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cathedrals,castles and culture –to Worms & Speyer

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

-place names, not a company of solicitors.

We have been travelling through some delightful German countryside for the past few days and have seen a veritable kaleidoscope of cathedrals, castles, quaint old towns and peaceful parks and gardens.

We have also been tested with our driving skills – taking our ‘Vomos’ into places where none have gone before.

Rach had the toughest test the other day – we were hoping to stay in Gothenburg and were trawling around this ancient city designed for horse and cart, looking for the Van park. We (Rach driving) ended up crawling up and down the side of the hill, winding through impossibly narrow streets, doing hill starts etc and finding absolutely nowhere to park.

Where the streets were wider, they had ripped up half of the road just to keep you on your toes. Rach  (following Rob, driving the bigger vehicle) passed the Stage 4 test in great style. Disappointingly, we had to leave Gothenburg unexplored. The following day I had a ‘grade 3’ test when closed roads forced us to take to some back-country roads through some narrow village streets plus a session of reversing etc. So we are both getting more comfortable with the beast. Meanwhile Rob has been nibbling at the repairs and the damage is getting less evident each day.

All of which has nothing to do with the heading but needed reporting anyway.

Rather than spell out what each picture is, I thought I would just give you a selection of views. We have been inside some incredibly ornate cathedrals and churches.

    

The carvings, sculptures, statues and murals have been quite mind-blowing.

Although no doubt all done to the glory of God, I have uneasy thoughts about who paid for all this and how the raising of money glorified our God. Certainly a very far cry from the school hall where our church meets. But just looking at the magnificence of the buildings, one cant help but marvel at the workmanship of 3-500 years ago.

 

The kids found a spidery playground in the cathedral grounds,  

much to their liking and as we relaxed and had our lunch nearby, we listened to the strains of an Organ-grinder duo. Closer inspection of the music-makers led to some of the kids (including Rob) being allowed to have a swing on the handle.

 

 Also in the cathedral grounds we found a musician playing softly on a set of Vibraphones. Nearby a ‘statue-man’ posed as steady as a rock. All in the dappled sunlight filtering through huge chestnut trees. A tranquil setting that was a real treat.

Also on the fun side we came across a large grill in a town square which was blasting air upwards. An exhaust from who knows what. But it gave the kids some fun, feeling themselves ballooning up in the strong draught as they stood over the grill.

Another interesting few days…….

a walk from Germany to France & back – in a day 25 May

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

The day broke cloudy and cold – a brisk wind blowing which after a while, chilled to the bone. At least it chilled this old codger’s bones and I think a few more of the party were none too warm.

We had determined to take a hike from our van park in Kehl (which is in Germany) to Strasbourg, (which is in France) just a ‘short walk’ after crossing the Rhine, which at this point forms the border between the two countries. We packed a lunch, determined to not let the weather deter us, and off we went.

This happens to be a most well-endowed little township (maybe it is a city?) and where we were staying, we were right next to beautiful river-side parks and gardens, with copious sporting facilities and well-equipped children’s playgrounds. At the start of the walk one of the kids would ask “can we go to the playground?” but always came back the answer –“on the way home – let’s get to where we are going first”

On we walked, past a delightful Biblical garden – beautifully set out to depict important events in Biblical history in granite sculptures and appropriate plantings,

On and over one of the most ingenious and genuinely artistic bits of bridge engineering I have seen,

Past a circus and then a school for budding circus performers; still no sign of Strasbourg, and we were a little hesitant as to which direction to take next. Time to try out the 65-year-old French rusting away in the grey cells: ‘pardon m’sieur, mais parlez-vous l’anglais?” “Non!” came back the less-than-encouraging response. However after I manfully struggled on to enquire the way to the old Town, and the guy took pity on me and made it known that the Old Town was that-away and it would be a 40 minute walk. After a brief conference, we decided to press on, leaving the comfort of parks and circuses and hitting the hard pavements.

Eventually we came to a park and here was the Citadel – not in the Old Town but getting closer (so we thought) Anyway, a children’s playground, a park bench, and it was time to have a lunch break. Pity about that freezing wind……

Spying a lady on a park bench, and emboldened by my success(?) on the previous occasion I sallied forth to ask the lady in my best French if she could direct us to the old town. Quickly she established that she and her husband (who had a map but had gone for a walk) were  German, and her English was better than my French! But I did learn that our objective was still at least 1/2 hour’s walk distant. We had determined that we would do it, and when the friendly husband turned up with his map it enabled us to set our course once more.

Well eventually we did reach Strasbourg Old Town – and it really was worth the effort, a charming, graceful  , character-filled town that delighted us all.

In addition it had the most amazing cathedral that enthralled all but the littlest among us.

After that we decided that having already walked about 12km, we would catch a bus/tram or train back towards our home base. Diligent study of some excellent maps at the tram stop showed that we could catch a tram to the nearest bus stop. We were delighted: the trams and buses had impressed us with their swish styling

and I for one was itching to  take a ride in one (my legs were feeling it too!) We  discovered that we could get a group ticket qt reduced cost and joyfully advanced on the ticket-machine. Frustration! The machines only accept coins – and we needed 10 Euros. Off I  went to the nearest shop – a pharmacy- to get some coins. Explaining to the lady that I required some ‘medecin pour le mal de tete’ I then added that I would like some Euro coins to pay  for le Tram! She evidently understood my tortured words for the transaction was completed to everyone’s satisfaction and I came back with a pocket full of Euro pieces.

So away we went on the Super-Tram. More like a train than a tram, and when it dived into a tunnel, it just rocketted along-faster than a speeding bullet!

To add to the interest. we found ourselves getting off at Strasbourg’s main railway station –a really impressive bit of architecture,

Then to the bus. ‘Ou se trouve l’autobus nombre deux? I asked a bus driver. ‘La – devant vous’! and there it was right next to the bus stop where we were standing!

A good bus ride and we were back at the circus – still a long walk thorough the parks and over the bridge but these kids have an endless supply of energy and when we got to the playground they had a ball.

While Mum and Dad and J14 went back to the vans to prepare dinner I kept watch on the rest. After 1/2 hour we finished off the day’s activities by climbing the 199 steps up a magnificent wooden viewing tower to take a bird’s-eye view of our neighbourhhood. By the end of the day the sun had finally broken through and it looked beautiful.

A 14km walk – a bunch of exercise – lots of interesting things to see and do, A good day was had by all.

Chasing supplies in Germany

Monday, May 25th, 2009

We (Rob and I) have just spent a few hours chasing up maintenance bits for the van, and doing some food shopping.

An unremarkable day in some ways, yet as I said to Rob at the end of the exercise, it is a good way to get a feel for the country you are travelling through.

Our mission was to find a water pump for the that van. This was the pump for the shower etc – kitchen sink was fine. In addition we were looking for materials to finish off repairs to the interior of the damaged nose. We needed a can of expanding foam and some material for making a section of lining. Plus sundry bits like files etc.

The camp manager here (at Reichenau on Lake Constance) gave Rach a small map and a ton of verbal instructions, telling us how to find a place that had ‘everything you could need’ for motor homes. He was most helpful, and Rachael’s ability with the German language has been a real boon.

So off we set and found the said place some 30 kms up the road. The camp manager was right – this was an absolute mega-palace of a place: a huge retail department with EVERYTHING you could imagine, plus a yard chock-full with dozens of luxury motor homes. Prices ranged from E46000 to E90000, which made our 2 vehicles absolute bargains! We found exactly the pump we needed,, plus a few other small items (including a kettle to brew the vital cuppa!) Our two aging Vomos looked as if they had escaped from Motat, but we have become accustomed to that!

We then moved on and found a huge supermarket where we stocked up on necessary food supplies. We noticed across the road a boat-maintenance yard and walked over to ask about polystyrene foam. Fortunately the one guy we found working on a boat outside proved very helpful. We had a bit of a laugh sorting out who meant what, and finally he directed us to another mega-mitre 10 type store, just around the corner. On the way out of the yard, we noticed a large pile of discarded marine carpet stuff. We called out, is this rubbish? Ja he said. Can we take some? Ja, of course! So we took out the trusty pocket knife and hacked off about 4 meters for use as a large picnic mat. Score!

Then we drove around to the giant hardware store and completed our purchases for the van repairs. We got absolutely everything we needed. We were rapt with the outcome of our expedition.

We had found helpful, polite people wherever we went, and had learned that the Germans do nothing by halves. Everything is top quality, and there is everything for every occasion. Everything is neat, orderly and very organized and there really is everything  on offer.

The only downside of course, is that everything costs an arm and a leg!

Back at base the rest of the family had had a pretty good day by the lake’s edge, so it was  a satisfactory day all round.  Now we have to pick the time for doing the next stage, which will fill the van with noxious fumes for an hour or two!

‘six flies with one blow’ and 3 countries in one trip

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

it was always a story that appealed to me, as I read it to my kids when they were small. I can’t remember the outcome, but doubtless the penniless tailor ended up by marrying the princess – and lived happily aver after.

Anyway, on this day we did something which I thought was equally impressive – we drove through 3 countries in one day. We started in Germany, nipped into Austria, slipped across a corner of Switzerland and ended up back in Germany. (Rach tells me that the real facts are: Germany, went into Austria, back into Germany, back into Austria, into Switzerland then finally back into Germany)

I’m not sure that that was the intention when we started, but the GPS went looking for a town of the same name as the one we were wanting and it was some time before the discrepancy between our actual route and the required route, was detected. However the result was that we drove through some spectacular Alpine countryside, with superb scenery. Sorry – no pictures. I was driving and believe me, with the memory of my recent ‘off-road’ experience still fresh in my mind, all my concentration went on watching the clearance between wheels and grass verges and/or white centre-line in my rear-view mirrors. The Vomo took up a full half of the narrow twisty mountain roads so it was not the time for gazing at scenery!`

Our mid-journey deviation back into Germany was to visit the ‘King’s Castle” “Konnigschlosser” was the name I think. Areal ‘fairy-tale’ castle and most famous in Europe. Unfortunately, half of Europe thought it was a good idea too, so we drove into the town, wriggled our way through masses of traffic and people and drove out until we could find somewhere quiet to park and have lunch. It was very peaceful and pretty too.

       

And in the distance, through the summer haze the castle could be seen!

After lunch we pressed on and finally arrived at our destination, on the shore of Lake Konstanz. Actually the address we had turned out to be an abandoned parking lot but after deciding to bite the bullet and book into the fancy Caravan park, we discovered the cheaper version right next door. There seemed to be no spaces left, but rather miraculously someone decided to leave as we arrived (maybe they saw the 8 kids?) and then Rach politely asked a group (who had themselves comfortably spread over 3 lots with chairs and tables etc.,) in her best German, if it was permitted to park in their space, and they graciously admitted it was permitted! So we had our 2 spaces!

We plan to stay here for a day or two while we try and replace the pump out of the other Vomo’s main tank (for showers etc) This decided to  pack it in just after I had used it yesterday. And we will also be looking for the last bits and pieces to  fix the front of said van. The Lake is a few minutes walk away and we have discovered a quiet spot for a paddle and a swim, so hopefully the kids will be happy.

Oberammergau –the painted village

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

what a treat this place is!

We have seen plenty of historic buildings since we have been in Europe. People living in houses that were constructed long before New Zealand was even discovered (by Europeans, that is) We have almost become blasé about ancient dwellings. But Oberammergau is a real gem: almost impossibly pretty, so much so that you suspect that you have walked into a ‘working model’. And yet this is very much a business-as-usual township. That Tourism is the business is obvious, but to have the whole town engaged in the vision is really extraordinary. Even the most humble of dwellings, away from the main thoroughfares, is kept neat and tidy, and is a pleasure to behold.

But the main streets are a real picture. Literally, many of the houses sport decorative murals or motifs that make each one worthy of a thorough inspection. Religious themes:

folk-tale stories:

or simple decoration for the sake of it – all are here in abundance.

And of course the semi-Alpine nature of the architecture gives each building a charm of its own.  Then the whole town nestles in the valley between craggy Alpine outcrops – a jagged skyline softened by green swards of pasture lying like green blankets on the hillsides.

 

They say this place comes alive at the once-a-decade Easter Passion celebration, but frankly I would not want to see it any busier than it has been today. The cobbled sidewalks are awash with tables and chairs filled with folk enjoying a beverage and a tasty tid-bit. Cycle-tourists, cars and pedestrians mingle fairly seamlessly in this buzzing township and give the place a lively atmosphere. A real treat to have been here.

solace in Oberammergau

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

my last post was written from the Vale of Despond, or whatever Bunyan called it. Spirits were low and I had not got off to a good start.

We drove off from Rothenburg through a rainy start and aimed for Oberammergau – the township which puts the Passion Play once every decade. We drove through beautiful rural countryside and eventually crept up into the foothills of the Alps. The scenery was soothing to the troubled brow, and Oberammergau when reached, was just idyllic.

Thanks to Rach’s unending research, we found a semi-free parking zone for Motor homes. No real facilities other than a toilet block, but right next to a sparkling clear river, and all that we needed for a couple of nights.

First thing the next day, Rob & I got stuck in to repairing the Van’s bent nose, while Rach took the tribe in for a walk into the township, to do some shopping and have a look-see.

After several hours both parties were re-united with satisfaction on everyone’s lips. We had made good progress on getting the worst of the kinks out of the bent nose by making a bunch of aluminium brackets which we then pop-riveted to the mating sections. A friendly neighbour lent us his advice plus a 2kg rubber mallet and a large block of Italian hardwood. Several hearty swings with the mallet convinced the van that we meant business and gradually we got on to the winning side. Generous application of silicone sealant both inside and out, has rendered the wound watertight. She still looks fairly sad, but structurally we are on course. The cosmetics will follow as time and weather permit!

Meanwhile the shopping party returned, with news of a most attractive town and some necessary shopping done.

The walk made the shopping party hot and they went off with Rob for a very quick dip in the mountain-fed river. There were squeals of delight and shock, but all emerged tingly and refreshed.

A good end to a satisfactory day.

Tomorrow the workmen will go bck with the rest and and have a look at the town.

Rothenberg – another Walled city

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

We walked part of The Great Wall in China; we walked right around the Wall surrounding the city of Xi’an and now we have experienced the European counterpart – the walled city of Rothenberg.

Rach had found us a very pleasant Van Park in Rothenberg, and we discovered to our pleasant surprise that it was only 5 minutes walk away from the walled city.

The weather was too threatening for us to start repairs to the van, so we took a walk into the Old Town before starting off on our next leg.

What a formidable sight, is this Walled City. Had I been an invader, I think I would have taken one look at the moat, the massive walls, the solid port-cullissed (?)gateway, the hundreds of arrow slits in the walls, and I would have said”let’s go home lads – this nut will be too tough to crack”

The defences were massive and the architecture impressive. Goodness knows how long these sorts of castles took to build, but one would have thought that the person who designed and commissioned the structure would have been long dead before it was completed. They must have had a real sense of continuity, and a confidence that their ancestors would still be in control to continue the Project.

Inside the wall, (entered through massive gateways)

 

 a thriving township  was built (and no doubt re-built over the ages.) Today a most picturesque town exists,

 

 climbing gracefully up the side of a gentle hill. Old buildings they may be, but they all house people and businesses.

          

Several of the buildings are home to bakeries and all produce a variations on the town’s specialty: a thing called a Schneeball (‘Snowball’ ) These are a cricket-ball-sized ball of twisted pastry strips, deep-fried and then enhanced with a variety of dips, drizzles and flavourings. They  were not cheap, but we had to try such an interesting piece of German culture!

The  Square was towards the high end of the  town, a feature of most European towns that I really like. This one was on a slope being placed on the side of the hill.

As usual, cafes spilled over onto the sidewalks in a profusion of tables and chairs, lending a casual, relaxed air to the township. Very pleasant!

Mayhem near Munchen (Munich) en route to Rothenberg

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

I have to confess there have been many times in recent years when those nagging doubts that invade the minds of the ‘Elderly’, have certainly made their assault on my grey cells. Non-positive thoughts such as: old, useless, in-the-way, nothing –to-contribute,etc. etc  frequently invade the  mind of this ancient, fairly deaf, getting physically less-able, out-of-touch old codger.

Today was just the second day into our  motor home adventures and it was set to be a glorious day. The sun shone from a cloudless sky, barely a breath of wind, the countryside alive with birdsong and Spring’s first radiant flush of brightest greens and yellows. Ah the world looked good, and indeed it was – and still is.

   

We travelled in convoy with Rob and Rach in the  lead – trail-blazing with the aid of map and trusty GPS. I was getting more and more  comfortable with the job of driving the second vehicle – we were even overtaking heavy trucks on the autobahn, on the long slow-ish climbs, and tooling along at 90 ks felt fine. (Oh how the mighty have fallen! )

Driving along a quiet secondary road, towards the end of the day’s run, my attention must have wandered and suddenly I found the  outside wheels of the van were in the soft shoulder of the road.  Immediately the van veered onto the grass verge and started bucking like a wild bronco. I was wrestling very hard to maintain a semi-straight course. trying hard to regain the seal. Well I was getting there ok but unfortunately  the Germans had decided to put up a sign on a pole,right in my way. I was still struggling to keep the van from getting right out of control, so avoiding action was not an option. With a tremendous thud the pole was demolished and we lurched on. back to the safety of the road.

A stop at a rest point shortly thereafter gave us an opportunity to survey the damage.

    

Horrors. It was far worse than I had feared: the canopy that overhangs the van’s cab (sleeping quarters for two) had taken the full force of the blow and was very severely dented. Wrecked would be a more descriptive way of putting it. The damage is severe, It will have to be fixed and that will take time, not to mention money.

Now you know why I started with those negative thoughts, Believe me they are hard to shake off when you do something really stupid like this.

Rob and Rach are very gracious and have not vented there frustrations upon me. But at times like this I have to wonder – maybe it’s time to act your age and go home and have a nice cup of tea and a nap.

We finally arrived in Rothenberg and parked at a very nice Van Park close to town.

Next day. We spent most of today trying to sort out someone to repair the van. This turned out to be another saga – which we are getting accustomed to with things relating to vans. Rach & I found a friendly mechanic who did all he could to help. In the end he suggested we try a caravan repair place in a town 30 kms away. So off Rob and I went and found the town. Passing through we noticed a large motor home dealers so we called  in there before moving on to the recommended place. The dealership was full of luxury super-homes and as we trundled in with our sad & sorry-looking 1983 Fiat you could almost feel the immaculately-suited gents recoil in horror. They really did not want our thing spoiling the look of their display. We climbed down and asked if they could effect the repairs. They looked pityingly at us and said the repairs would cost at least E3000 and the van was only worth E800! “please go away” was the message we got. So away we went and found a friendly service station guy further down the road. When we described the place we were looking for it quickly became obvious that that was where we had just been! Our options had dwindled to one – do it yourself. So off we went to the local ‘Mitre 10’ and bought up tools and bits and pieces which we hope are going to be sufficient for  us to tidy things up and make it all watertight. Today it rained so repairs were out of the question, Instead we drove down to Oberammergau, nestled in the foot of the Alps. Beautiful countryside and we found a nice cheap place to park the vans

More later.

Starting to gel in Germany

Friday, May 15th, 2009

We have been in Berlin now for nearly 2 weeks. Enough time you would say, to see all the significant spots at a comfortable pace. Unfortunately it has not been the case due to the ongoing saga of purchasing 2 motor homes (plus getting a replacement Bank card as a side-issue) We have dealt with (and finally overcome) Germany’s bureaucracy to become officially Registered, thus enabling subsequent steps of Insuring the vehicles, then getting vehicle registration (after confirming with certificates that they have the necessary TUF (warrant of fitness) and then Number-plates for the two vehicles. In NZ this would be an afternoon’s work at the Post Office. Here it has taken over a week with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (well, almost). We had great help from some of the guys at the couch-surfing place where we were staying. The lady we were purchasing one vehicle from met us at the German AA office, but their combined efforts ended with them saying that it looked impossible to do! The AA tried to be helpful but just did not have the experience that we needed to solve the issues.

So here we are, proud possessors of one vehicle

 

and with the other one due to be ready at the end of the week, the delay being due to work necessary (at the Dealer’s expense) to get the ‘TUF’ certificate.

However we have squeezed in a fair bit of sight-seeing in between all the tripping to and fro’ and we have become seasoned users of the Berlin U-bahn,(metro) S-bahn (rail) systems, trams and Shanks’s ponies. We have walked the streets, played and pic-nicked in their parks,

 

and more recently driven a motor-home through the heart of the city and successfully navigated to an obscure camping supplies shop to buy a ‘Porter-potty’ for the other van. (for this last feat all credit goes to Rob for his driving skills and his trusty GPS)

I managed a walk down to The Brandenburg Gate

and the Parliament buildings

     

just yesterday, and in addition to the historic places there were a lot of interesting other sights, such as the full size puppet manhandled by about 6 people.

    

Plus an interesting assortment of pedal=powered machines.

……and today we got to see Checkpoint Charlie and Potsdamer Platz – both of which I have to say, were pretty much non-events. Important in the history of Berlin no doubt, but visually very ordinary. Far more impressive was Berlin’s central railway station – a marvelous suspended glass structure.

We ran out of booking space at the first couch-surfing place, so we had to move last night to a new couch-surfing host. Here some of us are very comfortable. I say some of us because they have managed to find space for 3 of us, the rest having to sleep in the van. Of course the van is comfortable enough but is not in a Camping ground – it is parked in front of a row of shops about 1/2 km from the apartment. We are not sure how legal this is, but we are keeping a low profile!

The whole tribe comes over to the apartment to eat breakfast and dinner at night and to get washed up etc. It is not the most convenient, but it is a real God-send until we get the second  van and head off into the wide blue yonder to be completely independent. Then things will really be looking up!

And to add to the satisfaction of the day, I have just learned that my new Bank card has arrived at the first address we had in Berlin, so tomorrow I will be off to pick that up, and start to get solvent once more!

We are being hosted by 3 young ladies: a Social Science student, a nurse and a Receptionist. They have (by European standards) a really large apartment with probably 5 large rooms, a small kitchen and 2 toilets (one of which has a shower/bath) The 3 of us are in one bedroom, all to ourselves, which is something of a luxury and we are very comfortable.

On the down side, many of us are plagued by a wretched cough and some have heavy colds, so we are not at our sparkling best – but the sun is shining, the days are getting longer and warmer – summer is coming and we will soon be bouncing again.

We are really looking forward to this next stage in our wanderings.  Internet connections may not be so readily available but I’m sure we will stay in touch.

slow start to Berlin

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

well, we have  been in Berlin for maybe 5 days now but we have yet to get into gear to really get to know this city. True, we have experienced the incredibly relaxed, laissez-faire attitude of this Berlin society as our Couch-surfing hosts decided to turn the circular brick retaining wall surrounding a tree in the square below us,

 

 into a paddling pool.

 

They then surrounded the ‘pool’ with picnic chairs and tables, got out a variety of beers etc and stripped to Bikinis to get in the mood.

 

The passers by just smiled indulgently or ignored them without turning an eyebrow. The police (who I thought would shortly be along to arrest the lot of them) took no interest in their activities. Bizarre! Incredible! Mildly decadent! European?

Oh we have done a lot of travelling to and fro’ – using Berlin’s super-efficient Underground rail system very extensively. We have travelled from one side of the city to the other – arriving in leafy-green surroundings on both sides, but the intervening miles have been underground, so not a great deal has been seen. Why all the travelling? Well, the main purpose of getting to Berlin was to pick up a Motor-home that RnR had purchased via e-Bay. Get to Berlin, we thought, pay for and pick up the motor-home, purchase another one and we will be on our way. Hah! How wrong can you be? Little did we realise the relentless enthusiasm for detailed bureaucracy that the German’s possess! In our blissful ignorance we thought that we could purchase a vehicle as we would in NZ with maybe a few extras, because we were foreigners.

As we became acquainted with the requirements – which were revealed to us in small, impossible , difficult-to-understand installments via the German AA, the car dealer, the original seller, local friends etc – the job seem to become more and more impossible. The most likely way through the labrynth seemed to be to nominate a virtual stranger as the ‘owner of the vehicle’ and procede in trust from there. Not the most ideal solution. But hence all the travelling – shuttling to the first owner, the Berlin AA office, the car dealer (at the other side of Berlin) and back and forth several times between them all. This has successfully consumed most of the week, not to mention raising stress levels up a couple of detectable levels!

But today everything has started to come together (I might mention that this happened after some serious prayer by some people) We found that Rob could be officially registered as a resident because he possesses a British (EU) passport, and this made possible the obtaining of Insurances which must preceded purchase. What’s more, the vehicles can be in his name, which is a comfort! The saga is not over yet, but we can see a bright light at the end of the tunnel!

But I have had one ‘touristy’ interlude: late one afternoon I managed to squeeze in a walk to a memorial to the Berlin Wall.

Here there is a section of the Wall, and next to it the Chapel of Reconciliation.

The Chapel was built after the wall came down, and has been built over the foundations of the original chapel ( a classic old church) which was demolished by the Communist regime because it interfered with their surveillance of the Wall.

It was a delightful circular walk of 4 kms or so and I passed through streets lined with trees in blossom, people enjoying coffees on the side-walk, art-galleries, bakeries with yummy smells (and even yummier things to eat) – all in that delightful golden light that come with the later part of the day. It was good to walk through a peaceful and delightful part of Berlin, conscious that only a few years ago, people were being shot as they tried to escape over the wall, just 1/2 km away. It has wht my appetite: I am looking forward to taking a good look at this city!

Better pictures later