A few nights back we reunited with the Ostermanns, the family Marthese lived with when she studied in Germany at age 15. They’re on holiday here in Berlin, so we got to celebrate Matthias’ birthday dinner with them, and today tagged along on a trip to The Spreewald – a tourist destination popular amongst Germans rather than internationals.

The Spreewald is a forest town around 100km out of Berlin towards the Polish border, and is basically a small rural village built around 200 channels of water. Much like Venice, a boat is necessary to navigate. But unlike Venice’s grand sprawl, the riverside of the Spreewald is sparsely populated with quaint homes, farmhouses and restaurants to cater to the steady stream of tourists.

We spent the day on a small boat being rowed by a cheery German man with a thick Spreewaldian accent giving us occasional and hilarious commentary (I had no idea what he was saying but I laughed when all the Germans laughed). When we weren’t chatting with the Ostermanns, we were drifting tranquilly down the stream as birds and ducks called all around us and the sun broke through the tall trees. Once again, Germany manages to feel like a fairytale.

Our captain: “Have a good day, have a good trip, and if I don’t see you before then, have a good Christmas.”

Wonderful hosts – the Ostermanns

Wiebke & Marthese

Fans of Goodbye Lenin might recognise Spreewald Gherkins, and after trying them I can totally understand why they were the gherkin staple of East Berlin – delicious!

Our lunch stop and best schnitzel I’ve had yet. Schnitzel mit Spargel (asparagus, which is everywhere in Germany at the moment!)

Today was such a treat and the Ostermanns were over-generous hosts who we owe a million favours when they finally make it to Australia. We bid them farewell, except for Wiebke, who joined Marthese for a short shopping spree (no wald) while I snuck off to inhale another currywurst.

Click here for more photos from Berlin Day 3.

Click here for all photos from Berlin.

One of my pet guilty pleasures is the dreadful rock ballad “Wind of Change” by German heavy metal band The Scorpions. But the title’s sentiment rang particularly true today as we walked through Berlin, a city of dramatically changing landscapes, politics and identities. Our studio apartment is in former East Berlin, and we followed the contrasting architecture (bland utilitarian Eastern apartment Blocks opposite newly constructed shopping complexes) and the friendly Ampelmen on our walk to the Reichstag.

We love you, Ampelman!

Marthese & The Reichstag

For the last time this trip, we fired up Rick Steves’ Europe app and listened as he lectured on the Reichstag’s long history, a memorial to executed dissenting politicians from the Nazi era, and the division of post-war Berlin culminating in the construction of the Berlin Wall. We followed the trail of the now removed wall to the Brandenburg Gate, which Marthese says is much smaller than she remembered it 12 years ago. This 18th century triumphal construction has seen the rise of Prussia, the unification of Germany, 2 world wars, division from the west during the cold war, and the eventual blossoming of a renewed Berlin as the nation’s capital again.

Brandenburg Gate

At every step of the walk, we saw Berlin’s constantly evolving identity, and its bold attempts to create a new one. A huge memorial to holocaust victims sits solemnly in the middle of town, while Hitler’s bunker is filled with concrete and marked only with a simple sign in front of a residential block. The whole city feels like it is in a constant state of construction, with new buildings rising and old buildings being restored, all with equal fervour. The side streets show an arts scene of a whole new generation marking out their own Berlin identities.

Holocaust memorial

Site of Hitler’s bunker

We walked some of the major city streets, and popped into the Berlin City Museum for a brief look at the city from the 18th century to the fall of the wall. One of the most memorable parts of the walk was near here, in Bebelplatz, home to Humboldt University where Marx, Engels, Einstein, Bismarck, Hegel, the Brothers Grimm and many more all attended. This square was where the infamous book burnings of 1933 took place, and there is a touching artworks of empty shelves visible through a perspex floor in the centre of the square.

Beneath main strip Unter den Linden, in a train station with tiling unchanged since the 30’s thanks to its disuse during Cold War.

Marthese makes a fine East Berlin wife.

“Mein Gott! My wife will kill me!”

Bebelplatz

Memorial to victims of war

Museum Island took us back in time again, with Wilhelm I’s impressive Berlin Cathedral towering over the Altes Museum, where Hitler gave speeches and rallied troops and citizens in the large square. Heading further into Eastern Berlin territory, we followed the huge TV Tower, the closest thing the communists had to a religious steeple, and appropriately we bumped into Marx and Engels on the way.

Berlin Cathedral

Marx & Engels approve of Marthese’s jacket colour choice

3 bearded men responsible for popular hipster document “The Beard Manifesto”

Time changes everything – clock and TV Tower from Alexanderplatz

The chilly Berlin air drove us home, but the forecast is good for the coming days, so we’ll be out to explore more on tomorrow.

Click here for more photos from Berlin Day 2.

Click here for all photos from Berlin.

Guest blog today by my lovely WIFE – Marthese! Enjoy.

Today, on our first full day in Berlin, and faced with cold, wet weather, we did a load of laundry, and bought a pair of shoes. Also of note, I drank 5 cups of chamomile tea.

Even so, I’m having a pretty good day. Berlin is an absolutely marvellous city.

I first came to Berlin as a 15 year old, and had always wanted to come back. I remembered the Ampelmen (special pedestrian crossing lights with cute outlines of men in hats), and the pubs (as I said, I was only 15, but the drinking laws were pretty lax), and the harrowing histories from different points in Germany’s past: ancient queens, the Third Reich and Checkpoint Charlie.

Coming here 12 years later, I love this city even more. Even though we’ve been restricted to pretty mundane activities during the 24 hours since we arrived, every street we walked down to find a laundromat or an ATM has had a great little cafe, art gallery or park.

I think I was worried that Germany was a selfish honeymoon destination – I adore the people, the culture and the language, even though my German is pretty rusty.

Neuschwanstein and Munich breweries laid rest to that concern, and have been further alleviated both by Elias’ discovery of the currywurst (I doubt a day will go by here without him buying some) and the fact that our lovely, quiet apartment is about 5 minutes walk from an ENTIRE ISLAND OF MUSEUMS!!

I can’t wait for the weather to improve so we can go check out some of the more touristy sights. Until then, we’re both really looking forward to spending time with the lovely Ostermann family – my hosts when I first came to this country. We’re meeting them for dinner tonight – I can’t wait!

Hanging out in a Berlin laundromat, being all married and gangsta!

Some random thoughts and things we hadn’t mentioned as our train takes us far from Bavaria:

– Politics in the street – on our first day in Munich we bumped into a minor rally for an anti-Islamic party. In the build-up to the European Union elections, we noticed a number of pop up information booths with passionate orators pointing accusingly from behind their megaphones at the young people with hand-written posters accusing the speakers of being Nazis. All these moments were fascinating, was quite exciting to see politics in the street.

– Bavarian people are mostly friendly – despite meeting more rude people here than in Paris, Tez and I both felt more comfortable in this city. Sitting outside in a beer hall next to complete strangers who just met sharing drinks – Munich has this wonderful community feel and we were never made to feel like outsiders.

– Dodgy alley – our hotel, Hotel Eder, was comfy and spacious, and very centrally located, we walked everywhere. On the downside it was located on a dodgy alley frequented by posturing young men sporting leather jackets and greasy hairstyles, and being quite loud and un-German. Won’t miss those guys.

– The Bavarian countryside and the extraordinary forest we’ve glimpsed through bus and train windows are a marvel. We’ll miss this.

I can’t remember feeling more relaxed than I’ve been in Munich, and I think Marthese was surprised at how quickly she fell in love with the town. We’ve made a formal agreement (over bier of course) to return with our children.

Stop, Mum, don’t call the priest! I’ll contextualise the title soon.

Our last full day in Munich, we decided against a day trip out of town (weather is a little hard to pick) so strolled across to the English Gardens where we spent most of our time watching the ducks and Germans surfing in some man-made waves in the river. I guess this is what you do when you have no real beaches.

Surf’s Up!

There were also naked people in the park. Not running around or walking their dogs (SO many dogs out today!), but mostly sunbathing on the spring grass. Our guide book had warned us of such occurrences being common to this park, but that didn’t stop Marthese from exclaiming “Good lord, is that a naked person?” and then laughing at our prudish Australian ways. Most of the naked people were old, so I thought I’d bring a touch of youth to the proceedings, stripping off to join them. Sadly compared to their smooth German bodies, my hirsute exterior made me look like I was wearing a fur coat in the sun.

Chill, Mum, I’m kidding! Mostly.

The Chinese Tower was a strange but nice little beer garden in the park, and we stopped for a tea and coffee. But the beer garden planted an idea in our mind, and we marched back across town to the Viktualienmarkt for beer and pretzels, and I tried my first ever White Sausage, a local speciality. Totally delicious. I want it everyday for the rest of my life.

Tea!

Coffee!!

Beer and delicious white sausage!!!

Beer and the saltiest giant pretzel ever!!!!

A little shopping around the excellent market (and an inevitable department store to buy me some shoes) was a relaxing way to spend our last day in Munchen. We’re gonna miss it!

Click here for more photos from Munich Day 5.

Click here for all photos from Munich.

After 3 days of uber-Bavarian excitement, Marthese decided she needed to spend the day in. I could relate, but the bargain hunter in me was tickled by the prospect of all the art museums costing 1 euro on Sundays. So off I went.

1. Alte Pinakothek – 14th – 19th century European art from everyone. More Leaonardos, Raphaels, Botticellis – if I hadn’t just been to the Louvre I would’ve been losing my mind! The interesting stuff happened when the art styles changed with the reformation; Protestant art adopting a more realistic style that put an emphasis on personal readings of the bible and a mistrust of Church leaders (Durer’s suspicious looking apostles was a fascinating piece) while Catholic art went to town with more baroque action and angel frenzy. Sadly a major wing was closed for renovations so I couldn’t check out a fair few rooms, no Rembrandt for me.

2. Neue Pinakothek – Picking up where the last museum left off, paintings from 1800 to 1920. The museum was excellently laid out, and by the end of it I started to feel the art fatigue kick in – there was SO MUCH! This was a good companion museum to the D’Orsay, covering a similar era, and with lots of similar artists featured (Van Gogh, Rodin, Monet, lots more). Obviously there was a strong collection of German art but the amount of other European artists on display was surprising.

3. Pinakothek der Moderne – I had no idea a place like this was in Munich. Picks up from the last museum, focusing on the 20th century, the Pinakothek der Moderne is a massive white building with large branching wings and huge spaces for all kinds of art to be displayed. After the Pompidou experience last week, this basically spun me into art overdose. More Dali, Picasso, Ernst and a bunch of peeps I’d never heard of, each wing of the museum was dedicated to different arts like photography, paintings, architecture, and the most unique being the “design” wing that ranged from cars to furniture to old computers (an Apple II beside an original IBM laptop beside 4 differently coloured Playstation 2’s). A really great art museum that I’d have loved to spend more time in, certainly worth a visit if you have time in Munich.

Worn out but pleased I got my 3 euros worth, I headed home in the lovely Spring weather. Am pretty sweet on Munich right now.

Click here for more photos from Munich Day 4.

Click here for all photos from Munich.

If I’m being completely honest, my true desire to visit Munich didn’t come from an interest in beer or pretzels. It all comes from my teenage obsession with the Gabriel Knight video game series, specifically The Beast Within, which is set in and around Munich, and centres on the Mad King/Fairytale King/Swan King/Moon King – King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Since the mid-90s I’ve dreamed of visiting his castle Neuschwanstein, and today this little fanboy got his wish. And I discovered that Ludwig himself was nothing more than another fanboy, building castles to hide himself away from the rest of the world.

We took a Gray Line bus tour through the incredible Bavarian countryside, leaving Munich and heading south towards the Alps.

The hills are alive!

Our first stop was Ludwig’s Linderhof castle, a small but perfectly preserved getaway for the reclusive King. The impressive and intricate interiors were revealing – this was a building designed for someone who wanted to be alone. All the decorations recall Ludwig’s obsession with Louis XIV of France and the castle was dedicated to the Sun King. While surrounding his bedroom with symbols of the Sun King, Ludwig named himself the Moon King.

Next stop was a quaint little Bavarian town called Oberammergau where we did a little shopping.

As we pulled into Howenschwangau, another town and home to Ludwig’s childhood family castle, I was kinda buzzing with nerdy excitement, annoying Marthese with lots of useless Ludwig facts. We ate a little lunch and then climbed up the hill to the main attraction…

Howeshwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle was as amazing in reality as I’d hoped, since staring at it in 800×600 resolution on an old CRT monitor. The castle truly embodied Ludwig’s desire to create his own fantasy world to escape his real life – escaping from his increasingly impotent rule, his conflict of faith and sexuality, and his increasingly eccentric and anti-social behaviour. Like Linderhof, Neuchswanstein contained no images of the King himself, but is decorated in intricate paintings of German mythology and Opera. In true fanboy fashion, he dedicated the Castle to his friend and obsession, Richard Wagner.

We could not take photos of the interiors, but they were remarkably preserved. The Germans do these attractions right – all movement through the castle must be as part of a tour which is scheduled and adhered to, and no photos allowed inside, making the crowds flow in a far more tolerable way than at other European attractions. The experience today could not be any further from the mad cluster of bodies inside Versailles.

On the bus back to Munich now, nearly 2 hours to go. Watching the countryside out the window, I wonder if Marthese and I will ever want to come home.

Click here for more photos from Munich Day 3.

Click here for all photos from Munich.

Marthese declared today that Munich might be her new favourite city in the world. I totally get why.

The thousand year old city exists both as a city of tradition and a city of progressive modern living. In a single day we celebrated Munich’s history by visiting the town halls and churches that populate the small but major city, we explored quaint village-style shopping markets, ventured through wonderful modern pedestrian streets with fancy shops occupying medieval buildings, and ended our day in a tranquil park which was formerly the garden of kings. And we did it all comfortably on foot.

We used Rick Steves’ audio tour, which he recommends doing in about 3 hours, but we took about 6, relishing our exploration of the city. We did too much to list but highlights included the wonderful Marienplatz and the dancing glockenspiel clock, the historic St Peter’s Church and the village vibe of Viktualienmarkt. Marthese’s highlight was certainly the chocolate paradise of Milka World, closely followed by a meal at a fancy all-vegetarian restaurant (revenge for my meat indulgences at yesterday’s beer hall). My highlight was discovering Ludwig II’s tomb just below St Michael’s Church!

Marienplatz Rathaus

OMG – MILKA WORLD!!!!

On our honeymoon, Marthese only has eyes for Oreo Cake

The Milka Cow. Where the Milka comes from.

Elias at the tomb of King Ludwig II of Bavaria

Marthese loves Munchen!

In the Residenz Museum, former home of the Bavarian Dukes and Kings

From left to right: Richard Wagner, King Ludwig II, A Very Happy Nerd

Click here for more photos from Munich Day 2.

Click here for all photos from Munich.

I LOVE GERMANY!

Train from Paris. 6 hours. Arrived in Munich. Lovely Hotel in the middle of Town.

Straight to a beer garden (biergarten). Augustiner-Keller. HUNDREDS of people! Had myself some spare ribs and beer, Tez had a cold pasta (sorry Tez!) but we both had an incredible time with the throng of afternoon Germans.

Then a walk around town. Then more Bier. Paulaner Munchen.

Auf Wiedersehen.