This week was kind of stressful. I was actually going to go dancing tonight at Clärchen's like every Thursday, but I decided to take one night off. This upcoming weekend I will have enough to do anyway. I am going to Vienna to visit my friend Alina this weekend. But first I will tell you a bit about my week.
On Monday I googled free things to do in Berlin, and I found something great. Every Monday you can visit Deutsche Guggenheim for free. So I asked my spanish co-worker Ana if she wanted to go, she was thrilled! That day it was very hot again and the way to the city was a bit tiring. When we arrived we were quit disapponted to find that the museum was inbetween exhibitions. We were one week too late... Luckily the next exhibiton will open on the 8th of July, so I will get the chance to see it.
The next evening I was invited to the birthday party from my dancing friend Thomas. The party was held in the bar Graues Kloster which I told you about earlier and we had great fun! There was a lot of people in that small bar, we had chocolate cake and sparkling wine. All in all a very nice evening with wonderful people. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to get to know such fabulous people and I sincerely hope to keep in touch with them even after I leave Berlin. Which is already in one month! Terrible how fast time goes.
Yesterday the amazing week went on. Me and my flatmate Miriam had planned to go to the theatre, well to one of the many in Berlin. The theathre is just next to the Monbijou park where I go dancing on Tuesdays. It is called Hexenkessel, which means as much as the witch's pot. It is an amphitheatre just next to the river Spree and they play comedies. The theatre is build out of wood and the stage is a beautiful three-storie stairway-like construction. I loved it! The play we saw was the Servant of Two Masters which is the most famous play by the italian playwright Carlo Coldoni. It was a great play with completely exaggerated colorful characters and energetic acting. You can read about the plot here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_of_Two_Masters. It was a blast! I really intend to see the two other plays that run there this summer: The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare and The Imaginary Invalid, a three-act comédie-ballet byt the French playwright Molière.
While waiting to be let into the theatre I discovered a cool van, where you could buy frozen yoghurt. The ice cream was made of sweetend natur yoghurt, there were a lot of choices for toppings and it was absolutely delicious. It was so much better than regular ice cream, it wasn't all too sweet and I chose the perfect toppings: blueberries and strawberries. The company is called Yo'Munchy and it was founded in 2010. It became extremely popular in just one season - a shooting star, like they say on their website. Like I said, they sell the frozen yoghurt from a van, changing locations frequently. I was thrilled, and I will absolutely go back to get more! Check out the website: http://www.yomunchy.com/
The weather has been playing crazy lately. I don't understand why it can't be some 24 degrees and sunny, no it is either unbearable 30 degrees or freezing 16 degrees. I've noticed by following weather forecasts that Berlin seems to be the warmest city in Germany. It's always colder everywhere else. Except for the winter. My flatmate said that it gets quite cold, even up to 20 degrees at most extreme. Which doesn't seem that much for a finn. Damn greenhouse effect.
Tomorrow I'm going to Vienna like I said. The only thing I planned is to visit the royal spanish riding school, and I am very much excited about it! Everything else will be spontaneous, but I'm sure I will have a lot to tell once I get back.
torstai 30. kesäkuuta 2011
sunnuntai 26. kesäkuuta 2011
Busy busy week
Like I wrote last time, my mum was visiting. She was here for a week and we had a great time. It was a bit stressful because we had so much we wanted to do, and I was exhausted on Friday when she left. But it was all totally worth it! I hadn't planned that much in advance, I just had some thoughts on what we could do and then we did everything quite spontaneously. Me and my mum are very close, so I ha a pretty good idea on what she would like to do.
After taking it quite easily on Sunday we decided to go shopping on Monday. We started of here in Charlottenburg with a couple of shops after which we spent a couple of hours having a look at the Pergamon museum. It was very interesting to look at all the huge pieces of walls and gates from different countries, I couldn't but wonder how they'd got it all into the museum. The museum is situated on the Museum Island and it is the newest one of the museums on the island. It was designed by Ludwig Hoffmann and Alfred Messel and build in thirty years from 1910 to 1930. The Pergamon houses original-sized reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art and visited by approximately 850,000 people every year, making it the most visited art museum in Germany. It was all very impressive and interesting, at least the buildings and the miniature models. I don't find all the artefacts that great, but I love the miniatures. I find it very interesting to see how the cities looked like and I like to imagine what the life was like. It was the first time for me to see original-sized models though, and I really was full of awe!
Back to shopping, my mum said that she needed a new dress for her goddaughters confirmation ceremony, so we headed to Friedrichstrasse/Hackescher Markt to raid the shops. Since I know my mothers style quite well, I only took her to some chosen shops, and not quite unexpectedly she found some nice things at one of my favourite shops, Mango. The fact that everything was reduced didn't make things worse... After quite the exhausting and long day of shopping we were quite hungry and headed to Alexanderplatz to look for a restaurant. I had planned to introduce my mother to the wonders of the German speciality curry sausage, but I couldn't find a good place, so we decided to have dinner at a italian restaurant just next to the Fernsehturm. It was called Linosa's and it was really worth the search. The food was amazing and the service too. After finishing dinner with an apfelstrudel and fresh strawberries with mascarpone we headed to the tower. The weather was a bit cloudy, but the view was still wonderful! Up there I realized my orientation was a bit wrong, I found that the distance between some place was shorter that I had thought. I like it very much to see a city from above, because that way it's easier to get a good picture of where everything is. Especially in Berlin, the huge city that it is, where you mostly travel underground with the metro and just come up wherever. It's difficult to get the bigger picture that way. Just like I said earlier about the miniature models that I like so much: it's for the same reason. While in the tower it started getting dark and on the way home we stopped at the Brandenburg Gate, which looked beautiful in the dark with all the lights.
On Tuesday we decided to take it a bit easier again, so we headed to the zoo. At the hippo and nyala pen we had an interesting experience. The hippo came out of the water, started chasing the baby nyalas, which didn't make the daddy nyala very happy. He started chasing the hippo and pushed him forward with his horns. It was a very funny situation and quite a lot people gathered around. The zoo also had lion cubs and they were so cute! We came to the wildcat house just in time for the feeding and the big lions were walking around nervously waiting for their food. My favourite animal was although not the lion cubs but the siberian ibex goats. They are mountain habitats and very agile and hardy, able to climb on bare rock and survive on sparse vegetation. I could have watched them all day jumping up the steep rocks. It was amazing how even the babys just jumped around on the high rocks without any trouble.
For Wednesday we had planned to go to Potsdam to see the park Sanssouci, and we were a bit worried that I would rain. We had luck though, the weather was fantastic and we enjoyed a beautiful day in the most amazing park. We started of the with the Neues Palais, which is a palace in the western end of the park. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years War under the reign of Frederick the Great and it was completed in 1769. For the King, the New Palace was not a principal residence, but a display for the reception of important royals and dignitaries. Of the over 200 rooms, four principal gathering rooms and a theater were available for royal functions, balls and state occasions. During his occasional stays at the palace, Frederick occupied a suite of rooms at the southern end of the building, composed of two antechambers, a study, a concert room, a dining salon and a bedroom, among others. The palace was the most amazing building I've ever seen I again I imagined what it would've been like to live, or even visit there. The walls of the hall in the ground floor was covered in shells formed in shapes of see animals and it was the most glorious room I've ever seen. The rooms were decorated mostly in rococo style, which actually wasn't fashionable anymore at that time, but due to the king's admiration of this style. On the second floor there was a 600 sqare metre dancing hall with a 240 square metre painting in the ceiling. The park itself is huge, 289 ha and there are many buildings including the Neptune Grotto, the Antique Temple, the Orangerie Palace and many more. Back in Berlin we went to have dinner at a Greek Restaurant. We took a surprise platter which was huge, and we were so full afterwards that we could have rolled home.
The last day was Thursday and we decided to do some more shopping. We went to Kurfürstendamm walked around a bit, went to see the old and the new church, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and had a look at KaDeWe. In the evening we had dinner reservation at a restaurant called Lutter & Wegner seit 1811. It is a historical restaurant in southern Charlottenburg that started as a wine store. In 1851 Lutter & Wegner was appointed as the royal supplier of wines and later the store was a popular meeting place for artists like Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker. During the war the shop was destroyed and after the war they opened a new shop that later developed into a restaurant. Through its history Lutter & Wegner has become a cult and it is an experience to have dinner there. We started of with a soup and a salad, the main course was schnitzel with potatoe salad and as dessert we had creme brûlee. All very delicious. If you want to have good food in a traditional atmosphere, I can really recommend this restaurant.
When my mother left for the airport on Friday morning I went to work, thinking that I'd sleep all weekend. In the evening I still decided to go to a party with my flat mate and her husband. It was good fun and I met some nice people. On Saturday I went to see the exhibitions of Helmut Newton and Abisag Tüllmann. Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who raised a lot of controversial feelings with his provocative erotic pictures. He changed the field of fashion photography and got to shoot for Vogue, YSL, Playboy and other large publications and fashion designers. Abisag Tüllman on the other hand was a photojournalist and theatre photographer who took pictures at demonstrations, political events and theatre plays. I found the pictures of Tüllmann more interesting because of the news value, but then again all the beautiful colours of Newtons polaroid pictures were very fascinating.
Yesterday night I had another first one: my first night out in Berlin. We started of at a cocktail bar with some of Matts friends and went to a couple of clubs finally ending up at Graues Kloster. We got home at 5.30 in the morning, but it was a great night! Next weekend will be great as well, I'm going to visit a friend in Vienna... Til then...
After taking it quite easily on Sunday we decided to go shopping on Monday. We started of here in Charlottenburg with a couple of shops after which we spent a couple of hours having a look at the Pergamon museum. It was very interesting to look at all the huge pieces of walls and gates from different countries, I couldn't but wonder how they'd got it all into the museum. The museum is situated on the Museum Island and it is the newest one of the museums on the island. It was designed by Ludwig Hoffmann and Alfred Messel and build in thirty years from 1910 to 1930. The Pergamon houses original-sized reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate, all consisting of parts transported from Turkey. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art and visited by approximately 850,000 people every year, making it the most visited art museum in Germany. It was all very impressive and interesting, at least the buildings and the miniature models. I don't find all the artefacts that great, but I love the miniatures. I find it very interesting to see how the cities looked like and I like to imagine what the life was like. It was the first time for me to see original-sized models though, and I really was full of awe!
Back to shopping, my mum said that she needed a new dress for her goddaughters confirmation ceremony, so we headed to Friedrichstrasse/Hackescher Markt to raid the shops. Since I know my mothers style quite well, I only took her to some chosen shops, and not quite unexpectedly she found some nice things at one of my favourite shops, Mango. The fact that everything was reduced didn't make things worse... After quite the exhausting and long day of shopping we were quite hungry and headed to Alexanderplatz to look for a restaurant. I had planned to introduce my mother to the wonders of the German speciality curry sausage, but I couldn't find a good place, so we decided to have dinner at a italian restaurant just next to the Fernsehturm. It was called Linosa's and it was really worth the search. The food was amazing and the service too. After finishing dinner with an apfelstrudel and fresh strawberries with mascarpone we headed to the tower. The weather was a bit cloudy, but the view was still wonderful! Up there I realized my orientation was a bit wrong, I found that the distance between some place was shorter that I had thought. I like it very much to see a city from above, because that way it's easier to get a good picture of where everything is. Especially in Berlin, the huge city that it is, where you mostly travel underground with the metro and just come up wherever. It's difficult to get the bigger picture that way. Just like I said earlier about the miniature models that I like so much: it's for the same reason. While in the tower it started getting dark and on the way home we stopped at the Brandenburg Gate, which looked beautiful in the dark with all the lights.
Having dinner at Linosa's
On Tuesday we decided to take it a bit easier again, so we headed to the zoo. At the hippo and nyala pen we had an interesting experience. The hippo came out of the water, started chasing the baby nyalas, which didn't make the daddy nyala very happy. He started chasing the hippo and pushed him forward with his horns. It was a very funny situation and quite a lot people gathered around. The zoo also had lion cubs and they were so cute! We came to the wildcat house just in time for the feeding and the big lions were walking around nervously waiting for their food. My favourite animal was although not the lion cubs but the siberian ibex goats. They are mountain habitats and very agile and hardy, able to climb on bare rock and survive on sparse vegetation. I could have watched them all day jumping up the steep rocks. It was amazing how even the babys just jumped around on the high rocks without any trouble.
The nyala was protecting his kids from the mean mean hippo
A bear enjoying the sun
The pelican was very social and probably would
have bitten me if I had given him my hand
have bitten me if I had given him my hand
For Wednesday we had planned to go to Potsdam to see the park Sanssouci, and we were a bit worried that I would rain. We had luck though, the weather was fantastic and we enjoyed a beautiful day in the most amazing park. We started of the with the Neues Palais, which is a palace in the western end of the park. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years War under the reign of Frederick the Great and it was completed in 1769. For the King, the New Palace was not a principal residence, but a display for the reception of important royals and dignitaries. Of the over 200 rooms, four principal gathering rooms and a theater were available for royal functions, balls and state occasions. During his occasional stays at the palace, Frederick occupied a suite of rooms at the southern end of the building, composed of two antechambers, a study, a concert room, a dining salon and a bedroom, among others. The palace was the most amazing building I've ever seen I again I imagined what it would've been like to live, or even visit there. The walls of the hall in the ground floor was covered in shells formed in shapes of see animals and it was the most glorious room I've ever seen. The rooms were decorated mostly in rococo style, which actually wasn't fashionable anymore at that time, but due to the king's admiration of this style. On the second floor there was a 600 sqare metre dancing hall with a 240 square metre painting in the ceiling. The park itself is huge, 289 ha and there are many buildings including the Neptune Grotto, the Antique Temple, the Orangerie Palace and many more. Back in Berlin we went to have dinner at a Greek Restaurant. We took a surprise platter which was huge, and we were so full afterwards that we could have rolled home.
The chinese tea house in Park Sanssouci
The view upon Potsdam from the tower of the Orangerie Palace
The last day was Thursday and we decided to do some more shopping. We went to Kurfürstendamm walked around a bit, went to see the old and the new church, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and had a look at KaDeWe. In the evening we had dinner reservation at a restaurant called Lutter & Wegner seit 1811. It is a historical restaurant in southern Charlottenburg that started as a wine store. In 1851 Lutter & Wegner was appointed as the royal supplier of wines and later the store was a popular meeting place for artists like Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker. During the war the shop was destroyed and after the war they opened a new shop that later developed into a restaurant. Through its history Lutter & Wegner has become a cult and it is an experience to have dinner there. We started of with a soup and a salad, the main course was schnitzel with potatoe salad and as dessert we had creme brûlee. All very delicious. If you want to have good food in a traditional atmosphere, I can really recommend this restaurant.
Having cake an tea at the dutch quarter in Potsdam
Some dutch style houses in Potsdam
When my mother left for the airport on Friday morning I went to work, thinking that I'd sleep all weekend. In the evening I still decided to go to a party with my flat mate and her husband. It was good fun and I met some nice people. On Saturday I went to see the exhibitions of Helmut Newton and Abisag Tüllmann. Helmut Newton was a fashion photographer who raised a lot of controversial feelings with his provocative erotic pictures. He changed the field of fashion photography and got to shoot for Vogue, YSL, Playboy and other large publications and fashion designers. Abisag Tüllman on the other hand was a photojournalist and theatre photographer who took pictures at demonstrations, political events and theatre plays. I found the pictures of Tüllmann more interesting because of the news value, but then again all the beautiful colours of Newtons polaroid pictures were very fascinating.
Yesterday night I had another first one: my first night out in Berlin. We started of at a cocktail bar with some of Matts friends and went to a couple of clubs finally ending up at Graues Kloster. We got home at 5.30 in the morning, but it was a great night! Next weekend will be great as well, I'm going to visit a friend in Vienna... Til then...
sunnuntai 19. kesäkuuta 2011
The most important visitor
Before coming to Germany I asked my mum if she was going to visit me in Berlin. She told me she wouldn't, because she was going to save the money for a trip in the fall. A few weeks later, when I''d been in Berlin for a couple of weeks my mum asked me when I would have time, if she'd visit me. Everyone had told her that Berlin is an amazing city and she had changed her mind. I picked her up on Tegel airport on Friday and she brought me some things I missed from Sweden: bread and liquorice... On the first evening we took a walk in the park across the street where the Castle of Charlottenburg. The park is huge and there is a mausoleum and a belvedere and everything is absolutely beautiful. After our nice walk we had dinner at a nice italian restaurant right across the street from where I live.
On Saturday we decided to go see the Botanic Garden adn Botanic Museum of Berlin. The garden comprises an area of 126 acres (43 ha) and is one of the largest and most important botanic gardens in the world. There are 16 greenhouses open to public, where the visitors have the opportunity to travel trough tropical and subtropical vegetations. There were wonderful flowers and I especially loved the cactuses, most of which were in bloom.
In the evening we had reserved a table at a brazilian restaurant, Villa Rodizio. The restaurant is in Prenzlauer Berg close to the metro station Schönhauser Allee. Every day they have a huge buffet there called the Rodizio with nine different kinds of meat, a surprise course and two desserts. The buffee was full of salads, potatoes, rice, vegetables, sauces... The dessert was fried bananas with chocolate sauce and coconut flakes, and the other dessert flambéed pineapple. It was all very delicious and we were completely full when we were done.
For today we had planned a small river cruise in the city. It was raining a bit, but we decided to do the cruise anyway. It was all very nice even though it rained a bit here and there. After the cruise we decided to go see a photo exhibition in Kreuzberg. It was the world press photo exhibition in Willy-Brandt-Haus. I must say I was shocked about some of the pictures, but I guess that is partly their purpose. To shock and to tell people about things that happen around the world. Here are the pictures: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/ There were many beautiful pictures but they really made me think and what I wouldn't give to have the proper equipment to take such pictures. It would be amazing if one day one of my pictures hanged there on the wall. Dreams.
Blooming colours
On Saturday we decided to go see the Botanic Garden adn Botanic Museum of Berlin. The garden comprises an area of 126 acres (43 ha) and is one of the largest and most important botanic gardens in the world. There are 16 greenhouses open to public, where the visitors have the opportunity to travel trough tropical and subtropical vegetations. There were wonderful flowers and I especially loved the cactuses, most of which were in bloom.
Mother was enjoying the south african rainforest
In the evening we had reserved a table at a brazilian restaurant, Villa Rodizio. The restaurant is in Prenzlauer Berg close to the metro station Schönhauser Allee. Every day they have a huge buffet there called the Rodizio with nine different kinds of meat, a surprise course and two desserts. The buffee was full of salads, potatoes, rice, vegetables, sauces... The dessert was fried bananas with chocolate sauce and coconut flakes, and the other dessert flambéed pineapple. It was all very delicious and we were completely full when we were done.
Mother and Matt by the bear on the bridge Moabiterbrücke,
that is also called Bärenbrücke (Bear bridge)
that is also called Bärenbrücke (Bear bridge)
For today we had planned a small river cruise in the city. It was raining a bit, but we decided to do the cruise anyway. It was all very nice even though it rained a bit here and there. After the cruise we decided to go see a photo exhibition in Kreuzberg. It was the world press photo exhibition in Willy-Brandt-Haus. I must say I was shocked about some of the pictures, but I guess that is partly their purpose. To shock and to tell people about things that happen around the world. Here are the pictures: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/ There were many beautiful pictures but they really made me think and what I wouldn't give to have the proper equipment to take such pictures. It would be amazing if one day one of my pictures hanged there on the wall. Dreams.
The Bode Museum on the Museum island in central Berlin
Little buddies wishing for left-overs
River side view of the parliament
keskiviikko 15. kesäkuuta 2011
Roadtrip!
On Friday at 5.30 pm, 20 minutes behind of schedule our red-and-white AirBerlin airplane took off with direction to Basel. Still we arrived only 5 minutes behind of schedule at the international airport of Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Basel is maybe one of the most international airports in the world. Not because flights from all over the world arrive there - it's not even that big an airport. What makes it international is the fact that you take one exit and you stand on french soil, when the other exit takes you to Switzerland. After getting the keys to our rented Citroén C3 we headed to the Autobahn going to Freiburg - or in French: Fribourg.
The original reason for this trip was the farewell party of one of my good friends, Lena, whom I worked with in Hanover. Lena finished her studies in fashion design in Hanover about four years ago and came back to her home town Freiburg. Now she had made the decision to take off to Australia for a year. The party was to take place in the chic in-bar Coucou in the old town of Freiburg. Later in the evening we continued the party at the downtown club Karma, which was a small and stylish - and so full with people that it was hard to get through to the other side. What I didn't like about the club was that everyone was smoking in there. I think my clubbing days might be over, it's not as much fun anymore... I much rather go dancing!
Saturday morning before enjoying a nice breakfast with Lena, her boyfriend Carlo and his flat mate Dominic we took the chance to visit the cathedral Freiburger Münster, which is situtated in the centre of the old town. The building of the churhc started around 1200 and was officially finished in 1531 and it is a roman-catholic cathedral, which represents the religion of most people in south Germany. After breakfast we headed to what still was an unknown destination for me. Our first stop was the Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls), which is the largest plain waterfalls in Europe and it is situated near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. The day wasn't too warm but we decided to take a small boat tour to see the falls. With its five euros and 15 minutes it was the cheapest and shortest trip they had, but it was more than enough.
Continuing our roadtrip we at some point came to drive uphills into the mountains. The Alps are not in fact just a group of mountains, it is an mountain area that is divided into 36 parts in eight countries. The whole area is about 200 000 square km large and opposite to what many people think, only the centremost and highest mountain tops are covered with snow all year around. One of the more famous alpine areas, Sölden, was actually beautifully green when we passed by. On Saturday evening we arrived in Schwangau, where our nice b&b awaited us. From our balcony we could gaze up to the Royal Castles (Königsschlösser), Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. The clouds were hanging heavily over the mountains and the view was breathtaking.
On Sunday morning after having breakfast next to a finnish family we headed up to see the famous disney-fairy-tale-like-castle Neuschwanstein. I must say it looked quite tiny from down the hill, but while walking through the gate I was in pure awe! You are only allowed in the castle with a guided tour, but it was okay, because our group wasn't all too big. Walking through those hallways and rooms you can't help but be amazed about the architecture. I can't believe how they were able to build that kind of massive castles back then with much less equipment than nowadays. Although nowadays nobody would build such a castle, because it would take too long and be too expensive. The castle was built from 1869-1892, leaving the construction incomplete upon the unexpected death of King Ludwig II, who had comissoned the castle. King Ludwig grew up in the other Royal Castle Hohenschwangau just down the hill, and on the building of his own palace, he had gathered inspiration from fairytale sagas like Tristan and Isolde and from the operas of Richard Wagner. The castle even has a singer's room, that was intended as a stage for Wagners pieces. The castle, that originally was meant to be a personal refuge for a reclusive king, but was indeed opened for the public only six weeks after Ludwigs death. The castle has about 1,3 million visitors every year, with peaks of 6 000 people a day during the summer.
I can't help but wonder what the life was like back in the day when there were kings and queens who lived in castles and did nothing but entertain guests and rode horses. Surely that wasn't all they did, but what I wouldn't give to even have been a servant in the castle. I mean even the thay had quite glorious accommodations. Sure, a lot of things are better now - we have running water, central heating and telephones. But believe it or not, Ludwig was a very up to date king, and he was up to date with all new innovations in his castle - including running water, central heating and telephones. Imagine that!
After leaving the castle reluctantly we headed up the mountains again - this time in Austria and again with amazing views. I could no say that I've seen Germanys highest mountain, Zugspitze, but unfortunately the clouds were hanging very low this morning, so I couldn't quite see the top. Around noon we arrived in a small village called Ötztal. We parked the car on a lot where people in wetsuits were running around and carrying rafts. I was sure I knew what we'd do, white water rafting. I was wrong. Both uf us got a set of wet suits, wet socks, hiking shoes, a helmet and a harness. Even in the bus on the way up the mountain I didn't know what was about to happen to us. It turned out to be a completely new adventure for me: canyoning. The next three hours we spent abseiling down the mountain, jumping up to 12-metre jumps into the water and sliding down waterfalls. It was great fun - but I do have to say my leg are still hurting even today! In Ötztal there are a lot of adventure companies who offer white water rafting, climbing, canyoning, biking - you name it. We enjoyed our day with our amazing guides Michl and James from the company Feel Free (http://www.feelfree.at/canyoning-rafting-tyrol/home/english/feel-adventure.html).
We continued our roadtrip towards Switzerland, making a quick stop in Vaduz, the capital of the small country Lichtenstein. Small really is the word for this country with a population of 35,000. The country is one of about two landlocked countries in the whole world and its area is only around 160 square km. The capital (that isnt the biggest city, the biggest one is Schaan) feels like a small town with its urban population of 4,000 and looking down on the city, Hans-Adam II, the prince of Lichtenstein lives in his castle just up the hill from the city centre. It's hard to believe that someone would still live in a castle. I bet it only looked middleagely from the outside - the inside is probably high tec...
In the evening we arrived in the small swiss town Weggis. It sure is true that Switzerland is an expensive country, at least in comparison to other central european countries. For a finn the prices were quite normal - then again I don't know if the prices are higher in the capital, probably. On Monday morning we made our way to Lucerne, which is said to be the most beautiful city in Switzerland. The town, which is the capital of the canton also called Lucerne, has a beautiful old town which most significant attraction is the brige Kapellbrücke The bridge was constructed in 1333, which makes it the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. Adjoining the bridge is the 140 feet tall Water Tower (Wasserturm), an octagonal tower made from brick, which has served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. The bridge was actually almost completely destroyed due to a fire in October 1993, it was rebuilt and reopened to pedestrians in April 1994.
The final destination to our trip was a small city in France, Belfort. There was an ongoing music festival, FIMU International Festival of University Music. We walked through the old town, where all the concerts took place. Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) – who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York. The coolest thing about the city is that up on the citadel of the city there is a huge pair of rubber boots - I have no idea what they're supposed to symbolize though...
After a long and exhausting - but fun and rewarding weekend we returned to Berlin. Tired but happy.
Friburg hat unusual gutters called Bächle. It is said that if you
accidentally step or fall into one, you will marry a Freiburger.
accidentally step or fall into one, you will marry a Freiburger.
The original reason for this trip was the farewell party of one of my good friends, Lena, whom I worked with in Hanover. Lena finished her studies in fashion design in Hanover about four years ago and came back to her home town Freiburg. Now she had made the decision to take off to Australia for a year. The party was to take place in the chic in-bar Coucou in the old town of Freiburg. Later in the evening we continued the party at the downtown club Karma, which was a small and stylish - and so full with people that it was hard to get through to the other side. What I didn't like about the club was that everyone was smoking in there. I think my clubbing days might be over, it's not as much fun anymore... I much rather go dancing!
The view from the tower of the Freiburg Minster.
Saturday morning before enjoying a nice breakfast with Lena, her boyfriend Carlo and his flat mate Dominic we took the chance to visit the cathedral Freiburger Münster, which is situtated in the centre of the old town. The building of the churhc started around 1200 and was officially finished in 1531 and it is a roman-catholic cathedral, which represents the religion of most people in south Germany. After breakfast we headed to what still was an unknown destination for me. Our first stop was the Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls), which is the largest plain waterfalls in Europe and it is situated near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. The day wasn't too warm but we decided to take a small boat tour to see the falls. With its five euros and 15 minutes it was the cheapest and shortest trip they had, but it was more than enough.
Roaring blue water at the Rhine Falls.
Continuing our roadtrip we at some point came to drive uphills into the mountains. The Alps are not in fact just a group of mountains, it is an mountain area that is divided into 36 parts in eight countries. The whole area is about 200 000 square km large and opposite to what many people think, only the centremost and highest mountain tops are covered with snow all year around. One of the more famous alpine areas, Sölden, was actually beautifully green when we passed by. On Saturday evening we arrived in Schwangau, where our nice b&b awaited us. From our balcony we could gaze up to the Royal Castles (Königsschlösser), Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. The clouds were hanging heavily over the mountains and the view was breathtaking.
A curvy alp road.
On Sunday morning after having breakfast next to a finnish family we headed up to see the famous disney-fairy-tale-like-castle Neuschwanstein. I must say it looked quite tiny from down the hill, but while walking through the gate I was in pure awe! You are only allowed in the castle with a guided tour, but it was okay, because our group wasn't all too big. Walking through those hallways and rooms you can't help but be amazed about the architecture. I can't believe how they were able to build that kind of massive castles back then with much less equipment than nowadays. Although nowadays nobody would build such a castle, because it would take too long and be too expensive. The castle was built from 1869-1892, leaving the construction incomplete upon the unexpected death of King Ludwig II, who had comissoned the castle. King Ludwig grew up in the other Royal Castle Hohenschwangau just down the hill, and on the building of his own palace, he had gathered inspiration from fairytale sagas like Tristan and Isolde and from the operas of Richard Wagner. The castle even has a singer's room, that was intended as a stage for Wagners pieces. The castle, that originally was meant to be a personal refuge for a reclusive king, but was indeed opened for the public only six weeks after Ludwigs death. The castle has about 1,3 million visitors every year, with peaks of 6 000 people a day during the summer.
The view from our hotel room, Neuschwanstein to the left and Hohenschwangau to the right.
I can't help but wonder what the life was like back in the day when there were kings and queens who lived in castles and did nothing but entertain guests and rode horses. Surely that wasn't all they did, but what I wouldn't give to even have been a servant in the castle. I mean even the thay had quite glorious accommodations. Sure, a lot of things are better now - we have running water, central heating and telephones. But believe it or not, Ludwig was a very up to date king, and he was up to date with all new innovations in his castle - including running water, central heating and telephones. Imagine that!
After leaving the castle reluctantly we headed up the mountains again - this time in Austria and again with amazing views. I could no say that I've seen Germanys highest mountain, Zugspitze, but unfortunately the clouds were hanging very low this morning, so I couldn't quite see the top. Around noon we arrived in a small village called Ötztal. We parked the car on a lot where people in wetsuits were running around and carrying rafts. I was sure I knew what we'd do, white water rafting. I was wrong. Both uf us got a set of wet suits, wet socks, hiking shoes, a helmet and a harness. Even in the bus on the way up the mountain I didn't know what was about to happen to us. It turned out to be a completely new adventure for me: canyoning. The next three hours we spent abseiling down the mountain, jumping up to 12-metre jumps into the water and sliding down waterfalls. It was great fun - but I do have to say my leg are still hurting even today! In Ötztal there are a lot of adventure companies who offer white water rafting, climbing, canyoning, biking - you name it. We enjoyed our day with our amazing guides Michl and James from the company Feel Free (http://www.feelfree.at/canyoning-rafting-tyrol/home/english/feel-adventure.html).
The first waterfall we crossed path with during the trip.
We continued our roadtrip towards Switzerland, making a quick stop in Vaduz, the capital of the small country Lichtenstein. Small really is the word for this country with a population of 35,000. The country is one of about two landlocked countries in the whole world and its area is only around 160 square km. The capital (that isnt the biggest city, the biggest one is Schaan) feels like a small town with its urban population of 4,000 and looking down on the city, Hans-Adam II, the prince of Lichtenstein lives in his castle just up the hill from the city centre. It's hard to believe that someone would still live in a castle. I bet it only looked middleagely from the outside - the inside is probably high tec...
In the evening we arrived in the small swiss town Weggis. It sure is true that Switzerland is an expensive country, at least in comparison to other central european countries. For a finn the prices were quite normal - then again I don't know if the prices are higher in the capital, probably. On Monday morning we made our way to Lucerne, which is said to be the most beautiful city in Switzerland. The town, which is the capital of the canton also called Lucerne, has a beautiful old town which most significant attraction is the brige Kapellbrücke The bridge was constructed in 1333, which makes it the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. Adjoining the bridge is the 140 feet tall Water Tower (Wasserturm), an octagonal tower made from brick, which has served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. The bridge was actually almost completely destroyed due to a fire in October 1993, it was rebuilt and reopened to pedestrians in April 1994.
The rebuilt bridge.
The final destination to our trip was a small city in France, Belfort. There was an ongoing music festival, FIMU International Festival of University Music. We walked through the old town, where all the concerts took place. Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) – who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York. The coolest thing about the city is that up on the citadel of the city there is a huge pair of rubber boots - I have no idea what they're supposed to symbolize though...
After a long and exhausting - but fun and rewarding weekend we returned to Berlin. Tired but happy.
keskiviikko 8. kesäkuuta 2011
Guests and hot summer days
I've noticed how hard it is to get around to writing the blog. An that is not because I wouldn't want to, but because I don't have the time! I'm hardly home, and when I am, I tend to have other things to take care of. Like sleeping for instance. Some people say sleeping is over-rated, but I disagree. I am unable to function if I sleep to less. Though I have noticed, that I tend to wake up earlier during the summer, and don't have the need to sleep as much as in the winter. Another thing I've noticed, is that I can't really sleep as long as I used to. I don't think I've slept past 10.30 the whole time I've been in Berlin. I guess it has something to do with getting older, but also because I don't wan't to "waste my time" sleeping while I'm here, cause there's so much to see!
I have made it my mission not to eat in the same restaurant twice while I'm here. There are so many restaurants in this city, that you would probably have to live here for years and years to try them all. Wouldn't that be amazing?! But that would require having a lot of money. I have tried some good restaurants so far, but nothing really breathtakingly amazing. I guess I have relatively high standards after working so many years in gastronomy myself.
Talking about food, there are some things I've noticed about eating habits among my co-workers. I guess there are about two of us who actually go to the break room to have their lunches. Most of the people eat by their computers, they have their own food or they order in. Or the third option is to buy a "Brötchen", a filled bun, from the Brötchenjunge (the bunboy). The point is that they feel they don't have the time to take a break to have their lunch in peace. I find this quite disturbing, I mean it's not like there's an atmosphere there that doesn't allow you taking a lunch break. The spaniards do it right though, but after all, they grow up with their siestas. We have maybe three or four spaniards at the office, and they go out for lunch every day. Sometimes I join them, but mostly I bring my own food, because even though eating out is quite cheap here, it's still quite the amount of money to spend every day. And when I cook myself, I at least know what's in the food...
Last week was a short working week, because of the christian holiday ascension day. I had visitors from Finland most of the week. My choir friends Anna and Raigo had a stop on their inter rail trip here in Berlin, and just as any proper tourists, we took a free walking tour on ascension day. It was a really hot day, the sun was burning and the sky was blue. Our tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and the next almost five hours our guide walked us through most important sights in Mitte (centre of Berlin). The guide was from London, but had lived in Berlin for many years now, and he was very well informed. He shared with us all kinds of interesting details about the history of Germany. The tour was completely amazing and all free! I don't thing a tour that you have to pay for would be any better. And the most interesting part of it is, that the tour guides live on their tips; they don't get paid in any other way. The core idea of it all is, that everyone is entitled to a tour, whether they have money or not. So in the end of the tour you pay whatever amount the tour was worth to you. I think it's a great idea! Here's the website if you want to have a look. http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/new-berlin-free-tour.html
After having a shopping filled day on Friday with my friend Kristina who arrived on Thursday evening, we decided to take it easier on Saturday. We took the train (and the bike) and went to Britzer Garten, which is a huge park south of the city in Alt-Mariendorf. The park was just amazing, there was a lot to see and you could just stroll around there for hours. There was a part of the park where there was an amazing playground for kids, and there were a lot of families there. What we were more interested in was the part where the gardens were, luckily for us it wasn't as crowded there. We tried to stay in the shade as much as possible, because it was really hot! All the flowers were really beautiful and there was even a small train that you could take if you didn't want to walk through the park. I really was a place where you could've spent the whole day, along with a blanket and a picnic basket. There were a lot of people who had realized that because closer to the restaurants and the cafes, the lawns were packed with people. A little too crowded for my taste. Luckily there were parts where it wasn't so crowded. And the park was really worth the 3 euros (discounted price) we paid to get in!
My dancing friends Thomas and Katrin had told me about the possibility to sing karaoke in the Mauerpark (the wall park). So that's where I headed on Sunday. I decided to bike the whole way, which was an amazing decition. The weather was yet again very hot and the trains would have been even hotter. At least I got a bit of wind while biking and the view was great - I tried to stay close by the river Spree. On the way to the park I stumbled upon a café which had a name that forced me to pop in and have a cold drink: Raja Jooseppi. Now, if you're not a finn, you won't understand the funny thing about it. Raja-Jooseppi (how it is originally spelled) is a crossing point and border station up in Lapland by the russian border. The place got its name by a man who lived as a hermit and reindeer farmer by the border to Russia in the beginning of the 20th century. I asked the bartender how the place got it's name, but he didn't know the story behind it - too bad.
I didn't really know anything else about Mauerpark than that they had karaoke there on Sundays, so when I came there I was quite surprised. There was a flea market (Trödelmarkt), which isn't really a traditional flee market, but like a mix of old and new, almost like a bazaar. There were tables with peoples own old stuff and also people who were selling their hand made things. In the middle of the bazaar there was a bar/café area with food, drinks and music. It was amazing! On one side of the park there was an Amphitheatre where the karaoke was supposed to take place. Thomas and Katrin joined me and we sat down in the second row. At first there was an australian band called Set Sail playing some music (https://www.facebook.com/setsailmusic), after which a theatre performance took over the stage.
When Joe Hatchiban stepped onto the stage with his two huge music boxes the crowd (and there really was one!) went wild! Joe is the founder of Bearpit Karaoke, which takes place around 3pm every Sunday in Mauerpark. It all started in 2009 and has gotten bigger and bigger ever since. As they were building up the sound system, people already queuing to get a singing turn. Thomas told me to go and sign up, or else I wouldn't get a turn at all, so I did. I was going to be number 8 on the stage. My hands were shaking by the third song... But it was amazing! I've never sung in front of such a huge crowd before and the atmosphere was very warm (not because of the sun) and cheering. The crowd went wild during every song, just because it was so amazingly brave to go up there in front of all those people. I was quite proud of myself! After my song a girl came up to me and handed me a flyer and telling me about live-karaoke. She said that I have to come, and I do intend to! There's nothing better than singing! Here's the http://www.bearpitkaraoke.com/index.htm
There are two thing I figured I'd miss about the finnish summer. The lakes and the light nights. The light nights I do miss, it's kind of strange that it's dark AND warm at the same time. I miss the lakes too, but mostly because of the short distance to get to them (especially from my appartment in Finland). I have found that there are a few lakes, where it's okay to swim here too. On Monday I went to Flughafensee, which is close to the Tegel Airport. The water is quite clear and the beaches are nice. Although we managed to come to a FKK beach, which means that the people there are more or less naked. FKK means freikörperkultur, which translates more or less into Free Body Culture, and it is a german movement. It was very big in former East Germany, but since the 1980's it has been quite restricted. FKK endorses a naturistic approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also on being nude itself, without direct relationship to sexuality. I rather find it strange that people have a need to be naked in public. I mean the sauna is something else, but on a public beach? Maybe it's strange for me, because it's not really allowed to be naked on public beaches in Finland. I mean you can enjoy your nakedness in the privacy of your own cottage, but on public beaches you put some clothes on. I guess it is a cultural thing though...
This coming weekend I'm flying to Freiburg with Matt. One of my ex-collagues from my time in Hannover is going to Australia for a year, and she's having a farewell party. I figured since I've never been to Freiburg, and it supposed to be a beautiful city, I might as well go. Since it's a long weekend (pentecost) we have three days to check out the area. Matt has planned everything, and all I know is that well be driving around in France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany and Austria, and that were visiting the castle of Neuschwanstein. I don't know how were supposed to have time for all that, but I'm excited!
We saw Potiché, a french film starring Gerard Depardieu.
I have made it my mission not to eat in the same restaurant twice while I'm here. There are so many restaurants in this city, that you would probably have to live here for years and years to try them all. Wouldn't that be amazing?! But that would require having a lot of money. I have tried some good restaurants so far, but nothing really breathtakingly amazing. I guess I have relatively high standards after working so many years in gastronomy myself.
Having breakfast with Kristina at a cafe in Charlottenburg.
Talking about food, there are some things I've noticed about eating habits among my co-workers. I guess there are about two of us who actually go to the break room to have their lunches. Most of the people eat by their computers, they have their own food or they order in. Or the third option is to buy a "Brötchen", a filled bun, from the Brötchenjunge (the bunboy). The point is that they feel they don't have the time to take a break to have their lunch in peace. I find this quite disturbing, I mean it's not like there's an atmosphere there that doesn't allow you taking a lunch break. The spaniards do it right though, but after all, they grow up with their siestas. We have maybe three or four spaniards at the office, and they go out for lunch every day. Sometimes I join them, but mostly I bring my own food, because even though eating out is quite cheap here, it's still quite the amount of money to spend every day. And when I cook myself, I at least know what's in the food...
Last week was a short working week, because of the christian holiday ascension day. I had visitors from Finland most of the week. My choir friends Anna and Raigo had a stop on their inter rail trip here in Berlin, and just as any proper tourists, we took a free walking tour on ascension day. It was a really hot day, the sun was burning and the sky was blue. Our tour started at the Brandenburg Gate and the next almost five hours our guide walked us through most important sights in Mitte (centre of Berlin). The guide was from London, but had lived in Berlin for many years now, and he was very well informed. He shared with us all kinds of interesting details about the history of Germany. The tour was completely amazing and all free! I don't thing a tour that you have to pay for would be any better. And the most interesting part of it is, that the tour guides live on their tips; they don't get paid in any other way. The core idea of it all is, that everyone is entitled to a tour, whether they have money or not. So in the end of the tour you pay whatever amount the tour was worth to you. I think it's a great idea! Here's the website if you want to have a look. http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/new-berlin-free-tour.html
Anna and Raigo enjoying the shade.
After having a shopping filled day on Friday with my friend Kristina who arrived on Thursday evening, we decided to take it easier on Saturday. We took the train (and the bike) and went to Britzer Garten, which is a huge park south of the city in Alt-Mariendorf. The park was just amazing, there was a lot to see and you could just stroll around there for hours. There was a part of the park where there was an amazing playground for kids, and there were a lot of families there. What we were more interested in was the part where the gardens were, luckily for us it wasn't as crowded there. We tried to stay in the shade as much as possible, because it was really hot! All the flowers were really beautiful and there was even a small train that you could take if you didn't want to walk through the park. I really was a place where you could've spent the whole day, along with a blanket and a picnic basket. There were a lot of people who had realized that because closer to the restaurants and the cafes, the lawns were packed with people. A little too crowded for my taste. Luckily there were parts where it wasn't so crowded. And the park was really worth the 3 euros (discounted price) we paid to get in!
The most beautiful path under the apple trees.
My dancing friends Thomas and Katrin had told me about the possibility to sing karaoke in the Mauerpark (the wall park). So that's where I headed on Sunday. I decided to bike the whole way, which was an amazing decition. The weather was yet again very hot and the trains would have been even hotter. At least I got a bit of wind while biking and the view was great - I tried to stay close by the river Spree. On the way to the park I stumbled upon a café which had a name that forced me to pop in and have a cold drink: Raja Jooseppi. Now, if you're not a finn, you won't understand the funny thing about it. Raja-Jooseppi (how it is originally spelled) is a crossing point and border station up in Lapland by the russian border. The place got its name by a man who lived as a hermit and reindeer farmer by the border to Russia in the beginning of the 20th century. I asked the bartender how the place got it's name, but he didn't know the story behind it - too bad.
It wasn't just a café but a hostel as well.
I didn't really know anything else about Mauerpark than that they had karaoke there on Sundays, so when I came there I was quite surprised. There was a flea market (Trödelmarkt), which isn't really a traditional flee market, but like a mix of old and new, almost like a bazaar. There were tables with peoples own old stuff and also people who were selling their hand made things. In the middle of the bazaar there was a bar/café area with food, drinks and music. It was amazing! On one side of the park there was an Amphitheatre where the karaoke was supposed to take place. Thomas and Katrin joined me and we sat down in the second row. At first there was an australian band called Set Sail playing some music (https://www.facebook.com/setsailmusic), after which a theatre performance took over the stage.
The karaoke has a crowd of about 1500-2000 people every Sunday.
When Joe Hatchiban stepped onto the stage with his two huge music boxes the crowd (and there really was one!) went wild! Joe is the founder of Bearpit Karaoke, which takes place around 3pm every Sunday in Mauerpark. It all started in 2009 and has gotten bigger and bigger ever since. As they were building up the sound system, people already queuing to get a singing turn. Thomas told me to go and sign up, or else I wouldn't get a turn at all, so I did. I was going to be number 8 on the stage. My hands were shaking by the third song... But it was amazing! I've never sung in front of such a huge crowd before and the atmosphere was very warm (not because of the sun) and cheering. The crowd went wild during every song, just because it was so amazingly brave to go up there in front of all those people. I was quite proud of myself! After my song a girl came up to me and handed me a flyer and telling me about live-karaoke. She said that I have to come, and I do intend to! There's nothing better than singing! Here's the http://www.bearpitkaraoke.com/index.htm
There are two thing I figured I'd miss about the finnish summer. The lakes and the light nights. The light nights I do miss, it's kind of strange that it's dark AND warm at the same time. I miss the lakes too, but mostly because of the short distance to get to them (especially from my appartment in Finland). I have found that there are a few lakes, where it's okay to swim here too. On Monday I went to Flughafensee, which is close to the Tegel Airport. The water is quite clear and the beaches are nice. Although we managed to come to a FKK beach, which means that the people there are more or less naked. FKK means freikörperkultur, which translates more or less into Free Body Culture, and it is a german movement. It was very big in former East Germany, but since the 1980's it has been quite restricted. FKK endorses a naturistic approach to sports and community living. Behind that is the joy of the experience of nature or also on being nude itself, without direct relationship to sexuality. I rather find it strange that people have a need to be naked in public. I mean the sauna is something else, but on a public beach? Maybe it's strange for me, because it's not really allowed to be naked on public beaches in Finland. I mean you can enjoy your nakedness in the privacy of your own cottage, but on public beaches you put some clothes on. I guess it is a cultural thing though...
This coming weekend I'm flying to Freiburg with Matt. One of my ex-collagues from my time in Hannover is going to Australia for a year, and she's having a farewell party. I figured since I've never been to Freiburg, and it supposed to be a beautiful city, I might as well go. Since it's a long weekend (pentecost) we have three days to check out the area. Matt has planned everything, and all I know is that well be driving around in France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany and Austria, and that were visiting the castle of Neuschwanstein. I don't know how were supposed to have time for all that, but I'm excited!
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