Duana in Bonn and Koeln (Cologne) (23 - 26 June)

Standing outside the Bonn town hall which is in Barock style.



Bonn university science departments in the Poppensdorf Palace



The palace is built around a circular courtyard.



Karin and I on a "Kaffeefahrt" (coffee trip) along the Rhein to Koenigswinter. Kaffeefahrt is a term used to describe the type of journeys older people like to take. But you dont have to be old to like this.




View from Drachenfels at Koenigswinter, one of the peaks in the Siebengebirge (seven mountains). We walked up here! So not just a coffee trip!




Along the way I saw this cute reenactment of a German fable "Tischlein Deck Dich". This fable involves a cheeky goat.




And here is the goat maybe.




Cologne is only a half hour train trip away. Here is the famous Dom with its Gothic style. Looks like a big termite hill.



Cologne Dom from behind



Very old houses in Cologne´s Altstadt (old town) along the rhein



Back in Bonn, preparing for the Germany-Turkey football match.



Germany won and people went crazy on the street.



Street party!

Duana In Berlin (13 - 23 June)

Brandenburg Gate. During the division of Berlin, this sat in the No Man's Land or Death Strip - 100 metres or so between the inner and outer Berlin wall.



Reichstag - house of parliament. Suspiciously burned in 1933 leading to Hitler acquiring special powers.. didn't house parliament again until 1999 after reconstruction with the glass dome designed by architect Norman Foster.



Top of Reichstag



Berlin has no real skyline. It's quite dispersed.



Kaieser Wilhem Gedaechtnis church - bombed during WWII and left like that as a memorial.



Jewish Synagogue in background



The recent monument to the Jews of WWII. Controversial because it does not include other terrorised groups; it is strange, and the lack they used to protect the slabs from grafitti came from a company which manufactured gas chemicals used in the concentration camps.



The longest stretch of still-intact Berlin wall starts here - it is now a "gallery" of grafitti art. Strange bridge building in the background was a checkpoint between east and west.



Some art.



Iron sculpture at the back of a dilapidated building, Tacheles, a hangout for punks and artists in Mitte (central Berlin). There are bars and art spaces/workshops. But the lease runs out soon and maybe it will become a shopping mall.



Hamburger Bahnhof Museum of Modern Art - was previously a train station



Just dunk.



Public viewing of Fussball (soccer) in Admirals Palast - an old theatre complex - Germany vs Austria



Great garden cafe/bar. Inside there is a big hall for balldancing and also a concert hall where I saw some Chamber music.



GDR mural on what was during Nazi times the airforce administration building.



Cafe area in Friederichschain - former east.



Cool beer garden in Zoologischer Garten. Here I spilt a tray of beer over myself and they replaced my beer for free.




The river spree which runs through the city. Bodemuseum and the TV tower in the background.



Outside theater and statue of Schiller at Gendarmenmarkt.



Next to the Dom (church) that building frame was the "Palast der Republic" - house of parliament of the GDR and a cultural centre. The East Germans built on the site of prussian castle ruins. The castle will be resurrected - controversial as the Palast was also a place of historical and cultural significance.




Really cool old pub in Charlottenburg with lot of photos of old european movie stars/singers. I didn't recognise any of them.



Fine dining!

Nuernberg (Nuremberg 11 - 13 June)

The main landmark of Nuernberg - the Nuernberg Castle is on the edge of the old town. There is a wall surrounding the old town, it's pretty cool. Here lived the Kaisers (Emporers) from 11th to 16th century.


Looking out over Nuremberg from the castle courtyard.



Drinking beer on the famous Albrecht Duerer hare. He lived just down the road.


Grillen am Balkon. Nuernberg is famous for its very little sausages - "Wurstle". Legend has it they were designed to fit through keyholes to feed the very dangerous prisoners.



The river Pegnitz runs through the centre of town.


Marketplace.



Nice old street full with Fachwerkhaeuser (half-timbered houses).

Frankfurt, Tuttlingen, Schaffhausen (6 - 11 June)

Frankfurt am Main - the river is called Main. ("am" is "on the"). Here I landed at about 6:30am and wondered through the streets.



Here the old Frankfurt market place. Even at 7:30am there were tourists. Lucky people like me.




This is the "Bavarian breakfast" or specialty - weisswurst mit suessem senf (white sausage with sweet mustard).



Ruin Honburg in Tuttlingen. Built in 15th century, was a fort of significance in the south area of Wuettermberg to oversee and protect the area surrounding the Donau. A count and his family lived there, off the taxes of the city folk below, no doubt.



Burg Wildenstein which is close by Tuttlingen. Extremely well preserved medieval fort/castle which is now a youth centre.



View from Burg Wildenstein.



My wonderful family friends the Laubs and me at the Rheinfall in Schaffenhausen, Switzerland. Biggest waterfall in Europe. Just look at the weather and colours.





Whoosh!



Gulp!



A funny farm house in Tuttlingen. The big doors were for the wagons laden with hey and other goods. Doubles well as a garage. There are whole streets full of these strange, cute houses.