Cote d' China

I've had a good week and managed to avoid the sneezers and coughers now filling up Berlins public transport system. Marga didn't. Get well soon! I even had a surprise chat with cousin Barbara over Skype.

The week ended with my Friday Photoshop Gang. After swapping news we hit the computers. Stefan had prepared photographs of the Cote d' Azur, and of China taken by students from another group over summer.

We ended up with interesting mixes of The Cote d' China. I even managed to create three during the lesson. I don't usually produce so many. Here are my new contributions to the world of Art :-)

I wonder what Chairman Mao would think about my adding a waterfall between his picture (above)  and his mausoleum. At least I gave him a nice moon in a perfect black sky!

Buckow

Just got back von/from einem Ausflug/a trip which ended in Buckow. It started in Müncheberg (Mark) when I got off a train.

The train starts at Lichtenberg, which is the district in Berlin where I live, and ends on the German-Polish border. In the middle is an area known as 'Naturpark Märkische Schweiz'. It is a very beautiful area of rolling hills, and lakes, formed by the last ice age.

I often come here with my bicycle in summer and usually post reports to this blog that I have been to Strausberg. This town is the entrance to the area from Berlin. It is east of Berlin and famous for its flora and fauna.

The weather was ideal for this time of year, and for an 18+ km walk. Just dress in warm clothes and go! I did that and really enjoyed the day. I met some interesting people for it seemed that half of Berlin had taken the chance of such a pleasant day  to get out of the city.

On the way back, I sat next to a young women with a baby boy in a pram. Nothing unusual about that... then suddenly he smiled at me and revealed two little milk teeth. I just melted! We 'gooo - gooo---goo-oooud' until we arrived back in Lichtenberg.

He seemed very sad to see me wave goodbye ... and I was sad to wave goodbye to him. His mother seemed happy that I had taken attention away from her during the journey, and also waved me goodbye.

What a nice day and what great photos I have of the day. What do you think?

Lübeck

I started the week in Lübeck and enjoyed my three day visit to the famous city and its seaside resort of Travemünde. It was my first visit and I found it very different from Berlin.

It is an old medieval city built on an island with four huge doors in a protective wall. Two of the doors have disappeared but the north and south remain. The south door is very famous for its architecture.

Lübeck expanded and became rich through trade. It has large harbours and storage warehouses. I went on a boat tour for I think any city looks different when seen from the water. The church was not slow to cash in on the wealth of the towns traders. They competed to show their wealth by generous donations for church building and furnishing.

Lübeck is also famous as the home city of the Mann family of writers. Their house opposite the cathedral has been restored and is now a museum. I found it very interesting and well presented.
 
The first thing you see as you approach the city is the array of church spires. Some were badly damaged on a bombing raid that  took place on Easter Sunday 1942. One photograph is of the bells of the cathedral that crashed to the ground. They have been left as a reminder of the horrors of war.




Outside the cathedral is a figure of the Devil: He knew me immediately and we had a chat! I then left for Travemünde. I also liked this resort with its rather sleepy feel and look. I enjoyed the local food and hospitality and would be happy to see the sights again.

Friday Gang

Things are falling back into their pre-summer pattern. This afternoon was the first meeting of my Friday afternoon Photoshop 'Gang' led by the multi-talented Stefan.

Two of the gang were missing, but the rest of us made up with lots of talking about what we had done in the summer months. We even did some work with the Photoshop programme. You can see the results here.

What else is happening? I have a nice weekend of relaxation tomorrow, then an all-day walk in an area east of Berlin. Next week has a mixture of teaching, training, writing more texts in German and seeing the Friday Gang again.

Jan is now on a ship off-shore from Perth, Australia. He is deputising for an engineer for 4 or 5 weeks. He must be building another under sea platform. Have fun in Ozland, Jan. He beat me to that part of the world. I won't make it there until Christmas 2013! 

New Glasses

Shopping again today. I think I can see Andrea smiling! Got back from Lübeck yesterday evening. I shall comment more when I post my photos and report about Lübeck.

During my absence I received a nice message to say my glasses were ready and I could pick them up. So off I went and arrived in Charlottenburg, but first I went to a new hairdresser.

It is near to my Chinese food shop and only for Herren/Gentlemen and staffed by gentlemen originating from a Turkish background. An excellent cut and service - just like that in Datca when I visited Trish and Cemal. I picked up the glasses I ordered on my return from Beijing. I called Marga and we agreed to meet for a meal and chat. But first we popped into a shop where I bought a winter pullover - it was reduced in price and Marga liked it. Say no more :-) I also bought a new MP3 player for my old one 'expired' when I was in Beijing.

Final stop was a restaurant for a lazy light lunch with a glass or two. A very pleasant time. We are meeting again next week when Marga is going to cook a Kürbis/Pumpkin based meal. Looking forward to it!

Panorama-2

These photos start with a view to the south starting with the North Gate of the Forbidden City.

They then move west and into the glare of the late afternoon sun. Moving west to north, we can see the large White Pagoda on its own hill and surrounded by water.

The last shots take us north so that we end where we started. I am very pleased with the results of my work with my old digital camera :-)

Panorama-1

I am going to show a panorama of Beijing in 2 parts. I spent one of my last days exploring the area to the north of The Forbidden City. Exactly opposite the North Gate is Jingshan Park.




In the middle is a hill topped with a small pagoda. The hill is not natural. It was built at the command of the same Emporer who ordered the park to be built.





It is the highest point in Beijing and ideal for taking photos of the inner city. I decided to take a series of pics covering 360° in 14 shots.  The first 6 are here.







I started with the view to the north of the city then moved towards the east, to the south where we can see views to the Forbidden City. The rest will be in the next post to this blog.

Marga cooking

Yesterday Marga visited to show me how to cook with a wok. We had a great afternoon and evening.


She brought lots of sauces and spices and explained which ones should be used with which vegetables.






We started with cake and coffee and lots of chatting to catch up on news. Then we prepared the vegetables.  Just before we started to cook we celebrated with a glass of Rotkapchen Sekt. Very nice!


I acted as assistant as she cooked and made notes about what went with what and which! The results were very tasty. We added water and Chardonay to the food on the table and then tried all the dishes. Delicious!

Here is to you liebe Andrea until we meet to enjoy some food, and a drink, next week:-)

Beijing Flat

Ian and Birgit found this flat shortly after their arrival in Beijing. It is in the south-east of the centre of the city and just south of the main business and embassy area.




The 'expat' colony is just to the north as is Metro Line 1, which links to all the main connecting Metro lines.

It is easy to connect and travel to all parts of the city from where they live. Their flat is on the third floor of a modern high rise block of flats. It has gardens and trees to soften the high rise image and it is only a few minutes walk to a Metro station.




A large underground shopping centre, with restaurants, is also only a few minutes walk away. I had some interesting adventures and meals there :-)

The flat was open plan and pleasant to be in. It had all the usual internet, large TV facilities typical of such a flat. This is typical for the new middle class type of flat in the city.

             It had two bedrooms with a hobby room that could double as a bedroom. Birgit did most of her Manderin Chinese homework there.

There was a large room composed of dining section and sitting room with sofas and TV opening onto a large window offering a view onto trees, a small garden and the next high rise block of flats.

The kitchen was modern, as was the bathroom with in-built washing machine. I particularly like the ceiling to floor curtain to separate the shower section from the toilet and washbasin parts. Very practical.



Here are the photos so you can see for yourself. I really enjoyed living in this flat with its relaxed atmosphere. I miss it.

My Hosts

I am now settled into routine in Berlin but still missing Beijing. I think I always shall.

Just got news from Ian and Birgit that they are leaving for Australia on 15th November. Sad, but I understand their reasons. It also has to do with family and parents who are not getting any younger:-)

Thought it was time to show you what they look like. I have just sent out lots of E-mails, with photo attachments of my stay in and around Beijing, so I decided to share some with you on my blog.

Let's start with Ian and Birgit for without them I would never have gone to the capital of the Peoples Republic of China.

They are both keep-fit enthusiasts as we can see this from the photo of Birgit....but the one of Ian shows him in his classic 'relaxing' pose. We old 'Sussex-Wallahs' know it well!  Thanks to both for a wonderful experience.

U-Day

Today is a public holiday. It marks the unification of East and West Germany in 1990. The 'U' in my title means unification.  The sun shone and the sky was blue. Very nice day!

I met a couple of Oldies and off we went to Berlins largest lake. We were not alone. Hundreds if not thousands of families and Oldies had the same idea. It was interesting to see how the people celebrated this important day 21 years after the event.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the time was spent in sitting, eating and drinking! Here are a few photos I took of the locals celebrating - mainly through the mouth :-)

One is of me about to eat a delicious fish dish. It is just for you Andrea so you can see that I have not stopped eating on my days out!

It was a very pleasant relaxing day. We ended it in alocal bar having a cool beer. That comment is just for you Jan!

Day in B-burg

I had a very pleasant time in Brandenburg yesterday. The weather was again exceptional for the start of October. Heike met me at the railway station and we walked to an Italian restuarant near her home.

Friends were waiting and after greetings we went in to our reserved table. Next to me sat a couple who had just returned from Hong Kong, so we had a lot to talk about comparing their visit with mine in Beijing.

On my other side sat a very nice lady who helps Heike to learn Spanish. That is her first language for she comes from Chile. We talked about her very interesting past. She had to flee Chile in 1973 with her husband and six young children. The fled from the military coup into Argentina, then to Europe where the government of the DDR offered them asylum. I remember that period very well.

The food was as good as the company and conversation. We emerged into the late afternoon sun and walked into the Alt Stadt then to the island with the original settlement of Brandenburg. We went into the cathedral to look at an exhibition. Heike and I then walked along the river and into a Gasthof next to a yacht/boat harbour. We watched the sun settle towards the river as we sipped a cool drink.

As dusk arrived I was back at the railway station then on my way to Berlin. Many thanks Heike for such a pleasant, relaxing day.