Warsaw

I ought to have more to say about Warsaw than I do. As a result of the Dresden epidemic of '10, I was less than zippy as we trudged through the frigid Polish capital. We took a tour of the old town (rebuilt after World War II) until we couldn't feel our extremities. When I had the chance, I opted to spend the rest of the day at the hotel.

On day two I visited the National Museum and ate pirogi. And that was Warsaw.

Dresden. Bummer.

For Bosch Seminar II, we, the Boschies and the spouses, set off for Dresden.

I think Dresden was out to get us. For one thing, despite my good intentions, everything seemed to be closed. The major art gallery was closed for cleaning. A docent wouldn't let us in to the opera to take a tour (we think business was slow, and she wasn't in the mood). A Keller that looked promising for dinner was, surprise, closed. I went to a bookstore, saw a book, and left, mulling over whether I would like to go back and purchase it. When I went back the next day, the bookstore was closed. (On a Tuesday no less!? I understand that many businesses take a Ruhetag, or rest day, but I've never heard of Ruhetag on Tuesday.)

But Dresden's true assault on us was intestinal. After dinner with a jovial, albeit long-winded prince, over half of the group got miserably sick. In case you are eating, I will refrain from describing the symptoms. Some people were so sick they headed back to Berlin rather than head on to Warsaw. E. and I made the decision to head back, but felt sufficiently better in the morning to go on.

Our travails notwithstanding, I still think Dresden is a beautiful city. It was flattened in World War II. Some reconstruction took place in the post-war era, but there has been a huge boom in reconstruction since German reunification. We visited--and climbed to the top of--the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). Destroyed in the war, the locals stubbornly left it as a pile of rubble for decades until the time was right, and the money was available to put it back together. It's unquestionably the icon of the city, which is saying something in a city crammed with amazing baroque architecture.

Dresden, as seen from the top of the Frauenkirche.

The altar of the rebuilt Frauenkirche. Seeing a brand-spanking-new version of baroque architecture improves my opinion of the style. The radiance helps.

Here I am in front of the Semper Opera.

Silliness on the Zwinger.

The streets were dead at night.

New Year's Eve in Berlin

Berliners celebrate the new year by congregating in huge numbers and shooting off lots of fireworks in close quarters. E. and I wandered along Unter den Linden toward the Brandenburg Gate...

... but ended up spending most of the evening around Potsdamer Platz.

A year ago we were in Vienna for New Year's Eve, and Berlin, for all its danger and craziness, is tame by comparison. Anyhow, in Vienna we rode bumper cars in the Prater amusement park on New Year's Eve. This year we slid down an artificial sledding hill on inner tubes. I sense the making of a tradition. Next year... Ferris wheel?

Christmas for a day in Leipzig

Okay, okay. This post is out of chronological order. Sue me.

Back on December 20, before heading to the Netherlands, E. and I took a day trip to Leipzig to take in the Christmas atmosphere. I don't really know why, but Leipzig was a blank spot in my imagination. It turns out to be a very attractive city, and we had a grand day out, despite the miserably frigid temperatures.

A couple of highlights...

We happened to be in the right place at exactly the right time to hear Bach's Christmas Oratorio performed in the church where it was first performed. Wow, that was great.

The church itself--and maybe this will interest Bach afficionados--is like no other I've ever set foot in. Imagine a church frosted all over the inside like a wedding cake. And imagine the gothic columns have been hidden behind classical columns with asparagus sticking out the top. Because that's just what it looks like.

Leipzig's Christmas markets have a good reputation (Berlin's don't) and we had fun eating fried dough and wandering through the old town.

Christmas in Assen, Netherlands

Photography Class

I neglected to mention that I took a digital photography course at Volkshochschule Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, one of the local community colleges. Good clean fun. But now I need a new camera.

Scenes from the Culture War, Continued

The exodus that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall was followed by an influx of squatters taking advantage of abandoned property. Nearly all of the squatters have been evicted by now. E. called one afternoon from work to tip me off that police were clearing a squat next to her office. I walked down to check out the spectacle. There were countless dozens of police vehicles, but there was little drama. As best I could tell, the police were happy to wait patiently until the squatters left.

A crowd gathered in an adjacent park to watch. My impression was that the crowd was split peaceably between punky sympathizers and more bourgeois neighbors happy to see the squatters kicked out.

Here's the building the morning after. The police removed the windows to prevent squatters from re-inhabiting the building.

For more info, read coverage in ampelhead or Spiegel online.