Day 3 in Germany

Hello all, well on the third day in the beautiful German city of Berlin, it was decided that we go on a trip along the river Rhine. So we got into the bus and toddled off to the Rhine Boat boarding point. They have a novel idea of a, "ticket office," in Germany, I must say. See below.

Once the tickets were purchased, we boarded the boat, and cast off.

The boat set off at a leisurely pace and we settled into our seats to watch Berlin go by. There are a number of boats plying their trade on the Rhine.

All along the Rhine river banks one can see buildings, both old, and modern in structure. Such as the one below, which is obviously NOT an old one.  ;-)

The older bridges over the river are adorned with faces carved into the stone.

Too far away, have a look at the picture below for a close up view. I don't know if these faces were of any significance when the bridges were built, or if they were just for decorative purpose only.

Here is another, "bridge face," lovely isn't it? No seriously, one has to admire the skill of the crafts person who did these carvings. look at the detail still there after Lord knows how many years.

Further along we get to see, The Reichstag, the, (then), infamous building out of which emanated the orders from Himmler, etc. to exterminate hundreds of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, and lots of other type of people who didn't match their ideas of perfection. Thankfully, this building is now used for far more peaceful purposes. It was destroyed during World War II, but rebuilt between 1961 and 1971. See the link for the history of this magnificent building.

http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/reichstag

In the photo below, one can see the glass dome of the Reichstag.

I could go on about this boat trip for ages, (but I won't). We left our boat after a very pleasant ride, and lots of sightseeing, and boarded another bus. This time nobody told us where we were going. What a shock when we arrived and left the bus. There, right in front of our eyes was the Berlin Wall. Not only were we at the Wall, but we were in East Berlin, (until a short time ago, this was controlled by the Russians), and there is no way that we would have been able to wander around it as we did. The gap in the wall here, was the actual position of Checkpoint Charlie, See the link for more information.

http://www.tenfactsabout.co.uk/0003berlinwall.htm

It doesn't look that formidable now does it? But remember, in its day this wall was topped by railings, and barbed wire, as you will see later on.

The image above, is of the West Side, (the Allied side), of the Berlin Wall. The image above portrays the other divided countries of the World, and the length of their dividing walls. This is the position of gap where Checkpoint Charlie, once stood. This is the left hand side of the gap, when looking from the Western side of the Wall.

Above you can see the, "Wall on Wall," gallery. This section portrays the Berlin Wall itself, as it was before it was brought down. Just on the right hand side of the picture, you cab see the, "Peace lines," of Ireland, dividing the North and South.

 

The photo above gives a better view of Ireland's "Peace Lines," and also, you can just see the Korean divide. In the photo below, the Korean DMZ, (Demilitarised Zone), is shown clearly.

So after photographing the Berlin Wall, and its surroundings for a while we boarded the bus and were taken back more towards the centre of Berlin for a photographic session around the area of the beautiful Berlin Concert House. I will not put up all the pics that I took in this area as there are lots. Below is one of the Concert House itself.

After an hour around this area, we headed off, on foot to a Restaurant for a nice Dinner, with some wonderful German Wheat Beer. Below is a picture of a Berlin Segway Tour. There are a lot of this type of tour operators around the city.

One last pic now, then it's back to the hotel and get things ready, as we leave Germany tomorrow for home. Farewell Germany. Auf Weidesain Pet! 

Sorry to any German readers, if I've got the spelling wrong. Bye for now and take care all. Regatds, Twm.

 

My second day in Germany

Hi there, don't forget now, all photo's here, were taken with the Samsung NX 300 and the 18-55 m.m kit lens, which by the way, I still find to be an amazing combo. However on to Germany.

On the second day we were taken away from Berlin to see Dresden, and Leipzig. Two beautiful cities. Our first point of call was the Zwinger Palace, in Dresden. Considering the amount of damage that was inflicted on this city during W. War II, you would never believe it, to look at it now. Dresden, is a truly wonderful city with its beautiful old buildings in the Baroque style of architecture. It is a world famous site, if you go to Germany, try to make time to visit Dresden to see this magnificent place and experience Saxon history.

Above is the Zwinger Palace. When one passes through the entrance, you feel as if you had gone back in time. The view of the inner courtyard is stunning. I cannot do it justice here, as you need to see it for yourself, or at least see it in a large photo.

It is a huge courtyard. this is the view looking straight ahead as you come through the entrance.

Turn your head to the right, as you enter the courtyard and you can see the three arches that are the entrance to the steps leading to the roof garden.

Above is a closer view of the garden entrances.
Below are the carvings by the archway.

Below is one of the many, many statues overlooking the courtyard from the roof garden.

 Here you can see an alternative view of the roof over the garden entrance. This photo was taken from the roof garden itself,

 

Below is a an image showing the inner courtyard form the roof garden.

 

I could spend all day here just showing you photo's of this lovely old palace, but we must move on or I shall run out of space here.

After a lunch, we moved on to Leipzig. This lovely church was the first building that we saw upon exiting our transport. 

after a walk around this pleasant place, I have to say, that there is not a lot here. Not that I could find anyway, other than a very old famous church. It is the Church of St. Nikolai, (the patron Saint of merchant's). Below one can see the welcome notice at the entrance.

 Once inside the front door, and through the huge glass door. Look up, and immediately overhead is the beautiful sight that you can see below.

After walking the short distance into the church you can see the wonderful architecture that this church is famous for.

 

 

Look at this wonderful building. Have you ever seen anything like it? I know I haven't. Not until I visited Germany, and, in particular Leipzig.

 

Here we are, outside the church again, still bathed in sunshine, and looking st the square, at the side of the church. We are in the street behind the church here.

 

 

The Church of St. Nikolai is on the left. and the Guest hose. (hotel?), of St. Nikolai is on the right. Look at the column standing just left of centre in the foreground here. It is the same design as those that are in the church itself.

 

Walking around the city, you will see various statues. The one below is of The Pied Piper of Hamlin. Remember the story? It is of a piper who was chartered to pipe all the rats out of Hamlin. After he had removed the vermin, the town reneged on the deal and refused to pay him. So, he picked up his pipe and proceeded to play again, this time, the children of Hamlin followed him out of town, until the town paid up, he would not return the children.

 

 

Walking around town now, heading back to the pick up point, and past lots of statues of various people when I noticed this guy. I think he wrote a tune or two, didn't he?

 

 Closer to the meeting place, I couldn't resist this picture, for the reflection in the glass of one building, of the buildings on the opposite side.

 

 

Well I'm nearly there now, just down the street, and round the corner, and I'm ready to meet the transport.

 

Here we are, I'm back at the pick up point, ready to be transported back to beautiful Berlin. Tomorrow we are going on a boat ride up the river Rhine.
I have to say, I am extremely pleased with all the images that my Samsung NX 300 and 18-55 m.m kit lens have produced today. It's a superb little camera. I would have hated to have to lug my DSLR around all this time. Phew, it doesn't bear thinking about. Take care me friends. Regards, Twm.

 

Berlin, in the evening.

In the evening, of my first day in Berlin I was issed with a Samsung Media pass, which allowed me entyrance to the grand event held at the Berlin Tempodrom. This was the Samsung Unpacked, experience. This is where Samsung introduced their new innovations in technology to the world. This event was held live with Times Square, in New York, USA.

 

So after we went through the entrance procedure, we walked into the Berlin Tempodrom, a truly impressive auditorium indeed. There were literally thousands of people already there when we got in, see  below.

 

After a very short while, the presentation got off to a start, with the introdauction of the three new technology products from Samsung. These three items all connect, wirelessly with each other. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the watch, called the Samsung Gear, can only connect with the new Samsnug Note 3, but the rumour mill is abuzz that there may be soft ware updates, in oreder to allow connaction to other Galaxy items.

All the photo's taken for this report, were captured using a Samsung NX 300 with the 18-55mm kit lens.

 

Now, I don't propose to go into all the operational options of these three devices. No, there are other places on the web that you can get all this information from, off people who are far more skilled at it than I.

 

 

Above is the Galaxy Gear. This is basically a watch that you can answer your phone with, access your files off your tablet with. Heck it can even take a photo. All very James Bond style, but very useful in certain situations, like if you were walking down the street and your phone rings, it is in your inside pocket of your coat as it's raining. Press your watch and take the call, simples. ;-)

 

Above is the new Galaxy Note 3, which as it's name suggests, has the ability to take notes. It also has hand writing recognition, and a mas of other things it can do. This is NOT a technical review, so, as I've said previously, I will not go into its capabilities, suffive to say, that when it is teamed up with the Galaxy Gear, they make a great pairing indeed. Add to these two, the new Galaxy note 10.1 tablet, and you have a great system from the technology giant Samsung.

 

 

 

Later on day 1

Hi there, after a very nice Italian lunch, we wandered around Berlin taking photo's of whatever took our eye. Berlin has an awful lot of fountains. Here is one that may have been an early prototype of the first Bidet.   ;-)

But not to be outdone, just around the corner is....yes another fountain.

Right that's enough of the waterworks for now. Off to the Brandenburg Gate. When Berlin was a walled city, there were five entry points. As the city grew, and ther was no more need for a wall, the rest were demolished, but they preserved this, the grandest of them as a monument, and what a monument it is too.

Below is another view of the Brandenburg Gate, form across the road, where I went to see another landmark in Germany.

Just a few hundred metres away from where I took this photo of the Gate, is one of the most infamous places I know of. It is the place where Himmler, and the rest of the Nazis, gave the orders for the extermination of millions of people, Jews. gypsies, and anyone who generally didn't fit in with the Third Reich's idea of a good Aryan race. It is The Reichstag. I couldn't get any closer as the security guard wouldn't allow it.


                            

NX 300 went to Germany, and took me along

Hi there, So, as the tiele says I went to Germany. Starting in Berlin. All photo's here were taken with a Samsung NX 300, and 18-55 kit lens, which by the way performed flawlessly. The first shot here is looking out of the hotel window, on our first full day in Berlin. 

After breakfast I got into the transport and travelled to see Germany's Victory column.

This was erected to commemorate Germany's victory over France, in the Franco Prussian wars. The Victory Column, or Golden Angel, is an impressive creation indeed, standing, as it does, on an island in the middle of the meeting of five major roads. One can walk up the inside of this column, but please be aware, there are a heck of a lot of steps up a narrow, spiral staircase, this is not for the faint of heart.

To get to this monument one must walk through a subway, under one of the roads that the Angel overlooks. You then proceed, through a door in the base of the column. When you get to the first set of steps, you can look up to the first landing.

At the first landing, and every subsequent one after, there is a small bench that one can sit on to get your breath back. As you walk further up there are small windows, like the "arrow slits," in ancient castles. Below is the view through one of these.

Onwards, and upwars we go, until, after a lot of steps we come out on the viewing balcony around the feet of the Golden Angel. What a view awaits you from here. Below is one aspect of the beautiful city of Berlin.

Once you have your breathing under control again, you can take your time and see the views that your elevated position now affords. Below are two of the five major roads the Angel watches over.

Looking down from the Angel one can see the size of the adults below.

But this is enough of the Angel, for now at least, we may return to her later. As you step onto the landing, to descend the spiral staircase again, a sign presents itself. If I hadn't been so tired, after walking up the stairs, I would probably have seen it then, lol.

So be warned, "NO GRAFFITTI," or any other form of vandalism will be tolerated in Germany. Good for them! I say. All for now gang, take care, Twm.