My main reasons for going to Europe for the summer are to help my 92 year old mother with her rather large garden, to give her some of my company, to visit my siblings who all live on this side of the big pond, to visit with some good friends, and to enjoy the regional sausages, cheeses, and beers, without weight gain. Realizing that "absence makes the heart grow fonder", I try to absent myself periodically by exploring other parts of Germany or other countries. In the past I'd gone on bike trips and hikes of my own planning and this time thought I might try my first organized tour with strangers in strange lands. Thus my Rick Steves tour from Berlin to Vienna.
Why Rick Steves? Advertising from his PBS shows is probably the main reason, though his philosophy of exploring places by foot and public transportation after a brief introduction thereto appealed to me. This meant that the hotels are usually right in the middle of the action, for better or worse.
This particular tour went from Berlin to Wien, as the natives call their town, via Dresden, Prague, Cesky Krumlov, and Melk. Our tour guide was a lovely and very knowledgeable lady, well versed in the regions' cultures and languages, a former Opera singer with a Dr. in musicology and a voice to go with all of that history. Within cities we had native guides as guides typically have to be licensed. All of these guides were excellent, being able to give us a feel for the contemporary culture and how recent history has had a place in creating it. The group of 28 were predominantly from the west coast with a few east coasters and some upper midwesterners, all lovely and interesting travel companions (Thanks for the pix, Will). I cannot possibly describe all of my experiences and will limit them to what impressed me and what may not be in the guide books we received.
TRANSPORTATION
Rick Steves tours do not start in the US. He gives you instructions on how you get to your first hotel using local public transportation - a first challenge. For me, since I was already in Germany, it meant high speed rail, the Intercity Express or ICE. I had purchased a Eurail ticket over the internet which gave my five days of unrestricted travel in Germany and Austria. This allowed me to stop over in Munich for a few days after the tour's completion. Within cities we were given day or limited duration tickets, typically valid for any mode of transportation be it subway, streetcar, bus, or funicular. We were also given good public transportation maps and maps of points of interest to explore. Walking ability is a must for this tour as we had to certify that we could walk up to 12 miles a day, which I felt we often did.
BERLIN
Berlin is the new (again) capital of Germany since 1999. We stayed in the Prenzlauer Berg part of town, formerly located in East Germany where one could also find the historic Brandenburg Gate and most of the culturally and historically significant museums and buildings, except for the Reichstag building. The Prenzlauer Berg is home to Germany's young digital bohemians, as Spiegel magazine called them, people who eschew the rat race and materialism and view life as a work in progress, having a large part of enjoyment of children, family, friends, coffee houses, and beer gardens. Rents in these parts are relatively cheap with many fixeruppers available.
The historic Reichstag building started in 1884 has been more of a symbol of democracy than actually a container of democratic institutions until completion of reconstruction in 1999. It had spent many decades in disuse since its suspicious burning in 1933 after Hitler's rise to dictatorship. The reconstruction added a steel and glass cupola to illustrate transparency, as it allows light to enter the Plenary Chamber. Tourists may peek down from the cupola to see the government in action. A walk up the spiral staircase to the top of the cupola is rewarded with a 360 degree view of Berlin's skyline which it should be noted is, with a few exceptions, limited to around six story buildings.
The German government operates as a parliamentary system. In the Plenary Chamber where final legislative decisions are made are seated ministers of the executive branch, the Bundesrat consisting of appointed representatives for the 16 states (akin to the Senate but only advisory) and the elected 614 members of the Bundestag (akin to the House of Representatives but with all of the legislative power). The ruling coalition of the Bundestag represents a majority of 5 parties and is headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, making her the most powerful politician. Imagine a government with no US style Senate with its veto power and only a House to blame or praise! Incidentally, the Chancellor's home is the nondescript building shown below, guarded by two policeman on the street.
Berlin has too many museums to see in just three days. Most meaningful to me was the German History Museum. There is also a lot of Jewish history including the somewhat plain looking memorial which can only be appreciated by actually walking into it. The emergence of Stumbling Stone Memorials in Berlin and around Germany is notable in that they are plaques placed into the sidewalks to remind of former Jewish residents of the neighborhood who perished in the Nazi madness.
DRESDEN
Baroque Dresden historically referred to as the Florence on the Elbe river is a Phoenix risen from the ashes of WWII firebombing. Some estimate the bombing killed over 100,000 people many who were passing through on escape routes from the eastern front. Some say the bombing was retribution for the rocket bombings of London. Some say it ain't so. In any case, after the fall of the wall the rebuilding of Dresden in the baroque style gathered steam and has resulted in a remarkable "old town". Notable places are the opera, the Zwinger palace complex, the Frauenkirche cathedral, and the old master's art gallery with its great collection of famous paintings.
Of note is the parade of 700 years of Saxon royalty mural made of 24,000 tiles of Meissen porcelain which survived the intense heat of the firebombing.
CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic is a small nation that resulted from the split of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993. It is the western half that associates itself more with the Christian west and is a parcel of land that has been under the control of many other powers surrounding it - sort of a football that got kicked around by Slavic, German, and Russian speaking countries. It is now a part of the European Union but has not yet accepted the Euro as its currency. English has replaced Russian as the foreign language taught in school. Today's young people have very western tastes in their acceptance of the internet and cell phones and the culture that goes along with that.
The Czech Republic was fortunate to have experienced only little damage during WWII. Prague as one sees it today has been preserved and maintained for its architectural appeal. There's much to see in the Prague castle area where the Prime Minister lives and where some of the seat of government is. The monastery brewery had the best beer I tasted on the trip; forget about Czech Budweiser and Pilsner Urquell.
Prague is a tourist town and tourism has become a major industry in the Czech Republic. During the day the streets are mobbed with tourists but it is possible to get away from the masses and enjoy some good music, for example, in some of the old churches. I attended an excellent organ, trumpet and choir presentation of old masters in the cathedral of Saint Nicholas. What acoustics!
We stayed in the Little Quarter of town, which had a fruit park across the street leading up to the castle. There were orchards of various types of trees including ripe cherries some of which were picked by moi every morning for a breakfast appetizer. (Europe seems to be full of fruit trees, many along the roads, available for picking. Currently the Mirabelle plums are falling off the trees in masses, without worms. Yum!)
After Prague we visited Cesky Krumlov, a lovely old and small town surrounded by the swift Vlatava river which offers several types of water experiences. The cobble stoned town is fun to walk through and helps to imagine what life must have been like there centuries ago.
Before leaving for Vienna, Austria, we stopped for a brief time at Theresienstadt (Terezin). This fortified town of the Hapsburg empire was used as a "model" concentration camp for elite Jews by the Nazis. Life there was pictured in the film Schindler's List.
VIENNA
On the way to Vienna we stopped for a few hours at the fabulous and newly restored abbey of Melk, located high above the Danube. Founded in the 11th century it boasts a beautiful library containing many old and historic titles, a lovely and ornate baroque church, and a large park. Some monks of those times surely lived in great places. Probably beat joining the armies of the time.
Vienna is the capital of Austria and has been the seat of one of the most powerful dynasties, the Hapsburgs. The last emperor, Franz Josef, lived in the huge, pictured Schönbrunn castle. The town is full of cathedrals, museums of all types and relics of its 2500 year history. But it is also a modern town behind the historic facades and is rated as the most livable city in the world. It is an active town with musical venues available every night and daily opera during the opera season. I particularly enjoyed paintings by the Dutch and Flemish masters at the Kunsthistorisches Museum for their depiction of village life at the time.
We had an enjoyable evening at one of the daily public movie showings that take place during the summer in front of the fabulous town hall. We saw a video set to contemporary German composer Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, a piece I first heard at college in a semi-conscious state early one morning. You've got to know the piece to appreciate the experience. But I digress. These evening events are well attended with over 3000 seats available and a whole street devoted to food pavilions offering a large selection.
The Austrians epitomize the concept of Gemütlichkeit, take life easy, and believe in being genuinely friendly. A "Grüss Gott" is the standard greeting.
MUNICH
After the tour ended I continued on for two nights in Munich (München) Germany. This town is not as historic as Vienna and suffered extensive devastation during both world wars. It is also a city of many museums but it being a nice day, I preferred to examine its extensive park system on bicycle during the day and enjoy some of the public entertainment, good Bier and food at night.
My bike trip took me through several parks including the huge and popular English Garden with its many meadows and forested areas and a lunch at the Chinese tower restaurant complex. I also saw many beautiful residential areas and other points of interest normally not seen on organized tours. The Olympic Park is still maintained and used and the Schönbrunn Palace also had a huge park to offer.
The last evening I witnessed a GLBT event, Christopher Street Day, in front of the famous town hall. The whole downtown was filled with colorful characters and on stage there was good music and a serious discussion among several politicians about GLBT politics.
Downtown Munich has a huge, almost a mile long, pedestrian mall crossing it. It is filled with people and entertainers and offers the "vibrancy" that my home town of Columbia is still seeking. This vibrancy, in large part is due to good public transportation, many people living in downtown (in buildings not exceeding around six stories, by law), and many parents not working during the day. Munich is the 7th most livable city in the world. And finally, MJ had a great following here a is evidenced by the tribute concert plaque.
A quick trip back to my mother's home on the ICE finished the tour, all in all a positive experience. I did not use names of travelers to protect their privacy. This blog entry, of course, depicted only a small part of the experience in words and pictures. To involve the other sense one needs to get out there in the middle of it.
