Cycling in Germany #14 – Shades of Gaudi on the Elbe: Hundertwasser

July 8, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 47 Comments

“I mustn’t forget to show you something before we leave Wittenberg tomorrow”, says Jean Michel, “a modern building, the Martin Luther Gymnasium” (which means high school).

Wow, I am bowled over when I see it, tucked away behind the vegatation in a side street. It’s Sunday so there is no one about. What an inspiring place to go to school.

Close-up of the Martin Luther Gymnasium from inside the gate

According to the official website, the architect, Hundertwasser, a visionary and reponsible creator, mobilizes the power of his art in order to spread his message for a life in harmony with nature and individual creativity.

He is a symbolic figure for a non-conformist way of life, a forerunner of environmental protection and an ambassador for a self-determined alternative existence.

The gymnasium showing the second buildling behind. We didn’t like to venture too far into the school.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Regentag Dunkelbunt LiebeFrau was born in Vienna on 15^th December 1928 and died on board the Queen Elizabeth 2 on 19^th February 2000 on his way back to his home in New Zealand.

Close-up of the right side of the gymnasium

He was an artist, thinker and architect or, as he claimed in his manifesto of 24^th January 1990, a doctor of architecture with a passion for water and colours. His deeply environmentalist message was expressed early on in everything he created: paintings, posters, postage stamps, houses, buildings, books.

Our next stop is Magdeburg, It’s already 31°C. We park just in front of the Green Citadel, in the middle of the city, another work by Hundertwasser, and said to be his architectural masterpiece.

The right façade, showing a second modern building and the Neogothic law courts and post office buildlng

For me, it’s love at first sight: golden globes on top of towers, “tree tenants” looking out of “dancing windows”, meadows of wildflowers on the roofs, “foot melodies” taking strollers through the inner courtyard.

Die Gemälde Stube in the courtyard of the Green Citadel

We go round the other side and discover there is a restaurant inside, along with a hotel, shops and private apartments. The courtyard is cool and shady.

Fountain and shops in the main courtyard

For a total of twenty euros, we have a glass of Riesling and the dish of the day brought by a friendly waitress speaking excellent English. We take our time to soak in the atmosphere of the courtyard with its little fountain.

Pay-for public toilets, free if you eat at the restaurant

Even the pay-for public toilets are part of the decor. The waitress gives me a token.

Reminiscent of the colourful works of the Gaudi in Barcelona, Hunterwasser’s buildings are quite unique. My photos do not do them justice.

Cycling in Germany #13: Wörlitz Gardens and the beginning of German Neo-classicism

July 7, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 39 Comments

After a standard breakfast, we set out on our bikes at about 10 am for Wörlitz, 25 k away. I’m feeling rather sluggish and the somewhat dull countryside doesn’t help. We’re finding it a little hard to adapt to the difference between the Elbe and the Danube where nearly every bend brings a change of scenary. We like the red brick buildings with their intricate details though.

Red-brick factory converted into flats in Wittenberg

We eventually come to a pretty little village with a watermill and an excellent cappuccino at the top of a steep climb restores my energy.

We arrive at Coswig and take the cable ferry. Jean Michel explains how the current and the length of cable are used to cross the river.

Worlitz is another 5 km along the river. By then it’s lunchtime so we follow the advice of Le Routard and eat at Grüner Baum. Jean Michel chooses fish and I go for the schweiner schnitzel which is excellent.

We leave our bikes in a courtyard next to the tourist office which is locked at night and set off for the castle on foot. We are delighted at what we see. The 277-acre Wörlitz Garden was mainly developed between 1764 and 1800 and is one of the largest and earliest landscape parks in Europe. It was masterminded by Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau and his architect friend Friedrich Wilhelm von Ermannsdorf.

Cable ferries surrounded by waterlillies

The two of them went on a grand tour of Europe which included England, France, Italy, Switzerland and Holland over a period of sixteen years and put their innovative ideas and ideals into practice in a series of buildings and naturalistic landscapes containing several lakes, around which there is no enclosure whatsoever. Small cable ferries take you across the water in the middle of waterlilies or you can take a so-called gondola like the German group below.

A gondola with a table in the middle for drinks!

We choose to visit the palace (landhaus), the Gothic House and Hamilton Villa, all of which have guided tours in German with, we are told, documentation in French and English.

We love the gardens, which are very peaceful and bucolic and we love taking the little ferries.

It turns out we are the only people on the tour of the landhaus and the guide only speaks German. She gives us documentation in French and tries her very hardest to share her enthusiasm about the house by articulating clearly and repeating the words we seem to recognise. At the end of the ¾ hour visit, I’m exhausted!

A most unusual fireplace inside the landhaus

The landhaus, finished in 1773, was the first Neoclassical building in Germany. It contains a large collection of Wedgwood porcelain and many innovative features such as pull-out beds.

Since it’s already 4 pm we only visit the Gothic House from the outside. Started by Erdmannsdorff in 1774 and modelled on Horace Walpole’s villa on Strawberry Hill, it was one of the first Neogothic structures on the continent.

Cornflowers in a field of wheat, rye and barley

We start walking towards Hamilton Villa and the path takes us around a never-ending field of rye, wheat and barley. An hour later we arrive at the Villa which is overrun by a wedding party we saw when we first arrived. We are told by a helpful man in English that there is another compulsory guided tour in German so decide not to enter after all. However, as we walk away, the man comes after us and gives us a brief rundown on the what there is to see and says we can explore on our own.

When Leopold III was off on his grand tour of Europe in 1760, he was capitivated by Mount Vesuvius and the newly discovered of Pompei so 22 years later he built his own little volcano on an island of local rock. A hollow cone at the top contained a chamber with three fireplaces and a roof with an artificial crater that could be filled with water.

He then built a lake around the volcano and invited his friends over to watch the eruption. Ah, the advantages of being a rich prince! There is also an amphitheatre, Roman baths and various chambers underneath the volcano.

The Roman amphitheatre where the Prince held concerts

The little Neo-classical villa at the foot of the volcano symbolises the friendship between the prince and the British diplomat, Sir William Hamilton, who was also a geologist and collector of antiquities. It, too, was designed by Erdmannsdorff. We pay an extra 3 euro to take photos which I think is a little exaggerated given that the entrance is 4 euro per person.

We walk back along the artificial lake to the tourist office, suddenly worried that it might close before we get there. What will happen if our bikes are locked up for the night ? Fortunately, we make it with ten minutes to spare. It’s 6 pm and we’ve still got a 2 hour ride home! It’s been a long day …

Cycling in Germany #12 – Luther Country : Wittenberg

July 6, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 43 Comments

We arrive at our Black Bear Hotel (Schwarzer Baer) about 2 pm in stifling heat and appreciate the coolness of the rooms. We don’t have a terrace but we have a little closed-in verandah afffair with a leadlight window which is very neat. Even neater is the fact that the curtains are of the total blackout sort. The room will not be flooded with light from 4.30 am onwards as it was at the Radhaus!

The leadlight in our alcove at Stathotel Wittenberg Schwarzer Baer

After a long siesta, we explore the town. It is very attractive with its renovated Marktplatz appropriately adorned with statues of Luther and fellow reformer Melanchthon. Like most town centres, Wittenberg is pedestrian (and bike) only.

Rathaus with statues of Luther and Melanthon

Unlike Dresden, Wittenberg was mostly spared in the Second World War, but it doesn’t have many historical buildiings because it was bombarded by the Austrians in 1760 during the Seven Years War during the Prussian occupation. It was later occupied by the French in 1806 and stormed by the Prussian Army the next year.

As we walk through the streets, we nevertheless discover several 16th century entries some of which have been restored, others not.

In front of one building, we see a before and after photo of the house where the painter Cranach once lived. The difference is stunning.

We also see a lot of leafy courtyards often containing biergartens. In one, there is a scene painted on a wooden panel representing life-sized figures of Katharina and Martin Luther and two of their children, with holes instead of faces so Jean Michel and I take turns to stick our heads through. A man seated at a nearby table comes over and offers to take our photo!

Unfortunately both of the town’s churches are being renovated in preparation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation which will take place in 2017.

The roof of the ? — The roof of the Schlosskirche, the only part not being restored, taken from the little memorial garden next to the Tourist Information office.

In 1517, Luther nailed his 95 theses on the doors of the Schlosskirche which was badly damaged by fire in 1760 as a result of the Austrian bombardment. It was rebuilt and later restored at the end of the 19th century. The orignal wooden doors were replaced in 1858 by bronze doors with the Latin text of the theses. Inside are the tombs of Luther and Melanchthon, but we are not able to go inside.

The Parish Church of Saint Mary's, also undergoing renovation — The Parish Church of Saint Mary’s, also undergoing renovation

The parish Church of Saint Mary is also being renovated so we aren’t able to see Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Last Supper, Baptism and Confession. There’s a slide show though so we are able to get an idea of what we are missing.

As the heat has died down somewhat, we pack a picnic dinner (it’s an intermitttent fast day) and cycle 15 kilometers to Elster. The countryside is rather marshy, quite different from what we have seen along the Elbe so far.

Bockwindmühle built in 1895 and restored in 1995

As we get closer to Elster, we see a restored windmill with a picnic table next to it but without a drop of shade!

We end up having our picnic on a bench in the centre of Elster, watching the ferryman closing up for the night with the France-Germany soccer match in the background. When its over, there is no reaction from the adults but the children clap. Hmm.

On the way home, I stop to take a photo of the sheep scattered along the levee. Within one minute, they’re all clustered together, baaing at me! By the time we get back to the Black Bear, we are exhausted which explains why yesterday’s post only talked about Torgau.

Cycling in Germany #11 – Martin Luther Country: Torgau

July 5, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 36 Comments

Today, we’re off to Wittenberg Lutherstadt as it now seems to be called everywhere. It’s 100 km away and there is only one point of interest in-between – Torgau. We had thought of passing via Leipzig but the photos on google images aren’t very encouraging. We get off to a false start because our Radhaus in Niederlommatzsch doesn’t take Visa card and we have to drive about 10 km to get some cash.

Tolenfels Castle was built in 1534. — Hartenfels Castle was built in 1534.

The first thing we see when we approach Torgau is Hartenfels Castle overlooking the Elbe. We park in the shade and put on our straw hats because it is already 28°C in the shade at 11 am! As soon as we walk into the walled town, we see preparations going on. A Renaissance festival like the one we accidentally went to last year in Neuburg on the Danube is obviously in the making.

Unfortunately, the castle is undergoing renovation but we walk towards the courtyard which is open to the public. We go across a moat and I look down. What do I see? A brown bear! Poor thing, it looks very hot, even in its pool. It reminds me of Bern in Switzerland which also has a bear pit. We later see there is a second bear who is also completely flaked out.

Marienkirche - you can see some of the Renaissance festival preparations — Marienkirche – you can see some of the Renaissance festival preparations

We visit Marienkirche in which there is a mural tombstone of Katharina Luther who died in Torgau. Now that’s an interesting story. Katharina’s parents were of noble birth but had fallen on hard times, so they put her in a convent at the age of 5. When she was 24, she and 11 other nuns escaped from the convent to Wittenberg, encouraged by Martin Luther’s denunciation of convents and monasteries. There she met her future husband, 16 years older than her. They had six children and lived happily ever after. Five hundred years later, there is a Katharina’s Day celebration just for her.

Torgau is a pretty little town with a large market square. A white rathaus takes up most of one side and is flanked by well-retored buildings around the other three sides. There is a lot of renovation going on and it’s obviously trying to capitalise on nearby Wittenberg and the Martin Luther connection.

After a nice cold Diet Coke (Coca-Cola Light in German), we continue our route to Wittenburg. Stay tuned.

Cycling in Germany #10: Meissen

July 3, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 41 Comments

We’ve left Meissen for the best day weather-wise. It’s already 16°C by the time we set out at 9.45, taking the ferry in front of Elbklause, our “bike hotel” across the Elbe, and the sky is bright blue. It’s 14 km to Meissen mainly along the river. The castle can be seen quite a long way away.

Meissen from the cycle path on the east bank of the Elbe

Marktplatz, flanked on one side by the Rathaus (town hall) and on the other by Frauenkirche church, is our first stop. We hear the porcelain bells chiming. Unfortunately the church is undergoing renovation so we can’t visit the inside.

The Town Hall (Rathaus) in Meissen with its sundial

The bell tower of Frauenkirche with its porcelain bells

We wheel our bikes up to the late Gothic Albrechtsburg Castle. We pass several historical houses on the way. On the right of the gatehouse, I see what looks like a great restaurant for lunch.

The entrance to the Albrech. — The entrance to Albrechtsburg Castle.

Built in the 15th century, the castle is considered to be Germany’s oldest castle. There is a double sundial on the façade which also has a spiral staircase with a Renaissance-like gallery that reminds me of Blois.

Castle façade with its double sundial and spiral staircase

The most striking feaures are the vaulting and the wall paintings. There is no furniture. There are not many people so our extra 2 euro per person to take photos proves to be worth it.

The smaller vaults are most unusual — The smaller vaults on the right are most unusual

A royal wedding for political reasons - the bride was 9 and the groom 17! — A royal wedding for political reasons – the bride was 9 and the groom 17!

One of several porcelain stoves. There are practically no fireplaces.

Meissen, of course, is famous for its 300-year old porcelain faatory. There are several showcases throughout the castle displaying a fine collection. We initially thought we’d visit the factory but after seeing the pieces displayed here, we decide not to go.

One of the porcelain showcases in the castle

THe buildings on the right of the courtyard leaving the castle. — The buildings on the right of Dom Platz leaving the castle with one of the sundials on the right.

By now it’s after 1.30 pm but that’s not a problem here. It seems you can get a meal any time. We locate the restaurant I saw on the way up and take a table overlooking the city and river.

The view from the Burgkeller which is also a Romantik Hotel

Although the waitress doesn’t speak any English, the menu has a translation so we order pork medallions with chanterelle mushrooms (pfifferlings – isn’t that a great word?) and potato cakes. A bit salty, but otherwise excellent. We had our usual Meissen white wine which tasted like riesling.

Sheep grazing right on the edge of the Elbe opposite Diera — Sheep grazing right on the edge of the Elbe opposite Zadel

The weather is as warm as promised – 23°C. We’re soon back at our hotel, eating Schwarzwald (black forest) ice-cream sundaes on the shady terrace of the hotel restaurant. Tomorrow we’re off to Wittenberg. And to help you locate the different places we go to, I’ve added a Google Map widget on the right.

Cycling in Germany #8 : Dresden Neustadt – Kunsthof Passage, Pfund’s Molkerei, a broom shop & trompe l’oeil

July 2, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 45 Comments

We’re up early due to the lack of shutters – it’s light at 5 am at the moment – so we have breakfast, pack up and cross the bridge to Neustadt or New Town as opposed to Altstadt or Old Town where we’re been staying. On the way, we see a wonderful trompe l’œil building. The Germans love painting their façades but I haven’t seen anything this sophisticated before.

Trompe l'oeil house along the Elb on the Altstadt side of Dresden — Trompe l’oeil house along the Elb on the Altstadt side of Dresden

After reading Anda’s post about the singing drain pipes in Travel Notes and Beyond, I am eager to see Kunsthof Passage in the student district. We are not disappointed.

To quote Anda, “Kunsthofpassage is one of Dresden’s best kept secrets. The passage is actually a series of five small courtyards – not visible from the street – that were turned into an art experiment, called the Ginkgo project. A group of artists – sculptors and designers – took a bunch of old buildings and redesigned their façades, giving each building and courtyard specific motif and a theme of its own. The project was completed in 2001.” I shall let you read Anda’s post for more details and just provide a few photos.

The Courtyard of the Light decorated with metal mirrors

The Singing Drainpipes that make music wwhen it rains

We walk through the passage and out onto the other side, then turn left twice. On the way, we see lots of other fun street art. We are reminded of Budapest in particular.

The façade of Louise's which appears to be a kindergarten — The façade of Louise’s which appears to be a kindergarten

A wonderful way to decorate a blind wall

Our next destination is Pfund’s Molkerei, founded in 1880 and said to be the world’s most beautiful dairy shop. Its hand-painted tiles and enamelled sculptures are all handmade by Villeroy & Boch. You can buy wine, cheese and other dairy products and eat in the upstairs café restaurant. It is, indeed, very beautiful.

Inside Pfund's Molkerai dairy shop — Inside Pfund’s Molkerai dairy shop

But next door is more fun – a brush and broom store. I could buy half the shop. Germany is a very clean country and I can see why. There is a broom for every household task! We settle for some wooden clothes pegs, a nail brush and a sort of mini-rake to clean Velcro. The saleswoman is very enthusiastic about all her products and gives us several demonstrations.

We go back to the car park further along the street where there is another exceptional example of trompe d’oeil. It seems wasted on a parking lot!

Trompe l'oeil all in the parking lot on Bautznerstrasse — Trompe l’oeil all in the parking lot on Bautznerstrasse

As we drive towards Meissen, we see a very impressive mosque which is surprising because I haven’t seen any women in veils or other signs of Muslims, but then, we haven’t ventured any further than Altstadt, Neustadt and Renault! I learn later from Anda that Yenidze is a former cigarette factory that functions now as an office building. “Yenidze” was the name of a tobacco company that imported tobacco from Yenidze, in Greece. So there you go!

The Dresden Mosque — Yenidze, once a cigarette factory and now an office building

Bürsten-Manufaktur Dresden, Bautzner Strasse 77, Dresden Neustadt, www.buerstenmanufaktur-dresden.de

Pfund’s Molkerei, Bautzner Strasse 79, Dresden Neustadt

Kunsthof Passage, between 23 Görlitzerstrasse and 70 Alaunstrasse, Dresden Neustadt

Cycling in Germany #9 – Country Roads around Niederlommatzsch on the Elbe

July 2, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 38 Comments

We reach Elbklause, our Radhaus (bike hotel), in Niederlommatzsch around 12.30. Our room is new, large and airy with a wonderful view of the Elb. The wifi works immediately and doesn’t require endless codes. We are directly on the bike path.

The hotel’s restaurant on the river looks very inviting. We order two local white wines – a Muller-Thurgau and a goldriesling. We prefer the Muller-Thurgau. I work out from the all-German menu that pork is the local speciality so we order pork cutlets. They are king-size and served with a large variety fresh vegetables – one of the best meals so far.

The view from the terrace of the restaurant and from our window

We set off on our bikes for Riesa, theoretically 14 km away but we end up doing 36 km there and back due to a detour. The ferry is just outside our hotel so we begin with the east bank. Having gone for two days without cycling in Dresden has improved my saddle soreness. Good thing because the initial paths are a sort of crazy paving which is even worse than cobblestones.

The cobblestones are bad enough but the crazy pavement (not shown here) is worse. Sometimes, we have to take our bikes down a steep slope with a bike runner

The countryside is very tranquil and takes us past back gardens with their own machinery exhibitions, a surprising building that turns out to be a sawmill with a crane, a renovated windmill without sails and an absolutely enormous chemical refinery that employs 1400 people. I find it very colourful – typically German – but Jean Michel explains that the different coloured pipes are compulsory and indicate what they contain. Ah well. You learn something new every day!

The sawmill and crane built in the late 19th century and recently restored

Restored windmill of the Dutch type – note the patriotic car

Wacker chemical refinery, mostly connected with silicone

Riesa, our destination, is obviously a new town that drains the refinery workers and its only redeeming features are the biggest wisteria I have ever seen, the town hall and an amazing blind wall with a music store painted on it.

We do however find an excellent eiscafé where we manage to order icecream and mineral water in German. The East Germans, who are obviously not used to foreigners, understand my German even less than the Bavarians! I’m amused by the fact that a man stops me in the street and asks in English where the police station is. Jean Michel knows of course so sends him in the right direction.

Rape and wheat with wild flowers on both sides

Having crossed the bridge at Riese, we are able to cycle back on the other side of the river, through cultivated fields lined with wild flowers. We see corn, wheat, barley, rye, rape, sunflowers, potatoes, peas, sugarbeet and runner beans, and a few sheep and cows. We also smell numerous pigsties. Also an incredibly long barge.

It’s nearly 8 pm when we get back so we finish off the sweet wine we bought in Bad Schandau followed by a cucumber, tomato and cheese salad. We eat the cherries we bought along the way for one euro outside someone’s house. We sink thankfully into bed at 10.30 pm after an unsuccessful attempt to find a hotel for our next stop at Wittenberg.

Breakfast at Elbklause, the best yet, according to Jean Michel

It’s next morning and we learn the downside of our river view. The curtains are thin and the windows are facing east which means maximum light from 5 am onwards. There is also a street light outside which seems to stay on all night. So after the best breakfast so far according to Jean Michel (the usual cold meats and cheese but a better selection, boiled eggs, very compact dry bread, cereal, yoghurt, tomato, butter & jam and fresh fruit), we decide to stay at home to catch up on our travel log and blog and deal with such mundane things as washing and repairing Jean Michel’s inner tube.

Jean MIchel picking cherries along the way but they weren't very good — Jean MIchel picking cherries along the way but they weren’t very good

We have lunch again at the hotel restaurant overlooking the Elb. Jean Michel chooses some sort of pork and sauerkraut and I have duck with cooked shredded beetroot which is excellent. We have the Müller-Thurgau again and try the Weissburgunder (white burgundy) but it’s a bit green.

At least there's a view after that hilltop climb — At least there’s a view after that hilltop climb

As we’re keeping Meissen for tomorrow, we choose to go west of the Elb to Lommatzsch. I don’t think I’ve ever climbed so many hills in such a short time. I’m as red as the beetroot I ate at lunch.

Not much to see in Lommatzsch. The town hall looks exactly the same as the wooden village I had as a child. I feel I deserve the ice-cream at the Konditorei more than other. We’re amused to see that it comes from large containers of Carte d’Or ice-cream.

The ride home after shopping for dinner at Netto is much easier, mainly downhill of course. Jean Michel stops at practically every cherry tree along the way to see if the cherries are edible. He can never resist free food, particularly in the country. All he manages to do is to get stains on his shirt …

Three combine harvesters all in the same field of barley

We’re amazed to see three massive combine harvesters in a barley field. We also see a hare.

Our Meissen weissburgunder aperitif on the window-sill

For our apertif we try the Winzer Meissen weissburgunder (pinot blanc) we bought in Reise for 11.50 euro the day before in a most unlikely looking shop. It’s much better than the one I had a lunchtime – certainly not as green – but no nose to speak of.

Elbklause Hotel, Niederlommatzsch

Cycling in Germany #7 – Dresden: Accommodation & Car Trouble and Baroque Treasure

June 30, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 48 Comments

The idea is to go to the Tourist Office in Dresden to find a hotel. I’ve already done some research and there doesn’t seem to be much on offer in the old town apart from the Hilton and a couple of Ibis Hotels. I’ve seen something called Aparthotels on booking.com, a bargain at 58 euro, but there is no indication of parking possibilities, so Jean Michel thinks it will be better to check it out first.

We get to Dresden about 11 am. After parking the car in an underground parking lot, we head for Neumarkt Platz and the Tourist Office. I see the sign for Aparthotels so we go in to inquire. The only thing left is a suite at 95 euro so we decide to take it. The very helpful girl at the desk who speaks excellent English tells us there is above-ground parking at 3 euro per 24 hours about 5 minutes walk away. We get the car and drop off our luggage and she says she’ll send an SMS when the room is ready. That’s what I call service!

Our suite in Aparthotel Am Schloss, taken from the brochure because I forgot to take a photo myself!

Well, when we see our suite, we are pretty amazed. Enormous, stylish, with two large rooms, a kitchen with dishwasher on one wall, large comfortable sofa, table and chairs, desk, two TVS (not that we ever watch TV) and a bathroom with a washing machine!

It is not until about 11 pm that we start looking at next day’s accommodation in the vicinity of Meissen. I find what looks like a great hotel but it’s not available until the day after. Why don’t we stay another night in Dresden? We’d like to see the famous baroque treasure in the Grünes Gewölbe museum. We check booking.com and there is one apartment at 58 euro left in other Aparthotel on Münzgasse next to Ayers Rock on the other side of the Frauenkirche. We take it.

It’s next morning and we go down to see the friendly girl on the desk just in case there is a room available our own Am Schloss Aparthotel. No, there isn’t but she checks our Münzgasse booking and tells us we’ve been upgraded to a suite. We pack up and put all our luggage on the neat luggage trolley and I wait and chat with the girl on the desk while Jean Michel goes to get the car.

The breakdown truck - German only — The breakdown truck – German only

My phone rings. “On a des problèmes”, says Jean Michel. The battery’s flat. We later discover he had left a light on inside the car. Good thing it wasn’t me! He phones our travel insurance and they send us a breakdown truck. We then go to Renault because Jean Michel thinks we should change the battery. I know who’s going to have to communicate and am dreading it. Also it’s nearly midday. I bet they close for lunch. “Guten tag”, I say, “Do you speak English?” “Moment”, replies the man and off he goes.

He comes back with Julia whom I instantly take a liking to. She speaks real English having worked for six months in a garage in Brisbane of all places. She is our life saver. By 1.30, the battery and one of the injection coils (imagine having to converse about that in German) have been changed, we’ve been to the local supermarket on foot to top up supplies and had a picnic on the Elbe at Julia’s suggestion. Our new room is waiting for us. The repairs were even cheaper than they would have been in France.

Our Aparthotel suitel in Münzgasse — Our Aparthotel suite in Münzgasse

Our next apartment does not have the same chic as the first one, but it’s still very nice. We have a separate kitchen, bathroom (with washing machine but a bath and not a proper shower), hallway, living room and bedroom, all with absolutely stunning views of Neumarkt Platz. All for 58 euro! I put on a load of washing (what luxury!) and ask for a clothes horse, ironing board and iron to be sent up. That’s domesticity for you.

The view from our room at Aparthotel Münzgasse

Then we go off to do something more interesting. Sun and rain alternate so we take some brighter photos on the way.

The Pretiosensaal in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe

I used to be an avid museum goer but an ongoing foot problem that occurred about 8 years ago has made me very selective. Our choice goes to the Grünes Gewölbe historical museum which contains over 2,000 masterpieces made of gold and silver, amber and ivory displayed in eight beautifully decorated rooms. No photos allowed so I’ve taken one of our travel diary.

The sun’s out again so we go back to the Zwinger gardens to take some more photos but they are so crowded with groups that we don’t bother. On the other side, we discover the Opera House and visit the very plain interior of the Catholic Cathedral, badly bombed during the war.

It suddenly starts raining so we head home for a cup of tea. I realise that I haven’t received confirmation on hotelinfo.com for our next hotel booking. I try to ring the hotel but am stumped by the recorded message in German. I find a toll free number for hotelinfo.com and am told there is no reservation. I make another one, which is now confirmed. Ouf! Our next stop is only 45 minutes away so we’ll be able to have a full day of cycling – weather permitting!

In the meantime we have an excellent quartet just outside our window.

Aparthotels, www.aparthotels-frauenkirche.de, info@aparthotels-frauenkirche.de

Photos of the Week – Dresden

June 29, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 13 Comments

Dresden was once one of Europe’s great cultural capitals. One thousand fire bombs devasted the city on 13th February 1945 killing 40,000 people and leaving 900,000 homeless. Many of the main monuments have been rebuilt but not the historical houses that give a city its character. It was overcast when we arrived and rained most of the afternoon which made the city somewhat mournful. However, there seemed to be lot of things going on whenever the rain stopped. For an idea of what the city is like in the sun, I recommend Andrea’s photos on Rearview Mirror.

This was practically the first thing we saw in Dresden - dressing down on a Sunday morning! — This was practically the first thing we saw in Dresden – dressing down on a Sunday morning!

If I hadn't been a little cold, I would have joined her! — If I hadn’t been a little cold, I would have joined her!

A building detail on platz — A building detail on Neumarkt Platz

The King's Stables — Langer gang built in 1586 on one side of the King’s Stables

Frieze on the schloss — Frieze depicting the Procession of the Dukes – 202 metres long (1906) – made of 24,000 Meissen porcelain mosaic tiles

The Cathedral or DOM with the Schloss (castle) on the left

Entrance to the Schloss which now houses 4 museums

inside the schloss with its glass roof — Inside the schloss with its Renaissance gallery and glass roof

Lunchtime menu in the form of a gazette. The Germans next to us gave us some — Lunchtime menu in the form of a gazette.

Bubble blowers in between showers of rain

Imbiss ((snack bar) in an ancient red 3-wheel truck

Zwinger, a German Baroque palace also containing several museums — The German Rococo style Zwinger palace, inaugurated in 1719, also contains several museums

An unlikely restaurant in the middle of Dresden where we ended up having an excellent evening meal – it was a nice change for the mostly stodgy Saxon food

Cycling, Germany, Sightseeing

Cycling in Germany #6 – Bastei Rocks, Honigstein and over the border to Czech Republic

June 28, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 49 Comments

Weather report: sunny in the morning but storms in the afternoon. We decide not to cycle but to visit Battei Rocks in the morning and Honigstein in the afternoon, despite the fact that it’s Saturday and both places will no doubt be full of vistiors. It’s 11 am by the time we reach the closest parking lot to Battei Rocks but it’s not full, we’re relieved to see. We walk the couple of kilometers to the start of the various lookouts.

The viewing bridge at Bastei Rocks built in 1851

All the paths are very safe and easy but I can’t help it, my old fear of heights resurges. The rocks look like a mini version of the Grand Canyon where I think my fear first started over 35 years ago. I go slowly, applying the method an Australian psychologist friend taught me and manage to approach near enough to the fences to take photos.

They are nothing like the magnificent autumn photos that Anda published in Travel Notes and Beyond last year but it is very hard to do justice to such stunning natural scenery. Fortunately, the sun is out but the result is somewhat hazy.

The Elbe seen through the rocks on Bastei Bridge

The visit takes about an hour and we head back down to the Elb for lunch at Stadt Wehlen, the little village with the unusual sundial. We find a restaurant called Hotel Café Richtel on the water and order our usual glass of weiss wein. Jean Michel chooses matjes, which seems to be the house speciality and turns out to be salted herring. I choose baked lamb and dumplings. It’s good to have a meal that’s not deep fried.

Our view at lunch in Stadt Welhem — Our view at lunch in Stadt Welhen. The steam boat startled us when it blew its horn!

Afterwards, we head off for Honigstein, a 13th century fortress which is one of the largest in Europe and contains 50 different buildings. We leave the car in the Parkhaus and take the little train, thus saving 40 minutes on foot in each direction.

Set on a rocky landscape, Honigstein overlooks the Elbe and offers stunning 360° views of the surrounding countryside, including one of the loops in the river that we cycled along the day before.

Left view of the loop in the Elbe from Honigstein

Once again, our photos are hazy but Anda’s photos of Honigstein taken in autumn are perfect. They will also give you an idea of some of the buildings.

As it’s still early and sunny (we’ve had a couple of very short spitting spells but no storms), we go back to Bad Schandau to collect our cycling maps for a quick ride to the Czech border 8 km away before dinner. Bad luck – Jean Michel has a puncture, probably the first either of us has had since we began our cycling trips several years ago. The pump won’t work so I ride off to a cycle shop Jean Michel remembers seeing in the town to buy another one. I can’t find the shop and the entire town is shut down except for eating places!

He changes the inner tube and gets the pump to work which makes us think there may be a problem with the valve on the old tube. By then it’s starting to spit very lightly but we decide to take a chance.

The ferry over to the bike path that goes to Prague

The ride towards Czech Republic takes us past an amazing number of holiday rooms and flats with vacancies. We still don’t understand our difficulty finding a place to stay. After we leave the town, the river views are not as impressive as they are towards Pirna. As we approach Schmillke, we see there’s a ferry and we understand why when we reach the Czech border where the bike path abruptly ends. Crossing the ferry takes you to the path on the other side that goes right to Prague.

By now the spits have turned into light rain so we don our capes and ride back to Bad Schangan where our weiss wein is waiting in the fridge in our lime-green pension. Was is das? The wine is sweet! I check out the dictionary which provides an answer for once: Riesling Spätlese lieblich, it says – sweet late harvest riesling. Sigh …

Tomorrow, we’re off to Dresden.

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from the Tropics to the City of Light