Well I have been back in the US for 3 days now and it feels like I never left. The flight home was fine. It boarded and left on time and we arrived in Newark on time. I don't know how I feel about being back. It is the same every year. Over all I have to , once again, say I had a great 2 months away. Seeing Frankfurt, Koln, and Heidelberg with Ernest was fun. My beloved Weimar was the same as always and that is how I always want it. Dresden was nice mainly because of the hotel. Staying at the Taschenberg Palais was worth the stop there. Poland was different and I am glad I went there. I do have to say that Wroclaw and Poznan were basically the same. You do not need to visit both. One is enough. The food and the drink were great in both and the price of everything was certainly great. Then of course I was on to Berlin. I wish I had had better weather, I think I would have been somehow happier there. But the Eurostars Hotel delivered again. The location and the price for what you get can not be beat. This was my second stay there and I believe that I like staying there better than when I used to stay at the Hilton!!
Oh well dear readers, If there are any, I will write again when I start to think of next summer.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016
Berlin 2016
I arrived in Berlin on Wednesday 10 August at the Hauptbahnhof. I took the u-bahn to Friedrichstrasse Station and then walked down the street to Eurostars Berlin. They called me a VIP but my room was still not ready. No matter. It was about 13:45 so I walked to the bank to get money and then went to Standge Vertretung for a beer and a bowl of delicious Gulasch.
Anyway, my room is the same as last year and I a just as happy. I have a king bed room and breakfast included for 7 nights for 826.60 euro total. That is less than $130 a night!! I believe this price is better than what I got last year. The first night I went to Vaporetto for dinner. That is the Italian restaurant on the Spree Ufer next to Standige Vertretung. I have eaten there many time before. It is basic Italian. I ate penne arrabiato and 0.5 liter red wine. I was happy and then took a walk and came back to the hotel to do a little drinking in the bar.
I went today and purchased my 3-day card, 3-Tage Karte, for the museums. I t costs 24 euro and gets you into all the major museums. I did not need a reservation to get into the Egyptian museum, as I have in the past. I went to the Egyptian museum and to the National Gallery museum- next to each other. Both are great! If you have not been, go. Get the included audio guide and take your time. In between museums, I did what you should also do, I went to the cafe at the Zeughaus museum. over the bridge from museum island, and had a huge, delicious piece of cake and a cup of coffee. After I went to Hackescher Markt and had 2 dunkles beers and a pretzel at Weihenstephaner. Also a good idea.
Tonight dinner was a disappointment on 2 counts. First I walked down Friedrich Strasse to my favorite Berlin restaurant, Dolcini, and it was closed! But only for vacation, thank god. I have not been in Berlin this late in the summer before so I did not expect it. In 15 years of coming to Berlin this is the first time that I am not eating there!! No la Baker!! So I walked to Loewvenbrau. What a mistake. In the past, when I used to stay at the Berlin Hilton, I very often went there. It was pleasant and the food and beer and service were great. But no longer. Last summer I went in one afternoon and after 30 minutes of no one coming I left. Tonight I got a menu and ordered and received my beer in a timely manner, but 1 hour later still no food. Only an empty beer glass. So I left the beer money on the table and left. The waiter saw me on the way out and I said, " ich kann nicht mehr warten. Das Biergeld ist darauf!" . He said, twice, "alles gut" I said, as I stormed past, " nay, alles micht gut!" So I had to go to Amici. It was fine. I had 2 dunkles, spaghetti aglio and a salad - 25 euro.
Tomorrow I will go to Gemalde Gallerie if nice. If not maybe Bode Museum and Altes Museum .
Anyway, my room is the same as last year and I a just as happy. I have a king bed room and breakfast included for 7 nights for 826.60 euro total. That is less than $130 a night!! I believe this price is better than what I got last year. The first night I went to Vaporetto for dinner. That is the Italian restaurant on the Spree Ufer next to Standige Vertretung. I have eaten there many time before. It is basic Italian. I ate penne arrabiato and 0.5 liter red wine. I was happy and then took a walk and came back to the hotel to do a little drinking in the bar.
I went today and purchased my 3-day card, 3-Tage Karte, for the museums. I t costs 24 euro and gets you into all the major museums. I did not need a reservation to get into the Egyptian museum, as I have in the past. I went to the Egyptian museum and to the National Gallery museum- next to each other. Both are great! If you have not been, go. Get the included audio guide and take your time. In between museums, I did what you should also do, I went to the cafe at the Zeughaus museum. over the bridge from museum island, and had a huge, delicious piece of cake and a cup of coffee. After I went to Hackescher Markt and had 2 dunkles beers and a pretzel at Weihenstephaner. Also a good idea.
Tonight dinner was a disappointment on 2 counts. First I walked down Friedrich Strasse to my favorite Berlin restaurant, Dolcini, and it was closed! But only for vacation, thank god. I have not been in Berlin this late in the summer before so I did not expect it. In 15 years of coming to Berlin this is the first time that I am not eating there!! No la Baker!! So I walked to Loewvenbrau. What a mistake. In the past, when I used to stay at the Berlin Hilton, I very often went there. It was pleasant and the food and beer and service were great. But no longer. Last summer I went in one afternoon and after 30 minutes of no one coming I left. Tonight I got a menu and ordered and received my beer in a timely manner, but 1 hour later still no food. Only an empty beer glass. So I left the beer money on the table and left. The waiter saw me on the way out and I said, " ich kann nicht mehr warten. Das Biergeld ist darauf!" . He said, twice, "alles gut" I said, as I stormed past, " nay, alles micht gut!" So I had to go to Amici. It was fine. I had 2 dunkles, spaghetti aglio and a salad - 25 euro.
Tomorrow I will go to Gemalde Gallerie if nice. If not maybe Bode Museum and Altes Museum .
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Poznan 2016
I did not post anything while I was actually in Poznan so here it is in a nutshell. I stayed at Brovaria. A great hotel right on the main square. They only have about 30 rooms so it is small. My room, number 33, was on the top floor. A large, lovely room. It does have air conditioning. However, there is no elevator so I had to climb 6 flights of stairs every time I went to my room. I had to have an employee take my luggage up there when I arrived. I am a fit middle-aged man and it was a little much. If you can not climb a lot, and I mean a lot, of stairs make sure you are definite about where your room is. The service was great and the breakfast was fine. They have a bar/restaurant which is very popular. The price is absolutely right!!
Poznan has sights but mostly churches. I did take a riding tour but for the price it was not worth it. The guy drove me around and the audio guide spoke to me in English but for 220 zloty, or $55 it was a waste. However, it was a Monday and everything is closed on Monday.
On Tuesday I went to the National Museum and to the City Museum. Both worth a visit. The National Museum is an art museum. If you have never seen Polish art, and I have not, this is the place. I was there over 2 hours and enjoyed it. The city museum is in the town hall in the middle of the square. It is only 5 zloty, $1.25, but not a lot there if you do not read Polish.
The food in Poznan is great and very, very cheap. I ate a lot and drank a lot and it did not cost anything. I went to a great French restaurant , Bistro la cocotte on ul. Murna. It is only about 2 blocks from the main square. I had pate de foie gras, beef bourguignon, 3 glasses of good red wine and 2 waters for less than $30! I also ate at a restaurant called BeeJays. Very good. I ordered sirloin with rice and broccoli and cauliflower. I got that with chicken. I told the waiter that "sirlion" was not the meat on the plate but beef. I don't think he believed me. But that dish with 2 whiskey sours and a glass of red wine and a piece of apple pie with cream and ice cream and a coffee cost me less than $30.
I liked traveling in Poland. But there was not much difference between Wroclaw and Poznan. I would not recommend going to both of them. Either one is great but that is all you need. I took the train to Berlin and here I am. In the Eurostars for the second summer in a row. A wonderful hotel. You should come to Berlin as often as possible and stay here.
Poznan has sights but mostly churches. I did take a riding tour but for the price it was not worth it. The guy drove me around and the audio guide spoke to me in English but for 220 zloty, or $55 it was a waste. However, it was a Monday and everything is closed on Monday.
On Tuesday I went to the National Museum and to the City Museum. Both worth a visit. The National Museum is an art museum. If you have never seen Polish art, and I have not, this is the place. I was there over 2 hours and enjoyed it. The city museum is in the town hall in the middle of the square. It is only 5 zloty, $1.25, but not a lot there if you do not read Polish.
The food in Poznan is great and very, very cheap. I ate a lot and drank a lot and it did not cost anything. I went to a great French restaurant , Bistro la cocotte on ul. Murna. It is only about 2 blocks from the main square. I had pate de foie gras, beef bourguignon, 3 glasses of good red wine and 2 waters for less than $30! I also ate at a restaurant called BeeJays. Very good. I ordered sirloin with rice and broccoli and cauliflower. I got that with chicken. I told the waiter that "sirlion" was not the meat on the plate but beef. I don't think he believed me. But that dish with 2 whiskey sours and a glass of red wine and a piece of apple pie with cream and ice cream and a coffee cost me less than $30.
I liked traveling in Poland. But there was not much difference between Wroclaw and Poznan. I would not recommend going to both of them. Either one is great but that is all you need. I took the train to Berlin and here I am. In the Eurostars for the second summer in a row. A wonderful hotel. You should come to Berlin as often as possible and stay here.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Wroclaw 2 2016
This is my last of 4 nights in Wroclaw. Yesterday I did go out to Dom Insel. On the way I stopped at the church of the holy name of jesus. It is an incredible Barock church and well worth a visit. I actually had to hold the back of a pew while looking up to maintain my balance. I did the guide book walk through the Dom Insel and really all there is to see are more churches. Actually it is incredible that there are so many churches in such a small area.
For dinner last night I went to aplace on the main square called Dwor Polski. The food was very good. I had a delicious goulash and then a roast pork dinner with potatoes and cabbage. I drank 2 glasses of red wine and an Irish coffee. The price was great and the food was great but I would not go there again! The service was very rude. When I arrived it was not full at all. A man spoke to me in Polish and I said, in English, "I'm sorry I don't speak Polish." He raised his voice and yelled something at me and pointed to the corner on the other side of the room. So I went there and sat down. I must have sat there 20 minutes before I got a menu and the only reason I got one was that I caught the eye of a young guy who seemed to be a trainee. I was there at least 45 minutes before I got any food. Every time I wanted something I had to call to the waiter. At the end, when he finally came to get the money, I needed change. He took my bill and left without a word. When he returned he slapped my change onto the table and turned and left. No thank-you, no good-bye.
Today I walked over to the Royal Palace. The exhibition I thought I would see at the National museum, I saw here - The History of Wroclaw and Silesia. It was very good and I spent almost 2 and a half hours there. They had a special exhibit on Chagall and some of his contemporaries. After I walked around in that area for a while.
For dinner I went back to where I ate at Rodrigo on Thursday. I ate next door at Il Ristorante Italiano. Great. I had half-liter red, water, ravioli with prosciutto ham and cheese in a Bolognese sauce. I also had a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and a cup of coffee. All for 125 zloty, which includes a tip! So about $31 American.
For dinner last night I went to aplace on the main square called Dwor Polski. The food was very good. I had a delicious goulash and then a roast pork dinner with potatoes and cabbage. I drank 2 glasses of red wine and an Irish coffee. The price was great and the food was great but I would not go there again! The service was very rude. When I arrived it was not full at all. A man spoke to me in Polish and I said, in English, "I'm sorry I don't speak Polish." He raised his voice and yelled something at me and pointed to the corner on the other side of the room. So I went there and sat down. I must have sat there 20 minutes before I got a menu and the only reason I got one was that I caught the eye of a young guy who seemed to be a trainee. I was there at least 45 minutes before I got any food. Every time I wanted something I had to call to the waiter. At the end, when he finally came to get the money, I needed change. He took my bill and left without a word. When he returned he slapped my change onto the table and turned and left. No thank-you, no good-bye.
Today I walked over to the Royal Palace. The exhibition I thought I would see at the National museum, I saw here - The History of Wroclaw and Silesia. It was very good and I spent almost 2 and a half hours there. They had a special exhibit on Chagall and some of his contemporaries. After I walked around in that area for a while.
For dinner I went back to where I ate at Rodrigo on Thursday. I ate next door at Il Ristorante Italiano. Great. I had half-liter red, water, ravioli with prosciutto ham and cheese in a Bolognese sauce. I also had a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and a cup of coffee. All for 125 zloty, which includes a tip! So about $31 American.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Wroclaw 2016
Well I left Dresden without difficulty. The train did not leave until noon which is the latest that I have ever left, but it was fine. My hotel is the Sofital and it is wonderful!! I have walked around the city center and have been to the National Museum. I think part of it was closed but what I saw was fine. Last night I ate in the main square at a place called Liv---. It was great! I had stuffed peppers and a salad and 2 beers. Today after the museum I went to CK and had 8 meat-filled pierogis and 2 big beers for $16. Tonight I ate at Rodeo and had roast beef with fries and salad, 2 big beers - pilsurquell- and a double shot of mextaxa. All for $20.
Tomorrow I will walk out to the Dom Insel and see what is there. It seems to me that there are a lot of churches here but once you have gone into one of them you have gone into all of them.
Tomorrow I will walk out to the Dom Insel and see what is there. It seems to me that there are a lot of churches here but once you have gone into one of them you have gone into all of them.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Dresden 2016
On Saturday 30 July I left beliebte Weimar and came by train to Dresden. I believe this is the 5th or 6th time that I am here. I do know that I was here last summer. So there is not much new for me to do here. A city this size can only offer so much. I went to the Alte Meister Gemakde Gallerie yesterday. Like the collections in Munich, Vienna and Berlin, always worth a visit. They have rearranged somewhat. You still enter at the same entrance as always, don't let the signs fool you, and you still go down to buy your ticket like always. But the entrance to the galleries has been rearranged and the lay out is now different. I saw everything and even found a Vermeer I did not know they had! Also saw the Giorgione they have, that was completed by Titian, that I did not remember. I was there almost 2 hours. Today I will go through the Residenz collections.
It was raining yesterday a lot of the time so it was a good day to be indoors. I had a coffee and cake in the museum cafe after - disappointing as museum cafes go. After I went across the street to the biergarten attached to the Italianisches Dorfchen building. It has become more and more touristy over the years. If it is not too crowded it is fine. But none of the tourists seem to be able to get a handle on how it works. You order and pay at the window and then you collect your order around the corner in front. If you order something cooked you have to wait and carry it yourself.
I then walked over the Augustusbrucke to the real Biergarten. Over the bridge and on the right side. The food here is better and you can see them cooking it right there. The dark beer is called "Dresdenr" and is DELICIOUS. It is much bigger and less crowded and you get a nice view over the river of the city. After my beer there I walked back and went to the Madrid tapas place in the Frauenkirche square and it began to pour. So after my beer there I went back to the hotel.
This is what is new about my trip this year! I have abandoned the Hilton, nice as it was, to stay in the Taschenbergpalais Hotel. This is a Kempinski hotel and the nicest 5 star in this city.
I got a great deal on the room here. I choose to upgrade to a superior room with breakfast included and it cost me 140 euro a night.
You could not get a park bench in New Jersey, much less Manhattan for that price. The building is huge and I had to have an escort to my room in order to find it. That evening I did spend some time wandering lost, but it has worked out. The service is impeccable. The room was not ready when I arrived but they took my number and called me when it was. When I was escorted to my room my bags were already there and the room was ready to go. It is very comfortable but of course the air conditioning leaves something to be desired. But then again, I have always said that Europeans do not understand the meaning of the term "air conditioning". The ONLY way you can have air conditioning the way Americans understand it is to stay in an American chain hotel such as a Hilton or Ramada. Otherwise when they claim to be "ganz klimatizert" they don't mean what you think they mean.
I then walked over the Augustusbrucke to the real Biergarten. Over the bridge and on the right side. The food here is better and you can see them cooking it right there. The dark beer is called "Dresdenr" and is DELICIOUS. It is much bigger and less crowded and you get a nice view over the river of the city. After my beer there I walked back and went to the Madrid tapas place in the Frauenkirche square and it began to pour. So after my beer there I went back to the hotel.
This is what is new about my trip this year! I have abandoned the Hilton, nice as it was, to stay in the Taschenbergpalais Hotel. This is a Kempinski hotel and the nicest 5 star in this city.
You could not get a park bench in New Jersey, much less Manhattan for that price. The building is huge and I had to have an escort to my room in order to find it. That evening I did spend some time wandering lost, but it has worked out. The service is impeccable. The room was not ready when I arrived but they took my number and called me when it was. When I was escorted to my room my bags were already there and the room was ready to go. It is very comfortable but of course the air conditioning leaves something to be desired. But then again, I have always said that Europeans do not understand the meaning of the term "air conditioning". The ONLY way you can have air conditioning the way Americans understand it is to stay in an American chain hotel such as a Hilton or Ramada. Otherwise when they claim to be "ganz klimatizert" they don't mean what you think they mean.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)