Berlin, Prague 2016

18 Nov

We arrived at our Berlin apartment late in the evening, instead of mid morning as originally planned, feeling pretty ragged after the preceding 24 hrs since we parted company with Bev and Andrew. Michael had mentioned when he found the apartment, that he thought we might have a challenge climbing to the fifth floor with suitcases and no lift.

Andrew came bounding down the stairs to help with the bags, but even so, 104 steps with heavy bags are are no fun. The apartment itself was very nice, overlooking parkland, and only 10 mins walk from Michael and Nora’s apartment. We finished a bottle of wine Andrew had purchased for our reunion and then went to bed.

19 Nov

Elly, Bev and Andrew went to rendezvous at the Brandenburg Gate for a Sandman’s free 3 hour walking tour of Berlin, whilst I stayed at home due to the fact that I had developed one of my trademark never ending night coughing fits and I thought it wise to stay inside.

Elly’s rendition of the day-

I think these walking tours are a perfect orientation to a city. One pays a tip of whatever you think appropriate for the tour. Our tour leader was Rob, a zanny British Manchester man ex journalist who fell in love with Berlin 6 years ago and hasn’t left. He had a great sense of humour- “How many Germans does it take to change a light globe? One, but we have no sense of humour.”

We met at the Brandenburg Gates

Next we walked through a small section of the Tiergarten to the Holocaust Memorial. Actually it is a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe designed by Peter Eisenman in 2004 and is a German government funded project and is located in the centre of Berlin.

We then went a short distance to a car park with residential apartments behind. This now used car park land is the exact location of Hitler’s bunker and so as to not notarize this landmark it is today just a car park- with the remains of Hitlers bunker below.

Then on to a Communist occupied building which is today the tax office

Next to a beautiful square, Bebelplatz, where the Humbolt University library is located and a memorial to the Nazi book burning of 10th May 1933

The tour ended at the the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm 1 outside Charlottenburg Palace. He was the first emporer of a unified Germany.

Bev, Andrew and I then had a quick coffee before having a private tour of the Denkmal,which is the memorial for the murdered Jews with Florian Kemmelmeier, an educator and consultant to the museum. He gave us many hours of his time and showed us behind the scenes of the museum and explained the politics and operation of the concept. The impetus for the Memorial came from a citizen’s initiative. In 1999 the German Bundestag passed a resolution to establish the Memorial, which is funded by the German state. The grey rectangular blocks are known as stelae, from the Greek word for gravestone and no two of the 2700 stelae are alike. Below ie underground, there is an exhibition and information Centre, not a museum, in which there is an introduction of six large illuminated portraits and four exhibition rooms-a room of Dimensions, a Room of Families, The Room of Names and The Room of Sites. Each of these displays are engaging and sensitive and each space feels different. You bend down to read the personal accounts in the room of dimensions, but in the room of sites you look up at the pictures and text  providing information about the places where the genocide took place. A map of Europe displayed at the exit of the final room shows where both Jews and non Jews were incarcerated, deported and murdered. It was a privelege to be guided through.

 

20 Nov

Through Elly’s contacts with the Holocaust Centre in Melbourne, she arranged for a guide to take us, Bev, Andrew, Elly, me and Michael’s partner, Nora, ( Michael was in Switzerland with his orchestra ) on a six hour tour covering Jewish history in Berlin. Her name was Carolyn Gammon, she is Canadian, and has been living in Berlin for twenty five years. She is a writer and poet, and has specialised in helping Holocaust survivors write their stories. Although not Jewish herself she has gained a reputation as one of the best guides in Berlin.

We began at the Humboldt University, where she pointed out a statue of a woman named Lisa Meitmer, who led a team which first split the atom, however because she was a woman, and Jewish, she never received recognition of the achievement.

In front of the University are small bronze plaques, called stepping stones which name those students and lecturers who were taken by the Nazis. People are actually encouraged to walk over them as it keeps them polished and legible.

We then moved to the outside of the University library, where the Nazi book burning was carried out in 1933. Students were supplied with lists of the books which they then collected and threw on the fire.
There is a memorial in the pavement, which is a glass panel, which, when you look down, allows you to see rows of empty bookshelves beneath you, and also reflects so that you can see yourself.

At the site of the old synagogue in the Jewish quarter of Oranienburger Strasse in the Rosenplatz there is a statue in memory of the Jewish women who held a protest there against the imprisonment of their husbands. These women protested day and night, and were finally successful. This is the only known example of a successful protest, and indicates that the Nazis still had to consider public and world opinion, initially at least.

In 1671 Jews returned to Berlin and built the first synagogue – but there was a restriction – it must not be above the height of surrounding houses. They built it partially below ground level to allow enough room for men and women to be seperate, whilst still keeping the height restriction.

We visited a small museum, called the Otto Weld Museum, hidden in a little graffiti painted alley, and supervised by a man who must have the most prodigious and well manicured moustache I have ever seen – it is a tourist attraction in its own right!

This museum is actually the rooms in which Otto Weld ran a broom and brush factory for the blind, to keep them safe from Nazi persecution. Also still present is a small room which had a cupboard/ bookcase covering the entrance, behind which he hid a family for many months.

Next was the Jewish Cemetery where there is the grave of the Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn who translated the Torah into German. There is now a Moses Mendelssohn Gymnasium ( school) in the old Jewish district

 

There are only a few headstones in the cemetery along with several that have been put together to make a wall.
There is a plaque there created by the government and makes reference to those who died as being murdered, indicating a willingness to say it how it was, not to lessen the crime by euphemism.

The most recent (New) synagogue burned on krystal nacht, however a policeman directed firemen to save building using as an excuse that it was classified therefore should be saved.
It was later bombed during the war and the centre section was lost, and is still missing.

We visited Friedrichstrasse station where there is a statue for the kinder transport system which took Jewish children across to England to keep them safe from the Nazis, – of course their parents were not so lucky.

We visited a church which had been bombed during the war, and its upper steeple has been intentionally left damaged.

Caroline covered a lot of ground with us over the six hours, even as far as taking us by train to Grünewald, which is now a very pretty, affluent suburb, but was used as a deportation centre for Jews taken from Berlin. There were just a few low rise houses there and not many people to realise what was going on. Up to 1100 people were processed through there each day, and these numbers are engraved along the edge of the platform. There are now some small memorials there to acknowledge this history, including railway tracks which disappear into scrub land and trees – the road to oblivion.

Interestingly, she verbalised what we have all been thinking, about the parallels between Trump’s rise to power, and that of Hitler!

That evening, our Swiss friend, Ariane arrived to stay with us for a couple of nights, and Meg Kamsler, the daughter of Elly’s cousin, Tim, from Sydney, who is now living in Berlin, joined us for drinks at the apartment, before the rest of us went out to dinner, and Michael joined us direct from the airport, it was great to see him again after such a long time. We were starting to develop a small community here!

21 Nov

The five of us, Elly, myself, Bev, Andrew and Ariane all walked to Michael and Nora’s apartment to check it out.

They have a lovely place, and have done great things with it. The place was pretty much a shell, and they had to fit it out themselves. They have put up all the cupboards and shelving, installed the sinks and dish, and it all looks very professional. A small balcony has a barbecue, and looks across to parkland.

Michael and Nora led the way to a nearby restaurant they wanted to try, for a lovely brunch. Then a substantial walk, passing through a large memorial parkland called Treptower Park and Schonholz Memorial in East Berlin, created by the Soviets after Berlin was captured, commemorating the more than 22,000 Russian soldiers who died in the fight to take Berlin. This features an enormous statue of a Russian soldier, with a lowered sword in one hand and carrying a German child in his other arm, standing over a shattered swastika, presumably to convey the idea that the Russians were there to look after the German children. This statue was at the centre of the park, the rest of which is extensive manicured gardens and lawns, with imposing entrance archways – presumably now maintained by the government.

We continued walking to the East Side Gallery, which is a section of the Berlin Wall which has been retained, and has lots of elaborate street art on each of its sections. It has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Unfortunately large sections have a protective fence in front of them, because the unprotected areas have been vandalised – graffiti on the graffiti.

Continuing our walk, we arrived at Alexander Platz, which features the Berlin TV Tower, which was actually constructed by East Berlin to showcase their technological skills. It is a 300 m high tower, with a lookout and restaurant in the shape of a steel and glass ball at around the 200 m level. A fast lift takes you up in just the amount of time the lift attendant takes to give you a dissertation on the specifications of the tower. He finishes his last sentence as the lift doors open!

The story goes that the East Germans were embarrassed when the tower was completed, because when the sun hits the glass ball the reflection gives the shape of a cross, which was not in accordance with the anti religion thinking of the regime.
Lots of things were tried, but the cross kept appearing, so it finally had to be claimed as a positive for communism somehow.

In the evening we took the bus to the Koncerthaus, where Michael was to play with the Bern Camerata Orchestra. There was a Christmas night market which had just opened, adjacent to the Koncerthaus, so we wandered around there for a while before the performance.

The concert was wonderful, made a bit more special by the fact that it was the concert master ( mistress?) Antje Weithaas’ 50th birthday. She is well known to Berlin audiences, and she received standing ovations. She played the solo for Beethoven Sonata and we also loved the Mussorgsky pieces they played in the second half.

I still marvel at how Michael has made a life for himself in Berlin after 4 years, and is now fluent in German, and knows the city completely.

Drinks were provided after the performance, and Michael came out and mingled with the crowd, including his own cheer squad, the travelling four plus Nora, Ariane and cousin Meg.
Michael found a nearby restaurant which was open late, so we all invaded the place and had a great late dinner.

Michael was to fly out the next morning to the Netherlands for concerts in two cities, and we were taking the train to the second city, Tilburg, to do the groupie thing. Bev and Andrew were heading to France to visit Bev’s sister Pam and her husband, Alan, before heading back to Australia.

22 Nov

We left our apartment temporarily ( we are to return there later, when we return from Prague ) and caught the train from the Ostbahnhoff for a seven hour journey to Tilburg. We had paid for first class, so it was a really relaxed trip, so different from the hassles of air travel, no security, no bag searches – just wander on to the platform and get on the train.

It was dark by the time we arrived at our hotel, which is the hotel which the orchestra will use, about 10 minutes out of town and next to a small forrest.

23 Nov

Elly and I decided to go for a walk in the forest behind the hotel while we waited for Michael and the orchestra to arrive, which they did eventually after suffering several train delays. The hotel was fairly remote from the centre of Tilburg and the forest behind it was very beautiful with carpets of leaves on the ground, but quiet, with no birds.

We took a taxi into Tilburg and had a pleasant pre concert dinner with Michael before he left us to join the orchestra for rehearsal.

The concert was at 8pm in a very impressive concert hall, and with a good crowd of more than 200. We really enjoyed the performance even though it was our second time. Elly originally wanted to attend all three of the concerts, but Michael said that was ridiculous, so she finally conceded defeat and skipped the middle one.

This was the final concert of the tour, and the audience was, once again, really enthusiastic, and , once again we had after concert drinks with the orchestra.

Back at the hotel, the orchestra had a late dinner, whilst we propped up the bar, with Michael bringing out nibbles for Elly, as we chatted with a Belgian guy who was there on business and obviously wanted someone to talk to.

24 Nov

The three of us travelled to Eindhoven airport for our flight to Prague.

Our friend, Tom Fantl, who has Czech ancestry, and was actually born there, before moving to Australia as a child, had arranged accommodation for us, through his cousin, who owns a pension. It is a lovely, warm, character filled place, and we were very comfortable. Nora had arrived by train from Berlin, and was waiting for us when we arrived.

It was mid afternoon, around 3:00pm, as we set off with Tom and his partner, Maggie, on a walking tour of Prague. Tom has an excellent knowledge of the special places in the city, and is currently living there. He is an artist, and Maggie, who is Scottish, is an impressive businesswoman, and both made us feel very welcome.

Of course, at this time of year it is dark at about 4:30 pm, so this turned quickly into a night walking tour. Michael, Nora and Elly had all been to Prague before, but i was the new boy in town. Prague is, quite simply, amazingly beautiful, unlike any city I have seen, with lovely, elegant buildings, and beautiful old style trams trundling past. Some of the trams are modern, but still resemble the older versions, which have been maintained to still be running.

Tom was enthusiastically giving us stories and the history of the places we passed. The streets and the buildings were beautifully lit, with Christmas decorations already on display.

We stopped in at a small cosy cafe for a drink before heading out across the river to start the steady climb up to the Castle which overlooks the city. Not many people were up there with us as we wandered around all the Palaces and other buildings which make up the “castle”. Apparently by day it is quite crowded. The peace and grandeur as we arrived at the entrance was shattered by a Starbucks coffee concession! What a travesty.

 

In contrast to the grand buildings we were seeing, was a street named Golden Lane, which comprised many very small shops and residences, including the house where Kafka did some of his writing.

Workmen were putting together a Christmas market, playing recorded Christmas music as they worked. The whole Castle area was paved with small paving stones, sweeping in circular patterns, which made it seem as though we had stepped back in time. This type of paving is also used on the streets and footpaths of Prague city, which gives a noisy ride by car, but looks beautiful.

On our way back we stopped at a cosy restaurant for some authentic Czech food. The restaurant had a resident dog who spent her time wandering from table to table looking for some attention. If you gave her a pat she would stay with you for a while and then move on to the next table. She did about six rounds while we were there.

The evening was really enjoyable and informative, and it was good to see Tom again, and wonderful to have such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide.

25 Nov

We had hired a car because Elly wanted to visit the city of Brno, which is the second largest city, and about a two hour drive from Prague. This was an attempt to find out possible evidence of family history, since her Grandmother on her mother’s side was born there.

We didn’t hold much hope since it was Friday afternoon when we started looking, and also the gentleman in charge at the records office had no intention of helping us, since the archives were only open on three days a week, none of which was Friday, – and I think it was going to interfere with his knock off time.

Our next stop was the Jewish Museum, where we found a much more helpful chap who tried to help as much as possible. There was also a computer archive system which was accessible to the public.

Our data was limited, since Elly’s Grandmother died in the
Holocaust, and therefore wouldn’t be buried at the cemetery. She was also unsure of her Great Grandparents’ first names, although the surname was Stiassni. We actually found a Leopold Stiassni, which sounded familiar to Elly, and whose dates of birth and death could be a match, so we found his grave and checked him out. The grave was in quite good condition, but at its base was a representation of an open book, which had what appeared to be a name on the left page, and some difficult to read dates on the right page, the last date being some to years after Leopold’s death – so that is a bit of a mystery.

The cemetery guy gave us the number of a local genealogist, who Michael rang and who would wait for us to come over and talk to him.

We arrived at the address of the genealogist and were met by a very pleasant woman who asked us the surname we were looking for. When we told her she said,” Stiassni!!” It sounded as though she had been waiting all her life for this moment, and was about to pronounce Elly the long lost heiress. But no, all it meant was that she had heard that name a few times – still, we were having more luck than we thought we would.

We then met the genealogist who was very droll, and not particularly enthusiastic, however, he said that to investigate ” Will take time – – and money” He seemed legitimate if not particularly friendly, so we left him to the task, and he would contact Elly when he found anything.

We had found out that there was an attraction called Villa Stiassni!, so with fading light we drove there and were told by a woman there that there would be an English tour group being shown through in a few minutes, so we bought tickets to join them.
It turns out that the Stiassni family were one of the wealthiest families in Brno, and they had built this palatial and beautifully furnished villa, but were forced to leave, departing to Hollywood in America in 1938. Aparently the daughter still is in contact. Maybe they are related to Elly
We really didn’t want an academic architectural tour, but just wanted  a look around, so after a while we left. The villa is a significant architectural construction

We had achieved far more in an afternoon, particularly a Friday afternoon, than we ever thought possible, so we headed back in to town where Michael and Nora had booked a classy hotel for us.

We wandered around Brno in the evening, looking for a pre dinner drink, and came upon a trendy looking place called Bar Kterÿ Neexistuje, which apparently means something like The Bar which doesn’t exist. It was very full, but we finally managed to get a table. They had a massive cocktail menu, and the waitress had a detailed knowledge of all the variations, asking us if we wanted something sweet, or dry, or fruity or sparkling or any combination. She came up with something which ” tastes like lemon ice cream” for Nora, so I had one of those too. The bartender near us was like a circus act – really skilful and entertaining, pouring drinks from one container to another in a long arc without spilling a drop.

We absorbed the atmosphere there, as well as the alcohol, and then found an Italian restaurant which looked very ordinary from the outside, but had good reviews, and turned out to be really good.

26 Nov

We took a walking tour of Brno in the morning before leaving, just the four of us and two others. Not a really great tour, but it gave us a good general orientation.
The city is very pleasant, but not as spectacular as Prague. It seemed to have a Christmas market in every available square.

According to our guide, Brno is know as the City of dicks. This he demonstrated by positioning us under a statue, and looking up. Elly’s photos should explain.

In the afternoon we drove back to Prague, returning the hire car to the airport in time to be waiting to greet daughter Claire, Grandson Matcham and Granddaughter Tommy who arrived from the UK where they have been camper van-ing with Claire’s partner Tam, who stayed back to clean up the van ready to sell.

It was wonderful to see them again, as we hadn’t seen them for about six months. We all piled into the bus, then the train, back to the pension and settled into a long evening with Tom and Maggie and many bottles of wine.

27 Nov

A fairly relaxed day wandering through Prague and we visited the Jewish Museum, shown by Tom where Kafka is buried, and also escorted by the supervisor, who Tom knows, into the Chedva, which is the room in which the service is held prior to the burial. It was very elaborately decorated, and had much of the original items still displayed.

We walked across Charles bridge with great views of the city and then an early dinner for the kids and a hot chocolate for us in a restaurant which led us down some steps into a cave – like room was a good respite from the falling temperature, before Michael and Nora departed to check out the Kafka Museum, while we headed back for dinner at the pension restaurant again, with more bottles of red wine.

28 Nov

The morning was spent packing up our minimal possessions after breakfast, prior to being escorted by Tom and Maggie for a couple of tram stops to the Bahnhof to catch the train back to Berlin. They waved goodbye as we pulled out of the station

Michael had booked us a compartment to ourselves, which was very cosy, and card games were played, food eaten and a good time was had. I did sneak off to another compartment for a short time to catch up on the blog.

Back in Berlin, our “travel agent”, Michael had booked us a seven seater car for the next few days, so we picked that up and headed back to our apartment, which we had still kept whilst in Prague, mainly because it was too difficult to find another apartment for just a few days, and, it was reasonably inexpensive.

Our minders, Michael and Nora provided us with Vietnamese take away, and lugged it up our 104 steps.
29 Nov

Michael and Nora came around to pick us up for the daily activities with a warning – wear thermals! It was a beautiful day with clear skies, but the cold just ate into you.

We stopped at the area of the Brandenburg Gate, adjacent to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews. That wasn’t specifically our destination but Elly had a little wander through it. It covers a city block and comprises rectangular stone stelae all of different sizes protruding from the ground. The kids, of course decided to play Hide and Seek between the stones and Elly couldn’t resist more photos.

Our actual destination was the Tiergarten, which, at this time of year is a bare forest with pathways criss crossing through it. Matcham and Tommy took great delight in discovering that some of the lakes and ponds had frozen over during the night. That surprised me too, because the previous day had been cold but not horrendously so, and here we were after what was obviously a really cold night, with around a centimetre of ice on quite large lakes. Lots of pieces of ice were detached and hurled onto the lakes to watch them shatter and slide across to the other side.

Things, and us, were getting quite cold, so our guides took us to one of their favourite places, which served lunch – quite a large place which, during Summer is packed, both inside and out with diners. There was nobody eating lunch outside, but inside I counted four open fires, and it was very cosy. Hot chocolates for all of us were brought in the form of an empty cup, on top of which was a saucer with two round scoops of soft chocolate. Accompanying this was an elegant jug of hot milk. The idea was to scoop some chocolate into the cup and then pour in the milk, and stir. This gave about three cups per serve, and when we added pizzas we all over ate.

Near the site of the TV tower at Alexander Platz, we arrived at a Christmas Market, one of many all over Berlin, and this one had an ice skating rink. Matcham was keen to have a go, and Claire thought she should try with Tommy as well. Michael put on some boots, as did I. It must be more than 50 years since I have skated, so I was very rusty. I think Elly photographed me out of balance and arms swinging everywhere.

Tommy didn’t like it at all, but after a shaky start with Claire, and the acquisition of a “Penguin”, which you could hold on to while you skate, Matcham announced, “I love it!!”

We had arranged to meet Manu and Ronald, Nora’s parents at the market, and as I reached for the railing for a stabilising rest, I found myself on the other side of the fence to Nora and her parents, so I was introduced to them on the spot.

One can only imagine what they thought of their daughter’s potential ” Father-in-Law”, an unstable 72 year old peering out from behind a scarf.

We all adjourned to one of the small “houses” selling drinks in relative warmth, and had a round of Gluhwein before all heading back to our apartment.

We had a lovely evening with the “In Laws”, with Michael and Nora translating, as they don’t speak much English at all. I still can’t believe it when I hear Michael speaking German like a native – Nora says that his German is near perfect, and he has been mistaken for a local by other locals!
I had forgotten that Claire too, has some German, having done some in secondary school and also at Uni. When the kids were in the bath we heard a German children’s song being sung, so we went in to find Claire, Manu, Nora and Matcham all singing the song together – very cute.

We had some interesting discussions. They mentioned that, while the wall was still up ( they were in East Berlin) they had taken the lift to the top of the TV tower and looked out across West Berlin, believing that they would never be able to go there, and that it was unattainable. We had both realised that if the wall hadn’t come down Michael and Nora would never have met.

We asked about life in the East, and they said that basically it was OK, everyone had a job and a place to live.

A great evening with good company and home delivered hamburgers.

30 Nov

Alan was feeling worse for ware so we left him at home. It was cold and a bit damp but I, Michael, Nora, Claire and kids ventured out to a childrens playground near Neukolln where Michael and Nora live. Frozen lake and even frozen sand but lots of fun.

Next off to Lebanese nearby restaurant for lunch and then Tommy and I went home to our warm apartment whilst Matcham, Michael and Claire went back for more ice skating with penguin stabilizer. Matcham returned home frozen and exhausted and so kids crashed and Alan and I minded them whilst Claire went with Michael and Nora to  check out the Berlin night life.

 

01 Dec

This morning we all piled into the car and made our way to the river Spree for a boat trip for 90 minutes, fortunately the boat was warm and dry. We saw many of the places we had seen, but from a different perspective.

Afterwards we visited the Loxx  Miniatur Welden, which is a scale model miniature Berlin, with trains, buses, cars and trucks all moving around a vast representation of Berlin, with all the landmarks in the right places. there was even a separate section which contained the airport, with aircraft making approaches and landings, as well as taxying out and taking off.

Matcham and Tommy were very enthusiastic, and we spent about an hour there.

Our last day was spent with Michael and Nora creating a fondue for dinner at our apartment. It was a great night, with the kids being involved in the whole proceedings, and having a great time.

Tomorrow it is off to the airport for us to head home after 8 weeks travelling.