A Very Expensive Blunder - When the Rat Race Traps You

Sometimes what you force yourself to believe is that you have thought things out carefully. Then you are surprised when this “best” thinking really goes haywire. Those are times when it goes wrong, derails, crashes, and makes you feel lucky to have financially survived at all.

When we were planning this trip, the airfare from Budapest was outrageous. I always look at alternate airports: Vienna, Munich, or other places where there are budget airline flights. Vienna is only 3 hours by train, Munich is 8. The best deal I could locate was from Munich which shaved about $300 from each of our plane tickets. MÁV, the Hungarian railroad has specials for €39 for a one-way fare to Munich. We booked one night at a hotel near the Munich airport where we would get their shuttle to the airport in the morning. So far so good.

What was not factored into the equation was getting to and from the hotel. Okay, it was a subway and then a bus ride, so not a great expense. Their courtesy airport shuttle was not a free service, so we paid something like €15 for the ride.

While still in Nicaragua, I got to thinking that after two long plane rides lasting over 13 hours, one night in Munich on the way home may not be sufficient. We opted for two. Now this is an interesting tidbit. Ron had used Priceline.com to book our Munich hotel for the first night and paid $77. When we decided to extend it to 2 nights, I did it directly with the hotel and paid $69.

Munich is behind the times with hotel services. WiFi cost $5.99 an hour or with a minor discount if you opted for the 7 or 24 hour plans. I refused to pay it mainly due to the fact that they had 2 different plans, one being faster than the other and of course more expensive. When I balked at reception, the young lady gave me codes to access the complimentary version. Needless to say, you type in the code, which releases a carrier pigeon to deliver your e-mails and a tar coated funnel that allows your incoming mail to enter your inbox. Every ten minutes, I was knocked off of the connection. Was I ticked!

Our first night we went to the Hofbrau Haus for a beer. Some costumed Bavarian men shared a table and chatted away in good English. One has a cousin in Erd. It was too noisy and busy to have dinner there. We ventured over to Paulaner im Tal where we had a great dinner, excellent service and delightful surroundings.

The next day, we went to the train station to book our tickets back to Budapest. When we bought the outgoing ticket they would not sell a return for 2014. We went thinking €39 each, €78 total, so I would pay cash. Up to this point, we had only used the credit card once the entire 7 weeks, a fact I was proud of accomplishing. We asked for our tickets and the ticket seller said €240. WHAT??? What happened to €39? Well that is if you buy 3 days in advance. If we could leave on Monday rather than Sunday, we could have snatched that fare. I had to go to school on Monday. I had taken off more time than anyone appreciated, so I wasn’t about to risk the ire with another day. We had to use the charge card again.

Our second night, we went to Hacker Pschorr Brauhaus for dinner. We have eaten here on prior trips for Munich and for what you get, the food is good, plentiful, and reasonable considering this is a major tourism city. We really like the atmosphere of the outdoor area, which they cover and heat in winter time.

Three things about our waitress set me off. First I ordered a beer from their menu. She shouted "What is that? I have never heard of that." Suddenly, I felt transported back to Budapest. I pointed to the German menu and she shrugged her shoulders and wrote it down.

When Ron later ordered a 2nd beer, he repeated which of the beers it was that he had the first time, requesting a second of the same. When she returned we immediately realized it was the wrong beer by the color. She took off so fast we did not bother to try to get her back to remedy it.

Finally, the icing on the cake was when I paid the bill. It came to €38.50. I gave her a €100 bill and 50 € cents. Rather than leave my currency on the table while she made change, she immediately put it into her wallet and then handed me a €10 note. She was ready to zip off, but I stopped her saying just a minute, I gave you a €100 note. Even if I had given her a €50, the change was still not correct. Without blinking an eye and without any remorse, she said "Oh, right!" She then proceeded to give me more change, but still shorted me €2. Before this, the €2 Euro was going to be part of a €6 tip, but then I changed my mind. I said what you shorted me is now your tip.

I had a strong suspicion that this may be a way for the staff to fleece the tourists. As we were leaving, she nodded at us as she was speaking to another waitress and they both started laughing.

As it turned out the ‘savings’ flying from Munich was reduced by transport there, hotel one night before, dinner at the hotel since it was in the middle of nowhere, transportation passes to get to the hotel, shuttle to the airport, transportation passes when we returned, two breakfasts and dinners out, two nights in a hotel, and a very expensive train ticket.

I think Budapest will be our airport of choice for the future.

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Watch Out Herend

OTL Express will be starting 3 weekly flights to Dresden, Germany, the home of Dresden Porcelain. Watch out Herend, the competition is on your ceramic tail.

Return tickets are scheduled right now at 90 Euros. Let's hope it stays that this rate for some years to come. 

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When You Are 73, You Have to Try Harder

No, I am not dissing someone's age here, but rather a city ranking. Budapest came out as number 73 of most livable cities in the world. No, this was not a survey done by Hungarians abroad or even Hungarians within the country. The survey was conducted by a US company named Mercer. They use 39 different criteria to determine their results. 

Vienna is considered the best city in which to live in Mercer’s Quality of Living survey, followed by Zürich- 2nd, Auckland -3rd, Munich 4th, Vancouver and Düsseldorf tied for 5th place. Prague reached the 69th place while Ljubljana takes a back seat to Budapest at 75th place. 

Read all about it here.

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Germany - Munich

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Last Munich Hurrah

Today is our last day here in this fantastic city, but there are still things on our bucket list of what we want to see and experience before leaving tomorrow morning. Strangely, we are saying goodbye to our hosts as they are  leaving for Rome for the weekend, leaving us to man the apartment. We can lock the door on our way out in the morning, but leave the key inside the door. They are so very trusting.


Before the day flies by, our first stop is the Egyptian Museum adjacent to the Residence. They claim it is the only museum in the world to focus entirely on Egyptian art. Having been to Egypt, this is an incredible declaration on their part, forcing us to investigate their honestly. The generic museum brochure states offers that the collection is an overview of all period of history, with dazzling exhibits. Truly, once we entered, we were dazzled and beyond. The exhibits were breathtaking. So many pieces were magnificently intact, boggling one's mind as to how they could stay so well preserved over all of these centuries. 


Having sensory overload, we needed a coffee; Ron suggested heading to a location our host had suggested a few tram stops away. Once we arrived, it took about 2 minutes to realize we were back at the same neighborhood where Ouida the beer house server worked. Walking around the area, but in a different direction, we found some places to browse, but did not stop for long. Museums generally open at 10am and close by 5pm, especially on Saturdays, so there was not a lot of time to waste. Hopping on another tram, we were headed to the Deutsches Museum. This is advertised as one of the largest and most important collections of technological and natural science items in the world. Yet, on the way, we discovered a quaint looking little bookstore that had all of the sensory appeal of days gone by where you wanted to hang around and browse through the books. With a wall of English books, this was entirely possible for us to do and picked up a couple of titles. Interestingly, these were new books, but they were cheaper than what we normally pay for used books back in Hungary. It is a conundrum as to why.


After regaining our senses redirecting us to our original target, we found the museum just a block away. Advertising for the establishment suggests that the exhibits are presented in a scientifically clear and entertaining way. The place is expansive and this is the only museum where they asked me to fill out a short form after presenting my Press Pass, which allowed me free entry. That alone gave me a sense of obligation to enjoy myself. At this, I was a miserable failure regardless of my best efforts. I love technology, but only enjoy science. The scales are tipped heavily for technology, yet this is in the area of computers, cameras, and other things I can envision myself using. Machinery for dairy production does not fit into that category, nor does counting the types of nebular clouds. My immediate reaction is “Get me out of here and fast”. I blame my blood sugar level; the cafeteria was closed and I was starving. Reminds me I still need to get the results of my diabetes test.


In search of a coffee shop, we wandered into one that looked cozy enough. After seating ourselves and doing the panoramic view of the premises, we realized there were only 3 men in the place if you counted us. There was a distinct air about the women surrounding us; they were really friendly to each other. It didn't take long for the light switch in my brain to flip on. This was a thespian coffee shop. Oh, forget that, they were not acting, this was for real. This was a lesbian hotspot, though we were not treated like aliens, so we stayed. If we ever return to Munich, this is on our return to list. Melcher’s Café at Buttermelcherstrasse 21 (Telephone: 24-243-705). 


Learning our lesson from last night, we knew if we wanted to eat at Moro’s, we would need reservations. That ticked off of the list, we hit the stores for some clothes shopping and then back to the apartment to drop off the sacks of goods. After trying the computer once again, it seemed to be working fine, but there were too many days to catch up on; it would all have to wait in line with all of the other “to do” list items. 


Dinner at Moro’s was all we were led to believe it would be. The service was excellent as was the food. I had my heart set on the pumpkin soup as soon as I Google translated it on my phone, but alas it was not meant to be. They ran out. The guy sitting next to me received the last portion. I was tempted to dip my spoon, but he was younger and stud-lier than I, giving me pause. We chose Thai chicken soup instead. Ron’s pork steak and my sauerbraten something style were both declared the best dinners we had this trip. Huge portions besides. 


On the way back, we decided to have a drink at the Teddy Bar. Being this was a gay bar, our impression and what our host told us was that this was a bear bar. For the uninitiated, a bear bar is for those who are the hairy male version of Rubenesque as well as for their admirers. Out hosts told us they thought the bar had closed down, but we found lights on prompting us to give it a shot. Shock would have been better. A gay bar, yes, but nary a bear to be found. This type of gay bar is what is whimsically categorized as a wrinkle room or rather a conference hall for gay septuagenarian and octogenarian gay men. I was the youngest one in there by 2 decades. 


Prior to entering, we had looked over the menu posted and had decided to have Fernet menta, an Italian herbal digestive. I grew up on regular Fernet, which is similar to the German Jägermeister or the Hungarian Unicum. I tried to order Fernet saying it the Italian way, but was only served a “HUH?” Trying again with a little less ancient, still only bartender grunts. The third time was less accented, but with more determination at which a chorus of patrons shouted out “FERNET”! To our ears, the sounds were identical, but perhaps they had to adjust their hearing devices for the first two rounds of requests. We sat for a while sipping our drink talking, but no a soul spoke to us. My thinking is that when this group was in school, learning a foreign language meant Latin or ancient Greek. Disappointed at not seeing a single bear, we went back to our apartment to pack for tomorrow.

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Germany - Munich

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Between Nymphenburg and a Hard Rock

Ron indulged in an excessive breakfast compared to his norm; it was not surprising that shortly thereafter, he was back in bed with as stomach ache. I blame it on our hosts who were back home. They put out quite a spread, none of which I ate due to my diet. I treated myself later at the market.

The primary trek for today was the Nymphenburg Palace, where King Ludwig II was born.  It was relatively easy to reach by public transport, but we made a mistake taking tram 16/17, which at one point changed to tram 11. We had to backtrack and get a tram 16 for the rest of the route. There is a stop right by the palace, which is set back from the road making for a breathtaking view. 

The palace sits within a park of 490 acres. There are two lakes with multiple dozen swans, geese, and ducks. It is the most enormous building I have seen. If you were allowed to tour the entire building, it would take you a minimum of two complete days. It was originally built in 1675 for the then electorate and his wife, the predecessors of kings. With each generation it was added to, creating the pavilions Amalienburg, Badenburg, Pagodenburg, and the Magdalenenklause. We toured the main building, which was plenty. Baroque, baroque, baroque everywhere baroque. This has never been my cup of tea. Even here, it seems so overdone.


It was funny that Ludwig's father had a "Room of Beautiful Women", where he had portraits done of any woman he considered the pinnacle of beauty. Although there were no blondes or redheads, his taste really ran the gamut.


Museum entrance also provides admission to the Marstallmuseum, which is the collection of the royal carriages and sleighs.  The first impression was that this would be less interesting than the inside of the palace. Not true. It was pretty incredible how those royals indulged in finery for their carriages and sleighs. Since Ludwig II was a bit light in loafers, he could not have a "Room of Beautiful Women", so not to be outdone by his father, he had a "Room of his favorite horses". Like his father, they ran the gamut to.


All the way back to town, we scoured the streets looking for computer stores. It seemed that I would need to replace my netbook and thought it may be easier here in Germany finding an English keyboard than it would be in Hungarian or getting someone to bring it over from the US. The first problem was in finding a computer store. They are as rare as King Ludwig's list of girlfriends. After looking for block after block we finally found one. No luck with the keyboard, but then I had an idea. I could use an external keyboard. That they did have in English, but only one, which was made for a PDA, but was USB. The package was slightly scarred the salesman said. It was 9 Euros so I bought it feeling good that I would soon be typing away once again.


When we returned, I hooked up the computer, checked the regular keyboard, which was still not working.  I plugged in the new keyboard and Windows showed that it was installed and ready to go. Nothing. It did not work, period. No, not even the period worked. Checking the directions it seems there should have been a disk that contained the drivers necessary for the thing to operate, but that was missing. It didn't really matter as a netbook has no CD/DVD drive anyway, so it would have been useless. But then how does a PDA use it, through a computer connection? I found the website for the manufacturer, which happens to be in Maryland. Darn if I could find anywhere on their site to download drivers. Not to be found. I started to contact their support line, but then it occurred to me that the reason I had this damn thing was because I couldn't fully use the keyboard to type anyway. It took me a good fifteen minutes just getting the URL in the browser. Well, so much for being able to type.


Ron and I collect Hard Rock pins. BUT, we only collect them from places we have traveled to, making for an emotional connection. Sometimes we have had to acquire them after the fact. For example, we had the daughter of a friend bring us one from Peru, because when we were in Lima, there was no Hard Rock. The Munich Hard Rock is not grandiose, but very comfortable, so we stayed for dinner. There were enough oldies being played for us to be able to reminisce and stroll down memory lane.

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Germany - Munich

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These Feet Are Made for Walking

Sure we have a breakfast opportunity at the place where we are staying, but the market is so inviting. Just off of Marienplatz, one will find a large outdoor market where vendors are selling goodies that range from farm fresh produce to the cutest little straw animals you can imagine. In the center of all of this is the Maypole, suitably decorated with steins of beer, pretzels, and other Bavarian treasures. Off to the side of the open-air market is a more sumptuous upper scale place to tickle your senses. There are cheese shops, bakeries, chocolate and wine shops all presenting their wares worthy of salivating over. Yes, I went off my diet for a chocolate croissant and a coffee. It was worth every morsel; the flaky crust was buttery rich and the chocolate was as thick as a candy bar. I could hear my waist expanding with every bite.


Next it was time for a culture stop at the Muchner Stadtmuseum. Unassuming from the outside, inside it is like a playground for adults. The top floor is filled with displays of puppets and marionettes to stir childhood memories as well as transport you to lands of fancy. The museum has a special exhibit for Munich's 850th anniversary called "Typically Munich". Every floor was chock full of fabulous things and they allowed photos. Needless to say, we were there for hours. Across the driveway is a Socialist Museum, included in the entrance fee. There was not much translated in English here and after letting our children out to play, it was not so pleasant an experience. Admission is 6 Euros for adults, 3 for seniors. I entered for free with my press pass.


Ron had forgotten his camera, so we went back for it before heading to the Grand Square at Keonigplatz. Entering this square is like being transported to Rome with tremendous buildings with sturdy columns on each side and a massive stone gate at one end. We have no idea what any of them are for, but the architecture is impressive. As much so is the modern and cozy student put at the end of the street where we stopped for a beer. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!


The next stop was the Neue Pinakothek Museum. Each evening, a different museum is open until 8pm. which is a lovely way to fit in a couple of visits in one day without liquifying our brain by the end of the day. Admission is 9 Euros, but 5 for seniors and free with a press pass. The majority of works are German artists, but there were Manets, Picassos, and other masters that everyone would recognize. They allow photos too without a flash, so I had a ball doing micro pictures. Rather than take a photo of a whole painting, I would photograph small sections. As I did this, I created captions in my head and had myself quite entertained, though the others were uncertain why I kept guffawing out loud. Once I have the photos up in the other blog, you will see what I mean. We closed the museum at 8pm, which is about all that we close these days. Long gone are the days when we could close a bar.


For dinner, we returned to the old Bavarian style restaurant at the end of our street. One of the young waitresses there speaks excellent English, her service is superb and the food is excellent.


Returning to our home from home, I couldn't cry over spilled milk, but I could over spilled tea. The netbook is still not working.

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Germany - Munich

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Remembering the Past

If you are a regular reader, you will know that on November 1, as I was having breakfast in Munich, I dropped an entire cup of tea on my netbook keyboard. This was not any ordinary tea either. It was Grippe Akut, an herbal mix for colds that looks like it is meant to scare the germs right out of your system. It was that darkish purply-red that you imagine a vampire would have if they didn’t wipe their mouth on their coat sleeve.

At first I blamed myself for the misadventure, but after thinking about it, I am blaming the teacup industry. There is nothing in the gender studies manuals that say that tea is only for dainty little fingers or hands. Yet the teacup saucer we were provided barely extended beyond the rip of the cup, making it difficult for manly hands to grapple with. Well, I do have slender hands, a contradiction to the rest of me, but even I was barely able to hold the saucer with so little to grab onto. As I was moving it from one side to the other, vroom, and the cup did a swan dive right on the keyboard. With napkins at hand, I soaked them to within a fiber of their existence.
 
It seemed I was going to be in the market for a new netbook, but after six days of letting it dry out, the keyboard finally starting function properly. Until then, the information it produced could have provided me with a nifty side career as a code transmitter. Too bad the Cold War is over, but maybe I could contract with cheating spouses.

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Germany - Munich

Generally, I don't cross post my photos, but the Munich photos are an exception.

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It's About Time

Well, I have been taking some time off, but only because I am gearing up for the next great explosion of posts brought to you from Munich, Germany. We are leaving tomorrow by train for a relaxing and might I add less expensive trip than if by air. Our scheduled return is November 7th in the evening, so I will be blogging along the way.  Photos will have to come later, as my netbook doesn't have a photo reader and I just don't want to carry the external one with me.

In anticipation for all of this fun and excitement I have been keeping busy otherwise. I have been dong a lot of running lately. I had to run to the house doctor who had me run to the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist, who had me run to get a CT scan. Then when I ran back to the house doctor, she said my sugar levels were high so she wanted me to run over to the hospital for a glucose tolerance test. I thought exercise was good for maintaining sugar levels.

So I ran over to the hospital after running to the pharmacy for my glucose powder. I had to go equipped with the powder, water, and a bottle to mix it. My friend Lazslo went with to keep me company. I wasn't looking forward to this as the last time I went, the phlebotomist attacked my arm like it was a snake ready to attack her. After getting stabbed with the needle,  I had a bruise the size of California. 

When I went into the room, it was a different woman that motioned for me to sit in the chair. She smiled and said soothing things that I didn't understand, which really could have been anything. She could have been pouring her heart out or calling me a dirty rotten buzzard, but a smile makes all the difference. There are certain times when events make me think of my mother. This is one of those times. One of her favorite monologues was "What do you want from me, blood? Here's my arm. Go ahead, drain me dry." So very Italian, go for the jugular of guilt right off so everyone backs off fast. My blood was drained, I had to drink the sugary goop, and then sit still for two hours. This was here Lazslo was a real help in passing the time. 

After the two hours passed, I had to get jabbed again. The nice lady was gone. The Budapest thrasher from the last time was back. She gave me a smile, drawing me into a false sense of security, and then started in on her Anthony Perkins impression of Psycho. Thrash, thrash, thrash. My arm looks like a long eggplant.

The results of the test were supposed to be back to my house doctor by Thursday, but I haven't gone back yet. Why spoil a vacation? Yesterday, I went for the CT scan. That test result will not be back until next week, so I will get both when we return and Munich is just a pleasant memory.

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Where is the Logic?

No country would disagree that they are not actively romancing the tourist trade luring tourist wallets to their region. Yet, conversely, it seems many of these places try to squeeze every cent (Euro or US) from you in the process. 


Germany started a controversial air emission tax on all outbound flights in Germany. This came into play at the beginning of 2011. Add to the mix, the additional distance based fees of up to €45 per flight in conjunction with all of the airline fees that suddenly appear after you hit the BUY THIS button. Talk about sticker shock. How many times have we been so emotionally invested by that point that we just say 'to hell with it' and pay the exorbitant fees anyway?


It doesn't stop with the airlines in Germany either. Cologne was the first city in Germany to introduce a bed tax. Gaining popularity, over fifty other German cities are considering the same option.  


Business travelers to destinations such as Barcelona or Rome are finding extra fees have been added to their hotels passed off as an accommodation charge, but it can reach up to €3 per night. If a taxi was not a luxury before, it may well be now with an increase in taxi fares of up to €10 per a ride. They will take you for a ride alright, both literally and metaphorically. Neither of these charges are relegated solely to the business traveler, so fatten your wallet before arriving. And the US is not off the hook either. In September 2010 the US introduced an entry fee $14 per person to enter the country.


While covering tourism news, this report just came out. Hotel revenue in Hungary was the lowest in Europe during January. Of all of Hungary, Budapest came in at the bottom of the list. Once they tally the figures, it will probably be the same for February. You can tell that the tourism arena is hurting when you can go to Heroes Square multiple times a week at differing times and find it sparsely populated other than a few skateboarders. 

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Underground News

Having quit just in time, the Budapest city council has officiated a ban on smoking in all of Budapest's underpasses from July 18, 2010. Those caught could be fined up to Ft 30,000.Of course whether or not anyone will uphold the law to impose the fine or bother collecting it will be up for grabs. What has always amused me was that you were able to smoke in the underground up to the line where the metro area was designated. That was off limits. 

In other underground news, it seems that the elevators that were used in Metro 2 construction had a MADE IN CHINA label attached with a Made in Germany sticker covering it up. The problem is that the funds for the reconstruction were from EU pots of gold, where the law clearly states all products must be EU constructed. Ooopah!

Back in the sunshine or rather cloudy skies above, here is one article that makes some sense Let us count the 14 ways the new government could revitalize Budapest from Realdeal.hu. The key word being could, not will, but more like not going to happen.

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Photo Fiasco

I took over two hundred pictures and downloaded them to the computer. I separated Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin into three different folders to do a batch rename. I used a program I have used hundreds of times in the past and started with the Berlin pictures. Tragedy struck. They all disappeared. It still is not clear to me how or why it happened, but they were all deleted somewhere. I did a desktop search, a deleted folder search, an attempt at undoing the previous commands, but nothing worked. I downloaded three different photo recovery programs and searched both the computer and the memory card from the camera, but they were not to be found. There was one lone survivor of over 78 photos of Berlin. Strangely and coincidentally, the only photo to survive was one of the Holocaust Memorial.

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Back to Berlin

We left Dresden this morning to return to Berlin. As you may have inferred from my writing, this trip did not enthrall me like trips of the past. I think there are two reasons for this. Ron is leaving for the States for three weeks shortly after we return home. This is a gray cloud hovering overhead and the other is that he planned too much in too short a time. We have spent a lot of time on trains coming and going.

Berlin is an exciting city, though my best memories are from before the wall came down. There was a tension and excitement of being there and feeling the danger that increased the senses. However, we have been many times since then, because it is full of wonder. This trip, the city was in the last minute stages of preparation for the World Cup. We stayed at a self-catering apartment called Colorfield. When one sees the apartment, it is appropriately named. The colors are charmingly mixed and the bedroom had a huge sumptuous bed.

As we wandered the city, evidence of Football Mania could not go unnoticed. In front of the Brandenburg Gate, there was a giant soccer ball. All of the souvenir shops had soccer memorabilia obliterating the usual Berlin tokens. If one were not a soccer fan, there was no hope in getting a keepsake void of sports.

As pathetic as it may be, there are things American that I long for the longer I am out of the States. A good bagel and a donut are two of them. Berlin has a Dunk’in Donuts and I had to stop. They offer a delicious bagel sandwich that was more than a treat; it was ecstasy for the deprived taste buds. Ron made fun of my need until he saw the sandwich sitting in front of me and then indulged himself.

The one sight that is worth mentioning is the Holocaust Memorial. The last time we were here, it was still in construction. When I first saw the completed creation, I thought it was a waste of space, money, and an insult to the ideals it was meant to honor. A grand square block is filled with rectangular, dark depression moon gray solid blocks of varying heights. They are set in rows that have paths through both horizontally and vertically. The paths are undulating, so as you walk you are rising and descending amongst these massive columns. I set off walking, while Ron took off in another direction. I was ready to continue to criticize this monumental failure as I walked, but something transformed me as I did. With each step of disappearing behind extremely high columns and reappearing with the shorter ones, I gained a sense of walking, wakeful meditation. I felt a peace surround me. Each column then represented a person from the Holocaust each telling their own story as I walked by their life path, sharing with me their tale of sorrow. In some aisles, I was all alone while in others I could see another at a distance, many columns away. I felt a connection with these strangers as we listened to what secrets were being shared. While deep in thought, I heard the sounds of a child running and laughing. My first reaction was to criticize the parents for letting a child play in this honorable space. A moment later, my thinking transposed those thoughts to the sounds of laughter of children who innocently lost their lives for unconscionable reasons through no fault of their own. The child’s hullabaloo then became a song of praise and homage for those young ones who never reached their full potential. I was deeply moved.

We have an early flight tomorrow and return to Budapest by 11:00 am.

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Back to Dresden

This is a short trip, so we do not have a lot of time for Dresden. We return to Berlin this evening. It is still icy chilly and we need gloves for comfort. Ron insists on making the most of the time, so we walk all over the city and take public transport when necessary.

In spite of the bombing in WWII, there are still many highlights in this city. The Baroque Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady is one of them. It is a Protestant sandstone church built in the 18th century, but was leveled during the war. A 12 year reconstruction project was undertaken at the cost of $160 million to bring it back to its original appearance. This was completed in October 2005. Architects and historians were able to piece together the original bricks that were still useable using archives and photos to put them in their original places. The church looks spotted as a result. The dark fire burned bricks stand out from the new replacement bricks surrounding them, giving the church a sense of resurrection or a phoenix rising from the ashes. Of the original stones, 8,425 were salvaged to be part of the reconstruction.

In the same area is a long wall with a 100-meter long porcelain mosaic called Fürstenzug. It is the ‘Procession of the Dukes’ displaying the rulers of Saxony. Nearby is the Semperoper opera house. It was built by Gottfried Semper, thus its name, in the mid-19th century. It is said to be one of Germany's finest examples of neo-renaissance architecture. Fire destroyed it in 1869 and again in 1945. The current building is an exact replica of the original.

The river Elbe runs through the city and divides it in two. We walked over the bridge a few times and enjoyed the views from both sides.

One of the most amazing sights for us was the Zwinger. This amazing complex was commissioned by Augustus II (the Strong), the elector of Saxony and king of Poland due to his passion for collecting paintings, sculpture, antiquities, but especially porcelain. His collection included 14,500 pieces of porcelain from China and Japan. He established the porcelain factory at Meissen in 1710. Augustus admitted his passion for porcelain was his maladie de porcelaine (porcelain sickness).

Augustus began to build the Zwinger in 1711. It resembles a palace and can easily be mistaken for one. The architect Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann designed it. The Zwinger was destroyed during World War II and partly reconstructed in 1952 and 1963. Now it is fully reconstructed and restored, displaying the famous porcelain collection.
This evening, we take the train back to Berlin.

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Leipzig For the Day

Rene is quite the host. The breakfast was incredible with large assortments of rolls, jellies, cheeses, meats, and yogurts. After a filling breakfast, we left for the train station to go to Leipzig for the day. The ride is about 1:15.

Leipzig had the largest Hauptbahnhof in Europe until Berlin usurped it. This seems to be the trade fair capital of Germany and an important city for such throughout Europe dating back centuries. What we did not know was that Leipzig was having a Goth festival. As we were walking and admiring the beautiful architecture, there were many other sights to see walking along side of us.

For music lovers, which I do not count amongst the many, Leipzig is where Johann Sebastian Bach lived for a good part of his life and was the Kantor in the Thomaskirche. He is buried in the choir with the Bach archives across the street. Felix Mendelssohn headed the Gewandhaus Orchestra and founded the first conservatory in Germany. Richard Wagner was born here, receiving his musical training here. This city also boasts Germany’s first stock exchange.

The tourist office is always Ron’s first stop when we reach any destination and this time was no different. While he was drilling the attendant with questions inside, I was speaking with the unfortunate one who pulled the outside duty. I asked her if it was always this cold in early June. She said that she and her colleague were discussing this this morning. The reports are that due to global warming, the polar caps are melting causing a cold front to come through Europe, making this a very unusual summer. Her teeth were chattering as she related this information.

We spent the day here before taking the train back to Dresden. I could have spent more time here. The architecture is amazing and the city is lovely. The Goth distractions were both welcomed and annoying. Annoying since I wanted to snap as many pictures of them as I did the city itself, but time was limited. However, they were entertaining.

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Germany - Dresden

For some reason I have yet to discover, I have been resistant to writing about our trip to Germany a couple of weeks ago. I am not certain why, but it could have been the weather that had a grave affect on my mood. We took budget airline EasyJet to Berlin. Though the budget airlines have been a boon to air travel, the cost has more than doubled over the last year purportedly due to gas prices.
We arrived at Schoenefeld airport in a timely manner. The metro to the city is conveniently located a couple of blocks away under a protective covering for inclement weather. Within a half hour, we were in the heart of Berlin, but our travel had not ended there.

We immediately went to the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof, now the largest train station in Europe boasting five levels of tracks, shops, restaurants, and services. It was built on land that was once bisected by the Berlin Wall, making it a symbolic gesture of uniting the city. We took a train from here to Dresden using a ticket booked online and printed out with a barcode.

Arriving in evening into Dresden, we walked to the B and B we booked. It was about three blocks from the station. However, Ron wrote down the wrong name for the buzzer and the name he had was not on any bell. He started pressing buzzers one by one to ask if they knew of a B and B in the building. By the fourth attempt, our host came to greet us at the door.
We stayed with Rene Müller at Mary-Wigman-Str. 19, Dresden (reneaglaser@aol.com). Looking at the e-mail, I can see why Ron was looking for a Rene Glaser on the doorbells. Rene has a very nice comfortable room, but we just dropped our things and went to walk the city in the twilight.

Being Saturday evening, there was not much open other than restaurants and bars, but it was lovely seeing the city at this time of day. The streets were crowded with tourists and residents strolling and chatting in various languages. What struck us the most was that it was COLD. We both had liners under our coats, but we could have used gloves and scarves too. The outdoor restaurants all had their heatalators on to keep the hungry crowds warm enough to sit through a meal.

Dresden was once called the “Florence on the Elbe” being one of Europe’s architectural and artistic highlights. However, much of it was bombed during WWII and much of the city was not much more than a rubble heap. On February 13, 1945, 800 British aircraft showered the city with 2,600 tons of bombs. The Americans followed the next morning with 300 Flying Fortress bombers. It is estimated that 25,000 people were killed, while 13 square miles of the historic city center were destroyed. With temperatures rising to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, the burning city was visible to pilots from 100 miles away. Dresden was a central hub for the Nazi’s and the city remained loyal to them, hence its destruction.

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