Tell, tell!! I'm dying to know - how was your Easter trip?
Well, if you really want to know, I'll tell you.
Nicole and Jeremy of Berlin invited us for the Easter break. Well, why not?? It's holiday and classes, such as they are, are cancelled and it was time for a little trip. Off we went!
Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) makes it easy. Book early, get a discount, upgrade to First Class for about 10€ more and just sit back and enjoy. Really, it costs less than gas for our car.
We arrived, got into our apartment and immediately headed over to our hosts' for dinner - greeted first by aromas of garlic and rosemary. The lamb had been roasting over the potatoes and infused them with all the wonderful flavors of the lamb - a sensual and visual treat! It does not go without saying that the company was fantastic!
Next day, before brunch, we toured the Kreuzberg, a park and memorial erected to commemorate the victory over Napoleon (1812-1814). There are so many green spaces in the city, more often than not a surprise in such a crowded area. People were setting up Easter Egg hunts for the little kids!
Then Easter Brunch and another feast for the eyes and palate. Griet, a mutual friend, joined us for smoked pork in puff pastry, colored eggs, fruit, pecan sticky cake (!!!!) and of course some chocolate. Kitty thought she had a place at the table, but she was mistaken!
After the feast, Jeremy and Nicole took us to the Wannsee, a lake on the outskirts of Berlin where many prominent people had/have summer homes, among them the German Impressionist painter Max Lieberman. His summer house (and all his other properties) were confiscated by the Nazis after his death and only recently re-purchased by the Max Liebermann Society and restored.
The setting is lovely, the show of his works was a delight, and the gardens were a joy.
Day next: Ausflug. "Out-flight" in bad German, but you get the idea -- getting out of the city. What an interesting day! Jeremy and Nicole picked us up at 8:30 and off we went. Our first stop was unplanned -- and although Jeremy doesn't seem to tolerate schedule changes so verrry well, -- we enjoyed looking at the Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow. That's a mouthful - it's the Ship Hoist of Niederfinow where the level of the man-made shipping canal drops by 36 meters (approx. 120 feet), and the ships are LOWERED (or lifted as the case may be) in an artificial basin/elevator from one level to the other. AMAZING engineering.
Next, the Cloister of Chorin, a Cistercian monastery founded in the 13th century but long since secularized (or neutered) and now a well-preserved ruin. Of course it's lovely and quiet and calming. There happened to be a little festival going on and it was easy to imagine such festivals in earlier times.
Then we went to the walled town of Templin. It sounds Medieval, a walled town, and it is, though these walls were a bit later. Nevertheless more than impressive.
Time with Nicole and Jeremy was great, but life is life and the next day was a regular day and they had work and other obligations, so we were on our own. We opted for - what do you think?? - another palace. Really. This time Sansouci in Potsdam, the summer palace of Fredrick the Great, where he entertained Voltaire among others - but not his wife, who lived in one of the other palaces. What a surprise that they remained childless.
But we enjoyed the palace, and the day and our wonderful Ausflug to Berlin. Hope it comes again soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment