Berlin - November 2010

Katy and I went to Berlin for the weekend to celebrate her birthday - unfortunately, the weather was not wonderful but the city is really very cool indeed and certainly one we will revisit when the sun comes back to this part of the world - staying in the former east Berlin, which is the centre is probably the best advice and it has definitely changed since I went through the wall in 1984 at the age of 6. We stayed in a great little hotel just near Alexanderplatz with its famous world clock and also the start of one of the Christmas markets including a giant whirlygig!

East Berlin has its own quirks - from ghost U-bahn stations that have 2 names from pre-wall and post-wall - when in between times the West Berliners crossed through East Berlin on closed metro trains to get to work, to the different pedestrian crossing symbols - a slightly rotund man in a hat walking across the road who is now seen as a cultural icon - there were protests throughout the city when the council attempt to harmonise him with the standard West Berlin man after the fall of the wall.

Obviously, the wall, even though it has now come down, looms large over the recent history of the city and has an impact that is hard to imagine as it is no longer there, aside from a few pieces that, after 20 years of souvenir hunters and no maintenance, have started to crumble away.

The Brandenburg gate is now surrounded by elements of american cultural invasion - Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and also the massive new US embassy and yet was, until 1989, right on the front line of the Cold War, hidden just behind the wall itself.

One of the most striking sites, aside from the wall is the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe - incredible piece of sculpture - I am not sure that anyone was able to explain the thought process behind its development or what it stands for but that said, it is a breathtaking piece of work - with over 2 thousand concrete blocks of different heights arranged in a space between the Reichstag and Hitler's bunker where he committed suicide - I imagine the positioning is symbolic because the Reichstag was where so much of the hatred from the NAZI regime became law and the bunker is obviously where it came crashing down around itself but I dont know for sure.

We had a 4 hr guided walking tour of the city which is a great way to discover it all as it is not a big place to walk round and so to cover all the sites by U-Bahn would hav meant jumping on and off trains every 2 minutes.

Going on a Bear Hunt

In the small village of Fot, about 40mins on the train from Budapest is a Bear Sanctuary, home to about 25 bears, a pack of Wolves, a couple of Raccoons and Bandicoots, a giant Iguana and also someone wearing a snake as a scarf.

The Bears have all been rescued from circuses, dancing displays and the like and so are very used to human beings, which means that they are very used to human beings and can be fed through the fence with a wooden spoon and a dollop of honey. Very Winnie the Pooh.

Electric pasta in Bucharest

Electrical safety doesn't really look too high on the agenda of the local electrical companies

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Walking around an interesting, obviously non-conformist part of Bucharest

Views from the Basilica in Budapest

the viewpoint at the top of the St Istvan Basilica provides a different perspective on the city with views stretching over the rooftops of the 5th District and beyond

Jurassic Balsa Budapest

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The joys of learning speaka la linga

With a Hungarian lesson looming tomorrow morning and the prospect of Katy and I doing battle over pronounciations of phrases like " 2 tickets for the ballet, please" (admittedly unlikely that I will ever utter that gem, but none the less, I found an interesting piece on the joys of learning Hungarian - written by someone with a far better understanding and journalistic bent than myself

Learning Hungarian

The end of the world is nigh

Summer storm this afternoon in Budapest and needless to say, the outlook is pretty grim!! it is dark enough to be 9pm and the whole office has suddenly become very gloomy - now is when you realise that cycling to work was not the brighest decision of the week.

needless to say, it was bright, bright sunshine till about 40 mins ago and now it looks like the opening credits of some disaster movie - I wonder if this can be blamed on Iceland as well!

Oh, and rugby training is cancelled as well for obvious reasons

Summer storms and Cicadas

After several hot and sticky days, a proper bit of crack and thump seems to be hitting the city as I land from Prague. The Buda hills seem to be basking in massive strikes of sheet lightening which really makes them stand out as some sort of weird 2D silhouette.

However, none of this seems to have upset the cicadas who still seem content to male their cheerful late evening chirping reverberate through any green area in the city - almost provencal in its sound as I came past nepliget and FTC's stadium

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Funky street light holders in Riga

A very English Gentleman in Riga

Despite all the bad press that the searches english, mayor and Riga bring up, there is one result that is a little more interesting and it relates to the late Džordžs Armitsteds or George Armistaed - one time mayor of Riga (1901 - 1912) nephew of the founder of the George Armisted shipping company and Baron of Armistead.

He is credited with the design of the gardens in the centre of Riga and his statue was unveiled by the Queen on a state visit to Latvia - but now, judging by the dog's polished ears is a well loved climbing frame and child distraction.

Riga - various shots from my latest trip

The waterfront of the old town is absolutely stunning as it makes its way down to the Baltic with some incredible churches and old fortress buildings on the skyline - especially on a calm, clear, bright summer's day

Towards the old town is a pretty monsterous statue which I imagine is a memorial to the Fishermen and those involved with the sea in the city - it is outside the Museum of Occupation but I have not, as yet, been able to discover what it is

There is another one of Stalin's gifts in the city, like the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw and half of the Moscow skyline - designed by Lev Rudnev who also helped with the development of much of post-WW1 and WWII Russia

Lev Rudnev

Latvian Academy of Sciences

Sarajevo 84 in Ljubljana - a nostalgia bar

One of the greatest modern achievements of Yugoslavia seems to have been to have hosted the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984 - so much so that in Ljubljana, now a different country, there is a bar that commerates this event and all things Sarajevo - I don't know if this is an indication that the Bosnians are a party people and have exported themed bars, a little like the Irish but if you are ever there and fancy some good Balkan cuisine, then this is the place to be! The black and white tourism videos add a touch of the surreal whilst the fact that it is a cavern bar make it a genuinely great night out.

The recommended dish is the Cevapi - small meat sausages served with bread and fresh onions - just make sure you clean your teeth before trying to talk to anyone as the smell is quite pungent!

Cevapi

England vs. Slovenia seemed to be a sensible time to pay a visit to Ljubljana

Sometimes, I think my boss has lost the plot - he felt that the best place for 2 Brits and a German to be in CEE on the night that England played Slovenia and Germany played Serbia was in Slovenia - not only was this an interesting idea given the host country's match that evening but also the large Serb population. (so much so that Mike wore a Slovenia t-shirt to support Germany, as did I - a plan that has one flaw, we dont speak that language so were not very good spies and found out quite quickly). Anyway, where the boss wants to go, we go and had one of the best nights out in the region for a long time - no aggro, despite Rupert jumping up to celebrate in a bar full of over 200 Slovenes to celebrate when England scored to suddenly realise he was on his own.

Ljubljana is a laid back, relaxed and genuinely welcoming city (not that anywhere in CEE isn't) but with it's mix of influences, history and the love of party, it was a great place to spend 48 hrs - given that Slovenia were knocked out of FIFA 2010 that evening, the atmosphere was pretty great - I can only imagine what it would have been like if the USA hadn't ruined things in the last 30 secs of extra time.

Ljubljana

The Mother in Law bridge (or to name it properly, the Zmajski most) in Ljubljana

With 4 big dragons on the 4 corners of the structure, it is easy to see why it has been given the nickname that it has been given. Built in 1901, it crosses the river between one of the main squares and the castle district in Ljubljana

Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana

Storms brewing give the city a beautiful but menacing air

The heavy clouds over the Danube seem to cast some interesting colours and shadows over buildings and make the city appear rather sinister - which is odd due to the fact that the sun makes it rather more beautiful

Lessons we have learnt - dont forget your egg box when you go the market

Monument to the Deported - both from WWII but also the Soviet and Communist regimes

This monument is on the edge of the main park in the town and is pretty striking not only due to its physical size but also the detail on the peoples'faces and the inclusion of the child vs. the very rough detail applied to their clothing

Slovakia's Euro-Disney square

In the centre of Komarno, is a rather an odd piece of townplanning which is supposed to reflect various buildings styles from around the EU - to mark Slovakia ascension to the organisation. interspersed with the buildings are statues of famous people from the region - both Hungarians and Slovaks