Reunion and more - Germany & Czech Republic

[Gladstone Tim]

Not much helmet wearing by the looks of it.

 

[ellen10]

I love the cycling in Europe, no helmet required.

 

[OZDUCK]

It did feel strange without a helmet. I am quite happy to wear one here.

 

[OZDUCK]

More of the Burg









Plenty of flowers in the grounds










After we left here we got lost for a little while and added a few K's to the trip. But it actually worked out well as we ended up going through a small town instead of circling around it. There was a small bakery open for Sunday lunch so we stopped and refuelled with some simple but tasty food.



The fried potatoes were served with an apple sauce

 

[OZDUCK]

When we got back into the suburbs of town the route became a bit confusing. But luckily for us there were families out for a Sunday ride. They had the look of people who knew where they were going so we followed them and they led us home.



There were flowers in the fields





Eventually we came across the lake at the edge of Muenster - the Aasee. It was a lovely day and people were out sailing, using pedal boats and so forth









There is an historic windmill by the lake



We the rode down to the old city wharf which has been re-developed (There will be further photos of this area and the lake from another day).

Our trusty bikes.





We rode a little over 40 km and were out and about for around 7 hours. It was a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday.

 

[OZDUCK]

We rode a little further alongside the Dortmund - Ems Canal. The locals treat this as their beach.







As said above the old canal harbour is undergoing redevelopment.

We took a bus there and were just in time to catch the start of a swimming competition.





Lots of restaurants, galleries and apartments are being built. It seems to be about half finished. It looks that it will be a very nice area when finished.









What it used to look like

 

[OZDUCK]

We walked from the canal to the (manmade) lake.



You could go for a cruise on an Electric Boat




We then walked a bit further along a watercourse to where the Weekend Fleamarket was in full swing.



It had taken over part of The Promenade

 

[craven morehead]

When we got back into the suburbs of town the route became a bit confusing. But luckily for us there were families out for a Sunday ride. They had the look of people who knew where they were going so we followed them and they led us home.

View attachment 294738

There were flowers in the fields

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Eventually we came across the lake at the edge of Muenster - the Aasee. It was a lovely day and people were out sailing, using pedal boats and so forth

View attachment 294741

View attachment 294742

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There is an historic windmill by the lake

View attachment 294745

We the rode down to the old city wharf which has been re-developed (There will be further photos of this area and the lake from another day).

Our trusty bikes.

View attachment 294747

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We rode a little over 40 km and were out and about for around 7 hours. It was a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday.

Great day for a ride with beautiful weather and fantastic scenery.

 

[OZDUCK]

Finishing off Muenster

The centre of town was so crowded with the music festival that we went for a random walk into the outer city and found a very nice quite little restaurant. We still find it hard to cope with smoking being allowed in Germany near people eating. Luckily they managed to put us far enough way from the other tables for the smoke to be unnoticeable. I just hate the smell of cigarettes while my wife can get coughing fits if the smoke is too thick.












The town was really buzzing










For some reason there was always a long line at this little place. We waited until Berlin for our Currywurst.

 

[OZDUCK]

After a pleasant, but too short, 3 night stay we headed off to Berlin. We couldn't catch an ICE train from Muenster but had to travel for 1/2 an hour on a local train to Hamm for the connection. Once again D Bahn had their little joke at our expense by putting incorrect information of the station regarding the carriage locations. So we managed a run to the front of the train followed by another one to the rear.

The first class compartment in the 'local' train. As seemed to be common there was little room for luggage.



We had booked 1st Class for this trip and we also booked a "Quite Zone" carriage on the ICE train. To be honest it didn't seem to be much quieter than a normal carriage and people still took mobile calls etc. I didn't find the train exceptionally comfortable. The seats were pretty hard and there was quite a bit of swaying but I think we were running on 'old' lines for a lot of the way as the train rarely reached its full speed. There was a paid snack service to the seats but all the cold drinks were warm.



The snack. They were mostly around 4 - 5 euro



But we did get a couple of packets of free biscuits.



On the way to Berlin we made a short stop at Wolfsburg and to my delight there was a VW factory visible.





The fastest speed we reached was 253 km/h. Most of the time the train ran at around 150 - 160 km/h



As usual there were lots of fields of corn.



It wasn't the most scenic rail trip that I have done but there was the occasional interesting sight.



What I assume is a leftover from the DDR days.

 

[Katie]

If you thought Dusseldorf was grim, then don't ever visit Essen. I love the place, but it's not really a tourist spot; very industrial area.

My friends from Potsdam had a similar ICE experience on their Berlin-Frankfurt train ride to start the trip home to Australia in July - turned around directions for which carriages on the platform, the cabin they were booked in didn't have power, so no seats were able to be used, limited catering, and something like only cold beverages available, not any hot ones (or vice versa).

 

[Cossie]

After a pleasant, but too short, 3 night stay we headed off to Berlin. We couldn't catch an ICE train from Muenster but had to travel for 1/2 an hour on a local train to Hamm for the connection. Once again D Bahn had their little joke at our expense by putting incorrect information of the station regarding the carriage locations. So we managed a run to the front of the train followed by another one to the rear.

The first class compartment in the 'local' train. As seemed to be common there was little room for luggage.

View attachment 295271

We had booked 1st Class for this trip and we also booked a "Quite Zone" carriage on the ICE train. To be honest it didn't seem to be much quieter than a normal carriage and people still took mobile calls etc. I didn't find the train exceptionally comfortable. The seats were pretty hard and there was quite a bit of swaying but I think we were running on 'old' lines for a lot of the way as the train rarely reached its full speed. There was a paid snack service to the seats but all the cold drinks were warm.

View attachment 295243

The snack. They were mostly around 4 - 5 euro

View attachment 295273

But we did get a couple of packets of free biscuits.

View attachment 295274

On the way to Berlin we made a short stop at Wolfsburg and to my delight there was a VW factory visible.

View attachment 295234

View attachment 295235

The fastest speed we reached was 253 km/h. Most of the time the train ran at around 150 - 160 km/h

View attachment 295236

As usual there were lots of fields of corn.

View attachment 295272

It wasn't the most scenic rail trip that I have done but there was the occasional interesting sight.

View attachment 295275

What I assume is a leftover from the DDR days.

View attachment 295276

Looks like a Kali mine, quite a few in that area. Potash and salt, possibly this one as it’s between Wolfburg and Magdeburg.

Kaliwerk Zielitz – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

 

[OZDUCK]

Looks like a Kali mine, quite a few in that area. Potash and salt, possibly this one as it’s between Wolfburg and Magdeburg.

Kaliwerk Zielitz – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

Looks very possible. Thanks for the info.

 

[RB]

Looks very possible. Thanks for the info.

We went past the same or similar pile and it was potash. The pile I am thinking of was at Neuhoh as we headed north

 

[OZDUCK]

Because we were spending 8 nights in Berlin we booked an 'Apartment' rather than a hotel room. It was no cheaper but gave us a lot more room and facilities. We were a street from the Unter Den Linden and about 300 metres from the Gendarmenmarkt. The Jewish memorial was at the end of our street.



A small fridge and dishwasher were hidden behind the cupboard doors



An out of focus walk in closet



There was a balcony which could be closed off from the room. It was also very good for drying clothes. There were a free washing machine and clothes dryer on our floor. However the dryer was the most inefficient one known to man.



The street view. From about 22:30 to 08:30 it was very quiet.

 

[OZDUCK]

We had booked a tour of the Reichstag Dome. The booking schedule was very busy. It is free and gives a timed entry. Becaue it was school holidays the dome was very busy and there were long lines trying to get cancelled spots.





The weather when we were in Berlin was mostly fairly unpleasant - cloudy with temperatures in the high 20's/low 30's and humidity up around 85%. Inside the dome it was stifling. It is a very efficient greenhouse.
















The panels gave a condensed history of the building. There was also a free audio guide in a variety of languages

 

[OZDUCK]

The view

The Tiergarten



The Victory Memorial and the Cold War Communications spy station on the Teufelsberg.



The captive sightseeing balloon in flight



Looking over the Brandenburg Gate with the US Embassy behind it and the Jewish Memorial further on.



The Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate



Berlin HBF



Friedrichstrasse Station



The French and German Churches at the Gendarmenmarkt



The New Synagogue



The tower of the Rotes Rathaus and the Berliner Dom

 

[OZDUCK]

The next day we went to Spandau - about half an hour on the S Bahn from Friedrichstrasse Station.

The local Tourist Office (The Gothic House) - it is housed in the oldest town house in Berlin dating from the 15th C. It contains a nice little free museum



The original ribbed vaulted celling



Domestic furnishings over the ages





Biedermeier style furnishings





They had a little app which gave a guided tour tour of the old town area on your mobile phone. Each description was triggered by the GPS locations of the various sites as you walked around town. It took about 2 hours.

St Nicholas Church - built 1410 -1450. The statue is of Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg 1505 -1571

​

This cannonball was imbedded in the wall of the church during the Napoleonic Wars circa 1806



A nearby monument to those who lost their lives around Spandau during the Napoleonic Wars in 1812 -1815



Some of the last surviving remnants of the city walls

 

[OZDUCK]

More of Spandau



The remnants of the Spandau Armoury - demilitarised after WW1.



The old cofferdam for the moat around the city walls



Spandau City Hall



Spandau Coat of Arms



There are a few half timbered houses in the old town



This was once a sculptors house and these statues were basically advertising his skills

 

[OZDUCK]

Then we moved onto the Spandau Citadel - Spandau Citadel - Wikipedia
"one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island near the meeting of the Havel and the Spree"

The citadel did not house the naz_ prisoners after WW2. That, now demolished, prison was a few km away. However it did house a naz_ Chemical warfare laboratory where research was conducted into Tabun & Sarin nerve gases.










They were making preparations for a music festival to be held inside the citadel. If you look at the top group in the middle column you will see an institution that seems to rival the citadel itself for the length of time they have been around.



The old dock inside the walls