the city. Germans love the sun, and flock to parks when the sun comes out.

Not many refugees in evidence, at least most of the places we went.

Good food; not cheap (about the same as Australia, but overall better range and quality). Lots of restaurants and cafes – how do they all survive?

Changeable weather – one day hot (after all it was the middle of summer), next day cool.

Many people smoke, including women.  Many people had pets, especially small dogs.

We didn’t notice any crime – the place felt quite safe.

Many American TV programs, dubbed into German.

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My next post will describe our visit to Hamburg.

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Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
1 March 2017

(Currently visiting our daughter and her family in Brisbane.)