Entschuldigung, bitte. (excuse me, please)

Wow, I'm so embarrassed to realize that I have not posted since my adventures in Bayern.  :O  I must correct this situation henceforth!!!

Where to begin?

Once I returned to Berlin, I anticipated the visit of my loverly friend Jen from London as we were going to travel to Leipzig for WGT (Wave Gotik Treffen), a 30,000+ person music event that has been happening for 20 years.  This was my fourth time going.  But first we exposed ourselves to a little Berlin culture...

The Bodemuseum.  Built between 1897 and 1904.  Houses beautiful Byzantine art.

 

The Holocaust Denkmal.  Constructed in 2003.  Memorial for Jews killed by Nazis between 1933 and 1945.  You can see Jenn in the last one, weaving her way through the undulating field of concrete slabs.

A section of the Berlin Mauer (Wall) I hadn't noticed the previous *3* times I'd been there!!!

The Fernsehturm (tv tower)

 

The Alte Bibliothek built 1775.  Next to Bebelplatz, the site where the book burning on May 10th, 1933 took place.

Bebelplatz. Designed in the 18C was renamed in 1947 after the social activist August Bebel.  Also the location where the Nazi burned around 25,000 books written by "enemies" on the Third Reich. This window exposes a room with empty bookshelves to recognize this horrible event. There is also a plaque on the ground that reads:

"Where books are burned, in the end people will burn." ~ Heinrich Heine

 The Berliner Dom.  Neo-Baroque architecture dating from 1894 to 1905.  Notice the bullet marks in the last photograph.

Caught on surveillance monitors at Potsdamplatz U-Bahn!!!

And now, WGT 2011...  20th Anniversary.  Jenn and I awaiting some good live music, then Covenant, then me in front of a clothing store window display welcoming the people of the festival to Leipzig and finally Homo Futura.

After Jenn returned to London, I continued to do a little exploring on my own.

Olympiastadion built for the 1936 World Games in Berlin.  Designed by Werner March, in the Nazi architectural style inspired by ancient Rome.

The Nothing eats Neukölln...  a huge storm that ransacked Berlin...  came and went in probably 10 minutes.  Pretty common here.

Street art in Hackescher Hof.

The Siegessäule - Triumphal Column 1864.  As well, the Goldelse on top.  The trees in the BG are the Tiergarten.

Cute cat and mouse door handle I wandered past by chance.

Wild flowers back lit by the setting sun  in Mauer Park.

 

A sweet present from Momma!!!  Ginger molasses cookies!  Sehr lecker!!!  Vielen Dank!!!

My Klappfahrad...  collapsing bike.  It's black with red splatter.  And wee just like me!!!

This sums up my July Berlin photographic entry.  However I do have a few other things to add that can't be captured on film.

Firstly, I started Deutsch Schule in the beginning July.  It is an intensive course for 4 weeks, 4 days/wk and 3hr/day.  I have one week left to go...  think I'm learning pretty well, but still having a hard time *hearing* the words.  It's getting better, but I shouldn't be too hard on myself considering I've only been studying for 2 months.  :)  In August I will commence the next level.

Secondly, I got a job!  Although don't get too excited...  it's not paid because it's a student film.  However, it's a start, some connections and experience on a German film set so I can get my feet wet.  The costume crew all seem really loverly and are grateful to have me and are willing to teach me the way...  in GERMAN!!!  And of course in English too, but it's a great opportunity I simply would be stupid to pass up.  It will be challenging especially since I am also still going to school.  From one to the other, when they need me, which might not be all the time.  I've even started a small book to make notes of all the German film terms.  :D

Thirdly, I got to DJ at Dark Markt.  A daytime market catering to the gothically inclined, for lack of better words.  ;)  It was great, and I was DJing along side a Berlin friend and we will both get the opportunity to do it again in August!

Okay, now I'm done.  Coming up next:


~ Köln
~ Amphi Festival


*heart*
Devi

From Berlin, to Bavaria, to Austria, to Switzerland and back again.

I recently received an email outlining the itinerary of my last week's adventures in southern Germany.  It was extensive to say the least, and I have to thank Inga for not only taking me to *all* of those places, but also for taking the time to type it all up for me.  Are you ready?  Hold on...

I arrived quite late am Montag, after missing my stop due to a ticket which lacked the information to tell me to switch to a regional train in Ingolstadt.  I ended up going to München only to turn back around on another train to Rohrbach.  It only cost me an extra hour of travel, but I was happy to finally see my friend's smiling face at my final destination.  :)  And even *more* happy with the surprise she had waiting for me at her mom's house...  a scooter for sightseeing the next day!  :D  I met her mom and a friend and we had some dinner and then went for a walk through the country side.

 

Am Dienstag we headed out on the scooter to Pfaffenhofen.  I couldn't stop smiling the whole time.  You can't imagine the excitement I felt as we powered along the roads with nothing but hops fields, poppies and rolling hills on either side.

This is what we saw in Pfaffenhofen: a farmers market.

A May tree - which is usually put up on May 1st and stays up until the day before the next May Day. This metal type actually stays up all year round and has flags representing all the trades of the village.
 

A church with a grotto.

 The Kloster Scheyern monastery.

Then we headed to Wolnzach for gelato, and finally had dinner at the Biergarten (then more gelato) in Geisenfeld!

Am Mittwoch we drove to Regensburg Aldstadt to view the city center,  Rathaus (city hall) and Dom.

The candle burning brightly in the foreground was lit for my late Uncle Gerald.  Big love for Big G.

We next went to the Bavarian Forest National Park to visit Inga's brother and family, where on the way we saw the Walhalla built by König Ludwig I of Bavaria.  This is the same King that built Neuschwanstein castle, which is, just like Walhalla, not true to the period of construction, he just liked to build really crazy and impressive structures.

Am Donnerstag we went to SIP in Landsberg am Lech.  A scooter shop where I fell in love with this Vespa and ended up buying the decals to pimp out my Vespa in the same way:

Then we started our 3 hour journey through the Alps to Austria and Switzerland, then driving along the south side of the picturesque Bodensee to Konstanz.

From here we took the ferry over to Meersburg where we looked at the Meersburg castle - built 630. The Old Castle, according to the Swiss chronicles, was built by the Merovingian King Dagobert I in the 7th Century. It was also the home of the German poetess Annette von Droste-Hülshoff for the last eight years of her life.

"Wilder Mann" - wild man!!!  :D

Am Freitag we headed to München to walk 307 steps to the top of Alter Peter tower to view the Rathaus and city...  in the rain.  :(

Delicious dried fruit and flowers shop where I bought a candied rose.

Am Samstag we went to Ingolstadt's Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum and castle with cannons.

 

Finally, am Sonntag, we checked out a massive fleamarket in Neuburg an der Donau where I found something truly special and possibly the best token of Bavaria I could have been lucky enough to find.  A Bavarian Black Forest relic.  This relic is from around 1940. It is the maxilla and mandible of the German weasel set in silver. Each one is completely unique because the size of the setting depends on the size of the jaw. The word "relic" denotes a supernatural object, usually bone, teeth or fur, regarded with great respect because of it's association with a saint or martyr. Black Forest Relics are infused with the magic of the forest and the mythologies of the animal. Hunters wear these amulets as trophies of the hunt and for protection while hunting.  It's diameter is about the size of a nickle and it hinges open and close.  On top and bottom is a carving of oak leaves and nuts.  Sorry my picture isn't that great.

Lastly we went to a Celtic/ Roman Museum in Manching, back to the Biergarten in Geisenfeld and then a bike ride around Rohrbach.

I'm done.  Honestly.  That was an intense journey, and if you made it to the bottom of this post and are still reading, I thank you, as that was long winded.

Lots of hugs and misses to Inga and her momma and her friends that I met there for such a wonderful experience!!!  <3

Devi.