Berlin.... 2015 weekend trips have already started

If you read my blog, you know me.  I'm restless and need to travel.  And I can only tolerate hanging around my apartment in Russia SO MUCH!  Especially on the weekends. 

We went to Berlin during our 1st weekend back to Russia after the New Year holidays.  In our defense, Pat was traveling & wasn't going to make it back home, so a trip somewhere in Europe ("in the middle") was the only way to spend time together. 

I didn't take many pictures while in Berlin.  I've started the year off slow, in a funk about winter and returning to Russia for our 5th Winter (hard to believe!).

To get started, we stayed at the Hotel am Steinplatz, in the Charlottenburg neighborhood on the west side of Berlin.  This hotel was amazing!  It's an older historic hotel, that was purchased by Marriot and rebranded under their Autograph Collection.  Great design, cool bar & restaurant, nice spa, and perfect location near the University and lots of restaurants/bars.

When we met up, the 1st order of business was a cocktail.....  I loved the vintage glasses

 

And then we were off to dinner.... one of our favorites, which just happened to be a 5 minute walk from our hotel.  Dicke Wirtin's.  If you want some classic German specialties in a fun lively place, you've got to try it out.  

 

Beer time!

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that both Pat & I cleaned our plates.  Here's mine, which was a Berliner's Special.  Currywurst, meatballs, pork roast, beats, red cabbage, potatoes........

 

And Pat's - Blood and liver sausage, pork belly, sauerkraut, potatoes......

I'm full just looking at those pictures.......  Next day, we took a walk.  It was cold, but sunny. 

Brandenburg Gate

Ronny!

 

The Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarden.  It was built by the Soviet Union in 1945, to honor the 80,000 Soviet forces who died in the Battle of Berlin in April & May of that year  (after the war, Berlin was section into 4 quarters and administered by the US, UK, France, and Soviet Union).

The Berlin Victory Column or Siegessause.  Built in 1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War.  It was moved to it's current location at the roundabout in Tiergarden in 1938 by the Nazis.  It survived the war without much damage, and was considered for destruction by the French and Soviets.  Luckily, the British & US vetoed the idea, and it still stands today

The statue of Victoria on top (Roman goddess of war) is called Goldese by the Germans, or "Golden Lizzy"

Lunch time! 

Flammkuchen, which is a Alsatian flatbread  Crème fraiche, bacon, green onions.  Really tasty. 

A Sunday walk through Tiergarden.  Very peaceful and it's was nice getting some fresh air

It was a few weeks after the Paris/Charlie Hebdo attacks. 

A piece of the Berlin Wall

Sunday lunch!  This, my friends, is a Berlin Sausage Salad with pickles & onions.  And fried potatoes on the side.  I'm pretty sure Poppa Reiser would have loved it

And Pat has pea soup with sausage.  Not what he expected, but he said it was good.

Auf wiedersehen!

A weekend in Krakow - Part 2

More from Krakow....

 

Let's start with lunch!  Homemade pierogies, so good!!!

 

Archdiocesan Museum of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla - in other words, the Museum for Pope John Paul II.  He lived in this building twice during his life, as a young priest and later as a bishop.

Protesters?  I think so, but it's hard to confirm.  They seemed rather happy

The Main Square and Cloth Hall at night

Even in 0 C weather, outside seating was prepared for the evening crowds.  These people are tough!

There he is again.  He's everywhere in this city.......

The Grunwald Monument.  The Battle of Grunwald was fought between the armies of Poland and Lithuania against the Teutonic Knights on July 1410, and is considered to be one of the greatest battles ever to take place in medieval Europe.

The original statue was destroyed during World War II, but this copy was erected in 1976.  At the top on his horse is the King of Poland Władysław Jagiełło.  At the front is his cousin the Lithuanian prince Vytautas (Vitold).  And the dead man at the front is Urlich von Jungingen, the Teutonic Order’s Grand Master, who lost his life during the battle.

Random apartment building

St. Florian's Church.  Originally built in the 12th Century, but destroyed several times due to fire.  Since the 16th Century, it has been the University's church and it's location is the beginning of the Royal Road (the coronation route and the starting point for royal processions to Wawel Castle)

The white eagle is a symbol of Poland, and also the national coat of arms.  It originated when Poland's founder, Lech, saw a white eagle's nest. As the story goes, when he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine fell on its wings, and they appeared to be "tipped with gold", while the rest of the eagle was pure white. Because of it's beauty, he decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem.

You see the crown on it's head?  It was removed by the Communists from 1945-1989, but now it's back

The Barbican.... at the gateway to the old city.  One of the few remaining relics from the original city walls and fortifications

Jan Matejko, a famous Polish painter from Krakow

On a random street

I walked through the University one morning (one very cold morning)

The Seminary.  Pope John Paul II was a student here during World War II, as well as a teacher in later years

More pictures from the University area

Approaching Wawel Hill.  The Wawel Castle & Cathedral are on top of the hill, 80 feet above the Vistula River.  The castle was built at the request of King Casimir III the Great, who reigned in the mid 1300's

There he is again!

 

 

The Cathedral, the Sigismund Bell Tower, various castle buildings

Within this greenspace are the remains of St. Michael's Chapel, St. George's Chapel, and the house of Stanislaw Borek, who was a secretary to one of the early kings.  All the buildings were destroyed during the years of the Austrian rule in 1803-1804.  The old hospital is in the distance

Another view of Wawel Cathedral

Hello there!

Overlooking the Vistula River

Sandomierska Tower - one of the two artillery towers at the castle

Mary Magdalene in a small square along Grodzka



 

A Weekend in Krakow

 

I'm FINALLY getting around to posting these pictures from the 1st weekend in December.  The end of the year is just crazy.......

 

So I was in Krakow by myself a few weeks ago, for work and play.  Pat was in the US (Disney!!!).  If you ask me, I got the better end of that deal

 

Florianska or St. Florian's Gate, which takes you into Stare Miasto (the Old Town).  It was built in the 14th Century, to guard the city against the Turks.  And it's one of the few surviving parts of the ancient defense walls that once circled the city

One of the things I notice when I'm in Poland is 1.) the vast number of churches, and 2.) that many people go to church for prayer and worship.  Poland is approximately 90% Roman Catholic, and somewhere from 45-65% of people reportedly attend mass at least once/week. 

Wawel Cathedral, also know as St. Wencelas & St. Stanislas Cathedral

Holy Cross Church, located near the outside of the demolished city walls.

Church of St Peter & Paul in the background, the main Jesuit church in the city.  Built in the 1600's, the statues along the fence are of the 12 disciples.

Cloth Hall, gearing up for the holidays.  Cloth Hall or "Sukiennice", is one of the world's oldest merchant trading stalls still in use.  The original market building was built in the mid-13th century, with a roof added over the stalls around 1300. 

Cloth Hall was originally focused on textiles.  Today, it's souvenirs

Town Hall Tower, also in the main square.  This is the only thing remaining from the original 14th Century Town Hall building

Interesting sculpture in the market square, by the Polish artist Igor Mitoaj.  It's called Eros Bendato, or "the head". 

 

Yeah!  A Christmas Market



Soup stand, before the crowds.

Hot mulled wine.  There is nothing better on a cold winter day

Wow!  The Polish like meat

I'm not exactly sure what this was, but they were slicing those amazingly large loaves of bread and making sandwiches with the meat spreads.  It smelled wonderful.

Yes, I smuggled some of this home for my Polish husband in my luggage. 

Pretty tree outside my hotel

It was cold!!!!

I don't remember what this is!  How annoying is that?

St. Mary's Basilica (or Church of our Lady Assumed into Heaven) on the right and in the next photo, which is located adjacent to the main square.  Each hour, a trumpet is played from the top of the highest tower and is stopped mid-tune,  to commemorate a famous 13th century trumpeter who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.

Holy Trinity Basilica, a Dominican church originally built in 1250 by the friars from Bologna.  A massive fire destroyed the original, and it was replaced in the 1870's

 

It was a nice & quiet place to rest, reflect, and warm up

 



St. Mary's Basilica, and me looking all fuzzy & soft :)

 

More to come..........