Eastern Europe – Berlin
to Budapest –
July, 2017
Booked a G
Adventure trip from Berlin to Split and started my voyage with a shuttle to
LAX. Great restaurants at the John Wayne Airport now so had a delicious salad at Tavern, a
wonderful restaurant located in Brentwood. Arrived
in Berlin
about 3 p.m. Took a bus into the city
and walked to Schoenhauser
Studios near
Alexander Platz, a wonderful place to stay!
Although it was
raining, I decided to walk down Prenzlauer Allee to get my bearings, i.e.
museum island, Brandenburg Gate, etc. Had dinner at Bricole nearby but the food
was rather disappointing…i.e. cauliflower three ways, wild shrimp with
buckwheat and roasted tomatoes and chocolate mousse…
Zeit fuer Brot is
the “in” place for coffee and pastry as there is always a long line so in the
morning I got a pain du chocolate and wonderful strong European coffee. Wandered
first around the Nicholas quarter, the old part of town and then on to Museum Island
to visit the Cathedral, walking up the 267 stairs to step outside for a
breathtaking view of Berlin and then waited in
line for about an hour at the Pergamon
Museum which was
fabulous!! Inside were the Roman market gate,
Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Museum
of Islamic Art, especially the Aleppo house among other
things. Afterwards I wandered over to
the Gendarmen Markt Square
bookended by the domed cathedrals and the concert hall where someone was
playing the violin while I had some apple strudel and coffee outside. Next stop the Brandenburg Gate, hidden in East Berlin for 30 years.
Stopped by the Reichtag to see the dome but you have to stand in line to
get a free ticket and have some ID. So I
got a ticket for the next day!
Walked along to
the Holocaust Museum, a memorial to the murdered Jews
of Europe. It consists of a 4.7 acre
site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping
field. There is a visitor center
downstairs which contains memories of the holocaust…
Headed to the Potsdam area and randomly
stopped for dinner at Lutter and Wegner for a delicious warm chanterelle
mushroom salad with greens, goat cheese and toasted almonds. Better choice than last night!!!
Another delicious
pastry and coffee at Zeit fuer Brot in the morning and then took the U-bahn to
Charlottenburg to visit the castle built in the 17th century as a
summer residence for Queen Sophie Charlotte and Frederick III. Some beautiful rooms, crown treasury,
porcelain, etc. Walked down to the
Belvedere to see the exquisite porcelain collection, especially the tea and
coffee services. Also wandered in the
beautiful gardens.
Spent some time in
the Tiergarten and then took a tour of the amazing Reichstag large glass dome
with a 360 degree view of Berlin. Took the metro to Kreuzberg area which took a
very long time and walked to Altes Zollhaus for dinner. Had duck with cabbage and potato pancake and
crème brulee torched at the table and even a glass of wine. Delicious!
Walnut pastry at
Zeit fuer Brot next morning and walked to Hackescher Markt, a beautiful
courtyard filled with shops, galleries and markets. Stopped by the Synogogue but it was closed so
will go tomorrow. Walked to
Bermauerstrasse and spent a couple hours visiting the wall museum, area where
the wall was, etc. So very
interesting. Spent a couple hours in the
Modern Art Museum which had some very clever
exhibitions.
Our G Adventure
Group met in the evening and then I went back to Potsdam Plaza
for another chanterelle salad instead of joining the group for dinner…There
will be plenty of time for that as we will be spending a couple weeks
together. My room mate is from Canada and
seems nice.
After breakfast I
walked to the East Side Gallery to see the murals on the wall and then
continued along the wall way to checkpoint Charlie and read some history about
the wall. Visited the Neue Synagogue air
raided and destroyed and now being rebuilt and the cemetery as well. Went to the Kadewe to see the food court but
it was Sunday so it was closed…Heard a lovely Mozart Klarinette Concert in the
Kaiser Wilhelm-Gedackneskirsche nearby and then walked the Kurdam, stopping for
cheesecake and coffee along the way.
Spent the
afternoon at the Cinema
Museum highlighting
Marlena Dietrich and other German actors.
An outstanding museum! Wonderful
dinner at Katz Orange, i.e. roasted octopus with hummus, pork ribs with lentils
and lemon brulee tart with apricots.
Early breakfast
and train to Warsaw, Poland. Grabbed a quick pastry and coffee at the
train station and tram to the hotel.
Walking tour with guide of the old town which was completely destroyed
during the war and rebuilt quite nicely.
Visited the Church of the Holy Cross, Mermaid statue in the main square,
etc. Charming. Had an assortment of pierogi for dinner which
were delicious.
Hearty German
bread and great coffee for breakfast with lots of fresh fruit. Bus to Lazienki
Park, a beautiful park with manicured
greens, once a hunting ground attached to the Ujazdow Castle. Lovely walk around the lake, etc. Tram to train station and cheesecake and
coffee before taking the train to Krakow where
we took part of a walking tour. The city
was never bombed so all the old buildings are genuine. Stopped for dinner near the Jewish Ghetto and
I had sautéed salmon with boiled potatoes perfectly cooked. Finished the walking tour.
Visited Auswitz in
the morning which was very depressing…
Day was hot and humid so walking around was really difficult…In the
afternoon I visited St. Mary’s Basilica, Church
of Saints Peter and Paul and the Franciscian Church.
All were beautiful. Wonderful
dinner at Guliwer, i.e. warm goat cheese salad and lemon meringue tart – hit
the spot!!!
Walked to the
castle in the morning, stopped for pastry and coffee nearby and then took the
salt mine tour at Wieliczka. A section
of 22 chambers are open to the public with underground lakes, chapels,
chandeliers, etc. Interesting but not as
great as the one in Salzburg! Stopped for cake and coffee for lunch and
then visited the outstanding Museum
of Stained Glass. Took the tram to Schindler’s Factory housing
a great museum on the Nazi occupation and spent the rest of the afternoon
there. Another delicious goat cheese
salad and tart for dinner at Guliwer. On
the way back to the hotel stopped in the main square to listen to a very
talented guitarist play…
Train to Prague in the morning
arriving about 4 p.m. Took an
orientation walk to old town and saw the astronomical clock in action. Walked up to the castle for a nice view of
the city and had dinner at the Medieval Restaurant nearby along with a show,
i.e. sword fightings, fire blowers, etc.
Fun.
In the morning, I
took a walk along the river to see the dancing house, a pillar of modern
architecture by Vlado Milunic and Frank Gehry.
Met at 10 a.m. for the remainder of the orientation walk, i.e. Lennon
wall, back up to the castle passing some churches, etc. I stayed on at the castle complex and visited
the royal palace, the basilica of st. george and the golden lane of streets
representing shops for seamstresses, etc.
Saw the beautiful Mucha window in the St. Vitus Cathedral and then
visited the Lob Kowiczky Palace,
a 16th century palace housing a private museum of paintings, musical
memorabilia, etc. Stopped in a courtyard
for cake and coffee.
Had a delicious
salmon later for dinner at U Mateje Kortby near our hotel.
In the morning
walked through old town to the Jewish Museum and took a 2 hour guided tour
through seven of the synogogues, some working and some turned into
museums. The cemetery was also very
interesting to see. It was raining so
stopped for traditional honey cake and coffee before proceeding through the
powder tower where all the processions start to the Mucha museum, which was
rather small but worth seeing all the same.
Walked along the river and had dinner at Nuance, sitting outside which
was very pleasant. Had duck sous vide
with sweet potato puree, blue potatoes and kale – nicely prepared.
Took a nice walk
to the castle in the morning before heading to Cesky Krumlou, a very cute
little medieval town. Took our
orientation walk and then had a traditional chicken platter with millet cake,
potato pancakes, cabbage, etc. for dinner which was not really that great…A bit
too heavy for my taste.
Walked up to the
castle in the morning and took the museum and tower tour. There is also a very extensive tour of the
whole castle and theatre which I wish I had done. Stopped for apple strudel and coffee
overlooking the river and then we got into rafts each holding 4 persons and
spent 3 hours rafting down the Vitava river which was great fun. Went to a vegetarian restaurant nearby for
dinner outside overlooking the river, i.e. Indian vegetables, lentils and pita
bread. Nice.
Took an early
morning walk to the castle and drove to Vienna
where we had an orientation walk starting at St. Stephan’s Cathedral and
wandering to the Habsburg, Albertina, etc. to give us some history and help us
plan our time. Afterwards I visited
Mozart’s apartment in old town where he resided with his family from 1784 to
1787 and wrote “The Marriage of Figaro”.
Took the metro back and met a few of the group for schnitzel and
cucumber/potato/cabbage salad in Prater
Park. It was great having some traditional fare.
In the morning
although it was raining, I visited the Schonbrunn Palace, a 1,441 room Baroque
palace where Franz Joseph was born and the lovely grounds, Nasch Market filled
with fruits and vegetables and the Belvedere to see the extensive collection of
Klimt’s works, especially the famous “Kiss”.
The gardens are also very beautiful.
Afterwards I had apple strudel at Demel’s, a famous Austrian café and
then walked to the Succession building to see Klimt’s famous panal to Beethoven
which was very impressive. Took a tram
ride around the Ring streets and then had a quick “dinner” at the café in the
Dobo Hotel overlooking St. Stephans, i.e. hummus, grilled eggplant, borek and a
brownie. In the evening I went to a
Mozart concert in the Golden Hall which was outstanding. Didn’t have time to visit the Opera House or
walk along the Danube…next time…
Train to Budapest in the morning,
orientation walk and then spent the afternoon at the famous SzechenyThermal
Baths, 18 indoor and outdoor pools situated under neo-Baroque domes. A lot of people!!!
Very nice dinner
of salmon, spinach and mushroom ragout, potato puree and music which we
dined. AT 10:00 p.m. took a lovely boat
ride on the Danube.
Toured the Parliament building, which lies on the
banks of the Danube and is currently the largest building in Hungary, in the
morning which was very interesting. The
building is quite impressive inside with ceilings of frescoes, etc. Walked over the chain bridge to the “castle”
which is now the Museum
of Art and thoroughly
enjoyed the paintings, etc. Stopped by
to see St. Matthais Church but there was a wedding going on so I couldn’t go
inside. Took a bus back to St. Stephan’s
square for cheesecake and coffee and then took a very nice tour of the Opera
House.
The next part of
our trip will meet this evening so I am looking forward to what comes next!!!
