Germany: 29 Dezember 2009

No visit to Germany would be complete without a visit to Berlin, the country's new unified capital. We arrived in Berlin in the evening. Check out these fun decorations and holiday cheer at the train station.

We made our way to our pension, Pension Bregenz, that is located just a few blocks off Kurfürstendamm (nicknamed "Ku'damm") and is West Berlin's main drag and 2-mile ode to shopping. Here is a shot of our room.

Next we grabbed a quick meal and then headed out to hit the town a bit. We stumbled upon the pre-NYE setup at the Brandenburg Gate and caught this fun shot of the Ferris wheel! (Who in their right mind gets up on a Ferris wheel in freezing weather is unknown to me, but apparently it happens.)
Here's our first glimpse of the Gate at night. Ain't she a beauty? And to think, she sat relatively unceremoniously for 25 years because of some squabble. What a shame. Now she's really a site to behold.
Speaking of unceremonious sitting, we made our way to the Brandenburg Gate ("Brandenburger Tor") S-Bahn stop. This is one of Berlin's former ghost subway stations. During the Cold War, most underground train tunnels were simply blocked at the border, but some lines did happen to transverse through the East. The stations were, of course, strictly off limits. For 28 years Western trains simply passed through (seeing the Eastern guards and frozen stations along the way). Now they are open and look fairly similar to there 1931 construction.
Next we made our way to Unter Der Linen (otherwise referring to "under the linden" - meaning the linden trees that line the streets). This is the heart of former East Berlin. It is truly beautiful and so wonderful at night. We appreciated the thousands of lights they'd put up for us to enjoy.
Here I am appropriately bundled for a night stroll in Berlin in late December. I really do wish that more of you could have been with us to see these beautiful things - you'll just have to imagine them with the help of our photos I suppose. (Or, come and try this trip yourselves!)
With more ground to cover, we make our way to The Department Store of the West - Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) to enjoy their much-hyped cafeteria selection and enjoy the top-floor view. Here's a shot from the first floor where I'm busy checking my e-mail. (Probably reading your comments about another blog or Facebook post!) They had many of these great trees throughout the store. It was a pretty great department store to be quite honest - and it should be with over 2,000 employees to help you paw over their nearly 400,000 items. The cafeteria was also quite yummy now that I think of it!
Next we make our way outside to enjoy one of Berlin's many Christmas markets. I will have to tell you that Berlin's markets were pretty commercialized. Someone had gone around all of Germany to copy the best, quaint and charming parts from the other markets and try to plop them all right down here in Berlin. It doesn't quite have the same "Je ne sais quoi" as the others did, but they did get two things very right: (1) they have the best tables for you to stop and eat and drink and this is a big plus, and (2) they situated the festivities directly in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The church has been left as a memorial to the World War II destruction of Berlin and is beautiful. On that note, I think I will rest for now and tell you more tomorrow! Have a great night!

Germany: 28 Dezember 2009

This was our first true morning in Dresden, and we were sorry in a way that we only had allotted one night in this great city and they were unable to accommodate us for a second night. Nonetheless, we made the most of it and hit the streets running. We started with breakfast from the local pastry shop, and then headed to the train station to leave our luggage in a locker. (This is easier when you need to leave later on the train and it prevents you from having to haul around your crap all day.) Next we trotted along to the city center – Altstadt to check out the pedestrian walkways, shopping centers and market. Dresden is a large city with ½ million residents. It seems to have a nice balance of old and new.

I think it would be important to take a second here and talk about Dresden v. Prague. I mention these two because they were both cities that were basically destroyed during WWII and then were stunted for 40+ years due to communist rule. While Prague has rebuilt some of its commerce and has certainly restored numerous historic buildings, Dresden has really gone wild with the rebirth of their city and they are flush with commerce. This was so incredibly noticeable and it reminded me of one of my very first German lessons and the very first verb they had us learn – fleißig. Fleißig is the German word for industrious/hard working, and they are nothing if not that. And by golly can you see this in Dresden. (Perhaps this is a clue into my own tenacity…it’s in the blood?)

Here are a few shots from their market. (It was closed by the time we got to this city, but these are fun anyway.) Notice the giant pyramid that’s a staple in this city. I was glad to be able to see this, as it is one fo the most defining aspects of Dresden's Christmas market.

Next we were over to the historical district which essentially consists of royal buildings, old churches and famous museums. It’s nice, but most of it is closed on Mondays so we had to look at it from the outside. Here are a couple of shots from that area.

I don’t know what this is supposed to symbolize, but I’d like to call it “born enemies”.

This is the Parade of Nobles and artistically describes the leadership and fashions from seven centuries.

This is a statue of some guy we can't remember. We realize there is a reason for this. He's a relatively unimportant mid-19th century ruler - King John.We did get to see the Frauenkirche (or Church of Our Lady) that was built in 1743 based on Protestant pride alone - they raised all the money to build it via donations from across Europe. If you will notice, some of the stones are dark, and these are original before the church was burned to the ground in 1945. It wasn't until 2005 that the church was rebuilt, as it was kept in rubble as a peace monument. The restoration was certain to add these stones back to their original positions. (This is pretty interesting to see in person.)And, finally, this is a picture of Dresden's large tree inside their train station. Clever photography from Chad who is looking up the tree. (We had a little extra time to capture this since our train was late - again!) More tomorow from Berlin, our last stop.

Germany: 27 Dezember 2009

We started our day by spending our final morning in Prague. We headed down to the local bakery - Mansson Bakery. We’d grown to like this little oasis in our two brief visits. The service was friendly and English-speaking, so that worked well for us. The price was also right for breakfast coffee, tea and treats.

We hit the Prague subways one last time to transfer back to the main train station. We wanted to take a moment to point out that Prague has beautiful subway tunnels. We think this might have been a clever way to cover up graffiti-laden concrete, but we’re not sure. All we know is this Rainbow Bright (metallic style) approach works for us. This is just one of several we saw and they have various color schemes in each.

Now it’s off to Kunta Hora. This small town is about a one-hour train ride away from Prague. We wanted to see it for two reasons: (1) 90% of tourists never make it past Prague in the CR and (2) an ossuary just seemed way too cool to pass up.

The Ossuary (Das Beinhas in Sedlec) was just super amazing. We took hundreds of pictures, but I only put a few up here so you could get an idea. This design was adapted in the late 1800’s, although the building and related cemetery have been around since the 14th century.

This is a chandelier of bones - every single bone from the human body to be exact. In case you can't quite make this one out, that's a "bird" pecking out his eye. Nice.

After the bones, we grab a quick lunch by the skin of our teeth spending our last 164 kc, about $9. Chad said he felt poor as we had to sheepishly count out our last coins. I said it reminded me of my childhood when counting coins was something our family had to do every week. We’re both thankful times have changed and we get to explore wonderful places like Kunta Hora!

We now head back on the train to Dresden. Dresden is conveniently located half way between Prague and Berlin. What should have been about a two-hour trip, turned into about seven given a train malfunction. We were buzzing along just fine when all of the sudden the train started running over something on the tracks. (This isn’t a good sound to hear when you’re on the train.) Since we have our handy Eurail pass and get to sit in 1st Class (no, this hasn’t gone to my head), we are normally near the front of the train. Thus, we were part of the first few cars which heard this.

Long story short, our train rain over electrical lines that are associated with the rail system. When this happened, our train lost electricity and had to sit on the tracks waiting to come and be rescued by another engine (back up batteries kept on the lights and heat). As some of you may have noticed on my Facebook posts, times like these do not make me a happy camper. Nor do completely stupid passengers. As my friend Barry put it, had we been stranded longer, I know who would have been eaten first. To add a little flavor to the unplanned stop, we had several dogs (including one Saint Bernard) on the train and a cat. We also had someone with heart issues. (I thought the conductor was going to loose it.)

Having gotten to Dresden much later than expected, we were quite pleased to take one of their high-end trams to our hotel. Then, we were so happy to discover our room was a beautiful Mexican oasis at Guest House Mezcalero. Okay, so I know I have said multiple times now that a particular location was our “favorite” room, but this one really was. Check out these pictures. The theme was carried out beautifully throughout the entire building and in all the rooms. They were kind enough to put us in one of their bridal suites that included private entry and bath. They had even built custom luggage storage bins (with colored tiles) under the beds. Off to sleep now. More tomorrow.

Czech Republic: 26 Prosinec 2009

It becomes more obvious in the daylight that Prague is a tale of two cities – tourist Prague and “the rest”. While tourist Prague is beautiful, well maintained and busting at the seams with shops, restaurants and bohemian crystal, “the rest” looks about like what you’d expect from a country under communist control for 40-some years. The streets are bleak and dirty. The buildings are tattered and minimal. The shops have multiple (sturdy) forms of security and safety precautions. The oppression is omnipresent. This vibe was overwhelming in Prague. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the season or maybe it was just us. Nonetheless, we felt it important to share this part too on the blog so you had a better idea about all of Prague.

Having said all that, it was interesting that once you walked inside most of these places, the vibe changed dramatically. Our apartment is a great example. From the outside, the building is nothing. The elevator shaft open and constructed as minimally as possible. The mailboxes are old and sad – yet artistic. It takes no less than four keys to get in the building. But, the actual apartment itself was quite nice.

See some shots below.

Here’s the view from outside our window. Not to shabby. Under this the river was visible, as well as an ice skating rink. (This provided lots of entertainment between the 3-year-old newbies and the adult wannabes).We head out again today and visit Prague’s astronomical clock. The clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial (sun and moon), "The Walk of the Apostles" and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

Next we head over to Prague’s highest point and their version of the Petrin Observation Tower (or little Eiffel Tower). This monument was constructed at nearly the same time (albeit second) and stands at the same height – thanks to Petrin Hill upon which it stands. The hill also has a nice garden area and a funicular that you can ride (as we did) to the bottom of the hill. We appreciated how the Czechs were resourceful and “green” in their approach to winterizing the gardens. In order to protect their delicate plants and trees, they’d used natural cover (greenery) instead of man-made materials. (Points for Prague).

By the time we make it back over to the market after lunch, things are really hopping. See this shot of the crowds. Apparently Prague is a big destination for Germans as well.We head over to check out the municipal house and associated shopping district. We’re done in by the crowds and the day, so we pick up some sandwiches at the convenience store on the way home and eat them in our trusty little apartment. Tomorrow it’s back to Germany and on to Dresden.

Czech Republic: 25 Prosinec 2009

Today it’s off to Prague by train. We get the distinct pleasure of traveling with the ÖBB and CD (Prague’s train service) again. These have to be the grumpiest train conductors we’ve encountered yet. They don’t disappoint in meeting this expectation on each opportunity. Nonetheless we make it to Prague without incident and head to our apartment.

We’ve reserved an apartment with a private owner as suggested by Rick Steves. The apartment is in the Jewish Quarter and is owned by a tour guide and musician (violinist). Our first order of business was making our way to a restaurant for food. Our host, Jakub, recommended U Stare Pani. Their traditional Czech food was great and hit the spot. (Who knew that sauerkraut could actually complement a meal?) Here is a photo from the front of the restaurant and attached hotel. After the restaurant we head to the market. Here are a few shots from Prague’s offerings.

Here’s the construction of the Trdlo. These tasty treats were available en mass and even had large blow-up balloon versions hung outside the vendor stands. (We wondered who made such signs, as they obviously had a pretty narrow market for distribution). They were rolled by hand and then cooked on round pins (like rolling pins) over an open fire. A string would then be removed from the pin and rolled fresh in cinnamon and sugar. The lines at these stands were so long we thought we better see what all the fuss was about.

After this we headed to Zvonice for Christmas dinner. This restaurant was recommended by Prague natives on TripAdvisor. We booked our reservation in advance because the restaurant is situated in an old bell tower and they have limited seating. We enjoyed a view on the 8th floor overlooking the city and the bell itself. The restaurant had kindly installed a glass floor panel so you could see the bell below as you dined. (Pretty cool.) Dinner was wonderful and was recommended by the staff. We had a traditional Czech dish consisting of meat, potatoes, cranberries and cream. We topped that off with dessert – of course. Quite a fantastic Christmas dinner.

After this it was absolutely necessary to walk – a good long walk. We headed over to the Charles Bridge, one of Prague’s most famous landmarks. Here’s a view from the bridge at night.

On our way back home we happened upon the courtyard to the Kafka Museum and this trusty piece of art. Isn’t art fun? (These were animated by the way so you were able to see the “fountains” in real-life action swaying all about.)

More to come tomorrow. We have to head to bed now – our bellies are full of heavy Czech food and our legs are tired.

Austria: 24 Dezember 2009

Today we started with breakfast in the pension, and then it was off for sightseeing throughout the city. We ran through Vienna’s many quaint streets filled with small boutiques, cafes, clothing stores and Austrian souvenir shops. This consumed the better part of the morning.

After we had walked for a few hours, we tried lunch at Buffet Trzesniewski. This off-the-beaten-path eatery is small and known for its finger sandwiches and mini beers (Pfiff). We sampled both. The counter has been in Vienna for over a century. Here’s a photo of the staff in action for the lunch crowd.

Next we were off to Saint Stephen’s Cathedral for a quick peek. Here is a shot from inside. Between you and me, Europe’s cathedrals start to look like a battle of “my spire’s bigger than your spire, my fresco’s better than your fresco, my organ can outdo your organ” after you’ve seen a few. In short you can trust they are all big, they are all beautiful and they will (hopefully) all be here bustling tourists through daily by the thousands long after we’re all gone.

What sounds better after church than a little sin? We head over to one of Vienna’s most famous chocolate shops (Demel) for cakes and hot chocolate. (I couldn’t count on all my hands and toes how many hot chocolates we’ve consumed on this trip between trying to stay warm and visiting “free” WiFi spots while traversing three countries.)

Next it was of to the market again. We tried to pop in early here today and see things before they closed since it was Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is celebrated much more rigorously in Germany and Austria than Christmas day. I appreciate TripAdvisor and their valuable forums for steering me in the right direction on this for the market, dinner reservations and a host of other small details. If you are planning a trip like this, that site (and a Rick Steves’ guidebook) are invaluable tools.

Here are a few photos from the Vienna Christmas market (Christkindlmarkt).

Here is the Rathaus (German word of the day for “town hall”). Notice the small signs under the fancy windows. Those are company names – they have effectively sold history to the highest bidder. If that’s not capitalism in action, I don’t know what is.

We sampled these small donuts that were made to order and dipped in cinnamon and sugar. (I pray that my trainer is not reading these posts or she is just going to want to kill me when I get home.)

These other crowd favorites were also available in abundance.

We appreciated these beautiful butterflies that were hung along the streets. It was really neat to see how each city personalized their Advent décor and the themes they carried throughout.

After the Christmas market we headed over to the Naschmarkt. While most of the stands were closing when we arrived, it was still interesting to stroll through this outdoor market and see how Vienna organized their take on the outdoor market. There were a number of restaurants with outdoor seating, as well as numerous fresh fish, produce and fruit stands. It’s said that Vienna’s top chefs also get their daily items here, and it’s the best place to get foreign foods for preparation. The market ends with a few clothing vendors (think flea market style). I picked up two scarves for €5 each (about $7.50), and you can’t beat that deal in the States.
All that walking requires a bit of a rest, so we do just this before heading to our pre-arranged dinner at Beograd. There was a special menu that we enjoyed, as well as a live accordion player. Not only did he play, but some random audience member also played the accordion. (When does this happen?) So we got not only one, but two great performances.

After dinner we walked back down to the Christmas market to see if they’d have the lights on, but sadly they did not. However, we did get this great photo of the Rathaus at night, and this seems fitting as the end to another post! Fröliche Weinacthen!