Kristine's Travels

The Areopagus, or Mars Hill

2009-11-07T16:55:00.005+02:00

Daniel standing on the Acropolis with the Areopagus in the background.

Daniel and I had dorky, medievalist fun taking photos of the Areopagus. During the classical period, it served as the court of criminal justice, while in Roman times, it was the site where the apostle Paul preached his Sermon on the Unknown God (Acts 17). Dionysius the Areopagite was among Paul's converts. His identity eventually gets conflated with Pseudo-Dionysius, a late antique philosopher and theologian (late 5th/early 6th century), whose mystical writings were heavily Neoplatonic. The supposed stamp of apostolic approval lent a good deal of authority to medieval interpretations of his work.

His name also shows up on the broad boulevard/pedestrian street that runs along the south slope of the Acropolis:

Odos Dionysiou Areopagitou

Steps ascending the Areopagus

Like the Acropolis, the Areopagus is pretty much bare rock at this point. It makes the climb something that demands careful attention to where you place your feet!

This is yet another photo from last summer, but demonstrates the polished surface on the top of the Areopagus.

Looking back toward the Acropolis and Propylaia.

Real Caryatids?

2009-11-07T16:33:00.000+02:00

This is one of my photos from the Acropolis last summer... not sure if the real caryatids were already taken away for display in the new museum (probably) or if these are they. You can see how badly the stone has weathered, erasing their facial expressions as well as many of the crisp details from their hair and elaborate drapery.

A Trip to the Acropolis

2009-11-07T16:17:00.002+02:00

The Parthenon, West facade

I've posted several pictures of the Acropolis taken from different spots around Athens. Daniel and I hiked up on Sunday (after another rainy day on Saturday) and spent the afternoon exploring many of the sites of the ancient/classical city. We visited the Areopagus, Agora and Kerameikos, all in easy walking distance from each other. And, evidently, all on the same ticket stub for multiple-entry access! I have a student ID card from the American School that provides admission to public museums and archaeological sites (very handy), so I didn't know how the regular admission worked. After paying 1 euro for entrance to the new Acropolis Museum on Saturday, 12 euro for the Acropolis itself seemed overpriced. But going to at least three monuments helps cut this down.

Apologies for the boring, logistical information! Anyway, it was worth going to the Acropolis Museum first, I think. The Acropolis itself has been so stripped down that besides getting a sense of the impressive size and scale of the Propylaia and temples on top of the rocky outcropping, it is difficult to re-imagine the sculptural decoration and hustle/bustle of a sacred precinct (which would have been crowded not only with visitors in its own day, but also votive offerings, sacrifices and dedications).

The New Acropolis Museum

The museum showcases some of the better-known kouroi and korai, along with smaller bronze votives, reliefs from the Temple of Athena Nike, and the original caryatids from the Erechtheion. I especially enjoyed some of the huge, archaic ceramic reliefs from the pediments of earlier temples on the Acropolis. These were fantastic - and still had some of their polychromy! Of course, the top floor of the museum is then dedicated to the Parthenon, its metopes and Ionic freize. There is quite a nice view of the monument across the way. Here is a reverse view - the new museum as seen from the Acropolis.

The Erechteion, Acropolis, Athens

My favorite monument on top of the Acropolis is the Erechtheion, which housed the old cult statue of Athena and other relics related to the city's founding and to the competition between Athena and Poseidon for its patronage. I also love the caryatid porch, and have to admit to being somewhat disappointed that the real caryatids are no longer in situ.

Daniel and I with the caryatid porch in the background.

Close-up (it was incredibly bright and I had a hard time not squinting since we were looking right into the sun for these photos! I had my eyes closed on several. Otherwise, my eyes would start watering.)

Experiments in Cooking: Part III

2009-11-07T15:39:00.000+02:00

Spaghetti with fresh basil

I'm not sure I can call this an "experiment," rather a dish that returns to the tried and true. However, please notice the fresh sprigs of basil decorating my plate of pasta! These are contributions from our second acquisition on the balcony - a potted basil plant. I've almost done it in a couple of times by forgetting to water it regularly. But it always seems to come back around (must be a hardy species). I promise this is the last photo of food on my blog for a while. As you can see, things were getting desperate!

Next series actually has to do with travel - Daniel arrived late on Friday, October 16th, and we spent two weeks roaming Greece. We first rented a car and drove from Athens to Thessaloniki, with stops in Meteora and Kastoria along the way. After spending the weekend w/ droves of St. Demetrius pilgrims in Thessaloniki, we flew to Crete and made our way westward from Heraklion to Chania before returning to Athens. It turned cold and rainy during the second half of our trip, so it was no surprise that we both ended up getting sick (again!). Still, we had lots of fun and I got to share many of the places that I explored last summer with Daniel, plus add some new sites/sights to the list!

Experiments in Cooking: Part II

2009-11-07T14:51:00.000+02:00

Lentil Soup

Here's another lunch spread... the ubiquitous cucumber with slices of salami, dried toast (melba-style), and a wedge of laughing cow cheese all accompany home-made lentil soup. This was a new recipe and used a bay leaf, oregano, cumin and basalmic vinegar along with the basics. It was okay. I prefer the 'monastic' lentil stew recipe that I got from Carissa and her father (with thyme and marjoram as the main spices). Perhaps the problem was trying a new soup recipe when I was still stuffed up from my cold and couldn't actually taste anything!

Experiments in Cooking: Part I

2009-10-14T17:49:00.003+03:00

The Potato Pancake

I've been housebound for a few days with my first head cold of the season. Funny thing is, it doesn't feel like fall yet around here. The end of last week was still in the 80s (by mid-afternoon), so I'm not sure where the cold came from. But it was miserable enough. These Greek varieties hit harder than what I get back home.

Anyway, I've entertained myself by trying out some new recipes with what I had on hand. That included a lot of fruits and vegetables from the Friday laiki (a neighborhood market that takes place just around the corner). This was pretty basic (grated potato w/ a bit of flour, onion, salt and pepper, plus one egg to hold it all together), but surprisingly tasty. I'm also proud of the Parmesan flakes (hand-shaved) on my salad in the background.

Sunset

2009-10-14T17:47:00.000+03:00

This one was particularly breath-taking. What can I say? I love my apartment (esp. the balcony). It is starting to get a little bit cooler in the evenings. Hopefully the weather holds for Daniel's visit. We'll be traveling around, so there will be more exciting pictures to come, I promise.

Balcony, new bougainvillea, and a cup of tea

2009-10-03T22:58:00.001+03:00

Everything is a little more perfect when accompanied by a cup of tea! When there isn't obnoxious construction going on right across the street, I love sitting out on the balcony to read, write, or work online. Actually, I usually have to sit out on the balcony in order to get enough bars of reception to be online in the first place. This is one of my favorite spots in the new apartment, regardless.

What I wanted to show off in this photo is the new bougainvillea plant in the background. I got it for 8 euros in the local laiki agora (a weekly fruit and veggies market). The guy who had the stand with all the potted plants was very concerned that he communicate to me just how I should take care of my new purchase. Lots of sun, and lots of water (but important to keep it well-drained). He got most of his points across in Greek, but also called over a friend who could tell me all of this in English. I appreciated not only how knowledgeable he was about the plants he was selling, but also that he saw it as part of his responsibility to impart that knowledge to me, the new owner and caretaker of the bougainvillea. Besides, I now know how to spell bougainvillea, as well. =)

Views from my balcony

2009-10-03T22:43:00.000+03:00

I haven't been able to get out and about much recently; I've tried to buckle down and get some serious work done in the library and it has been pretty rewarding. However, I thought I might post some views from the balcony of our Koukaki apartment. We've had some lovely sunsets over the past couple of days. Not so picturesque is the construction site on the opposite side of the street:

They aren't out every day, but when they are working they start early (7 or 7:30am). The noise at least functions to drive me out of the house and over to the Gennadeion in good time!

View from the Lykavittos

2009-09-28T17:56:00.004+03:00

This was the reward for my long climb yesterday afternoon...

an amazing view of all Athens spread at my feet.

Here, of course, I'm looking toward the Piraeus with the iconic Acropolis and Parthenon at center. Filoupappou Hill, which I hiked on Friday, lies just behind them. If I could write the brief guide to Athens, it would simply state that one is going either up or downhill.

Another Hill in the 'Hood

2009-09-28T17:44:00.002+03:00

I finally climbed the Lykavittos Hill on Sunday afternoon; it's been on my "to do" list since the last time I visited Athens! Again, it was a gorgeous day yesterday, too nice to stay indoors. And the view from the top was incredible. Getting there, however, took quite a bit of work! Just to prove my labors, I recorded the number of stairs involved, starting along the Odos Loukianou in Kolonaki.

We begin with the most gentle of grades... and you can take your pick, stairs or incline.

More steps await!

Voila! But we aren't finished yet; the ascent between these apartment buildings brings you to the base of the actual hill/park area. There are still more stairs to come.

The climb did become more picturesque at this point. The entire south side of the Lykavittos was covered with the same huge, grey-green aloe plants that had impressed me on Filoupappou.

I've heard of loosing the forest for the trees, but what about loosing the forest for the aloe leaves?

More of the same. So beautiful!

And finally, the goal is in sight! Just a few more steps to go...

The church of Agios Georgios at the peak
(and the highest point in Athens).

Agios Georgios again, but after I'd conquered the Lykavittos.

There were lots of other folks who thought climbing the hill was a good way to spend their Sunday afternoon. Or perhaps they took the funicular (another viable option). It was pretty windy on top and most people ended up in the coffee shop/restaurant once they had taken in the view. Aren't you glad I didn't document the trip down?

The new Acropolis Museum

2009-09-26T16:51:00.003+03:00

I took the long route back after climbing the Filopappou hill last evening. Here are a few glimpses of the new Acropolis Museum:

View from the hill behind my house

2009-09-26T16:44:00.003+03:00

Monument on Filopappou Hill

I decided to play hookey yesterday. Fridays will regularly serve as writing days for me, rather than library research, but I think this counted as "mental health." Still trying to get back into a routine of taking notes and staring at my computer after a busy summer.

And it was such a beautiful day! I ran some errands in the morning and by late afternoon was back at my apartment building. I decided I ought to explore the local scenery, setting off to climb Filopappou Hill, just a few blocks north. As you can see from the photo below, I'd already begun the ascent the moment I stepped outside my front door...

Filopappou is named after the late-Roman benefactor of Athens whose burial monument sits at the top of the hill. There is a lovely network of paths that wind through the park and connect Filopappou with the Pnyx (where the Athenian assembly used to gather). It was the perfect time of evening to wander among the other tourists, with perhaps some locals. And the views were breath-taking.

Looking from Filopappou toward the Piraeus

A view of the Parthenon

Me sitting in the park with the Acropolis serving as backdrop!

Another view of the Parthenon and Acropolis

(I love the huge aloe in the foreground)

The Gennadius Library

2009-09-22T22:32:00.000+03:00

This is where I've been spending the majority of my time since arriving last week, and where I will invest many future hours, as well! The Gennadius Library represents the post-classical (medieval to modern Greek) holdings of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. It also has a fantastic collection of geographical literature and travel accounts from Greece and surrounding countries. Of course, these are the items that I'm most interested in... I spent several weeks last summer reading through the texts by pilgrims and other travelers who visited and describe the Sinai monastery. I'll be doing more of the same this coming year!

Our Athens Apartment

2009-09-22T22:21:00.000+03:00

Here's the front door of my apartment building in Athens! I am sharing a flat with a friend and colleague of mine. Ann is also a U of C graduate student - we've TA'ed together in the past and work together pretty well. So far the living arrangements have gone incredibly smoothly! It's been fun to figure out housekeeping in another country/culture. There are little quirks, like having to turn on the hot water heater 15-20 minutes before showering, figuring out a European-style washing machine (for clothes), and navigating the apartment building hallways with their timed, push-button lights. I usually end up standing in the dark halfway up the stairs...

Our apartment, however, has lots of light! We've got balconies on the front and back, so that we can enjoy fresh air and afternoon sunlight. The living room and kitchen are quite spacious.

This is where we usually sit while checking email and trying to connect with family and friends by Skype. Right now our internet access is rather inconsistent. We don't have our own wireless set up, so we mooch off the local airwaves. Depending on the time of day/night, it seems like other people are doing the same thing, and thus reception really varies in strength. Definitely smthg. on the list for future improvement!

Another view from the exterior; our balcony is on the upper right of the left-hand apartment building (with the faded awning, although it's barely visible!).

First Outing

2009-09-22T21:50:00.004+03:00

The Hephaisteion, Agora, Athens

On Wednesday of last week (16 Sept.), I joined many of the regular student members at ASCSA for a guided tour of the Hephaisteion in the Athenian Agora. We got a basic introduction to classical architecture, and a detailed overview of the scholarship and interpretation of this 5th-century temple. Dedicated to the god Hephaistos, the building is among the best-preserved Greek temples still standing. We discussed possible iconography in the metopes and Ionic friezes, the contested reconstruction of the interior, and the problematic contemporary presence of lots and lots of pigeons.

ASCSA student members with Prof. Margaret Miles

I was esp. interested by the later history of the Hephaisteion. It was turned into a medieval church during the 7th century - the barrel vault of the interior still survives, although the apse has been removed from the front of the structure. And there is quite a bit of medieval to modern graffiti on the walls. At the end of the 18th century, the temple became a burial grounds for foreigners who happened to die in Athens. Hopefully our group can avoid any premature endings... We've all been successfully tested and cleared for consumption (TB) and walking pneumonia as part of our application for residence permits. I have a chest x-ray as proof and souvenir. =)

Being able to walk in and around the temple naos and its porch columns was a privilege that I didn't get on my visit last summer!

Stolpersteine and the Judisches Museum

2007-09-23T20:59:00.000+03:00

Although these fall somewhat out of chronological order in my posts, I figure I may as well continue with a few more memorials to the Jews of Berlin and their persecution/deaths during World War II. It's hard to know what else is appropriate after my visit to Sachsenhausen.

The Stolpersteine (literally: stumbling stones) are a memorial project placed throughout the city. They are polished metal plates set into the cobblestones of Berlin's sidewalks. It took me a while to notice them, but they are everywhere. Each Stolperstein carries the name of a Jewish person who lived in Berlin and was deported and often murdered during the Holocaust. Their birth and death dates are included on the stones, along with the name of the concentration camps in which they were interred.

In this closeup, you can read the names of an entire family. The last Stolperstein on the right commemorates an infant - only a year old when they were deported to Auschwitz. Her sister wasn't any older than 4. These Stolpersteine were just down the street from the Goethe Institute.

I also spent a full afternoon/evening at the Judisches Museum. It deals with a history of Jewish exile and persecution specifically (so not exactly religious history). The new addition to the building, designed by Daniel Libeskind, opened in 2001. It is incredibly striking modern architecture, as thought-provoking as the exhibits inside. From what I've heard, the space of the museum is meant to make as much of an impression as the material presented. There are lots of long narrow corridors, sharp corners, and empty, echoing architectural fragments.

The most effective of these spaces was a triangular 'void' that remained open through all 3 floors of the building. On floor level, it served to hold the installation "Shalechet" or "Fallen Leaves" by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman. This was a thick carpet of steel ovals, each punctured and welded to form human faces with mouths open. Visitors were invited to walk across the installation. It was rather awful. Not just the thought of attaching human identities to the abstracted sculptural forms, but the precarious act of walking and the sound. You had to move slowly and watch each step. The noise of the steel faces (the fallen leaves) hitting one another and shifting beneath your own weight was incredibly grating. It hurt my ears, and I don't think I'll ever forget the experience.

Zinc-coated facade of the Libeskind building;
lots of lines and random zigzags.

The juxtaposition of old and new buildings that make up the Judisches Museum

Olive trees planted in the "Garden of Exile."

This was another contemplative architectural space, not quite as jarring as "The Void," but also disorienting due to a sloping ground line. I never actually got around to the Holocaust Memorial, dedicated in May 2005 and located south of the Brandenburger Tor. Like the new addition to the Judisches Museum, it is abstractly conceived - an undulating field of nearly 3,000 concrete stelae. That leaves something for my next trip to Berlin, I suppose.

Sachsenhausen

2007-08-20T17:08:00.000+03:00

Model of Sachsenhausen

The rainy weather last weekend was appropriate enough for my Sunday excursion; I joined a group from the Goethe Institute to tour a concentration camp in Oranienburg, just outside of Berlin proper. Sachsenhausen was a model camp for the Nazis, perfectly laid out within the bounds of an equilateral triangle, and displayed to visiting ambassadors and rulers (even through 1945!). The gates are chilling enough, with their ironic slogan: "Arbeit Macht Frei." About 100,000 persons were murdered within the precincts. More died here after the Soviets and the DDR took it over as their own Speziallager No. 7.

Entrance to the concentration camp

Our guide was an elderly gentleman who enriched his store of historical knowledge with personal accounts from his experiences during World War II. He must have grown up quickly between the age of 8 and 16. If I understood correctly, he was sent off to stay with relatives or friends while his parents were interred at Sachsenhausen. They survived the camp, unlike many others.

We had a large tour group and since our guide tended to go into more detail than my language skills could keep up with, I couldn't catch everything he said. But I did grasp the enormity of his commitment to telling these stories and their personal resonance. At certain moments, he spoke more slowly and would look off in the distance at nothing in particular. I'm sure his memories filled that void with more than I will ever struggle to make sense of in this world.

It was the sheer number of stories that made our visit to the historic and commemorative site so overwhelming. I think this was the educational strategy of the museum, as well! All of the outbuildings, some original and some reconstructed, displayed pictures and information about the people who lived, worked, labored, and perished at Sachsenhausen. The exhibits focused on sustaining individual identities beneath a crushing load of numbers (numbers deported, abused, put to death). Yet the amount of names, people, stories (each one different and unique) was too much to take in...

Our walking tour also became rather long. After we stopped at each of the monuments dedicated to different groups of prisoners in the wooded area outside the main camp, and got through the front gate, it was already 1.30 or so (We met at 9.30 in the morning for our Ausflug!). I was getting chilled by the rain, so I split off from the group at Barracks 38 and 39 in order to finish looking at the grounds on my own. Louise and I refueled on kaffee und kuchen, then explored the rest of the camp.

Barracks 38 & 39

T-shaped Prison

One of the prison cells at Sachsenhausen

Memorial sculpture with fresh roses at the Crematorium

As I rode the U-Bahn back to my apartment, I sat across from an elderly gentleman. He was dressed precisely and sat erect, although his eyes didn't focus clearly on anything. They seemed clouded by cateracts. Once more, however, I was struck by the realization of how much he had seen during his lifetime. The modern world rushing past must seem to be an entirely different world from what he used to know. It made me wonder what the world would be like when I have experienced that many years of my own life.

Rainy Day

2007-08-17T00:07:00.001+03:00

A few more pictures from Schloss Charlottensburg and its gardens...

The red bridge leading to the Luiseinsel was quite picturesque surrounded by dripping greenery. When two other persistent visitors crossed the bridge in the rain, the scene suddenly became a Japanese print (suited to the chinoiserie and japanese motifs copied throughout the interior decoration of the palace rooms).

The remaining photos are a portrait series of Louise, who decided to give up on staying dry. We had fun, regardless of the weather.

Schloss Charlottensburg

2007-08-16T23:27:00.000+03:00

Okay, so this past weekend it rained. This is not new news anymore, in fact, it is almost funny. I resolved to go out and do some of the big sights that I need to fit in before my time in Berlin is over.

On Saturday I met Louise (another classmate at the Goethe-Institute) at the Schloss Charlottensburg. The tours of the interiors and our stroll around the gardens took most of the day. Sunday, I traveled with a group from the institute to Sachsenhausen, a WWII concentration camp located just outside the city. I'll have to post on this another time. It was a rather overwhelming experience, and the overcast skies and constant drizzle certainly contributed to the somberness of the setting. Its grim history was also quite a contrast to the splendour of the Prussian court at Charlottensburg.

Entrance courtyard to Schloss Charlottensburg

The Baroque palace in Charlottensburg was built as a summer residence for Queen Sophie-Charlotte when she was the wife of Elector Frederick III (to become Frederick Ist), and was expanded as the living quarters of the royal Hohenzollern clan (in the tradition of such Baroque palaces as Versailles). Although the palace was significantly damaged in World War II, its furnishings and works of art had been removed for safe-keeping, and the interiors have been mostly restored. It makes for a full day of touring if you follow all the intineraries on the audio guide! But it is worth it. The interiors are stunning, with a large oval ballroom at center facing the gardens at back. The most interesting (and most kitsch) was the porcelain room designed by Frederick after Sophie-Charlotte's death to hold and display her collection of Chinese blue-and-white. It is crazy. You'll have to take my word for it, since photography inside the palace wasn't allowed...

I would have loved to sneak at least one or two photos, however. The art collection of the Hohenzollerns included Watteau's "Pilgrimage to Cytheria," "Return from Market" by Chardin, and J. L. David's "Napoleon on the St. Bernard Pass." These were all delightful surprises on the brocaded and silk-covered walls.

The palace served another generation of rulers under Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise. Her mausoleum is tucked away in the gardens. It was on our trip out to find this sepulchre that the skys opened up and it began to pour. We took refuge under the trees at first, but soon the amount of falling water was about the same under the trees as out in the open. We gave up and continued our way out to the Belvedere, where more of the royal porcelains were on display. These were behind glass cases, and some of them incredibly beautiful. I need to start saving for a tea-set like that... maybe I'll purchase one by retirement!

Mausoleum for Queen Luise

View of the Schloss Charlottensburg across the lake and gardens

Belvedere, built as a tea house for Friedrich Wilhelm II

Balconies in Berlin

2007-08-10T16:51:00.000+03:00

Berlin is full of architectural wonders, but the most typical building facade is the Plattenbau (pre-fabricated). It make for a very distinctive profile in the city streets. Some just look grim and awful, but others (when kept up and painted) are really charming. What I enjoy most are all the balconies looking out over the streets below. The balconies are often as green as the city parks and squares, supporting aerial gardens full of potted plants.

The following are just a couple examples from a walk around Prenzlauer Berg:

Views fom the Fernsehturm

2007-08-08T23:11:00.001+03:00

This is an aerial view of Berlin, looking toward the Tiergarten and Potsdamer Platz. The main boulevard that you see turns into Unter den Linden once it crosses the Museumsinsel (where the huge Berliner Dom is most obvious). This culminates in the famous Brandenburger Tur.

I took the photo from the panorama platform inside the Fernsehturm. There is always a line for going up in the tower, and Louise and I were both too hungry to join the second line for the TeleCafe on the next floor up. But the views were worth our time. It also helped to put into perspective the topographical relationships between different areas of the city that I'd already visited on foot! I had walked around the Tiergarten, diplomatic quarter, and Potsdamer Platz on my first weekend in Berlin (once the sun came out!). But I didn't have a sense of where all that lay in relation to the historic center and area around Alexanderplatz.

On the other side of the tower, I could look down on the Goethe-Institute where I commute every day for my language classes. You can just pick out the cross streets at the Weinmeisterstrasse U-Bahn station (where I pop up from under the city on the U-8 line each morning); these intersect at center right in the photo below. The Goethe-Institute is the building on a diagonal to the lower left of the intersection... Our classrooms are located around the second courtyard. These are the two black rooftops with lots of glass skylights. Good luck figuring this out!

Alexanderplatz

2007-08-08T22:27:00.000+03:00

These are a few belated photos, although I only took them this past weekend. I don't always have my camera with me when I'm walking around. Especially not when I go out on the Spaziergangs offered by the Kulturprogamm at the Goethe-Institute... These are great ways to explore the city and get a bit of cultural context and history thrown in, but it takes all of my attention to successfully follow the guide (since the tours are all auf Deutsch).

One of our first tours was through the historic Mitte, the central part of Berlin and its oldest neighborhood. This was where the medieval town was founded, originally two merchant trading posts placed on either side of the Spree river (one named Berlin, the other Coelln - a forgotten city that got swallowed up by its twin). I say medieval, but Berlin isn't all that old; it began only in the 13th century. Its location also helped to define the city in more recent history, since the division between East and West Berlin made a semi-circular loop around it, including Mitte on the Eastern side of the Berlin wall.

Alexanderplatz was the main commercial hub of East Berlin, and is marked by the distinctive Fernsehturm (built by the DDR in 1969). I can see the tower from my apartment in Kreuzberg. Actually, you can see it from pretty much anywhere in Berlin! The photo above is an interesting juxtaposition of the tower, meant to celebrate the technological prowess of a secular East Germany, and the Marienkirche, Berlin's oldest standing church. It usually comes in second in the guidebooks to the Nicholaikirche, which had to be mostly rebuilt after WWII.

I thought after my discussion of the fountains in Leipzig, these photos would be more than appropriate. I was really pleased with the closeups I got of the rearing centaurs supporting the figure of Neptune. The sun was behind the fountain, so the light was really interesting. Because I watched the 5th Harry Potter movie in the Cinema on Alexanderplatz, the fountain is also fitting in comparison with the showdown between Dumbledore and Voldemort and the climactic scenes in the Ministry of Magic.

Not the Ministry of Magic, but rather the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin's town hall and seat of city government. The Senate meets here. We've just done a whole chapter on German politics in my language course, but I will spare you the details... I find the terracotta frieze running around the sides of the Rathaus much more interesting =) The panels show events from the city's history up through the 1870s, when the building was completed.

Another view of the Rathaus

Frieze depicting the city's history

Leipzig

2007-07-29T21:17:00.000+03:00

I will have to post this entry without any photos to accompany it… Although I traveled to Leipzig this past weekend, I forgot to bring my camera! What tragedy. I made the trip with my friend Rachel Jans (she is in my dept. at the University of Chicago and also doing language study at the Goethe-Institute, although much more advanced than I!). And Leipzig is truly a charming city. However, since it rained most of the two days we were there, it wasn’t the best of weather for taking pictures. I was happy enough not to be juggling a camera with my umbrella.

Leipzig is a city known for lots of things; it has a famous school of contemporary artists and was quite active in political agitation before the fall of the Berlin wall and German re-unification. It also possesses quite a musical heritage. Johann Sebastian Bach was cantor of the St. Thomas church (1723-50), and his influence can be seen in the work of other famous musicians and composers associated with the city later on, such as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and Robert and Clara Schumann.

We poked around the shops and museums in city center and got to see most of the major sites during our first day. Historic Leipzig is quite small! Like I said, it was also a rainy, cold weekend. We did a lot of walking, but I wasn’t interested in trekking long distances. We spent half our time indoors, recuperating with cups of coffee, hot Apfel Strudel, and such things. I had a delicious brunch this morning, sächeschen Quarkkeulchen with applesauce, whipped cream, and tiny red berries that are super-tart, but tasty (Johannes berries, I’ve since discovered). Quark is some kind of cream. That’s as much as I understand of my German explanations! The resulting food item was a pudding-like flat cake with raisins scattered throughout and yummy.

Okay, so the food in Leipzig was definitely memorable! We also did a lot of snacking on the trains, since the ride was about 2 ½ hours between Berlin and Leipzig. We weren’t on the fast, commuter trains. We did the trip with the ‘Schönes-Wochenende’ tickets offered by DB; these were discounted and could include up to 5 people on one ticket. Because of the ticket, we were a little more limited in our choice of trains. Still, it was a pretty direct route. Other than a bit of confusion when we had to change trains (some of these more rural stations don’t seem to be populated on the weekends, and esp. lacking anyone in official uniforms to announce which train is which or to update the signs hanging above the platforms), we made it there and back again. The countryside between Berlin and Leipzig is just as flat as in Berlin. I watched green fields and farms flicking past through a very rain-streaked window.

We left this afternoon earlier than we’d first planned for our return. But after going through the main art museum, the Museum der bildenden Künste, on Saturday afternoon (this way we were indoors during the most torrential part of the rainy downpour) and after some more walking this morning and other museums, there wasn’t much left to do. Rachel had to visit a gallery of contemporary art for her research and I wandered through the Bach Museum next to the St. Thomaskirche. But the rain made any other Spazierengang unappealing! We’d already drunk enough coffee for the day and had frequented several different cafes.

If I would have posted pictures, I think they would have been of the many fountains in Leipzig, and maybe the incredible, baroque building facades. They were really beautiful, actually. And we got some great views of the rooflines from the upper floors (and huge, floor-to-ceiling glass walls) of the art museum.

The fountains were everywhere. In the rain, they simply looked wetter! A huge jet of water spurted from the center of a shallow pool in front of the Leipzig opera house, while another fountain with an obelisk and frolicking bronze figures (winged horses, dolphins, and mermaids) stood across the square before the concert hall. There was also a fountain with two tiers of red granite and carved reliefs (a circle of standing putto on top and bearded faces on the bottom) in a small square where we took a coffee break and later returned for dinner on Saturday. Finally, we discovered a tall fountain with the Pied Piper of Hamlin tucked away by the Neues Rathouse. The captive audience of children is, I suppose, a reminder to the city officials of governmental decisions gone badly. Oh. I should also count our umbrellas. They did a magnificent job of dispersing water!

The Botanischer Garten

2007-07-25T18:30:00.000+03:00

We're back to some not-so-great weather this week! But Saturday the clouds stayed away, and I went out on multiple train lines (the connection was supposed to be pretty straightforward, except that there must have been repair work going on on the train line that we would usually take; the detour included two or three extra trains!) to the Botanical Garden in Zehlendorf. Louise, another language student in my class, came along with me.

The Berlin Botanical Gardens aren't as big as Chicago's. But they are really impressive; nicely laid out and with a huge variety of plants from all over the world. They are also much older than Chicago's Botanical Garden, since some prince or other founded them in 1679. A Grand-Duke, sorry! The model garden was started in Schöneberg, another Berlin neighborhood, and transplanted to its current location at the beginning of the 20th century. Today it is part of the Freie Universität.

Louise and I both appreciated the greenery and the break from city surroundings. She had to put up with all my photo-taking, since I am still partial to the plant kingdom in terms of environmental biology.