Munich to Prague: street musicians, puppeteer, church concerts

Wherever we went in Europe, we found music, often performed in churches or synagogues.

In Paris, we heard a free concert by two choirs in the chapel of a small Catholic hospital. In Leipzig, we heard Wagner in a Protestant church (surprisingly soft, gentle music) and then later that night caught Mozart's Requiem in yet another church, complete with a full orchestra, five soloists and a choir. The voices and music were terrific, the house was packed and absolutely still for the full performance. Once it ended, stone silence, then a long applause.

But there was also music in the streets. In Munich, in Marienplatz while we waiting for a walking tour to assemble, we caught some classical musicians busking.



In a Munich beer hall, we caught some evening oom-pah-pah. Here, we had just had some traditional food (sausage, saurkraut and mashed potatoes) and some beers. The place was packed and musicians like these play in the evenings.



On the Charles Bridge crossing the Vltava River in Prague, we encounter this puppeteer and his accomplice.





















A little boy passing by was completely fascinated by the puppet who was about the same size as he was.



Now, here they are performing. (Apologies for the sideways classical guitar-playing puppet, I forgot I can't change the orientation of the image later when I use my digital camera to shoot video...)



Here are some jazz musicians playing on the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River.

A walk along the canals in Copenhagen

We walked in Copenhagen, all day, everyday. Lots of flower shops even though it was brisk and chilly.

On one all-day stroll we left early in the morning for Maeve's favorite little pastry spot, St. Peter's Bakery, too feed our addiction to coffee and a sweet, then out for an all-day ramble that took us along the wind-swept waterfront to the old and lovely canals.

But first we passed by the royal family's residence -- see the guard marching back and forth in front of the front door. We also visited the Danish Resistance Museum and learned how the Danes handled the German occupation during WW II and conspired against their success.

In between all this walking, we ate one of Copenhagen's famous street sausages --- served on a little cardboard plate with a squirt of mustard on the plate -- dip the dog into the mustard, mmmmmm, good.

After our very long hike that took hours and hours, we ate a lovely meal in a restaurant right on the canal (I had fantastic pumpkin soup drizzled with basil oil, and a plate of grilled seafood.

Then we went on to see a ballet that night in a beautiful concert hall (see lobby pic) across the water. We took a ferry across to the concert hall, and a bus back late that night.

The Danes are serious about bicycles

They ride dressed up in their nicest work clothes and high heels. They ride home from the bar at midnight. They have their own lane on the sidewalk. They rarely wear helmets.


Picture a wide, wide sidewalk with a large section next to the buildings for pedestrians, and then a small curb down to a bike lane that is still NOT in the street but up on the sidewalk. Then imagine a final curb down to the street where you will finally find the cars. It is safest not to wander into the bike lane because they are serious and fast and on a mission.

Lastly, notice the trailer that replaces the front tire. Lots of parents pedal along with a child in that front section. Others transport their books and groceries, and even the mail carrier pedals along with his letters and packages in front. Yes, there are cars, but there are far more bicycles.

We were amazed at the smoking we saw, but we also noticed how fit and healthy and pink-cheeked everyone seemed to be. I swear nobody is overweight here. They cycled in rain and wind and cold temperatures. No snow, though. Very impressive. It's clearly a way of life.

Walking up the Round Tower, Copenhagen

Maeve was our excellent guide to Copenhagen. We stayed at the Saga Hotel, where the showers and water closets were down the hallway. It was a no-smoking hotel, but we were there on a weekend, and it was clear that lots of travelers poured into the city for the weekend (Halloween) and were having a very good time. Walking back to our room the hallway reeked of smoke and laughter and conversation seeped out from under the doorways.


One of the first things we did was take a walking tour of the city. One of our first stops was a stroll up the medieval tower that did not have steps, but a curving brick path to the top. A king once brought a horse to the top.




There were two johns along the way, one modern one, and one old one that was preserved so you could imagine the place a long time ago. The old toilet was only emptied once a year, and they said the tower reeked from the stench.




On our visit, as you will see, it was absolutely pristine and lovely. The view from the top on a clear, breezy blue-sky day was spectacular.

We got locked in a Copenhagen graveyard!

On Nov. 1, “All Soul’s Day,” we visited the old city cemetery in Copenhagen to see graves of some of the famous Danes. We went late, not knowing until just before we got there that Nov. 1 starts a new schedule and the place closes at 4 p.m. But at 4 p.m. the gate was open so we went in. A few others were also visiting graves. It took a while but we found the graves of Søren Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen.


We saw a number of graves here and there that were lit with candles. The cemetery is beautiful – lots of huge trees and stone & brick walls and vines and low-growing brush – perfect. When we try to get out – it’s now close to 5 p.m. and getting quite dark – we find the gate locked.


A man who seemed a bit drunk and who may have been a graveyard worker is at the gate. He’s also locked inside and getting ready to climb the gate with a satchel and a bottle of beer in his hands. He tells us to walk all the way to the other end of the cemetery for a way out. A couple of men passing by see us and say, “Yes, it closes at 4. You’ll have to wait till 8 o’clock tomorrow to get out. Ha-ha!” Another man passing by says, “Go to the other end, turn left and you’ll see a gate.” He describes it as a kind of turn-stile – you can walk out but not in.

So we start walking. It’s getting real dark now. We walk and walk and see a bicyclist inside who’s visiting graves apparently, locked in like us, but not seeming worried or anything, and we walk and finally come to the wall on the other side, turn left and get to a gate, and it’s nothing like described. A regular gate and very locked.


OK, we decide to walk along the perimeter until we find the damn turnstile. We walk and walk and now it’s nearly fully dark. Walking close to the outer wall, we see one gate after another, all locked. We decide that if we don’t find that turnstile we’ll climb the walls, since I saw one place earlier that looked very climbable.


We are now walking in the direction of the original entry. Finally we find the exit and get out. We’re on the sidewalk, well lit with people walking here and there. And we walk 35 feet to our left and there is the main entrance. We have come all the way back to find the turnstile that those guys didn’t know was right there near the main entrance, or knew it and felt like having some fun with us.

Here's proof we found what we came for, the Soren Kierkegard site, and the Hans Christian Anderson site. Maeve took a lit class on his work and told us a lot about him. Later in Copenhagen, we visited the famous "Little Mermaid" water-side statuette that pays tribute to his Little Mermaid story.


Kirkegard's family site is here.










Hans Christian Anderson's site is here.

Finally, a free wi-fi hotspot in Berlin!

Peter with a kaffeemilche at Maibach, our Berlin neighborhood cafe with free internet.

Friends, the break in communication had to do with not finding affordable wi-fi. We often found it very expensive add-ons at our hotels after we left Paris (where it was free in the lobby on your own laptop), and Denmark (where it was free in the lobby on their computer only). Right now, in Berlin, we found a great spot called Maibach, a block from the apartment we rented for the week. Great food, coffee, wine, and free wi-fi. So, I will embark on catching up with short posts include photos of where we've been. Short version, great trip so far, many eye-opening experiences. People are generally very happy about the US Pres election, and EVERYONE knows who Sarah Palin is.

People have gone out of their way with kindness toward us, over and over. And, Maeve arrives in Berlin tonight for our last three-day visit with her. Then we are off to Paris for a few more days by ourselves, then home to Alaska after that.

France for Obama

While in Paris, we saw a poster for an Obama art show in a window of the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, an English-language bookstore a few doors down from our hotel. What? Local artists inspired to create art about Obama?

We made a mental note, but proceeded on. The next day, meeting one of Maeve's friends studying in Paris, talk turned to the US presidential election. Rachel said French people she met were fascinated and captivated by Obama. And...she described the art show she'd seen of work inspired by him. She had the address and she said it was worth the trip.

So we did. By Paris Metro (three transfers) we got out of the center of the city into a working-class neighborhood and found "dorothy's gallery." Sure enough, it was a small white storefront serving as an art gallery space. We went in, and met Dorothy.





She is an American living in Paris since 1970. She said the deaths of Kennedy and MLK drove her to find a new home. She arrived in Paris and looked around for what they needed. She had plenty of ideas but settled on teaching English to French. At the time the French government had just mandated that companies apply a percentage of profits to training employees. She formed a nonprofit association of educators and they began doing this. Many years later, she turned this into a for-profit, then sold it. Now, retired, she does what she loves, and what she loves is running an art gallery. She's doing it on a shoestring. She lives in the back. While we were there, a reporter from the French local paper Le Parisienne, came to interview her and take some photos of the artwork. The reporter also got a quote from Peter, since he comes from the same state that the Republican VP candidate comes from. The reporter is in the red coat with the notebook; Peter and Dorothy are also in the shot.



But to the Obama story. She got an idea and invited the artists she represents to do artwork related to Obama. She said living in Paris, she wanted to do something about this election, to help. Having a gallery gave her the idea for the show. The work is free to see, but she is selling it on hehalf of the artists. Pieces were several hundred dollars, As we were chatting, she noted that it was closing time for the gallery and she invited us to sit and have some wine. She put some delicious cheese out, and some grapes and olives and crackers, and opened a bottle of white burgundy.

Before we left we gave her a small donation in support of her art gallery. We had a fine time there. The artwork was mostly shallow. She explained that she'd only given the gallery artists 20 days to create something.

Her assistant said the French enthusiasm for Obama was shallow. She called Obama a fashion victim in France. She said that 80 percent of France is enthralled with Obama, yet 50 percent of them voted for Sarkozy, so they had to be hypocrites.

These two also told us that people in France were very worried about the economy and that people were losing their jobs, restaurants and shops were already suffering.

OK, on to some photos of the artwork.



This piece shows a poker game between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. Hillary is at the center, her husband Bill is whispering into her ear. Obama has a card under his arm, but McCain has a card in his pocket. Between Hillary and Obama sits Al Gore. The figure to the back of Bill Clinton, we were told, is Bush, fading away. Maeve had a different idea, that it is an image of Monica Lewinsky...because she has a hat on, and Maeve said Monica Lewinsky has become a hat maker. Anyway, that one is interesting, maybe even a little cynical, since everyone has something up their sleeve, so to speak.




I just had to slip this one in. It is the only image in the gallery related to Palin. Obviously copied from that shot of her in her office with a bear skin over the back of the couch. Only, here she is a cave woman.



Obama as a super-hero.









Hillary, Obama and McCain, all dressed in Mao suits playing a game together.





"I do not promise you America. Just the United States."














Many of the pieces combined a view of MLK with Obama.















I just liked the whimsy in this piece, Obama riding a fish in the sea.