Hi Everyone,
Sorry to say that this is the last post of the Euro Rail Trip 2015. And I'm sorry to say there are no photos for this post. I had intended to take a photo of the last train I was on from Inverness to Forres when I arrived back this morning but it was the fifth train I had been on since leaving Berlin early yesterday morning and I was heading home by the time I remembered to take a photo.
This has been a great trip and I have met so many wonderful and interesting people. So many of you told me your names and I'm sorry to say that the only ones I have remembered are Jessica from Maine, USA and Martin from Vienna. Thank you to everyone else I met on the trip and thank you for all the stories you shared with me and for listening to my story.
Thanks to the all of the people who have been following my blog from around the world including Europe, North America, Australia and Indonesia.
As some of you know I will be embarking next year on a two month trip in an RV (that's a campervan to all you Brits) across the USA in late next year. I may even try to cross the border to Canada if they'll let me in, which they probably will as I've found on this trip that Canadians are really nice people.
I will be setting up a blog for the USA trip and there will be links on this and my other blogs to the USA trip.
The photos I posted on the blog are only a small portion of the photos I shot on the trip. Over the next week or so I will be posting additional trip photos on my website at www.winaladder.com
Thanks again everyone and good night.
Daniel
Monday, 31 August 2015
Saturday, 29 August 2015
Bye, Bye Berlin
Last post from Berlin as I set off by train early tomorrow (Sunday morning).
This is the Kaiser Wilhelm church which was almost totally destroyed in Allied bombing attacks in World War 2. The government was going to demolish the crumbling tower but Berliners asked to keep the tower intact and not to repair it. A new church was built alongside the ruin and a new bell tower was added on the other side. This is my third attempt in five years to see this church. On the previous two occasions it has been covered in scaffolding. Now the scaffolding has been taken down and scaffolding erected around the new bell tower. I'll probably be 90 before I get to see all three parts of the church.
This was how the church looked like before the bombing.
I went back at night to photograph the church with the new building in blue next to it.
Just next door to the church I took a photo of these building site cranes. They look like they are having a light sabre fight!
Photo shows what appears to be bomb damage on the stones.
This cross was made from nails taken from the ruins of Coventry Cathedral after it was attacked by German bombers.
This was taken inside the new church building.
Photo taken at sunset of the Reichstag (German Parliament Building).
The Reichstag from the front. You can just make out the glass dome which was added by the British architect, Richard Rogers. You can visit the building for free and walk all around the dome to the top.
The famous Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) next to the Reichstag building.
The Brandenburg Gate from the other side.
Just next to the Brandenburg Gate was a line of horse-drawn tours. I had thought of taking a tour but I didn't like the look of this driver. On top of that you can make out his name on his harness - Macho!
Just a few hundred metres from the Brandenburg Gate I saw this man sitting down and chatting with people. I asked one of the people handing out leaflets what it was about and she told me his name is Ralph Boes and his benefits have been sanctioned because he has been judged to be not looking enough for work. He invites people to sit down and talk with him. He hasn't eaten since the 1st July and is continuing his protest.
Just as I left Ralph Boes I snapped a last photo of the Brandenburg Gate.
Just as I left a photography exhibition this morning I could hear a roar of engines. I went outside to be greeted by the sight of a column of motorbikes driving up the street. The German Bikers Union organises this event every two years. According to the news there were over a 1,000 bikes. It certainly sounded like it!
Most of the riders were very cheery and some waved as they drove past.
There were some females riders amongst the group.
After seeing the bikers I went over to the river where a Wasserfest (Water Festival) was taking place. Most of the events were centred around children as here where a presenter got the kids worked up by telling them that one of their favourite characters was coming in a couple of minutes.
The presenter had the children sing along to the German version of 'If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..' Which the children did clapping their hands, stamping their feet and shouting.
There were more events for the children including this fun event which involved them being inside inflatables and rolling around. I wanted to join in but the water looked too deep for me.
And finally for the last Berlin photo I will leave you with a mystery. I found this church near the festival. But where is the spire? Did it fall off? Did they run out of money and couldn't finish it? Answers in the comments box please.
This is the Kaiser Wilhelm church which was almost totally destroyed in Allied bombing attacks in World War 2. The government was going to demolish the crumbling tower but Berliners asked to keep the tower intact and not to repair it. A new church was built alongside the ruin and a new bell tower was added on the other side. This is my third attempt in five years to see this church. On the previous two occasions it has been covered in scaffolding. Now the scaffolding has been taken down and scaffolding erected around the new bell tower. I'll probably be 90 before I get to see all three parts of the church.
This was how the church looked like before the bombing.
I went back at night to photograph the church with the new building in blue next to it.
Just next door to the church I took a photo of these building site cranes. They look like they are having a light sabre fight!
Photo shows what appears to be bomb damage on the stones.
This cross was made from nails taken from the ruins of Coventry Cathedral after it was attacked by German bombers.
This was taken inside the new church building.
Photo taken at sunset of the Reichstag (German Parliament Building).
The Reichstag from the front. You can just make out the glass dome which was added by the British architect, Richard Rogers. You can visit the building for free and walk all around the dome to the top.
The famous Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) next to the Reichstag building.
The Brandenburg Gate from the other side.
Just next to the Brandenburg Gate was a line of horse-drawn tours. I had thought of taking a tour but I didn't like the look of this driver. On top of that you can make out his name on his harness - Macho!
Just a few hundred metres from the Brandenburg Gate I saw this man sitting down and chatting with people. I asked one of the people handing out leaflets what it was about and she told me his name is Ralph Boes and his benefits have been sanctioned because he has been judged to be not looking enough for work. He invites people to sit down and talk with him. He hasn't eaten since the 1st July and is continuing his protest.
Just as I left Ralph Boes I snapped a last photo of the Brandenburg Gate.
Just as I left a photography exhibition this morning I could hear a roar of engines. I went outside to be greeted by the sight of a column of motorbikes driving up the street. The German Bikers Union organises this event every two years. According to the news there were over a 1,000 bikes. It certainly sounded like it!
Most of the riders were very cheery and some waved as they drove past.
There were some females riders amongst the group.
After seeing the bikers I went over to the river where a Wasserfest (Water Festival) was taking place. Most of the events were centred around children as here where a presenter got the kids worked up by telling them that one of their favourite characters was coming in a couple of minutes.
The presenter had the children sing along to the German version of 'If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..' Which the children did clapping their hands, stamping their feet and shouting.
There were more events for the children including this fun event which involved them being inside inflatables and rolling around. I wanted to join in but the water looked too deep for me.
And finally for the last Berlin photo I will leave you with a mystery. I found this church near the festival. But where is the spire? Did it fall off? Did they run out of money and couldn't finish it? Answers in the comments box please.
Friday, 28 August 2015
Back to Berlin
It's been three years since I was here last. One thing that hasn't changed since before is that the city is still in upheaval. New buildings, train lines, lots of scaffolding.
For all you lovers of traffic lights (come on now, you know you love them) here are the first to be put up in Continental Europe in 1924 (Britain was the first in 1869. They were lit by gas which exploded, killing the policeman who was operating them). These lights are in Potsdamer Platz, an area that was behind the wall under East German control.
This is Checkpoint Charlie where before 1990 you would have crossed from the American sector into East Berlin. There was almost a war situation in 1961 just after the wall went up when American and Soviet tanks came face to face at Checkpoint Charlie. Now you can sit in McDonalds watching Berliners dressed as US soldiers have their photo taken with visitors.
I would love to see how they sold the idea of working in this building, supported by one metal post.
This is the tallest building in Germany. It's called the Berliner Fernsehturm. It's a TV tower and an observation platform with a rotating restaurant at the top. It was put up by the East German government as a symbol of East German communism and is visible from all over Berlin. I went up in the fast elevator last time I was here and the views are breath-taking. You'll notice the pigeons on the lower ledge; too lazy to fly to the top of the tower.
Nearby you have another East German construction, the Weltzeituhr (World Time Clock) which everyone stands underneath to have their photo taken.
This whole area, called Alexanderplatz was almost completely destroyed by Allied bombing raids in World War 2. The East Germans replaced the buildings with mainly concrete monstrosities. A similar thing happened in London after the Blitz when developers got their hands on all the bombed out spaces in the City of London.
The church was closed so I shot these sculptures from the outside. I'm not sure if they are by the same sculptor or what they represent.
.
Another sculpture inside the church which looks like it represents grief.
Just around from the church I spotted this couple coming out of a registry office. Someone had scattered rose petals on the steps before they came out.
In this photo you have three symbols, the church on the left, the Rathaus (council building) on the right and the tower on the far right.
This used to be one of Berlin's biggest breweries and has now been converted into a complex called Kulturbrauerei consisting of cinemas, theatres shops and cafes. These two figures were called Adam and Eve.
On the site there is a bike tour of Berlin with some people setting off on their tour.
This whole area is called Prenzlauer Berg and is becoming very trendy and gradually filling up with Hipsters. There were loads of clothes shops in this street situated in basements which is why they leave the models on display in the street.
This used to be a poor working-class area and Kathe Kollwitz lived and worked amongst the local people representing poverty through her sculptures and drawings.
This is on the same street. It is a beautiful tree-lined street and if I wanted to live in Berlin then this is where I would want to live. Not sure if I would fit in; most of the locals appeared to be twentysomethings with young kids.
Still on the same street this is the Wasserturm (water tower). When it closed down the Nazis used it to house prisoners. It has now been converted into trendy apartments.
Seems like a good reason to save the planet.
Attractive entrance to Berlin Zoo
While waiting at a bus stop this bus pulled up. It is called a party bus and was full of people sitting at tables drinking and having fun so of course I didn't get on.
For all you lovers of traffic lights (come on now, you know you love them) here are the first to be put up in Continental Europe in 1924 (Britain was the first in 1869. They were lit by gas which exploded, killing the policeman who was operating them). These lights are in Potsdamer Platz, an area that was behind the wall under East German control.
This is Checkpoint Charlie where before 1990 you would have crossed from the American sector into East Berlin. There was almost a war situation in 1961 just after the wall went up when American and Soviet tanks came face to face at Checkpoint Charlie. Now you can sit in McDonalds watching Berliners dressed as US soldiers have their photo taken with visitors.
I would love to see how they sold the idea of working in this building, supported by one metal post.
This is the tallest building in Germany. It's called the Berliner Fernsehturm. It's a TV tower and an observation platform with a rotating restaurant at the top. It was put up by the East German government as a symbol of East German communism and is visible from all over Berlin. I went up in the fast elevator last time I was here and the views are breath-taking. You'll notice the pigeons on the lower ledge; too lazy to fly to the top of the tower.
Nearby you have another East German construction, the Weltzeituhr (World Time Clock) which everyone stands underneath to have their photo taken.
This is all that remains of the Franziskaner-Klosterkirche monastery church near Alexanderplatz which was destroyed in the bombing raids.
This was a statue put up outside the church in the 1960's. It is called 'Mutter und Kind' (Mother and Child) and shows a mother protecting a child. It may be representing the bombing raids.
Another sculpture inside the church which looks like it represents grief.
Just around from the church I spotted this couple coming out of a registry office. Someone had scattered rose petals on the steps before they came out.
In this photo you have three symbols, the church on the left, the Rathaus (council building) on the right and the tower on the far right.
This used to be one of Berlin's biggest breweries and has now been converted into a complex called Kulturbrauerei consisting of cinemas, theatres shops and cafes. These two figures were called Adam and Eve.
On the site there is a bike tour of Berlin with some people setting off on their tour.
This whole area is called Prenzlauer Berg and is becoming very trendy and gradually filling up with Hipsters. There were loads of clothes shops in this street situated in basements which is why they leave the models on display in the street.
This used to be a poor working-class area and Kathe Kollwitz lived and worked amongst the local people representing poverty through her sculptures and drawings.
This is on the same street. It is a beautiful tree-lined street and if I wanted to live in Berlin then this is where I would want to live. Not sure if I would fit in; most of the locals appeared to be twentysomethings with young kids.
Still on the same street this is the Wasserturm (water tower). When it closed down the Nazis used it to house prisoners. It has now been converted into trendy apartments.
Seems like a good reason to save the planet.
Attractive entrance to Berlin Zoo
While waiting at a bus stop this bus pulled up. It is called a party bus and was full of people sitting at tables drinking and having fun so of course I didn't get on.
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
München, California
München or Malibu? Munich actually. I was on a tram scouting out photo locations when I noticed this guy carrying a surfboard get off the tram. Didn't think much of until a minute later I noticed a woman in a wet suit (the one in the photo above) walking down the street carrying a surfboard. Well Sherlock has nothing on me; in a split second I figured out there must be a surfing location in a city hundreds of miles from the sea. I then found out that there's a river which runs through Munich's main park and surfers take advantage of the fast flowing current.
Surfers trying out their skills on the river.
Surfers queuing patiently for their turn.
This surfer seemed to have the greatest skill; she certainly outlasted the others.
Another surfer riding the waves.
Three in a row, how long can they last?
For this guy, not that long.
For all you ladies missing your Poldark fix here's a substitute: A surfer dude getting changed.
Nearby in the park I came across this unusual scene; three people, one dressed in a traditional Bavarian costume, setting up a drinks table.
Maybe it was something to do with these guys. The local fire brigade were running a training exercise in the park. Soon after they all set off jogging. The drinks could have been an incentive.
Not only do we have surfers miles away from the sea we also have skiers miles from any snow.
This really is a beautiful park. The park is called The Englischer Garten or English Garden.
Like most parks this is full of people throwing sticks for their dogs. Will he go into the river?
He's a dog chasing a stick, what else is a dog going to do?
Next to the park was this huge sculpture resting delicately on three short poles. I was tempted to give it a push but resisted.
Coming back into the centre of Munich I was pleased to see that the people of Munich had decided to honour my visit to their city by naming one of their hotels after me. I would have been happier if they had named one of their streets after me but perhaps they are saving that for my next visit.
Loved these light fixtures in the main shopping area.
Surfers, skiers and now pirates in Munich.
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