On our own

Saturday, 24 May 2014

We arise very early to wonderfully cool weather, and plan to hike up to the Statue of Liberty at the top of a tall hill on the Buda side. Tihomir recommended it to us, saying it was 30 minutes for fast walkers and about 40 minutes for a more leisurely walk. The walking has taken a toll on me, and I can feel some real soreness.  We leave at 6:30am, walk across the chain bridge and make it about 2/3 of the way up the hill through paths and switchbacks. We return for breakfast and packing of a few final items, as we can stay on the ship through lunch but need to be out of the stateroom so they can clean.

We head off across the Chain Bridge again, and take the funicular up the steep Buda Hill to the Castle district, which visually domminates the city but is inhabited by only a small population, as it is mostly historic sites.

 We go to the Hungarian National Art Museum, and see how various artistic movements made their way to Hungary, from the 15th century revival of spatial perspective to French Impressionism and later 20th century Expressionism. While we are viewing some magnificent gilded folding alter pieces from the Gothic era, we hear a large crowd and loudspeakers outside. There is some sort of soccer rally taking place, as tonight is  the final of the Champions title for the World Cup preliminaries. Groups of men are dressed in national jerseys and carry signs for their countries. We thought they were teams, but since the game being played is between two Madrid teams, it doesn’t seem likely, perhaps they are just fans, yet they seemed to have plastic IDs around their necks. From a balcony of the art museum, which was the palace built by Queen Maria Theresia (queen of Austria and Hungary in the 18th century), we hear the Hungarian national anthem, followed by lots of chanting, and then they start playing “We Will Rock You”  and nearly everyone is singing along, quite a spectacle. I guess when there is a song called “Hungarian Rhapsody” somehow music by Queen works. And then we see a whole group of French Horn players, with part of their costumes off due to the heat, hanging out by the museum after performing.

Back to the ship for lunch and a farewell to Tihomir, and we head off to the Starlight Suiten Hotel. We check into what seems like a huge room, bedroom plus parlor, absolutely immaculate and so spacious after the shipboard stateroom. They were so helpful, and even sold us some metro tickets (we always ride public transit wherever we can).

Off to the huge Central Market, with mostly food of all kinds on the first level, and a second level with textiles, small cafes and every imaginable souvenir. We find a nice autumnal fabric runner for the table, and take a tram to Andrassy Street, one of the main streets in town.



We visit the House of Terror Museum, a sobering place which was the headquarters of the Nazis and the Hungarian Communist secret police and security people, where tens of thousands of people suspected of even the smallest infractions against the rigid political system were imprisoned, tortured and many executed. I like to think that I am fairly good at history, but the one hour we spent here (and I recommend it) made me realize how little I knew about Hungary and the mid-20th century here. They went directly from the terror of Hitler to the crushing totalitarianism of Stalinism. The Arrow Cross was the Hungarian version of the Nazis, and they were brutally efficient in executing Hitler's orders about Jews, with nearly half a million sent to death camps in just a few months. The German and Hungarian armies defended Budapest like a fortress, with the Germans blowing up most of the bridges and tens of thousands of buildings, and more than a million people fled Hungary. Then when the Soviets rolled in late in 1945, they simply took over the existing secret police structure and took more than 200,000 people into the gulags (brutal work camps), from all walks of life, from peasants to intellectuals and even Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who has saved thousands of Jews.    By the end of the way, 10% o the Hungarian population had died and the country was in ruins. Through a campaign of terror, the Soviets took over the government, even though they never had more than 20% of the vote, dissolving Parliament, abducting and killings political lleaders, until the dictatorship was firmly in control.  Ending private ownership, requiring large quotas of agricultural products be sent to the USSR while the Hungarians starved, ending the judicial system, urging people to inform on their neighbors and family members, repressing the religious organizations, it was a terrible time. A resistance arose, the AVO and then the AVH (secret police) brutally repressed anyone who spoke out, and tens and thousands spoke out while thousand more were executed. The brief and unsuccessful revolution in 1956 lasted only two weeks, and as the Soviets called the resistance fighters fascists (how similar to Ukraine now), they brought in the tanks and brutally put down the uprising, jailing tens of thousands and executing thousands as well.  The political repression continued, Hungary slowly rebuilt itself (20% of their post-war budget went to pay reparations), and they remained isolated for 30 more years. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Gorbachev actually apologized to the Hungarians for the occupation, repression and putting down the revolution. The last Soviet soldier left Hungary in 1991, and the last Hungarian prisoner of war returned from the gulag in 2000. The building where the House of Terror is located was the headquarters of the secret political police, both Hungarian and Russian, and in the center stands one of the tanks that blazed through the streets of Budapest in 1956.  If you go to Budapest, I highly recommend this (though it is not for children). http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/index_2.html

We went to see Anne Godon, daughter of Catherine Godon and a friend since the girls first met in 3rd grade at Ecole Bilingue We meet her boyfriend and housemates, and go for a lovely Italian dinner on Andrassy.


She is now in Budapest doing a year abroad in her Master’s program in psychology. We saw her flat and met her boyfriend, Thijs, who is Dutch and very nice. It was great to see Anne again … it has been a few years. We visited for a while and caught up, and then took her out for dinner ot her favorite Italian place.  We had an interesting conversation, about what marriage really means and why people get married, and it was quite a stimulating and intellectual conversation. It is so wonderful too see young people that we've known in some cases since age 5 or 8 years, now grown into young adults who are bright, well-informed, and making their way in the world. We hope Anne will visit California sometime soon, and are glad that Madeleine will be seeing Anne in Paris in July.

Sunday, 25 May 2014

We wake up early in our hotel, have a quick continental breakfast, and we’re ready to go. It is raining now, so we really lucked out with our weather.

After 30 minutes on hold with AirCanada with no success, I go to the Lufthansa website and voila we are able to confirm our seats. However, this then requires a printer or  mobile phone to send the passes to … aaaargh! Luckily, the very nice desk clerk offers to let me us their computer and we print out boarding passes to Frankfurt and then to Calgary. After that we’ll deal with it, but at least we have seats across the pond. A quick, smooth drive to the airport in a cab (public transit trains are far apart early on Sunday morning), and we’re in the airport. Miraculously our boarding passes seem to be valid, to my relief. Security went fine … it amazes me how different systems are from place to place. Shoes or no shoes, computer by itself or not, etc. We’re at the gate, flight looks on time, so we’re off!

The river cruise was overall quite nice, and just perfect for spending time with relatives instead of dealing with transit and tickets, etc. I think the pace was nice for Carl and Sally, Chris enjoyed doing his photography, and Thomas enjoyed the music and culture. The service on the ship was superb, the food excellent, and it was really nice being close to the central city in Regensberg and Budapest. Interestingly, it was after we left the tour and went on our own to the Hungarian National Museum that it really felt like our normal vacation.

So glad we have Memorial Day to recover. Auf wiedersehn!

Budapest soaring architecture and sad history

Friday, 23 May 2014

As we arrive in Budapest around 7:30am, we got up to the sundeck to see the approach to Budapest, which is lovely, built on two sides of the river. We take a city bus your, driving around the large and beautiful green Hero’s Square, which is closed for a rehearsal for a military parade. The guide told us that during the winter the large artificial lake freezes and lots of people go ice skating, which sounds fun. Then through the old Jewish quarter, which has the second largest synagogue in the world (largest is in NYC).

Across the Elizabeth Bridge (there are many in Budapest, and the large Chain Bridge near our boat’s mooring was partially demolished during the war and rebuilt), to the Castle area.

 We exit the bus, have some great views, and walk up a medieval street to the Mathias Church (he was not a saint, but a revered King of Hungary who expelled some invaders, the Hungarians have been invaded a lot). The entire interior was re-done in Art Nouveau style after war damage so it is quite recent, though the ceramic tile roof is older.

After some nice views from the Fisherman’s Bastion, a lovely lookout spot, we walked down a small, dark lane and enjoy an ice cream ( it is about 87 degrees out today and very humid). Our guide and another guide are relaxing at the same cool spot.


We walked the back lanes to return to the bus, and then back to the ship. In the afternoon, we found our hotel (only 2 blocks away), saw the memorial to Hungarian Jews (more on this below), and walked around central Budapest.  In the heat everyone walking around seemed exhausted, I gather it is not often this hot here, so few places have air conditioning. We were pretty hot too, and glad for some cool air after our return. I am finally able to get the phone to work, and connect with Anne Godon, daughter of our friend Catherine Godon in Paris, who is doing a year of her Master’s studies in Budapest, and plan to see her Saturday afternoon.

On the morning tour, we learned that during the war, 95% of the Hungary’s pre-war Jewish population of about 500,000 was killed or deported, so today the Jewish community is small (about 2% of the total population) and slowly growing. When we get back to the boat, a short walk away on the riverbank  is a memorial to a group of about 200 Jews who were shot dead and pushed into the river by the Hungarian Nazis (called Arrow Cross), after D-Day when the Nazis were clearing losing but the extermination continued.  It is a long line of cast bronze shoes just as if people had fallen out of them. It is quite moving.

On our final night on the ship, all six of us collectively gave a special tip to our waiter, Tihomir, who is from Serbia originally, and now lives in Kiev with his wife and son. Their system here is to work 4 weeks, then they get 2 weeks off. He has a wonderful sense of humor (it is always amazing to me how someone can makes jokes in a second language), after one meal he remembered what everyone drank at which meals, and he always had a positive and uplifting effect on everyone around him. We had a long conversation with him before we left on Saturday, and he talked about philosophy of being always positive, how he enjoyed traveling with his family, and how he hoped too come to the US some day. We invited him to visit California sometime, as he also knows someone in LA. He gave us his email and asked us to send the photo of the extended family he took of us … he said he liked to have the photos of people he felt he made a nice connection with on the ship. I think he will soon be rising to be the overall director of the ship.

 

Vienna, the city of music and chocolate

Thursday, 22 May 2014

We’re delighted to learn that instead of a bus we can take public transit into the central city area of Vienna, so off we on a new metro system. Barney and I always try to take public transit wherever we can, not only for professional reasons for him, but we both like mingling with people on their way to work or school. We came up at the Operplaz, to the magnificence of this 18th century building, 70% destroyed in WWII and rebuilt so you’d almost never know. The key seems to be the ceilings, which are probably the first to be damaged by bombs and the hardest to repair, thus we see many new plaster, undecorated ceilings. Outside we see the first of many costumed young men, who are actually mobile ticket sellers and general info people.

As we walk through the central city (inside the Ringstrasse) I’m struck by how many people seem to be on holiday … then someone on the metro tells us it is some sort of local holiday. Everyone seems to have busted out their sundresses and tank tops for the 85-degree weather.

As we tour the city, we’re delighted to learn that our guide owns a mare which is related to the Lippizaner line, an we spend some time near the Spanish Riding School.  Sure enough, at about 11:00am, the horses exit their training session, and cross over to the stables. It’s as though Mick Jagger suddenly appeared on the street an was surrounded by papparazzi …. A huge crowd converged on the horses, who graciously posed while the tourists were snapping away. I got a few photos of them going into the stables. I so want to come back to see them perform.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral was lovely (and crowded) but I managed to get a photo of Barney as if he were playing one of the organ consoles.

Way too many people for me to sing there. We part from the group. And we go to Meinl am Graben, a famous gourmet shop which reminds me so much of Fauchon in Paris. Besides having three levels (including a red carpet stairway) they have 4,000 euro Cognac (Barney was ogling this, but really?) every kind of gourmet delicacy you can imagine all marked by the country of origin.

With his new-found expertise in charcuterie, Barney closely inspected the offerings here. And the marzipan was simply gorgeous (yes, ladybugs!), and figs that looked like real figs, I swear.


We went to the street-level café, and had some traditional Viennese coffee (I could so get used to this), a sandwich and a nice chef’s salad.

 Fortified, we went onward, and took the metro the the Schonbrunn Palace, the summer home of Maria Thereisa. She was a remarkable woman, who really ran the country politically while her husband pursued his scientific studies for 40 years, and during that time she had 16 – yes, 16! – children, and won a few wars on the side. Truly a remarkable woman. She built a summer palace that rivaled Versailles, huge and impressive. It was quite warm, about 82 degrees, which is a bit hard for me, so we walked through the gardens a bit and found a shady bench, quite relaxing.

A long bus ride back, a lovely five-course dinner, seeing fishing cottages out the window, and then spent the evening on the sundeck (in the dark) seeing the beautifully lit castle at Bratislava, and long stretches with no lights visible at all. Beautiful and peaceful.

Melk and the beautiful Wachau Valey

Morning we arrived in Melk, and moored near another Viking cruise ship, so we crossed over their ship to get to the dock. A short ride brought us to the spectacular the Abbey of Melk, a Baroque triumph of architecture and decoration.

Many kings and queens stayed here on their way from Vienna to other places, as it lies about one day's journey from Vienna.  One of the coolest parts was the library, a three-story extravaganza of leather-bound books and gold trim, which unfortunately we're not allowed to take photos of,

but here is what it looks like: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Melk_-_Abbey_-_Library.jpg
and the most amazing thing is that there are about 99 more library rooms in this massive abbey, housing about 100,000 volumes and 2,000 manuscripts. I could move in right now.

We then go through the lovely gardens, which from the map look large like Versailles, but in reality are small and sweet and very walkable. I am quite taken with a nice hillside herb garden, saying to Barney, "that's what I want for our yard." He reminds me that we do not have a hillside, alas.

But it is extremely quiet, amazing how much sound trees and shrubs absorb. Together we walk down through the small town, where it is market day, and Barney got involved in conversation with one stall holder and we ended up with some nice plum brandy, or as it is called in Eastern Europe, slivovitz. I remember that every September when I was a child we'd make this, from prune plums available at only that time of year, vodka and sugar, and let it ferment until Christmas. One year my Grandpa Norman got quite drunk on this and started telling us stories that none of us had ever heard, about his childhood, the dogs they had, working in the steel factory at age 11 (where his lost an eye, thereafter he had a glass eye and could never drive a car, but he had a long career as a carpenter and house painter). I think my mother recorded part of this on her cassette tape recorder, and there is
probably a copy somewhere in the boxes of stuff I brought home after she passed away. We had a lovely walk back through some quiet woods brought us back to the ship.


After lunch, the afternoon included a lovely trip through the Wachau Valley, with views of the tall terraced vineyards and the town of Durnstein, in whose castle Richard the Lion Heart was kept prisoner for a few years after a crusade.

With the steep, green walls of the valley surrounding us, warm weather and a brisk wind, we spend the afternoon enjoying the beautiful views and weather. it has been unseasonably warm this past winter, little snow and an early dry spring, so the ski industry had a bad year and there are concerns about the vineyards as well. More climate change. We pass under several low bridges where, on the top deck, we're literally told to stay low and not stand up. Time to get a tour of the wheelhouse, which Barney has eagerly awaited.

This evening we're going to Vienna for a concert of Mozart and Strauss, with my cousin Chris and his son Thomas. It was very well done, with a quite good soprano and a good baritone, a wonderful orchestra with an outstanding clarinetist who did a movement of the Mozart concerto, and two ballet dancers who danced to various pieces in an impossibly small area (I think I saw the conductor lean in once or twice as she was being spun around). The Hofberg Palace is a stunning sight at night, and I know we'll see it tomorrow in the daylight.

Organ pipes and the mix of rivers

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Waking up to the sound of the ship slicing through the river, we get to watch them go through yet anther lock, this one outside of Passau. Here the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn Rivers all join, and the demarcation of the waters from different sources (forests vs. mountains) is clear from the colors of the waters as they mix.

It has also made for some spectacular floods over the centuries (this began as a Roman settlement almost 2,000 years ago). Those century floods that are supposed to come once every 100 years or so now seem to come every 2-3 years. I bet you won't find many people in Passau saying that climate change exists only in the imaginations of certain scientists.  As I write this, people in Serbia and nearby areas are experiencing heavy flooding.  Again.

This town reached its high point in the 16th -17th century, when the salt trade made it wealthy, the guilds controlled craftwork, and long-distance trading made everyone well off. Once the market was opened in the 19th, the town began a decline, reviving through tourism in the 20th century. Our guide noted that today there were several tour boats in town today, three of being Viking River Cruises. She said, "first there were the Romans, then the Germanic tribes, the Turks almost made it this far, and so today we have the Vikings!" During their heydey, the Bishop-Prince of Passau ran one of the wealthiest places around, and they built large homes, tall towers, and a magnificent church which has in it one of the largest organs in the world, with almost 18,000 pipes, 5 manuals, and 229 speaking stops, a truly magnificent instrument.

We gather to hear a wonderful concert at noon, as the strains of Bach, Langlais and the organist's terrific improvisations fill the church. I've never hear quite so much variety of sound from an organ.

After the concert, a bit of shopping for some small gifts, and a leisurely lunch at a sidewalk cafe with samples of the local wheat beers (one dark, and one light). We find a post office, and Barney once again successfully purchased stamps. A long walk to the waterfront, and a quick shuttle to the Veste Oberhaus, a fortress to help the rulers control trade on the rivers.  From here, the views are spectacular.

 This evening, as we cross the border into Austria, all of the food is Austrian-themed, and quite good, with Austrian beer, Austrian wine, and delicious apricot schnapps, which we enjoy with dessert on the top deck as the sun goes down and the wind comes up and we are surrounded by steep hills covered with dark green forests, interspersed with small villages.

A chill of history in Nuremberg and we set sail

Sunday, 18 May 2014

We arise early to quite a sumptuous breakfast (rivaled only by the business-oriented Ibis in Paris some years ago, which had every imaginable kind of food that people from any culture might east for breakfast, from cereal to raw fish. At 8:00am we left for Nuremberg, starting at the castle, built in the Middle Ages, as part of a large wall which enclosed the town. Spectacular views from the top of the hill greeted us, as well as an interesting roofscape, where the roofs slant toward the street to prevent the spread of fire from the typical gabled roofs. We walk down several twisting streets, ending at the large St. Siebald's church. Because large portions of Nuremberg were destroyed during WWII, much has been rebuilt over the ears, though the church was OK. They were finishing Sunday Mass as we entered, so we had a chance to hear the wonderful organ (a favorite thing for Barney). We went by the Nazi Parade Grounds, which were monumental, just like the film clips with a huge area enclosed by the stands and the tall stands from which Hitler spoke.  We also saw the Justice Building where the trials took place, which made me flash back to the film, a bit of a chill of the history that played out in this city.

Later we saw a lovely market was going in the main square, which included a wonderful band playing, and lots of tables filled with folks eating sausages, drinking beer and eating sweets. Drinking beer seems to be the national sport here, part of every day life. 

In the afternoon, we finally shove off and begin our journey through the many locks on the Main en route to the Danube. The locks are a real marvel of engineering, begun by Charlemagne in the 793CE but only finally completed in 1992. Charlemagne knew how important it was to open up the upper part of the Danube for trade, but they lacked the technical skill to make the locks work, good engineering takes a while. We go from Nuremberg at 1016 feet up to Hipolstein at 1322 feet and then back down to 1128 feet, where we wake up the next morning in Regensberg. Going through the locks was quite an experience, as you enter the lock (which looms many stories above), they fill the lock with water and you rise up, again many stories, with the sides of the lock a mere foot away from the window, until the other side opens, and we settle into a new level.

As we descend, the reverse happens, with a movement of many stories downward as the lock empties. It's a bit surprising how close they are to the edge. It feels as though we are going fast, 20mph or so, and then we see a bicyclist ride by on the side of the river, clearly just pedaling along at a rather leisurely pace and passing us. Barney estimates that we're going about 5mph.

We enjoy a nice dinner with the family .... with fewer than 200 people on board, we all eat on board, unlike the huge cruise ships with thousands of people. It's much friendlier, and I notice that Barney and I and my cousin Chris are among the very youngest people on board, and young Thomas (who is 19) is decades younger. When they have those Viking River Cruise ads with all the smiling gray-haired couples, they are not kidding.  Probably 80% are from the UK and USA, most of the rest from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and a few from China. We go to sleep to the sound of water, very peaceful.

Wheat beer and medieval life

Monday, 19 May 2014

We wake up to find that we are now berthed in Regensberg, home of famous sausages (as is every town in Germany, we find), sweet mustard, and the cranky Pope Benedict, who taught at the university here for many years. A wonderful morning tour takes us through the Medieval city, party enclosed by an ancient Roman wall. We see the tall towers of the city, erected by wealthy merchants who competed with each other to build the biggest and most elaborate towers. We also learn about the dark side of Regensberg .... like many cities in Germany in the Middle Ages, the substantial Jewish population were traders and bankers, and eventually held enormous amounts of debt from other citizens, nobility, the Catholic Bishop, and even governments. At some point, the city council decided to eliminate their debts by expelling the Jews, much as Ferdinand and Isabella did in Spain, confiscating their property, razing the entire Jewish quarter and even desecrating the graves.  The somber memorial is in the square created after the destruction of the Jewish quarter which was never rebuilt, and it outlines the foundation and walls of the old synagogue there. There were indeed precedents for Hitler.

In the afternoon we go to visit the Scheider Weisse brewery, the oldest (non-monastery) brewery in Europe, founded around 950, which specializes in wheat beer (a rarity because what was more highly valued for making bread then for beer).

 After a nice sample of the dark beer and a bretzl, we take 45-minute boat ride up the part of the Danube which is a protected nature area. Even the boat must have a very quiet motor to not disturb the setting, and I can hear birds and even crickets along the way. The tall limestone walls frame the river gorge, and we end our journey at the Weltenberg Abbey, a Benedictine abbey which boasts the oldest monastic brewery in Europe. Even more, the abbey has a spectacular Baroque church, a fantasy of gold and terracotta figures set against green background, with a giant St. George and the Dragon on the top of the altar (the crucifix if fairly small).

When we walk from the rather plain exterior into the an interior which can only be described as a riot of Baroque decor, it is truly as if the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and everything is gleaming.   After almost everyone leaves, I sneak a moment to sing, in this case the "Quia respexit" from the Bach Magnificat, which I thought would be appropriate in a Baroque church.

After we return to the ship, Barney and I take off on our own to explore the city a bit more before dinner ... during the day the old city was filed with tour groups, but now, at 6:30pm, it is filled with people coming home from work, parents bringing children home for dinner, everyday life. It's asparagus night on the boat, in homage to the season for green and white asparagus, and since Barney does not care for either one, I get lots of extra. This evening, a trio of singers plus accompanist perform a series of Mozart arias and duets, plus some piece from the Sound of Music, to enthusiastic applause. I realize I know most of the lyrics (except the Don Giovanni aria), and when the mezzo sings "Voi che sapete" I can only think of Madeleine singing that song. We depart Regensberg, going under some very low bridges, on our way to Passau and the largest pipe organ in Europe (18,000 pipes). If you know Barney well, you know that this is an exciting prospect for him.

Thank you Downton Abbey

Saturday, 17 May 2014
Today we left Munich for Nuremberg, site of our departure on the river cruise. Thanks to Downton Abbey, I learned of Viking River Cruises (the series sponsor). We had proposed to my wonderful Aunt Sally and Uncle Carl that we go somewhere together, and they picked the "Romantic Danube" cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest.  Today we packed up and left our cute little studio in Munich and took the train to Nuremberg, a simple and swift journey, and a good excuse to eat the German cheese and sausage and apples we bought on Thursday at the Viktualienmarkt.

Arriving in Nuremberg at their Beaux Arts train station, we find a nice taxi driver to go the 4 miles to the ship, which is cozy and small (less than 200 people) which is what I was hoping for. After wandering around and playing a bit of giant chess with Barney, we  meet up with Aunt Sally and Uncle Carl and their son, my cousin Chris, and his son, Thomas. We had a nice dinner and discussed going to the opera in Venice. Our room is cozy and well-thought-out, including a two-way mirror from the shower which allows one to be seen (or not) from the bedroom (an interesting electrical thing, according to Barney).

Tomorrow we visit Nuremberg and begin sailing!

Munich from batteries to opera

We wake up about 7am, and Barney goes out for yogurt and fruit while I make coffee. Well-rested, we're off for our one full day in Munich, and decide to catch the morning performance of the famous carillon and the 32 life-size characters which act out a medieval joust and dances. But first, e discovered the batteries in our camera were dead, and the backup ones too, so it was off too find a hardware store or someplace that would sell batteries. And voila, near the carillon was shop that sold everything from vacuum cleaners to cookware to duct tape to batteries. And Barney enjoyed browsing the 2000+ euro espresso machines.

After consulting my various printouts, we decide to visit the Residenzmuseum and treasury, the ancestral home of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria for 500 years, long enough to collect a boatload of treasures, and too add onto their palace over 500 years. Talk about never-ending renovations. The Treasury is stunning, filled with jeweled crowns and inspired filigreed reliquaries (the menfolk were the Electors and in some cases also the Holy Roman Emperors). The most beautiful piece was the jewel-encrusted St. George and the Dragon, photos of which I will post when I can figure out how to get them from my iphone to my ipad. (and, ta-daaa!)
Room after beautiful room of paintings, gilt furniture, gold-trimmed ceilings and chandeliers, marble and pietra-dura all attest too the extraordinary wealth of the kingdom of Bavaria. One guide said allow 2 hours ... in true Nelson-Smits fashion, we were there 4-1/2 hours. Famished, we left and walked to the Hofgarten on the other side of the Palace, and found a lovely cafe called Luigi Tambosi, and sat at an outdoor table, despite the cold. We ordered some chicken soup, two espressos, and maxi-toast, which turns out to be a rather interesting kind of grilled cheese. While we ate, a couple in traditional garb walked by and the waiters yelled something to them which made us think it was related to a wedding. At the nearby Temple of Diana, we saw them with their friends and about a dozen heart-shaped red balloons. As I watched people turn the corner from the path and see the balloons, without fail, each person smiled. It's simply not possible to resist red heart-shaped balloons.
Everyone rides bicycles here, parents taking their kids to school, people commuting. The broad sidealks near the Odeonplatz have two-way bikes lanes, and boy watch out trying to cross them. These folks means business with their bikes. And virtually no one wears a helmet. We noticed that so many people are walking on the street or in the metro wiith musical instruments ... they are everywhere, cellos, violins, trumpets, trombones, even a guy with a distinctive lute case. This is a musical city.
And everything in Germany is made in Germany, or at least has a German brand on it. And I mean everything. Siemens (refrigerator and stove), Moen (faucets), Grohe (sinks), Schindler (elevators), Thyssen (escalators in metro), Rheinstahl (sensors of the 2way escalators) ... every piece of mechanical or electrical or plumbing has a German name on it. When German average wages are higher than those of the US, how is it that they can afford to build their country with things they make (with the good jobs that provides) when US companies say it is too expensive to build things in the US anymore, so now everything seems to now be made in China?
After a brief stop at the apartment to change, we head off to dinner and then the famous Munich Staatsoper to see Ariadne auf Naxos. We found Alter Hof on TripAdvisor, and it was lovely ... they seated us at 6:15 without a reservation, brought a thimble of tomato soup with paprika for a starter. A salmon salad with asparagus for me and a pork roast with potato dumping for Barney (we switched halfway through) and some nice paired wines. W People in Munich love asparagus, I mean they LOVE asparagus. There are stands set up in the various squares with kiosks that sell only white asparagus, which has a short season, and these places are packed. We secured tickets in the ticket shop in the Marienplatz metro, though most of the posters were for rock, hip-hop and pop concerts. The Staatsoper performs in the National Theatre, a stunning historical building whose inside is a festival of red and gold, with five balconies. On the second balcony, the sound and sightlines were excellent, and the seats amazingly comfortable (SF Opera, I'm looking at you). The singing was glorious, and the modernist play-within-a-play approach was wonderful. Everyone piled out onto the metro, and we enjoyed some of the delicious strawberries from breakfast.