Pressgang

Monday, 27 November 2017

BRITZ

Living not far from Schloss Britz I thought it important to look at this imposing residence,park and lake.
blessed with a fine sunny day it was time to put on the shorts,and stroll to these attractive gardens.But I was not alone many joggers had similar thoughts ,and were out in force,or exercising their dogs.

Then taking Blutenhase strasse as directed by the attractive postal lady it was only a kilometer walk to these extensive green Britz gardens

Britz garden train,coming................

going

Below the beautiful Britz garden lake

Oh what a fine and enjoyable Saturday,all this activity has stimulated the appetite so when Penny supermarket had Curry king dinners available and inexpensive white wine it was time to enjoy.

EiseEISENACH Eisenach is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Erfurt, 70 km (43 miles) southeast of Kassel and 150 km (93 miles) northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situated near the former Inner German border. A major attraction is Wartburg castle, which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1999. Eisenach was an early capital of Thuringia in the 12th and 13th centuries. St. Elizabeth lived at the court of the Ludowingians here between 1211 and 1228. Later, Martin Luther came to Eisenach and translated the Bible into German. In 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born here. During the early modern period, Eisenach was a residence of the Ernestine Wettins and was visited by numerous representatives of Weimar classicism like Johann Wolfgang Goethe.[2]:22–25 In 1869, the SDAP, one of the two precursors of the Social Democratic Party of GermanyEISENACH EISENACH eisenach (SPD) was founded in Eisenach. Car production is an

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Eisenach is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Erfurt, 70 km (43 miles) southeast of Kassel and 150 km (93 miles) northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situated near the former Inner German border. A major attraction is Wartburg castle, which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1999.
Eisenach was an early capital of Thuringia in the 12th and 13th centuries. St. Elizabeth lived at the court of the Ludowingians here between 1211 and 1228. Later, Martin Luther came to Eisenach and translated the Bible into German. In 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born here. During the early modern period, Eisenach was a residence of the Ernestine Wettins and was visited by numerous representatives of Weimar classicism like Johann Wolfgang Goethe.^[2]^:22–25 In 1869, the SDAP, one of the two precursors of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was founded in Eisenach.
Car production is an important industry in Eisenach. The Automobilwerk Eisenach was founded in 1896. In the German Democratic Republic, the Wartburg was produced here.
Eisenach is situated on the Hörsel river, a tributary of the Werra between the Thuringian Forest in the south, the Hainich mountains in the north-east and the East Hesse Highlands in the north-west.

My train to Eisenach leaves Erfurt haupbahnhof at 9am and I am able to catch a bus to the station from outside the Opera Hostel in Dalbergs strasse .No need to worry about fruhstuck all provided by the hostel,
typical German breakfast with black bread jam,bread rolls,philly cheese tea, fruit and yoghurt.
The train passes through Gotha and arrives at Eisenach at 9.45am.The process is towalk up town and find a hotel.

Eisenach train statio

                 This is another attractive German town steeped in history,with a wall and gatehouse
     Lumping my backpack and shoulder bag I was keen to find Backhaus Hotel,which unfortunately was full
   However they rang the Glockenhof Hotel just round the corner in Grimmel gasse 4, where I secured a bed and breakfast for E69.00

The Royal Samovar was produced to impress me

This breakfact spread was pure opulence,quite staggering
I was then able to leave my luggage and explore the town an its environment

Historic Eisenach

Eisenach town square

I chose to have coffee in the town square before enquiring about Thuringa Forest,but again was dissapointed that no accommadation was available for the next two nights . So contented my self with the steep climb necessary to reach Wartburg Caste.

Eisenach Castle

The scene inside the castle,with many tourists

Scene from the wall parapets

Metal model of the castle

The well for water supply

Very solid timber front gate

Castle drawbridge

The walk down through the forest from the castle to Eisenach town

Stately German architecture in Eisenach

Prosperous family business,with decendents world wide

After a very strenuous and exciting day I rewarded my self with dinner at Bach restaurant facing the square, reflecting on where I was, how the day unfolded, and how pleasant the wine was.

Sunday, 26 November 2017

Marzahn

A couple of Gnomes at play in the woods at the International Garden show

Art at the Lichtenberg train station

Hellersdorf Market Square

Avenue at the International Garden Show

Garden furniture at the International Garden Show

Doppelganger rides at the International Garden Show

At the International Garden Show,one of the exibits,promoting recycling

Eastern house decoration at the International Garden Show

Marzahn with Hellersdorf are satellite suburbs built quickly and cheaply in the 1970's to combat the acute housing shortage in East Berlin called Plattenbauten like concrete stalagmites.. To day many have been painted with bright colours and retro fitted with balconies. A large portion of the residents are,welfare recipients,asylum seekers and migrants , good enough reasons to go take a look.
Alighting from the train there was a derros camp beside the station,i took the bus to Karlshorst ,passing 5 story unit along the streets.
At Hellersdorf I was greeted by a sterile market square,so after coffee took the bus to the International Garden Fair

Schloss Charlottenburg

Charlottenburg Palace is the biggest and most beautiful remaining nine royal residences,it reflects the one time grandeur of the Hollenzollern clan, which ruled from 1415 until 1918 . Originally a summer retreat it grew into a boroque pile with lush gardens,trickling streams ,micro bridges and mature trees.

Schoningen

My objective is the Palaon museum, I have stayed the night at Helmsted which is a bus ride away from Schoningen .Without a hand held device to identify accomadation a lot of walking is involved , after some difficulty I found the Golden Stern hotel at 48 Gropern Strasse..This was upmarket hotel with a room on the second floor with a outlook over the courtyard and an extensive breakfast for E70.

t When added to my very inexpensive dinner it was reasonable.
After booking in I wandered 50 meters up the street and found a place to eat and drink on the corner
of Hausmannsturm.It had a frontage of only 4 meters but inside was a beer pump and a proprieter eager to make me a schlazick for a small number of Euros .
Next day I had to walk to the bus station and catch a bus to Schoningen,where I had time to photograph the town square before taking the bus to the museum.

Schoningen is a small town of 10,000 population in northern Germany with a quaint square above, a massive elm forest, and an open pit coal mine which employed most of the residents,but has been scaling down for years. Until workers unearthed eight prehistoric spears, leading the town to build a museum to house these artifacts.
The recently opened Palaon museum beside the coal mine,in a field of wildflowers,displays how Stone Age man lived with a few simple stone implements .Archaeologists found rich organic material .For the first researchers have known what sort of plants would have been in the area .