Sunday, January 15, 2012
Photos
The Internet connections at the last few places have been poor. I will post some more photos up in the next few days once we are home. Thanks for following us. It has made me reflect and be meta-cognitive about the writing process which will help me in teaching teachers and leaders about how to engage students in the writing process. This blog will also save you from having to listen to all our retelling of the trip. So when we start to bore you, you can say..." I read your amazing blog" and I promise you we will stop talking. LOL
REFLECTION 2
TRANSPORT:
By the time you read this we will be on our -12th and final plane trip and been in 5 countries since we left home. We have travelled on Thai, Swissair, Finnair, Lufthansa and now on our beloved Air New Zealand. We have travelled on 6 eurail trains between 4 European countries. And we have been on more tram and S and U Bahn rides than we can remember. The travelling time has allowed us to sit and reflect on the new experiences and also read and do some sleep catch up. We have never missed a ride and have become adept at reading platform signs and underground line routes as well as using pictures, numbers and arrows to aid our understanding.
ACCOMMODATION:
We have stayed in hotels and apartments and a cottage. We have realised that the same star rating does not mean you get the same level of accomodation. However all our places have had plusses. We have had 5 of us all in one room and we have been in two rooms. ATand KT have been gracious in sharing a double bed often even though one is more restless than the other. We have been lucky that all our accomodation has allowed us to access the sites easily.
WEATHER:
We have been very lucky with the weather. We had snow on the day we arrived and snow on the day we left. We had snow in Zurich, Garmisch and Rovaniemi and we have experienced being in temperatures from -23C to 5 C. We had a few days of rain but we could get out everyday. I wonder if I limit myself due to the weather at times. People in Europe tolerate colder temperatures and it was very common for them to be standing outside having a drink at a bar in snow. Restaurant and cafe owners still had outdoor seating and they provided a sheepskin on the seat and a rug for your knees. With your big coat, scarf, hats, gloves and boots you can survive outside for a long time, although I must admit riding the snow mobile at 60 km in -23C temps was cold. The coldest Lapland has had apparently is -50C! However inside all the places are HOT! The heating within the places is amazing. You only need a T shirt or light top and often we would have to open the window to let in some cool air so we didn't expire
LANGUAGE:
We continue to be embarrassed that we only speak one language. Many Europeans are multilingual. English only speakers expect everyone else to make an effort to understand them. Lack of language is a huge barrier and it makes you realise how loaded each of our words are and how people have different meaning loaded into words. It also gives you an empathy for immigrants to New Zealand who have no option but to speak English to succeed at anything in their new environment. It is the different understandings that cause the misunderstandings. I have also understood how colloquially we speak and how we understand collocations ( children at the end of year 4 need to have good understanding of collocations - National Standards in Literacy) e.g. please inform the driver when you see a suspicious thing and a suspicious person ( on Japanese bus...we would say...see something or someone suspicious ) . Also when Ben asked for a Large serving they did 't have any only big!
PEOPLE:
Whenever you travel it's the people who make it for you. The countless number of people who have served us graciously and always made an effort to try and understand our kiwi accent and language. People who have informed and entertained us as guides, freely giving of their knowledge and expertise and more often than not going out of their way to ensure we had a great experience. Thank you Thomas, Gary, Bernie, Walter and Curt and all the nameless others who helped us above and beyond at hotels, restaurants and train stations. Although we invited you to come and visit us down in little NZ we probably will not see you again but your kindnesses lives on in us all. The trip has enriched our lives and given us wonderful opportunities to live, albeit for a short time in new environments and learn new things. We have learnt yet again how people are different - I now know it is rude to ask a Laplander how many reindeer he has... Apparently that is like asking him how much he earns... and how people are the same - Lapland men like to leave their wives and go camping and have man time with their mates. And there is something great about returning to those who know and understand you as family, friends and culturally. Despite an amazing 4 weeks of travel experiences we are looking forward to home. As they say home is where the heart is and ours lies in NZ. JT
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins
By the time you read this we will be on our -12th and final plane trip and been in 5 countries since we left home. We have travelled on Thai, Swissair, Finnair, Lufthansa and now on our beloved Air New Zealand. We have travelled on 6 eurail trains between 4 European countries. And we have been on more tram and S and U Bahn rides than we can remember. The travelling time has allowed us to sit and reflect on the new experiences and also read and do some sleep catch up. We have never missed a ride and have become adept at reading platform signs and underground line routes as well as using pictures, numbers and arrows to aid our understanding.
ACCOMMODATION:
We have stayed in hotels and apartments and a cottage. We have realised that the same star rating does not mean you get the same level of accomodation. However all our places have had plusses. We have had 5 of us all in one room and we have been in two rooms. ATand KT have been gracious in sharing a double bed often even though one is more restless than the other. We have been lucky that all our accomodation has allowed us to access the sites easily.
WEATHER:
We have been very lucky with the weather. We had snow on the day we arrived and snow on the day we left. We had snow in Zurich, Garmisch and Rovaniemi and we have experienced being in temperatures from -23C to 5 C. We had a few days of rain but we could get out everyday. I wonder if I limit myself due to the weather at times. People in Europe tolerate colder temperatures and it was very common for them to be standing outside having a drink at a bar in snow. Restaurant and cafe owners still had outdoor seating and they provided a sheepskin on the seat and a rug for your knees. With your big coat, scarf, hats, gloves and boots you can survive outside for a long time, although I must admit riding the snow mobile at 60 km in -23C temps was cold. The coldest Lapland has had apparently is -50C! However inside all the places are HOT! The heating within the places is amazing. You only need a T shirt or light top and often we would have to open the window to let in some cool air so we didn't expire
LANGUAGE:
We continue to be embarrassed that we only speak one language. Many Europeans are multilingual. English only speakers expect everyone else to make an effort to understand them. Lack of language is a huge barrier and it makes you realise how loaded each of our words are and how people have different meaning loaded into words. It also gives you an empathy for immigrants to New Zealand who have no option but to speak English to succeed at anything in their new environment. It is the different understandings that cause the misunderstandings. I have also understood how colloquially we speak and how we understand collocations ( children at the end of year 4 need to have good understanding of collocations - National Standards in Literacy) e.g. please inform the driver when you see a suspicious thing and a suspicious person ( on Japanese bus...we would say...see something or someone suspicious ) . Also when Ben asked for a Large serving they did 't have any only big!
PEOPLE:
Whenever you travel it's the people who make it for you. The countless number of people who have served us graciously and always made an effort to try and understand our kiwi accent and language. People who have informed and entertained us as guides, freely giving of their knowledge and expertise and more often than not going out of their way to ensure we had a great experience. Thank you Thomas, Gary, Bernie, Walter and Curt and all the nameless others who helped us above and beyond at hotels, restaurants and train stations. Although we invited you to come and visit us down in little NZ we probably will not see you again but your kindnesses lives on in us all. The trip has enriched our lives and given us wonderful opportunities to live, albeit for a short time in new environments and learn new things. We have learnt yet again how people are different - I now know it is rude to ask a Laplander how many reindeer he has... Apparently that is like asking him how much he earns... and how people are the same - Lapland men like to leave their wives and go camping and have man time with their mates. And there is something great about returning to those who know and understand you as family, friends and culturally. Despite an amazing 4 weeks of travel experiences we are looking forward to home. As they say home is where the heart is and ours lies in NZ. JT
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins
Standing on Giants Shoulders
We have visited:
The Coffee Houses of Vienna where Beethoven and Sigmund Freud spent their days composing music and thrashing out ways to understand the world's problems.
The Place in Vienna whose electrical wiring was done by Thomas Edison. The father of the Light Bulb and founder of General Electric.
The house where Mozart grew up and composed his numerous pieces which still grace millions of ears today.
Ettal a Benedict Monastery in Bravia where Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent the months of his life before his famous Vykarie plot to assassinate Hilter. The Gestapo headquarters in Berlin where he spent the last days of his life. Bonhoeffer over his life shaped the fields of theology and philosophy.
The Eagles Nest where Hilter led the German's during the second world war and aurthorised actions which would forever change the world.
The Fraumünster church in Zurich where Huldrych Zwingli led the reformation to move the Christian church away from the rituals and ornate churches back to the essence of the Christian faith.
We stood in the room that Napolean had slept in when he invaded Vienna on his way to conquering Europe.
It's surreal when you look back at the places we have been and think of the influential people who have stood there before us. Who have shaped the world as we know it. And then you think about the people who have come and gone with no record of their life for others to read. The 12,000 people who are buried in the crypt below St Stephan's in Vienna or the thousands of others who have built Cities and Nations with no names or story remaining to tell us what they did or who they were.
The known and celebrated history makers as well as the unknown players have created our world enabling us to be who we are and achieve what we have. Isaac Newton has been quoted saying "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants". I've only realised how true this is once I started to visit the places they (the giants) spent their time. You start to understand what has gone before you and how you are standing upon their shoulders. The shoulders of giants.
The Coffee Houses of Vienna where Beethoven and Sigmund Freud spent their days composing music and thrashing out ways to understand the world's problems.
The Place in Vienna whose electrical wiring was done by Thomas Edison. The father of the Light Bulb and founder of General Electric.
The house where Mozart grew up and composed his numerous pieces which still grace millions of ears today.
Ettal a Benedict Monastery in Bravia where Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent the months of his life before his famous Vykarie plot to assassinate Hilter. The Gestapo headquarters in Berlin where he spent the last days of his life. Bonhoeffer over his life shaped the fields of theology and philosophy.
The Eagles Nest where Hilter led the German's during the second world war and aurthorised actions which would forever change the world.
The Fraumünster church in Zurich where Huldrych Zwingli led the reformation to move the Christian church away from the rituals and ornate churches back to the essence of the Christian faith.
We stood in the room that Napolean had slept in when he invaded Vienna on his way to conquering Europe.
It's surreal when you look back at the places we have been and think of the influential people who have stood there before us. Who have shaped the world as we know it. And then you think about the people who have come and gone with no record of their life for others to read. The 12,000 people who are buried in the crypt below St Stephan's in Vienna or the thousands of others who have built Cities and Nations with no names or story remaining to tell us what they did or who they were.
The known and celebrated history makers as well as the unknown players have created our world enabling us to be who we are and achieve what we have. Isaac Newton has been quoted saying "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants". I've only realised how true this is once I started to visit the places they (the giants) spent their time. You start to understand what has gone before you and how you are standing upon their shoulders. The shoulders of giants.
Munich
We loved Munich or Munchen as the locals call it. In fact we have loved Bavaria. Garmisch at the beginning of our trip was also in Bavaria. Bavarians love Bavaria. They are like the European version of Texas. They see themselves as Bavarians first and Germans second.... and to be honest I can see why! After our Arctic Circle experience we wondered whether we would enjoy the rest of the trip but Munich stole our hearts...some of us even said this is where we could live.
It was within the beer halls of Munich that Hitler birthed his "career" , led the Nazi party to power and Berlin is where he finished it. Munich as a city was decimated in WW2. Up to 90% of Munich was bombed but as you walk around this wonderful city you would never know. Buildings have been rebuilt and restored. The old part of the city with its many platz's ( town squares) look original but they aren't. To save money many of the buildings have the bricks painted on as facades, however they look authentic. We had such a short time in Munich we went on a free walking tour - more correctly you pay what you think it is worth so it's like a tip to the tour guide. This tour led by Curt, a typical American but with a strong knowledge of the area and also Hitlers rise to power and WW2 gave us a good overview of Munich's churches, old and new Town Halls, their palace, local government buildings, monuments to all and sundry and of course the Glockenspiel clock.
Everyday at 11 a.m. the glockenspiel clock chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus - beer hall ). In honour of this marriage there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria and Lothringen. The Bavarian knight wins every time of course. This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflerstanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers ( barrelmakers) are said to have danced through the streets to, "bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions." The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance has came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority in difficult times. At the very end of the show, a very small golden bird nick named Fritz chirps three times -a pathetic end to the great spectacle.
Like Berlin, this city has lovely parks dotted throughout the city and we stood and watched some wind surfers in extreme wetsuits riding the waves in a river that ran through a park. There was a very small space along the river where they have a man made wave that stays in the same place and people jump in and surf in that spot. When they fall off, they float down stream a small way and get onto the river bank before starting again. It was cold on the bank so the water must have been freezing.
Munich is also a very flat city and the footpaths are divided into 2 sections one side for pedestrians and the other for cyclists. There are hundreds of cyclists with loud bells to warn you to get out of their way. Theoretically the cyclists must travel at the average walking speed, making the average walking speed in Munich about 35 km per hour! We walked all day and finished it off with a great meal of Wiener Schnitzel - the size of Bavaria! Then we did our usual S and U bahn ride finished off with the tram ride to the hotel door. Beware Munich... we will be back.
We left KT in Munich, where she was going to visit Dachau for the day and then head back to Berlin to see some friends before she heads to London and Paris. We hopped on the plane to Tokyo... Nearly home!
It was within the beer halls of Munich that Hitler birthed his "career" , led the Nazi party to power and Berlin is where he finished it. Munich as a city was decimated in WW2. Up to 90% of Munich was bombed but as you walk around this wonderful city you would never know. Buildings have been rebuilt and restored. The old part of the city with its many platz's ( town squares) look original but they aren't. To save money many of the buildings have the bricks painted on as facades, however they look authentic. We had such a short time in Munich we went on a free walking tour - more correctly you pay what you think it is worth so it's like a tip to the tour guide. This tour led by Curt, a typical American but with a strong knowledge of the area and also Hitlers rise to power and WW2 gave us a good overview of Munich's churches, old and new Town Halls, their palace, local government buildings, monuments to all and sundry and of course the Glockenspiel clock.
Everyday at 11 a.m. the glockenspiel clock chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbräuhaus - beer hall ). In honour of this marriage there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria and Lothringen. The Bavarian knight wins every time of course. This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflerstanz (the coopers' dance). According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers ( barrelmakers) are said to have danced through the streets to, "bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions." The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance has came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority in difficult times. At the very end of the show, a very small golden bird nick named Fritz chirps three times -a pathetic end to the great spectacle.
Like Berlin, this city has lovely parks dotted throughout the city and we stood and watched some wind surfers in extreme wetsuits riding the waves in a river that ran through a park. There was a very small space along the river where they have a man made wave that stays in the same place and people jump in and surf in that spot. When they fall off, they float down stream a small way and get onto the river bank before starting again. It was cold on the bank so the water must have been freezing.
Munich is also a very flat city and the footpaths are divided into 2 sections one side for pedestrians and the other for cyclists. There are hundreds of cyclists with loud bells to warn you to get out of their way. Theoretically the cyclists must travel at the average walking speed, making the average walking speed in Munich about 35 km per hour! We walked all day and finished it off with a great meal of Wiener Schnitzel - the size of Bavaria! Then we did our usual S and U bahn ride finished off with the tram ride to the hotel door. Beware Munich... we will be back.
We left KT in Munich, where she was going to visit Dachau for the day and then head back to Berlin to see some friends before she heads to London and Paris. We hopped on the plane to Tokyo... Nearly home!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Home of Father Christmas
We have just left Lapland, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, North of Finland where the daylight lasts for 3 hrs at this time of year. This is also know as the home of Father Christmas.
It took two flights from Berlin to get to Rovaniemi in Finland going via Helsinki. On arrival in Finland everything was covered in snow. It was white as far as the eye could see with the exception of the thin black lines of freshly ploughed roads. We were collected from Rovaniemi by Gary (Ga-rrrrrry) who was our exceptional guide for the next two days. We were welcomed by warm Finnish weather it was a whopping -13C. Tropical?
Our Arctic Circle adventures started with Gary collecting us on the first morning and fitting us out in black jump suits, snow boots and helmets ready for our snow trips. Really every trip around here is a snow trip as you do everything in the snow at this time of year. We hopped on to some snow mobiles (think a jetski with skis on it) which would be our main form of transport over the next couple of days.
Our first trip was out to the snow hotel which is built every year from snow and ice. On the way we passed through large forests, with all the trees displaying their white winter coats, travelled down rivers which had a 20cm ice layer on them and past reindeer frolicking through the snow. I've had a lot of illusions shattered on this trip, the latest being the reindeer are not brown contra to the images in New Zealand children's books.
The region where the snow hotel is nor-west of where we were staying and by far the coldest place we visited with temperatures of -23C. When we arrived none of us could feel our face from the combination of wind and the freezing temperatures. Gary's eye lashes were frozen! There were 20 or so rooms in the hotel which had double beds covered in reindeer furs and the ice had carvings in the walls done by Lapland university students. The hotel also had an ice bar, chapel and restaurant. Ten couples are booked to get married there this year. If you're happy to hand over 300 euros per person per night the temperature inside is only -2C. Warm compared to the outdoor temperature!
This was also the place where we experienced our first Finnish Kota. A Kota is a traditional Finnish home, octagonal in shape with a large open fire in the middle. We had a lunch of Salmon cooked on the open fire with bread, potato salad and beetroot salad. Delicious meal. This took us most of the day once we finished the 2 hr, 50 km snowmobile ride home.
The next day we got back on the snowmobiles and drove through some more forest tracks to a large clearing of untouched snow. This was to be the site of our extreme driving lessons, where Gary taught us to slide the snowmobiles and drive them on a single ski/having one side off the ground. Today was warm only -6C.
The reindeer farm was our next stop. Here we went on a reindeer sled ride, fed the reindeer and had a nice warm meal of mash potatoes and reindeer meat. Don't worry we were reassured that it wasn't one of Santa's. Reindeer actually tastes like beef. Great meal.
The husky farm was our favourite place of the day. Here we got to go dog sledding. We had a sled with six dogs and got to drive it along tracks through the forest and clearings for about 7km. It's something out of this world to be on the back of a sled cutting through the pristine environment which is the Arctic Circle with snow and trees as far as you can see either side. It is so quiet as the dogs are soundless apart from their paws hitting the snow. Well they are silent when they are moving. When they stop it sounds like all hell is breaking loose. They just keep running nonstop at the same pace they started. This was mind blowing. Loved every minute of it!
The last trip with Gary was meant to be to the Northern lights that night. Unfortunately the weather didn't come to the party, clouding over and snowing. So a quick change of plans lead to an expedition with Garry and Kati (Karti) another really friendly guide we had met, out to a frozen lake to have a fire and try our hand at ice fishing. We ended up in the middle of a frozen lake and set up a fire on the ice which we sat around cooking sausages and drinking hot berry juice. As the fire heated up the ice around it started to melt and a moat formed around the fire. We drilled holes in the ice to see if we could catch any fish. They use live worms which you buy from the supermarket in plastic boxes filled with dirt. Our ice fishing left a little to be desired but sitting next to a hole in the ice on a reindeer skin with the only light in the area being our fire was an awesome experience. At the end of the night we drove off leaving the fire burning away on the ice. You would never do that in NZ but I guess water/ice doesn't burn. That was the end of our adventures with Gary who was an amazing guide with a great sense of humour.
This morning we visited Santa at his office. His workshop is in an undisclosed location as the sign stated seeing where the toys are made would spoil the magic of Christmas. We had a chat with Santa and got a family photo. He promised to come by our house this Christmas. Satisfied with that we spent the rest of the time exploring Santa Claus Village. It is hard not to believe in Santa when you visit a place like this with Reindeer, snow covering everything, Christmas carols playing and where everyone is in such a festive mood.
This has been our favourite part so of our trip so far. I know I have been going on about it but the snow is incredible. I've never been somewhere that is so snow covered you can fly 600km and only see snow. Then travel 100km on snowmobiles and still only encounter snow and ice. If you ever have the chance to go to a place like Finland it's a must do.
We have now landed in Munich where we spend two nights before making our way home to New Zealand via Tokyo.
BT
It took two flights from Berlin to get to Rovaniemi in Finland going via Helsinki. On arrival in Finland everything was covered in snow. It was white as far as the eye could see with the exception of the thin black lines of freshly ploughed roads. We were collected from Rovaniemi by Gary (Ga-rrrrrry) who was our exceptional guide for the next two days. We were welcomed by warm Finnish weather it was a whopping -13C. Tropical?
Our Arctic Circle adventures started with Gary collecting us on the first morning and fitting us out in black jump suits, snow boots and helmets ready for our snow trips. Really every trip around here is a snow trip as you do everything in the snow at this time of year. We hopped on to some snow mobiles (think a jetski with skis on it) which would be our main form of transport over the next couple of days.
Our first trip was out to the snow hotel which is built every year from snow and ice. On the way we passed through large forests, with all the trees displaying their white winter coats, travelled down rivers which had a 20cm ice layer on them and past reindeer frolicking through the snow. I've had a lot of illusions shattered on this trip, the latest being the reindeer are not brown contra to the images in New Zealand children's books.
The region where the snow hotel is nor-west of where we were staying and by far the coldest place we visited with temperatures of -23C. When we arrived none of us could feel our face from the combination of wind and the freezing temperatures. Gary's eye lashes were frozen! There were 20 or so rooms in the hotel which had double beds covered in reindeer furs and the ice had carvings in the walls done by Lapland university students. The hotel also had an ice bar, chapel and restaurant. Ten couples are booked to get married there this year. If you're happy to hand over 300 euros per person per night the temperature inside is only -2C. Warm compared to the outdoor temperature!
This was also the place where we experienced our first Finnish Kota. A Kota is a traditional Finnish home, octagonal in shape with a large open fire in the middle. We had a lunch of Salmon cooked on the open fire with bread, potato salad and beetroot salad. Delicious meal. This took us most of the day once we finished the 2 hr, 50 km snowmobile ride home.
The next day we got back on the snowmobiles and drove through some more forest tracks to a large clearing of untouched snow. This was to be the site of our extreme driving lessons, where Gary taught us to slide the snowmobiles and drive them on a single ski/having one side off the ground. Today was warm only -6C.
The reindeer farm was our next stop. Here we went on a reindeer sled ride, fed the reindeer and had a nice warm meal of mash potatoes and reindeer meat. Don't worry we were reassured that it wasn't one of Santa's. Reindeer actually tastes like beef. Great meal.
The husky farm was our favourite place of the day. Here we got to go dog sledding. We had a sled with six dogs and got to drive it along tracks through the forest and clearings for about 7km. It's something out of this world to be on the back of a sled cutting through the pristine environment which is the Arctic Circle with snow and trees as far as you can see either side. It is so quiet as the dogs are soundless apart from their paws hitting the snow. Well they are silent when they are moving. When they stop it sounds like all hell is breaking loose. They just keep running nonstop at the same pace they started. This was mind blowing. Loved every minute of it!
The last trip with Gary was meant to be to the Northern lights that night. Unfortunately the weather didn't come to the party, clouding over and snowing. So a quick change of plans lead to an expedition with Garry and Kati (Karti) another really friendly guide we had met, out to a frozen lake to have a fire and try our hand at ice fishing. We ended up in the middle of a frozen lake and set up a fire on the ice which we sat around cooking sausages and drinking hot berry juice. As the fire heated up the ice around it started to melt and a moat formed around the fire. We drilled holes in the ice to see if we could catch any fish. They use live worms which you buy from the supermarket in plastic boxes filled with dirt. Our ice fishing left a little to be desired but sitting next to a hole in the ice on a reindeer skin with the only light in the area being our fire was an awesome experience. At the end of the night we drove off leaving the fire burning away on the ice. You would never do that in NZ but I guess water/ice doesn't burn. That was the end of our adventures with Gary who was an amazing guide with a great sense of humour.
This morning we visited Santa at his office. His workshop is in an undisclosed location as the sign stated seeing where the toys are made would spoil the magic of Christmas. We had a chat with Santa and got a family photo. He promised to come by our house this Christmas. Satisfied with that we spent the rest of the time exploring Santa Claus Village. It is hard not to believe in Santa when you visit a place like this with Reindeer, snow covering everything, Christmas carols playing and where everyone is in such a festive mood.
This has been our favourite part so of our trip so far. I know I have been going on about it but the snow is incredible. I've never been somewhere that is so snow covered you can fly 600km and only see snow. Then travel 100km on snowmobiles and still only encounter snow and ice. If you ever have the chance to go to a place like Finland it's a must do.
We have now landed in Munich where we spend two nights before making our way home to New Zealand via Tokyo.
BT
Berlin
Berlin, the largest city in Germany has a difficult history, which it acknowledges through memorials, museums and monuments. It also has a bright future as it continues to embrace a city of two halves creating a cosmopolitan metropolis of some 3. 45million people. It is a great mix of the old, which is reflected in the restored old buildings and the new, with their stunning new buildings. It was within this great mix we lived in an apartment, situated in old East Berlin only metres from the wall. The wall is one of the things Berlin continues to acknowledge. We visited the East Side gallery where the wall continues to stand for over a kilometre and is covered in fantastic graffiti art. When the wall fell many East Berliners painted the wall in graffiti to reflect their new found freedom. Painting graffiti had previously been illegal for them. The wall is also acknowledged in many other places by cobblestones that replace the walls foundations. These can be found in any parts of Berlin, cutting across footpaths and grass showing where the wall once divided this city. I found it interesting that the wall did not cut cleanly through Berlin but wound its way zigzagging across the city with no apparent logic. I also hadn't realised that there were 2 walls separated by a space of many metres which was called no mans land. This no mans land was rigorously patrolled. It was the area where many were shot trying to escape after successfully climbing the East Berlin wall but before they got over the wall on the West Berlin side.
Related to this, we also went to an exhibition about the Stasi - the secret police who operated within East Berlin. The monitoring of people and their movements, and the informers who dobbed in family and neighbours was frightening. As many as 1 in 6people were informers and people never knew who would inform the Stasi. The loss of freedom, the thought control by the state and the disappearance of loved ones without trace was scary. It confirmed what I had already read in Anna Funder's book Stasiland. A book that originally opened my eyes to life in East Berlin. East Berlin was allocated to Russia after WW2 and the rest of the city was divided amongst 3 other countries as reparation . We visited checkpoint Charlie, the American Sector of Berlin and stood by the sentry box that has an enormous picture of an American soldier announcing the fact.
While Berlin is noted for the cold war and the resulting division between Berliners it also was the centre for Hitler and his men to plan and direct W.W.2. We visited the remains of the buildings where Hitler, the Gestapo and SS orchestrated one of the world's terrible wars. The monuments and museums to this war, including the museum "Terror des Topographies" are very stark and sterile. We have had many debates as to why this is so. Is it the German clinical organised way or is this the level they want to acknowledge what went on in those terrible years. The most haunting museum was the Jewish memorial museum that outlined the massacre of millions of Jews. Images of families annihilated and tragic stories of the terror, pain and fear were thoughfully displayed. I stood next to a Jewish husband and wife. He said his dad's family had all been wiped out in 1941. I stood behind the wife as she loudly sobbed for all that they as a family had lost. To say it was moving, hardly captures the experience. We also went on a "walking tour" of Sauchenhausen, originally a work camp and later a concentration camp. Our tour guide Paul was extremely knowledgeable and held our attention for over three hours as we walked through that desolate place where people were stripped of their clothing, identity and dignity as they arrived, before entering the gates that proclaimed and promised "Arbeit macht frei" - work will set you free. The cruelty, humiliation and torture of innocent people makes you reflect on what your own response would be both as a person on the inside of one of these camps or as one on the outside. We trudged quietly back to the train in the dark and cold, much more aware of what really happened and reflecting on the wide gamut of acts, both courageous and sinister that human beings are capable of.
We also stood under the Brandenburg gates both in the daytime and at night ( when they are wonderfully lit). These gates were once one of the few ways to enter Berlin. They suffered considerable damage in WW2 and were rebuilt in 2000. We walked through some of the extensive Tiergarten, parklands that cover 210 hectares of the city. In this same part of town is the Reichstag (Parliament) but we didn't visit the new glass dome that replaced the original cupola on 1999. We have it on German authority that you must book 3 days before you want to go and no... there are no exceptions just because you have travelled 20, 000 kms to see the sights of Berlin and are only in the city for 3 days. We do not change the rules!
We went to the top of the TV tower at Alexanderplatz ( that is really their sky tower) and saw as far as the eye can see. We went up all 6 floors of KaDeWe, the biggest department store in Europe and ogled the food floor and looked at everything we couldn't afford on the other 5! We got our head around the S bahn and U bahn passing through many times the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Europe's biggest train station, an amazing glass structure with 6 levels of trains lines and shops. We wandered around amazing buildings on Museum island and we finished it all off with a great pub meal at Wilhelm Hoecks which has been around since 1892. The food was plentiful, delicious and cheap and we fell in love with the draught lemonade, made just like draught beer but non alcoholic. Berlin grew on us, challenged us and stirred emotions within us as we stood where the history created was recent enough for us or our parents to have been alive for. JT
Related to this, we also went to an exhibition about the Stasi - the secret police who operated within East Berlin. The monitoring of people and their movements, and the informers who dobbed in family and neighbours was frightening. As many as 1 in 6people were informers and people never knew who would inform the Stasi. The loss of freedom, the thought control by the state and the disappearance of loved ones without trace was scary. It confirmed what I had already read in Anna Funder's book Stasiland. A book that originally opened my eyes to life in East Berlin. East Berlin was allocated to Russia after WW2 and the rest of the city was divided amongst 3 other countries as reparation . We visited checkpoint Charlie, the American Sector of Berlin and stood by the sentry box that has an enormous picture of an American soldier announcing the fact.
While Berlin is noted for the cold war and the resulting division between Berliners it also was the centre for Hitler and his men to plan and direct W.W.2. We visited the remains of the buildings where Hitler, the Gestapo and SS orchestrated one of the world's terrible wars. The monuments and museums to this war, including the museum "Terror des Topographies" are very stark and sterile. We have had many debates as to why this is so. Is it the German clinical organised way or is this the level they want to acknowledge what went on in those terrible years. The most haunting museum was the Jewish memorial museum that outlined the massacre of millions of Jews. Images of families annihilated and tragic stories of the terror, pain and fear were thoughfully displayed. I stood next to a Jewish husband and wife. He said his dad's family had all been wiped out in 1941. I stood behind the wife as she loudly sobbed for all that they as a family had lost. To say it was moving, hardly captures the experience. We also went on a "walking tour" of Sauchenhausen, originally a work camp and later a concentration camp. Our tour guide Paul was extremely knowledgeable and held our attention for over three hours as we walked through that desolate place where people were stripped of their clothing, identity and dignity as they arrived, before entering the gates that proclaimed and promised "Arbeit macht frei" - work will set you free. The cruelty, humiliation and torture of innocent people makes you reflect on what your own response would be both as a person on the inside of one of these camps or as one on the outside. We trudged quietly back to the train in the dark and cold, much more aware of what really happened and reflecting on the wide gamut of acts, both courageous and sinister that human beings are capable of.
We also stood under the Brandenburg gates both in the daytime and at night ( when they are wonderfully lit). These gates were once one of the few ways to enter Berlin. They suffered considerable damage in WW2 and were rebuilt in 2000. We walked through some of the extensive Tiergarten, parklands that cover 210 hectares of the city. In this same part of town is the Reichstag (Parliament) but we didn't visit the new glass dome that replaced the original cupola on 1999. We have it on German authority that you must book 3 days before you want to go and no... there are no exceptions just because you have travelled 20, 000 kms to see the sights of Berlin and are only in the city for 3 days. We do not change the rules!
We went to the top of the TV tower at Alexanderplatz ( that is really their sky tower) and saw as far as the eye can see. We went up all 6 floors of KaDeWe, the biggest department store in Europe and ogled the food floor and looked at everything we couldn't afford on the other 5! We got our head around the S bahn and U bahn passing through many times the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Europe's biggest train station, an amazing glass structure with 6 levels of trains lines and shops. We wandered around amazing buildings on Museum island and we finished it all off with a great pub meal at Wilhelm Hoecks which has been around since 1892. The food was plentiful, delicious and cheap and we fell in love with the draught lemonade, made just like draught beer but non alcoholic. Berlin grew on us, challenged us and stirred emotions within us as we stood where the history created was recent enough for us or our parents to have been alive for. JT
Sunday, January 8, 2012
More Photos
We have added some more photos to our photo bucket site. Click on the green sentence and you should connect.
These are from Vienna, including New Year... Prague and some of us reliving our fantasy of the Sound of Music. The first one is the famous or should I say infamous "Pissing statue" in Prague...where the two guys are P.....into a fountain the shape of Czechoslavakia. We are bringing the video home!
We have just spent the last few days in Berlin and I am writing this from our cabin at Santa's village in Rovaniemi. The snow is all around our house and is so deep GT got stuck up to the top of his legs in it! The temperature is -15C.
We will write our Berlin blog soon and also tell of our adventures up here. By the way I saw a reindeer tonight but he didn't have a red nose. JT
These are from Vienna, including New Year... Prague and some of us reliving our fantasy of the Sound of Music. The first one is the famous or should I say infamous "Pissing statue" in Prague...where the two guys are P.....into a fountain the shape of Czechoslavakia. We are bringing the video home!
We have just spent the last few days in Berlin and I am writing this from our cabin at Santa's village in Rovaniemi. The snow is all around our house and is so deep GT got stuck up to the top of his legs in it! The temperature is -15C.
We will write our Berlin blog soon and also tell of our adventures up here. By the way I saw a reindeer tonight but he didn't have a red nose. JT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)