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Germany

August 2021
A 15-day adventure by skip's retirement travel Read more
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  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 5

    WW II Berlin

    August 17, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Most of Berlin was leveled by the bombing during the war. So not much is left. The 1st picture is of the bell tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Church. The rest of the building was destroyed. The tower remains as a reminder.
    The 2nd picture is a beautiful villa overlooking the lake that has a dark history. This is the site of the Wansee Conference where Heydrich laid out the plans for the "Final Solution" for exterminating the Jewish population.
    The last picture shows the foundation walls of the former Gestapo headquarters. I'm told that Stalin ordered all vestiges of the Nazis be destroyed. So, what the bombers missed, the Soviet army eliminated. Hence, not much remains.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 5

    Cold War Berlin

    August 17, 2021 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    This is what most of us grew up with when we heard about Berlin. Most of what's here was familiar in name only. Seeing all this brought so much back.
    The 1st picture is of a section of the Berlin wall that has been preserved. Most of us have heard of Checkpoint Charlie between the American (West Berlin) and Soviet (Easy Berlin) sectors. That's the 2nd picture.
    The 3rd picture is the bridge of spies where cold war spies who had been captured were exchanged. The most famous from the US perspective was Gary Powers, the U2 pilot who had been shot down. The 4th picture shows the marker on the bridge deck denoting the border between West Berlin and East Germany. This is the point where the exchanges were made.
    The last picture is one of the aircraft used in the Berlin airlift that supplied West Berlin when East Germany (and the Soviet Union, of course) tried to cut off and starve West Berlin by blocking the roads in an attempt to get the allies to abandon West Berlin to the Soviets    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 5

    Berlin

    August 17, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Berlin is a beautiful city with an extraordinary history. At the risk of absurd understatement, I cannot begin to capture this place in a brief post or two from a one day visit. So I will be back for a few days next week. In addition to this post, I am preparing posts on a bit of world war 2 and on the cold war. Expect to find additions next week. Because of the intense bombing during world war 2, very little remains of the pre-war city.
    These pictures are of the Brandenburg Gate at night and by day, the victory monument from the 19th century, the Reichstag and Kufürstendamm, often referred to as Ku-damm. This is a major shopping district.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 6

    Dresden

    August 18, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Beautiful former capital of the Saxon rulers. Most of what is here are restorations as the city was destroyed by the bombing and firestorm in 1945. Many of the treasures were removed for safekeeping and have been return to their restored homes.
    This is another city that demands a longer visit as there is a lot of significant art here. This short visit allowed time to see some of the important buildings, but not the collections housed there.
    The 1st picture is the palace of the crown prince of Saxony. The 2nd picture is of a portion of the Procession of the Princes, a wall mural now made of porcelain tiles. The porcelain tiles are original as they were able to withstand the incredible heat of the firestorm from the bombing. The mural depicts all the rulers of Saxony.
    The 3rd picture is the opera house, said to be one of the best in Europe. The 4th picture is of part of the main church adjacent to the residential palace, while the 5th shows both the residential palace (where the ruler resided) and the church.
    The last picture is within the Zwinger. This was originally a kill box between the outer and inner city walls. It became a parade ground and event space. The buildings around the Zwinger are now some of the museums.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 6

    Leipzig

    August 18, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Leipzig is the largest town in Saxony and is a major arts and education center. On addition to musicians mentioned in the Thomaskirche post, Goethe studied at the renowned university here, too.
    While Leipzig was bombed during world war 2, it was not as heavily damaged as other cities. So there are more pre-war buildings here. The 1st picture is of the old Town Hall along one side of the market square. The 2nd picture is a better look at the market square. The 3rd and 4th pictures are looks at a couple of streets scenes.
    Another thing Leipzig is famous for is the "passages" throughout the city. These are covered and enclosed walkways through buildings. There are a couple dozen of them. The most well known is the Mädler Passage which is shown in the 5th picture.
    The last picture is another nod to the artistic and musical heritage of the city. This is a display of baroque period musical instruments.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 6

    Thomaskirche, Leipzig

    August 18, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    St. Thomas Church in Leipzig is almost a pilgrimage site for musicians. Johann Sebastian Bach served here for 27 years as organist, choir master, composer, etc. Pictures 3, 4 & 5 are all Bach: his organ, his statue and his crypt. The first 2 pictures are of the church: outside and in the nave.
    There are more musicians associated with Leipzig. Mozart is known to have played the organ. The last picture is a statue of Felix Mendelssohn who is connected here, as are Richard Wagner and Robert and Clara Schumann.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 7

    Weimar

    August 19, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Many consider Weimar to be a cultural center of Germany. This relatively small town has an outsized reputation. It was here that the first constitution was proclaimed, creating the Weimar Republic after world war 1 and the collapse of the imperial government. That occurred at the theater building in the 1st picture. The 2nd picture is the Rathaus located on Markt Square.
    Part of the importance of Weimar are the famous people who lived here. Picture 3 is Schiller's house. Picture 4 is Franz Liszt's house. Picture 5 is Bauhaus University. The Bauhaus movement was begun here by Gropius. Other important residents include Nietzsche, Goethe, Herder and more.
    The last picture captures a glimpse of the big city park, Park an der Ilm.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 7

    Coburg Castle

    August 19, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This might be the castle in the best condition in Germany due to extensive restorations. This is the seat of the Saxe-Coburg family. Queen Victoria's Prince Albert was a Saxe-Coburg.
    The 1st picture looks up at the gate. The 2nd picture is in the entry courtyard. The 3rd looks up to the wall from another courtyard. The 4th picture is of the hunting room. The room is full of hunting scenes both painted and carved. The 5th picture is in the banqueting hall.
    The last picture is 2 portraits of Martin Luther. Luther stayed here for an extra extended period. It is said that he translated the Bible into German while in residence.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 7

    Nürnberg

    August 19, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Nuremberg, in English, is generally well known as the site of the war crimes trials after world war 2 and of the grounds where the Nazis held huge rallies (see another post). While Nürnberg is considered a center of the Renaissance in Germany, it is an older association that was the basis for the Nazi connection. Nürnberg was a major political center of the Holy Roman Empire. So it was of central importance for Hitler.
    The 1st picture is the restored Schönner Brunner fountain dating from the 14th century. The 2nd picture looks across the town square to the Church of Our Lady, the main church of Nürnberg. The 3rd picture is part of the Nürnberg Castle, and the 4th picture was taken through the portcullis into the castle courtyard as we arrived after it closed for the day.
    The 5th picture looks over the city from the castle battlements. The last picture is taken from one of the bridges over the river.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelGermany
    Day 8

    Zeppelinfield, Nürnberg

    August 20, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    This is the site most of us saw in the documentaries about the huge Nazi rallies with thousands of marchers carrying flags and torches with Hitler making his speeches. The size of the place is mind boggling, and these picture capture only a small portion of the site. The map in the 1st picture shows the entire site. The Zeppelinfield is the small rectangle in the center right. This is the site of the rallies. I hope you can get a sense of the scale of the Nazi vision here.
    The 2nd picture is taken from the top of the central structure overlooking the place where Hitler stood to addressed the rallies. The 3rd picture looks along the length of the grandstand which is between 400 and 500 meters long. The 4th picture looks up to the speaker's platform from the parade grounds, and the last looks out to the parade grounds from ground level.
    Much of what had been planned for this huge site was never finished, and much of what was built was bombed. Yet even these remaining ruins show the scale of the Nazi vision.    Read more

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