Frankfurt, Elly and Sex on the Beach

Now I bet people are reading my blog!!

To start with a more somber topic, I visited the site of the Gestapo yesterday - there is a big open air gallery/museum which describes what the area was like from the 1910s onwards. There are some pretty confronting photos of political prisoners being shot and public hangings that the Nazi party put on to disuade any opposition. They were big on arresting anyone who disparaged the regime on the charges of 'personal safety' and undermining military strength. Germany's greatest piano player was executed for making comments at a dinner party after his mothers childhood friend informed the Ministry of Music (who did nothing) and then the Gestapo (who did a lot). There were also items about the failed assignation attempts, the proposed coups and a section about the Berlin wall.
Elly said something last night that I'd read in the guidebook - the wall still exists in German heads. There is still a gap between East and West Germany - housing is more expensive, the standard of living is apparently higher and there is more economic investment in West Germany. Its cheaper to live in Berlin than Frankfurt.

For people who dont know, Elly was my best mate in S'pore who I havent seen since 2003. So finally met at the train station yesterday and we went and had cocktails. On the menu, Sex on the Beach had 'secret of the barman' underneath rather than ingredients... so when we were paying, the waiter came to pick up a SOTB, looked at it and asked what it was. The bartender said its a SOTB, to which the waiter replied 'it doesnt look like one' and the bartender basically said the menu means he can make whatever he wants and call it Sex on the Beach. (of course, this was all in German so Elly was laughing and i had no idea why).

Anyway, there isnt much to do in Frankfurt apart from shop, so thats my plan. We´re heading to Düsseldorf tommorrow (which was rated the most livable city in Germany and 5th in Europe) to meet up with Torsten, my other good mate from 2003. YAY!!!

All Alone in Big, Bad Berlin

As JFK once famously said "Ich bein ein Berliner" (which actually means I am a jelly donut, known as a Berliner... what he should have said was Ich bein Berliner... but hey, its the sentiment that counts...)

I managed to score a lift to Berlin (thank you Mark, the best tour leader EVER) and am joining the Topdeck mob for a pub crawl later tonight. Until then, I have been entertaining myself on Museum island, which is an island in East Berlin full of elephants (I wish... Well, that would be pretty damn cool).
I saw the Pergamon which, for those history buffs out there, is home to the Pergamon altar and the Ishtar gate, two pretty huge finds in archeology. They have both been reconstructed in the museum to give some idea of how imposing they must have been originally and they are pretty damn impressive. Especially the Ishtar gate, which was built by King Nebachanezza in Babylon.
I wandered around the Ancient History museum and the Egyptian museum as well, which is home to THE statue of Neferiti that pretty much everyone would have seen on a poster/book/postcard/hairy mans arm... and for something thats had no restoration work, it looks amazingly new.

This afternoon is reserved for the task of tackling the bits of Berlin that caused so much pain and anguish around the world. I visited the Eastside Gallery yesterday, which is a section of the Berlin Wall that was painted just before it was torn down in 1988 (i think it was 88, feel free to correct me) and we drove past Checkpoint Charlie, which was one of the more notorious checkpoints between East and West Berlin - Im heading back for a closer inspection today. There is also a brand new memorial to the holocoust victims in Berlin. Its a whole garden of gray, tomb-like slabs in varying heights and sizes, designed to confuse and overwhelm people and perhaps gain a perspective of something that seems so impossible. I cant write too much because I havent been there quite yet but it will be different after visiting Austwizch on Sunday.

Krakow

Krakow is in southern Poland, the second largest city in the country. I'd never heard of it before this trip so I assume the majority of my avid audience hasn't either.

The story goes that a Dragon once lived on the hill here, along with a man named Mr Krak. They got along swimmingly and eventually the people built a castle on the hill that they lived on and named the city after Mr Krak.... as you do.


Again, a very pretty city. Today I took a trip out to the UNESCO protected Salt Mines - 20 euros to get in (ouch) but I think it was worth it. We had a guide take us around for 1.5 hours, walking about 2km and down 135m underground. I think my favorite cavern was the Chapel, which 3 men carved out of the salt rock over a 68 year period. It was pretty amazing - everything was made out of salt. The chandeliers, the baby Jesus, the altar, the floor tiles... and around the edges were a series of carvings depicting different scenes, like the Last Supper or the Slaughter of the Innocents (which seems to be a popular theme but I don't recall learning about it in R.E.... maybe someone can help me out?)

The whole thing was carved from salt, which is different colours depending on how pure it is and what it's mixed with. So iron rich salt is a deep red, while the majority of salt in Krakow is a marbled grey. It was pretty impressive.

The other picture is of Princess Kinder, who is credited with creating the salt mine by moving it underground from Hungary to Poland with her engagement ring... don't ask, it didnt make much sense to me either. But they were cool statues and, again, made out of salt.


I also wandered around the Cloth Markets, which is an old undercover marketplace thats smack in the middle of Krakow. Apart from that, it's just been wandering around the city. Had half a bottle of Polish wodka last night so I think the walk outside was needed.