Potsdam and Berlin

Well, I am now at the final leg of my journey, and while I have had a great time and learned a lot, I am looking forward to going home. Each day we have begun with classes about J.S. Bach, his world, and his music. The lectures have been fascinating, filled with the latest research, and intense. I haven't written much about Bach in this blog because, face it, most of you don't share my obsessive interest. That said, if you want to know anything about him, ask me when I get home. I will be happy to keep talking long after you fall asleep...

Potsdam is a pretty city. In the 18th century it was really the middle of no where until Frederick the Great decided to build Sanssouci (which translates as "without cares" or Hakuna Matata...). This little palace was designed to be his summer home, and he deliberately banned the presence of women there  - apparently his interest in them was more than limited. The city is today a model of the enlightenment era - the streets are laid out in nice straight lines and meet at square corners.

 This is the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam - it's a little one, not like the big one in Berlin. It sort of reminds me of the Stonehenge in the movie Spinal Tap. This view is from the steps of our hotel.

 One of the beautiful streets in Potsdam.

 This is the garden in Sanssouci. Fredrick the Great designed the palace, and when he showed the design to an architect, the man replied that the palace should be built up on a higher foundation, so that it would rise more above the landscape. Fred insisted he knew what he was doing, and so today as you walk up the 132 steps to the palace, it sort of sinks under the hedges. It may be good to be the king, but it still pays to listen to the experts.

 Nearby in Potsdam is a neighborhood called Nauener Vorstadt. At the end of the war when the Soviets moved in they kicked every out of this area, walled it off and gave out the houses to top officials and VIPs in the KGB. Today it is a neighborhood of rather high-priced real estate.

 This church in Nauener Vorstadt was used by the Soviets as army barracks. After reunification they made it into a kindergarten.

 This house in the neighborhood was originally the priest's home. The KGB took it over as a secret location to imprison and torture people, and later turned it over to the Stasi. One famous resident who was there for a time was the U2 pilot Gary Powers. We later got to visit the bridge on which he was exchanged for a Soviet spy.

The Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference was held. These historical locations seem to be right around every corner. We decided to re-enact the conference:

 Bill got to be Churchill, and Jeremy insisted on being Stalin, so I got to be Truman.

 This is a popular lake in Berlin where the Germans like to bike around, walk their tiny dogs, picnic and skinny-dip in broad daylight. Oh - and they don't seem to be in the least bit bothered by American tour groups coming through...

 Wednesday afternoon Jeremy and I decided to take a trip (half-hour train ride) to Berlin, where I found a new job for Jonas.

Here I am at the real Brandenburg Gate. Ich bin ein Berliner. (Actually, he didn't say it there...)

The three pictures above are of the Holocaust Memorial. It cannot really be captured in photos. If you are ever in Berlin, you must visit it. It goes on and on.

 This humble little parking lot, with a contemporary people's car in the front, is where Hitler's bunker was. The Germans refuse to make it into some sort of monument or tourist attraction, in part because of Neo-Nazis. There is a sign though. Ironically it is just a short walk from the Holocaust Memorial.

Roast Pork, Bread Dumpling and Kraut for dinner at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin. This was no-man's land during the cold war, and now it is a shopping mall - capitalism triumphant! Yes, the beer really was that big.

Tomorrow, after I do my curriculum presentation for the class, I head back to Berlin for one night, and then Tegel airport for the trip home. See you all soon!

Mozart, Lenin, J.F.K.,...and Hitler

As I am sure you figured out from the title, I am in Munich! But I'll get back to that...

Once again we have the weekend off from our Bach studies, and everyone has dispersed around Europe to have individual adventures. A large group went to Berlin - I can't wait to hear their stories! I realized that I had two extra days on my rail pass. The way the rail pass works is you buy a number of days to travel, and when you choose to use it, all you need to do is fill in the date on the ticket. They don't care how far you go, so long as it is on that day. So I figured I needed to get my money's worth, and travel as far as I dared. That meant the five hour train ride (on the high-speed ICE train - we need to get some of these!) to München, or as we call it, Munich. I was in adventure mode again - traveling alone on a rail system I don't really understand to a place where I don't know the language.

Actually, the train ride was almost uneventful. Almost, because at a station about two thirds of the way here I heard a lot of German talking on the intercom, and some people started moving from one car to another, and I had no idea what was happening. My seat-mate was a rather forbidding looking weight-lifter type guy, whose only English seemed to be expressed in short grunts. He was watching some violent movie on his iPad, and was not interested in communicating with me. So I sat tight and hoped for the best. It turns out that half the train was going in a different direction, and was unhitched from my half. I guess I was lucky - I just happened to be on the Munich half. God only knows were those other people ended up - but chances are wherever it is, there is beer there.

I have to say my first impression of Munich was not positive. I figured I was finally visiting what was West Germany, and so everything would be glitter and diamonds after seeing East Germany. I was disappointed to find, for the first time in my travels in Germany, litter. Later I realized that my hotel, which I booked online because of its price, happens to been in a seedier part of the city. Nice hotel, with beggars on the street out front and nearby access to lap dancers if your into that sort of thing. I've been walking quickly in and out...

 I arrived and checked into my hotel on Friday. It was only 8PM, so I decided to take a walk and check out the city. The "Old City" is just a short walk from the train station. The crowds there are tremendous, and filled with tourists from all over the world. I read that a full 1/3 of Munich's resident population is "from away," and that statistic must be off the charts when it's tourist season. The benefit of this is that all the shopkeepers and food service personnel have very good English, and are very happy to use it. Above is one of the gates into the the Old City. The tour book I purchased has a walking tour which seems to indicate that it is very import and to visit all of them. Saturday I made it to three before I decided I was "gated out." Also on Saturday this was the location for a big Vegan/Animal Rights protest. I have to hand it to them - it must take guts to try and spread that message in this country. They must be about as popular as the Westboro Baptists.

Like most German Cities,  Munich has a church around every corner (that just about no one attends.) This one is the Asam-Kirche, and is a particularly egregious display of 18th century German rococo decadence. Bach would not have been comfortable here - Munich and Bavaria were very resistant to Luther and Protestantism. 

 Here is the Famous Hofbrauhaus! I actually found it on my first evening. I did go in, although I didn't stay. It was very crowded, and very noisy - even when the oom-pah band wasn't playing. I think I would enjoy being there with a mob, but it was not my sort of place to hang out in alone. Everyone sits at long tables drinking beer out of 1 Liter steins and eating food that will keep the Lipitor people in business for a long time to come. Viel Spaß! It was great to stick my nose in and experience the atmosphere. I found a quieter place to have dinner, and a slightly smaller beer.

 Roast Pork with Kartoffelklöse and White Cabbage Salad

By the way, the title of this blog is a reference to the Hofbrauhaus. Mozart lived for a time in Munich, just around the corner from it. He was not the type of person to walk past a beer opportunity. Likewise, Lenin was a frequenter when he lived in Munich, and they are claiming that J.F.K. visited there, although I am not sure when. They also aren't saying if he brought a date... And finally, Hitler and the Nazi's used the Munich beer halls, including the Hofbrauhaus, to stir up support during the 1920s. Eventually they tried and failed to overthrow the Weimar Republic, and Hitler was arrested. His arrest gained him national fame and his imprisonment gave him the time to write Mein Kampf. I guess you could call that an example of "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Hi ho.

Above is the Neues Rathaus, which was built around the time my ancestors left the area. It replaced the Altes Rathaus, which I am sure they felt was just fine, and is also in fact still standing. The Neues  Rathaus has a carillon inside that plays at 11AM, Noon and 5PM every day when tourists are present. Also by a miracle of mechanics and good old German engineering, the figures in the front move around and "dance." It was fun to see - I, like the thousands of Japanese and Italians below, caught it on video.

 Finally, if any of you are wondering if I am going to come home from Munich with Lederhosen, the answer is above. €199 is about $270. So I took a picture... I do think Tony should have the hot red ones... I think I figured out that if you eat at a restaurant where the waiter is wearing lederhosen there is a 20% surcharge. Truly, Munich loves tourists.

Tomorrow - Potsdam!

Bachlandia

Welcome to Bachlandia!

I have been in Leipzig for almost two weeks now, and I have written very little about my experiences here in this city. Leipzig has a long tradition of being a cultural and intellectual center in Germany. In addition to Bach, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Telemann, Reger, and Wagner have all lived here at one time or another. In fact, Wagner's family is still buried here, in a small graveyard almost across the street from our hotel. Bach used to be buried there too, but some time ago they moved him to the sanctuary of the Thomaskirche - the church across town where he ran the school. Here is his grave:

 The grave is located down-stage center in the Thomaskirche, so it must be hard to hold services without stepping on the decomposing composer. Actually, towards the end of his life his working relationship with the school and church had become rather problematic, so I can only wonder how he feels about spending eternity in the sanctuary. One thing I know - the last thing I ever want is to be buried in one of the schools I taught in.

Here is a photo of the Thomaskirche I took at sunset one evening. Bach's home, where his raised his many, many children, and also housed various relatives, assistants, and private students, was inside the school where also all the boarding students lived. It must have been noisy, crowded, and as complicated as his most elaborate music. Sadly, they tore the building down about a hundred years ago, so we can't quite see what it was like. I hope somewhere he had a room to himself. Still, it is neat to picture family members and students and just about anyone who came into the house sitting around a long table copying parts of his music for him by hand.

The Thomaskirche remains very beautiful inside to this day. It is much larger than I had imagined it. The organ that was in it in Bach's time no longer exists, but today they do have two large pipe organs inside, both of which were played in the concert I attended last week.

Much of the city of Leipzig is quite modern - they saw significant destruction from bombing raids during WWII, although nothing like the destruction of Dresden. It was "spotty" destruction, so new modern office building and stores are located right next to 14th century buildings. It is the easiest city in Europe to navigate in that I have visited so far. I have been trying to get lost, but so far I have had no luck. While it has a strong tourist trade, it remains, as it has been for centuries, a University town. This prominent building

may look like a huge church, but is actually a part of the Leipzig University, and I believe is a completely secular institution. The building was built on the site of another church the Bach played (they're everywhere!), and was either torn down by the communists or bombed in WWII - I am not sure which. Anyway, this area of town is just crawling (actually mostly cycling) with college students. 

Leipzig is very proud of its musical heritage. You see it everywhere - especially in the street musicians. It is not unusual for the street musicians to be a top-knotch string quartet playing Mozart, or a woodwind trio (how often have you seen a street musician playing a bassoon?). There are the usual guitar players, but also accordion players, and even two Russians dressed up like cossacks singing incomprehensible Russian songs. Just about every musical style is represented, and all done well.

Yesterday afternoon I took a walk on the musician's trail. This is like the Freedom Trail in Boston, except it goes to important musical sites. You follow these neat artistic stainless steel markers embedded in the sidewalks:

And of course I got to visit the big guy himself:

One highlight of the walk is the Mendelssohn House, which has this cool electronic display where you can conduct some of his works. The music follows your gestures, and the speakers light up for each group of instruments as they come in. I conducted a selection from "Elijah"

Mendelssohn only lived for 38 years, but somehow he found time to compose and conduct a lot of music, as well as sit for many portraits.

Finally, one more big musical event happened last Sunday. A group of us traveled to Zschortau, which is a small town about half an hour away, to visit a church. This church was built sometime in the 16th century, and in 1746 Bach visited there to test the new organ that had just been installed by his friend Scheib. Bach frequently acted as an organ consultant, and was very proficient in organ design and construction. The instrument has been restored, and and I believe it is the last example of a functioning Scheib organ. Several of our group performed Sunday afternoon in concert on the instrument, and afterwards the pastor of the church allowed the rest of us to play it.

I wish I could say that I knocked out Prelude and Fugue, but actually I just improvised on what I hope was an interesting chord progression. Actually, as part of it I did play the theme from the Little Fugue in G Minor. I cannot tell you what a thrill it was to play on an instrument that He himself not only played, but helped construct! It was a moment I will never forget.

Tomorrow is my last day in Leipzig. I am headed for Munich for the weekend - once again traveling alone - the adventure continues! 

Visit to the Dark Side...

I just realized that it has been six days since my last blog post - sorry! They have been keeping us very busy here in Leipzig, with daily lectures and rehearsals for the opera we are performing (oh ayeah, did I mention that? We are performing an opera by Johann Hasse which has not been performed since 1748. More on that later...spoiler: I have 2 arias!)

Soon I will blog about what a wonderful city Leipzig is - very different from quiet Eisenach and party-crazy Prague. But first, a report on my visit to the Dark Side... (I'll try to keep it light...)

German history has been kind of troubled...

First of all, we all know how well known the East German Communists were for the architecture...

 Actually, this is one of the more attractive constructions. The oppressive regime of the GDR (German Democratic Republic - the communists) kept things under control by use of their infamous secret police, the Stasi, which was closely allied with the Soviet KGB. Vladimir Putin worked as a KGB agent in the Stasi office in Dresden until reunification. Hi ho.

Today their offices in Leipzig are a museum - the Runde Ecke (round corner) named for the round corner entrance - not far from Bach's Thomaskirche.

It was not unusual for dissidents to be brought through these doors and never heard from again. Today Germany is not one of those brutal nations in the world who still cling to the death penalty (not that I have an opinion...), but the GDR actually executed people by guillotine until 1968, when they switched to the more acceptable Soviet method of a shot to the back of the head.

They have preserved the offices inside to look as they did when the Berlin wall collapsed in 1989, so it all has the institutional look of decrepit government offices. The furnishings look very much like American Government furniture from the 1970's. There was an interesting display on how they would work to brainwash children to the cause, as well how they recruited and rewarded "unofficial" employees, who would spy on their neighbors and family members.

Here are some of the specially designed cameras they used for photographing people from afar:

They also had on display costume pieces which they used in spying - which was quite comical to look at. It is hard to believe they took all the fake beards and mustaches and wigs and nose pieces seriously.

When the protests began to get out of control, they installed an industrial paper mulcher. This machine converted thousands of documents into paper maché before the protesters broke in and stopped them. Today Stasi records are available for public access.

 It was very strange to visit this museum. I usually worry about an Orwellian future, and here was an Orwellian past. While it is very disturbing to think of the human rights abused by the Stasi and the GDR, the museum is in many ways uplifting. The final act of the story is a triumph of the human spirit. In 1989 people started leaving candles on the steps of the "Runde Ecke," and eventually 70,000 people showed up for the peace service at the Nicholaikirche - the Stasi could not photograph them all, or even collect all their individual smells (yes, they actually did have a collection!). The revolt spread to Berlin, and you know the rest.

On Saturday, I traveled to Buchenwald, which was a concentration work-camp not far from Weimar. The first thing to know about Buchenwald is that it is very beautiful. It is about a 15 minute bus ride from Weimar through a cute little ancient town, and then up a hill through a beautiful forest. Buchenwald means "Beech Forest," and supposedly Goethe, among others, appreciated this landscape. He used to walk there with his girl friend. The GDR did demolish a good number of the prisoner barracks, so when you enter there is a wide open space. If you look through the trees you can see for miles and miles...

Where the barracks used to be...

I don't know if it was a deliberately sadistic act to place a camp where 55,000+ people would die in such a beautiful location, but it surely was the result. Another example of sadism is the crematory, which was located right next to the barracks, so that the prevailing wind would blow smoke and ash right over the camp. Today they do ask you to be silent and respectful while visiting here.

Between the ovens people have left memorials.

Here is the loading platform for the rail cars. New prisoners arrived here, others where shipped out to the death camps.

As you arrive in Buchenwald, there is a sign on the gate:

The words mean: "To each what he deserves." The words face the people on the inside of the the camp, not the outside.

I have to say that the people of Germany are to be commended for how they have chosen to face this past, and the GDR past head on. It is my understanding that school children are regularly brought to visit the camps, and learn about what happened. Perhaps we could learn from them how to confront our own past treatment of Native Americans, or the slave labor that built this nation. I spent a lot of time thinking about the human ability of denial. It is not an exclusively German ability - we have to always remember that the man who wrote "All men are created equal" was a slave owner.

Enough of this stuff! I hope I didn't bring you all down - I have been spending so much time enjoying the best human beings have had to offer, it was only fair that I visit the dark side. My next post will be more sunshine. 

Meanwhile, here are some kittens.

Wild and Crazy Guys...

Prague, Czech Republic!

Last weekend we had no classes on Friday so that the Bach Scholars would have the chance to travel to one of the exciting cities in Europe. Some went to Berlin, and contingent went to Munich, and another group went all the way to Paris. One of members actually made the trip all the way to Warsaw and Krakow. I decided to join a group of 5 others to visit Prague, in the Czech Republic. Prior to this decision, everything I knew about Czechoslovakia came from Saturday Night Live... actually, I also knew that Mozart traveled to Prague for the premier of his opera Don Giovanni, and wrote about how much he loved the city. I believe he even considered relocating, which would have been a big alteration of music history.

We left the Eisenach Hauptbahnhof around 2PM on Thursday afternoon. It was sad to leave Eisenach - it is a sleepy little town. Even the tourists seem very laid back. Perhaps because they are not willing to admit they are lost... The first leg of our trip was on an ICE train (InterCity Express) which is very fast and very comfortable. We had taken the time earlier to reserve our seats, so everything ran like clockwork, and soon we were in Dresden, where we had about an hour to eat dinner (and have a beer...). The next train was a regional train which would take us to Prague. It too was okay - not as nice as the ICE, but still pretty fast. We were all in a compartment sort of like on the Hogwarts Express (no one came around to sell magical candy, and thankfully no Dementors.) We actually spent most of the time in the hallway looking our the window. Much of the ride to Prague is along a beautiful river, through low rolling mountains, sort of like riding along the Carabassett on the way to Eustis, except that the river is bigger and the signs are in Czech.

When we arrived in Prague, about 10:00 PM the sun had set (yes, it doesn't get dark until pretty late here) and the fun really began. We had rented an apartment for the weekend on some side street...somewhere. The street name had about 17 letters in it, and at lease 8 of them had weird accents over them.

 I could have taken this picture in any of at least half a dozen locations... I don't know how we did it, but after about an hour we finished our 10 minute walk... and found the apartment. It was very comfortable, with enough beds for everyone and 2 bathrooms and a shower, and best of all, cheap.

Actually, all of Prague is pretty cheap - the exchange rate is pretty good, as they are not on the Euro. Their currency is the Kroner, which is about 20 to the dollar. So, if you see a price that says 1.000,00 Kroner (they reverse the commas and decimal points here) it really is only $50. It's a little hard to get used to at first.

The first morning we were intent to find an authentic Czech breakfast. However, we soon came across a nice café called Café Milani, and since we were hungry and seriously caffeine deprived, we stopped. More importantly, for the women in our group, they had a nice young waiter named Martin, who was charming, funny and spoke excellent English. Suddenly they weren't there for the coffee anymore... The relationship they developed with Martin caused us to eat there each of the three mornings.

We then marched down to Wenceslas Square, named for the good king, but also the location of the Velvet Revolution - that is the peaceful protests in November and December 1989 that led to the fall of the Communist Regime. And fall they did. The Czechs have embraced capitalism with a manic enthusiasm. The city is a bustling center of tourism, and everything has a fee. Stores are very busy, and the whole place has the feel of the Old Port on a Saturday evening in July - only 100 times bigger. The downside of the capitalism is that fast food has moved in. In Wenceslas Square alone you can find Starbucks, Burger King, Subway, Dunkin Donuts and KFC. We didn't eat there at any of them...

Here is Wenceslas Square:

Prague was very fortunate in WWII to not suffer the same damage as many European cities. Then the communists came in, and they didn't do much to the city either (except for the mass poverty, lack of commerce and opportunity, that is.) At least, they kept the old buildings, and didn't overindulge in their own eyesore architecture (I write more on that in the future). The city is a maze of little cobbled streets and amazing buildings. I feel I have never been in a more exotic place. It is a wonderful tourist center, and because of that and the exchange rate it is a delightfully "foodie" city. We ate a lot of authentic Czech food - I had roast rabbit one day (Elmer Fudd wins!), and goulash another. The Czechs invented Pilsner beer, and Pilsen Urquell is on draft just about everywhere here. It is to them what Guinness is to Ireland. And it is much better here too - creamier with a richer taste. 

Throw a stone in Prague, and you will hit an amazing church. Here is one - I no longer can remember which - there are so many...

This is a view of one of their most famous attractions, the Charles Bridge, which was built by Charles IV in the 14th century. It is pedestrian only, and lined with sacred statues and craftsmen who sell their wares.

Maybe why Mozart like the city so much - there is music everywhere. This is a Czech Dixieland band (imagine!) on the Charles Bridge:

 And this group was playing some old jazz standard... I think it was Gershwin. By the way, the guitarist was playing a Seagull guitar, which is made in Canada not far from Eustis, Maine.

And these guys I believe are called "The Great Czechoslovakian Bluegrass Explosion."

Wild and Crazy Guys...

After we crossed the bridge we hiked up the tall hill to where the Palace is, and St. Vitus Cathedral. Here is the view from the top:

This is a view of the Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vltava River.

Here is our intrepid traveler, with the Vltava River, and in the distance, the Charles Bridge, The Palace and St. Vitus Cathedral. Note the Pilgrim Lodge hat...

 Our train ride to Leipzig Sunday was a bit more complicated than we expected. We thought that taking a 2:00 train was a good idea, but soon realized that a whole city of hung over tourists were leaving at that time. We couldn't get reservations, so seats weren't guaranteed. As it happened, we were lucky to make it on to the train at all... we mostly stood for three hours by the WC in the back of the car, moving out of the way with our luggage every time someone had to "go." All you can do in such a situation is keep a good attitude!

Prague is an amazing city - I am so glad that I went there. I have far too many stories to tell here, mostly regarding food and getting lost, and probably a couple of hundred pictures. I am looking forward to boring you all when I get home...

Next stop - Leipzig!