MUNICH STOPOVER

ON TIME FOR OKTOBERFEST - SEPTEMBER 2006

Travelling from Chania to Lisbon, we made a stopover in Munich on September 16th, 2006. It was the first day of the 2006 Oktoberfest. Having experienced the Fest in 1986 (no pictures, however, due to the confusion to get there - just to give you an idea, the ladies in our party had their feet in the air while going up the escalators of the subway station; and we avoided Theresienwiese station, which uses to be «the most highly frequented»...), we didn't try it again. Still, the Fest ambiance could be enjoyed throughout town...


"MARIENPLATZ is the heart of old town Munich"



"RATHAUS - The façade of the City Hall, with the famous Glockenspiel (a carillon with 43 bells) is huge and misleading. In fact it was built only in the late 19th century, between 1867 and 1908, one example of the German «Gründerzeitstill»"


"FRAUENKIRCHE - Just around the corner from MarienPlatz is the Frauenkirche, the largest church in Munich and a real piece of late Gothic architecture, as it was built between 1468 and 1488. The building's domes atop each tower, modelled after the Dome in Jerusalem, were built only in 1525. The cathedral suffered severe damage during World War II and the restoration was completed only in 1994"



"STROLLING AROUND"



"HOFBRÄUHAUS is probably the most famous of the German Breweries, and deservedly so"


"NATIONAL THEATRE, an opera house, is home to the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Bayerisches Staatsballett"


"THEATINER CHURCH ST. CAJETAN was built between 1663 and 1690, in Italian high-baroque style, to commemorate the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Max Emanuel, in 1662"


"RESIDENZ - The Munich Residenz was the seat of government and the residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to 1918"


"STREET MUSICIANS - The picture is blurred, as the day was ending and I didn't want to use the flash. But I couldn't resist the magic of the Kusturica-style players..."


"HIRMER - «Willkommen bei Hirmer GROSSE GRÖSSEN – dem Spezialisten für Herrenmode in Übergrößen»"




"LÖWENPARADE - There were CowParades in many cities around the world. Munich had a LionsParade"

DÜSSELDORF

IN THE MIDST - DECEMBER 2005

The last step of this German journey was Düsseldorf. The ladies went shopping, while I was strolling around in the midst...


"CHURCH AND FOUNTAIN. Walking from the Railway Station towards the Königsallee, I found the 1988 fountain by Heinz Mack, with the 3, 6 and 9 meter high concrete sails, at the Place of the German Unity (Platz der Deutschen Einheit); and the church, at Martin Luther Platz"



"KÖNIGSALLEE - KÖ, completed in 1804, is Düsseldorf's best known trademark and Germany's most sophisticated mile. It's considered one of the world's most luxurious boulevards"


"THE MINISTRY JUSTICE of the state North Rhine-Westphalia, located at Martin-Luther-Platz"


"IM FÜCHSCHEN is a Düsseldorfer institution. A brewery existed at the same place as early as 1640, and, although it did not bear the name "Füchschen", it was a popular meeting place. However, the bitter-fresh Füchschen Alt Bier has been brewed on Ratinger Straße since 1848 and with a fox sign adorning the house facade instead of a house number"


"ST. LAMBERTUS CHURCH, built in 1206 and enlarged between 1288 and 1394, is a real icon for the city. The tall spire of the church dominated the city for centuries and, despite present Düsseldorf's skyscrapers, it still stands out clearly from the opposite bank of the Rhine”


"BURGPLATZ AND SCHLOSSTURM - The castle of the Count of Berg stood at this place, before burning in 1872, and being completely demolished in 1888. Burgplatz - one of the most beautiful squares in Germany - is again situated directly on the Rhine, after the opening of the Rhine embankment tunnel in 1995. The old castle tower hosts the Shipping Museum, dedicated to navigation on the Rhine River"



"MARKTPLATZ was built between 1570 and 1573, redesigned in 1749 and reconstructed in 1958-1961. The Old City Hall, part of the town hall complex consisting of three buildings from different periods, and the Christmas market may be seen in the pictures. The Equestrian Statue of the Elector Jan Wellen (1658-1716) by Gabriel de Grupello (1711) dominates the square"


"FILMMUSEUM - Also closed on Mondays..."




"RHEINUFERPROMENADE - There is a new avenue in Düsseldorf: the Rhine embankment promenade, the most beautiful promenade on the Rhine, stretching over 1.5 km from Oberkassel bridge along the Altstadt to the parliament houses of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its construction fulfilled an old dream of the Düsseldorfers, as it sent under ground, unnoticed from above, more than 55.000 motor vehicles that used the B1 road daily. When the promenade was officially opened in June 1995, no wonder that one million people celebrated!"




"RHEINTURM - The Rhine Tower (built between 1979 and 1982 and located near the parliament building and the impressive Gehry towers) is an interesting building, with a nice view of the River, stretching as far as Cologne, when the fog allows you to see something..."


"REFLECTION – Leaving the Promenade and going into the old town again, I found the Spee's Graben, one of Düsseldorf's beautiful gardens. The name of the park near numerous museums and Ministries is derived from the palace Spee, the seat of the City Museum. Spee’s Ditch (Graben in German) was part of the fortifications of the Marie Amalie Bastion, and was transformed into a park in the early years of the 19th century”


"STREET SCULPTURE"


"ALTSTADT - The old town, with its narrow lanes, old churches, breweries and ancient pubs, is a must!"


"SEVENS Shopping Mall at KO is one of the most modern shopping destinations in Dusseldorf. It is named Sevens because of its seven floors, a cabalistic number also for its Japanese investor"


"KÖ AT NIGHT - Goodbye Düsseldorf"

THE MOSEL RIVER EXPERIENCE

COCHEM AND AROUND – DECEMBER 2005

I’ll deal first with the Mosel, and then with the tag from Sally and Isabella!

On Sunday, we took the regional train to Trier, but stop in Cochem, The Pearl of the Mosel, well ahead of the end of the line. Cochem, the capital of the district Cochem-Sehl, is a very nice village with roughly 5000 inhabitants. Located in the most romantic part of the Mosel Valley, where the river curves between two hiking paradises - Eifel and Hunsrück, it is also a wonderful place to start your Mosel experience!


"MOSELBRÜCKE - Cochem is first mentioned in a document of the Abbey of Prüm dated December 20, 866. On the other side of the Mosel is the village of Cond, and the vineyards"




"MOSELPROMENADE - Ladies walking along the Promenade, though the other flowers were already gone"


"ALTSTADT - The remains of the old town wall are quite interesting, and this fortified tower looks still in good shape"






"REICHSBURG CASTLE - Cochem Castle, dating from 1051, represents a landmark of the city and of the region. Pictures at different hours and from different perspectives show the beauty of the building"






"CRUISING THE MOSEL"


"MISSING THE GRAPES"



"MARKTPLATZ - The market-place is a wonderful place, with Martin's Fountain, the beautiful baroque town hall and the old houses"


"MUSIC"

After Cochem and the cruise, we took the train and went a bit further up the river to Bullay.



"BULLAY - It was late, and the ducks were coming back home..."

***

Now, OK, I've been tagged by Sally at Sydney Daily Photo, and Isabella at Naples, Florida Daily photo! And I’m supposed to pass the tag on...

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs

Here are 8 Random Facts about me:

1.Hobby: Travelling!
2.Colour: Blue - F.C.Porto, Mourinho's Chelsea, Sea Watching...
3.Drink: Champagne!
4.Cities: New York! Stockholm (in summer) & Sydney.
5.Beaches: Algarve.
6.Holidays: Around the World!
7.Live: Lisbon, Portugal.
8.Speak: Portuguese, French, English, German and some Spanish and Italian!

I'd like to tag:

Ash - Dreaming in Metaphors
Dsole - Momentos
Letitia - Freefalling
Marie - Montpellier Daily Photo
Ming - New York Daily Photo
Peter - PHO
Shionge - So Shiok...!
Traveller One (Kim) - Stepping Stones

And I'll add another one:

Niki-chan - Emotional Rescue 3!