Berlin, Germany’s capital, dates back to the 13th century. Still lots of old architecture around and heaps of work around the city in restoration effort. Loved the William Humboldt statue ( lots of character in that face), a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat and founder of Berlin’s Humboldt University. Reminders of the city’s turbulent 20th-century history, include its Holocaust memorial
and the East Side Berlin Wall’s graffitied remains.
The most famous image is Dmitri Vrubel’s, “My God, Help Me Survive This Deadly Love”, which depicts Brezhnev and Germany’s Honecker in a fraternal embrace, that was captured from a moment in a 1979 photo during the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic! 
Divided during the Cold War, its 18th-century Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of reunification.
Then the boat cruise along the Spree river yielded these pics….
Saw John Paul Gaultier’s revue extravaganza tonight @ Friedrichstrasse Palast. “I have dreamed of working on a revue, ever since I was a little boy”, Gaultier is a global superstar of the Parisian haute couture. It was he who designed the 500 daring and extravagant costumes in this revue. Roland Welke’s production was lavish and ‘Arty’ to the extreme….Cirque de Soleil meets Burlesque. In fact a few ex -CdeS performers were in this show! The show had more than 100 artists, a production budget of more than eleven million euros; Europe’s most elaborate show. Brian Friedman, choreographer; Bazaliy sisters and Dariya Vintilova (all ex Cirque) from the Ukraine, wowed everyone with their trapeze acts. Swiss artist Brigitte Oelke and Jamaican singer Kedeisha McPherson had knock out voices! Cyr wheel and aerial hoop daredevil Nora Zoller enthralled. It was a great night…5 encores from the audience. 
A light day today, not feeling great with cold. Pared down to 2 events.
shroom omlette with dill sauce.
And unfortunately I had to go at interval, I was struggling to suppress my cough despite drugs – didn’t want to splurt a cough in the midst of a Verdi overture….
The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is the largest medieval brick fortress in the world measured by land area.
d 1190 to aid Christians in the Holy Land and in the Baltics in the Middle Ages, and to establish hospitals. “To help, defend and heal”was their motto.
Poles and Germans have fought wars for centuries but the origins of Malbork castle display a rare example of their military cooperation – albeit one that backfired. In this case, a 13thC Polish prince, Konrad Mazowiecki, asked the Knights to help his soldiers defeat the Prussians, a Baltic people who blocked Poles access to the sea. The Knights moved their headquarters out of Venice and set out to convert or kill thousands of Prussians. By the early 14thC they were ruling their own expanding state from Malbork, fighting both the Prussians and Poles who finally defeated them at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.
To explore the whole site inside and outside would take days…I had time to experience the large high square castle within the ramparts – comprising meeting halls, huge wooden doors on draw bridges, cloisters, refectory, sleeping quarters, chapel, rose garden – different levels of the castle being linked by internal steep and somewhat hidden stone and wooden staircases, quite a rabbit warren. But ably guided around by my GPS enabled audio guide that switched its description depending on the passageway or room I entered. Amazing technology.
You must be logged in to post a comment.