Potsdam 2018

     Today is my second night in Potsdam.  I arrived yesterday about 1 pm and took a taxi to my hotel.  The train trip was simple and just under 3 hours door-to-door.  My hotel is the Hotel Brandenburger Tor.  It is very centrally located which makes it, in my mind, a great choice.  My room was not ready when I arrived but that did not matter.  I left my bag and went for a walk and had lunch and a couple of beers.  I got into the room at about 3 pm.  It is a large nice room and the air conditioning they promised actually works efficiently!  I have never understood why the Germans can not get air conditioning right.  A lot of hotels claim to have it but do not.  At least not what an American would recognize as AC.

     Today I went for breakfast at about 9 am.  It was nice and the standard.  Then I walked across the square, Luisen Platz, and went up the street to a corner of the Sans Souci Park.  That was the corner I wanted because I wanted to go to the mausoleum there to see the grave of the Kaiserin Fredrich.  Aber leider war es geschlossen!  So I walked over to the Gemalde Gallerie and went through the collection.  That gallerie is one of the most beautiful art galleries in the world.  The actual room itself is stunning!  The collection is ok with the exception the Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas".  That is worth the price of admission.
     Then I walked all the way down the Hauptallee, with a quick stop to see the Chinesiche Haus, to the Neues Palais.  I bought a ticket for the "Grand Tour" and also to be allowed to take pictures, once I figured out how to turn off the flash on my camera.  The tour was good but I thought I would see more.  I did go back through to read the info cards for the special exhibit, "Kaiserdammerung".  After, I walked all the way back and went to a tapas restaurant for a beer and 2 tapas.  One, grilled vegetables and the other a salad.

     Yesterday, during my walk,  I had gone down Dortustrasse and there were several restaurants there. Last night I ate a Greek Taverna and tonight I ate at the Italian restaurant next door.  Both were what I expected, very good and the price was right.  Tomorrow I go to the museums at the other end of town and Friday  I go home.   I need to mention that the restaurant next to the hotel serves the Hotel's outdoor seating and they have a 1/2 liter of Sangria for 6 euro that is fabulous!

Weimar Juli 2018

     I have now been in Germany for 4 weeks and in Weimar for 3 weeks.  Everything is good and I feel very at home here.  Afterall, this is the 9th summer in a row that I have been here.  Tonight I went up to Schwarzburger Hof for dinner.  They are going on vacation tomorrow so all I could eat was a salat und Sojanka.  But I could still drink!  They will be gone for 10 days.  But next week on Tuesday I am going to Potsdam!  So I will be away during their vacation.
     I am looking forward to my 3 nights in Potsdam and will write about it when I am there.  I have already reserved a room at the Hotel Brandenburger Tor and tomorrow I will buy my train ticket.

Weimar Winefest 2018

     The yearly July Wine Fest began yesterday night.  I went tonight after dinner at home.  The same vineyards that have been there for as long as I have been going were there.  It was very crowded, which is not unusual.  The prices have gone up.  It really is not that cheap to drink there any more.  But they do fill the glass to the brim.  I drank the Weissburgunder which is the same grape as pinot grigio  but out of the Burgundian region of France.  Obviously this was grown in Germany.  The music was Scheiss.  Usually we have a band with a girl singer and they do American '80's pop with an oompah beat.  But during the 1 hour 30 minutes I was there they had a man , who wanted to look like Art Garfunkle, singing with a guitar.  No one listened.  I could not really hear him.  So a disappointment.  Tomorrow I may want to go out to dinner and may give it another try.

Würzburg 2018

     I have just returned this afternoon from a 3 night stay in Würzburg.  Würzburg is in northern Bavaria.  I had to take the train to  Erfurt and then after a @15 minute wait take the train to Würzburg.  The whole trip was a little under 3 hours.  It was an easy trip and I arrived there in the late afternoon.  I stayed at Greifensteiner Hof Hotel.  It is right in the middle of the Old Town area, so very well located.  My room was a double with a nice bed and a lot of room.  It had 2 rest rooms.  One with just the toilette and one with the sink, mirror and shower.  Both roomy and nice.  I got breakfast included and it was ok.  The only hot food was scrambled eggs and bacon.  The rest was the usual assortment of meats, cheeses, yogurt and fruit.
     There are two main reasons to go to Würzburg .  One is to see the city palace or Residenz, in German.  This is a large, ornate palace right in the city.  What makes it unique, other than its size, are the frescos in there that were painted by Tiepolo.  The painting over the ceremonial staircase is the largest single-piece fresco in the world.  It is an allegory of the 4 continents they knew about at the time.  Magnificent!!

     The other reason to go is that Würzburg is in the heart of the Main River wine country!  SO of course, in the interest of being a cultural traveler,  I had to experience that.  I did also go through the Dom Museum where I saw some Tilmann Riemannschneider wood cravings.  One night I ate Italian at la Rustico, and it was very good.  I had steak at Steakhaus and that was expensive but really good.  I also ate twice, one lunch one dinner, at Lammle Wirthaus.  I liked it there.  I shared a big table with an older couple from Berlin.  The woman remarked that not only do I speak beautiful German, which others have said, but that she would have believed I am a German!  That has never happened before.  Maybe she was just being nice but I will take it.
     

Weimar 6 July 2018

     Well I have been in my apartment in Weimar for a week now.  Everything is the same as always  - genau wie immer.  I have eaten at Saschsischer Hof, India, Apollon and Napoli.  I have had lunch and beers twice at Pomodoro.  The guy at Pomodoro immediately new what I wanted!  The guy at India asked me how to say something in American1  It is nice to be remembered.  At Apollon, Frau Ivana was not there.  Some older man was waiting tables.  I did not ask but the next time I go if she is still not there I will.
     I have been spending my time watching the Wimbledon matches during the day and  the World Cup matches when they are on in the evening.  I watched Belgium beat Brazil at Apollon Friday night.  I have also been running in the park 3 times.  The weather has been great and so far I am happy here again.  My first "small" trip is next week.  I will be in Wurzburg for 3 nights.  I have not been there in many years so am looking forward to it.  I have already made the hotel reservation and will get my train ticket Monday.