Berlin

Who needs another columnist to point out that the thing
'Bout living in the suburbs is that it ain't like Berlin?
Just in case all of you in Melton were ever wondering.

One reason it has taken me so long to bother posting anything about Berlin is that it has already been photographed from every conceivable angle and under all lighting conditions.  While I'm going to refrain from posting pictures of the Brandenburg Gate, I'm not really convinced any photos I will post add anything new.

To be honest, Berlin had been hyped to me so much by various people that it was initially a bit disappointing.  It turns out that this was probably more due to the miserable weather I encountered, and the fact that I don't know anyone local there to show me the interesting things you can only find if you live there for a while.  Once the sun came out my opinion of the place improved a lot.

The East Germans initially established a memorial at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, but at the time the focus was entirely on a memorial for communist prisoners.  This is one of the quasi-religious pieces the communists put together.

These days there is a memorial for all the prisoners.  I had avoided any ghoulish tourism in Germany up till this point, but went on the recommendation of a colleague.  While I found it grueling, my very good tour guide pointed out that we still live in a world where concentration camps exist.  The experience has prompted me to think about how my own country treats asylum seekers, and what I might do to nag current politicians about their decisions.  I don't think it's overstating things at all to make this comparison.  I've always been quite cynical about the prospect of politicians considering what citizens write to them about, but then it would be horrible to think that there are a multitude of people like me who haven't bothered to speak up because they didn't think it would make any difference.

Who needs psychedelics when you have the Mexican embassy?

The Pergamon Museum produces conflicting feelings.  On the one hand, it contains truly amazing artifacts.  On the other hand, it's such a blatant example of national theft.  In any case, here are some sculptures of Greek gods kicking arse.

I'm told that this is what happened to the floor of Hitler's chancellery when the soviets were rebuilding Mohrenstrasse station.

A memorial to Johann Georg Elser.

Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.

Not to worry, I did find time for a beer.

Weltenburg Kloster

Where does the time go?  Well, not a month too soon...

One of the things I felt I really had to do was make the trip to Weltenburg Kloster, since they make a beer I quite like.  It's another one of the breweries that claims to be the oldest in the world.

Taking a bus through the countryside, passing by many hop farms with vines only starting to grow for the season, I found myself back on the Donau.  There's a short walk from Weltenburg to the kloster along the river, where I saw this:

This little ferry doesn't have a motor.  It's kept from being swept downriver by a cable, and it uses a rudder and the strong current to move the boat from one side to the other.

 

Hmmmn, I wonder if there's some kind of trend.

And just like the other oldest brewering in the world, they have a flamboyantly baroque church.

Barock Dunkel.  This is their most popular beer, and is more picturesque than my actual favorite...

Asam Bock!  I was a little disappointed that the vessel you're supposed to drink this from is not actually a glass, so you can't see how fantastic it is.  You'll just have to go track some down and drink it yourself.

A cool thing happened as I drank my bock.  A farmer turned up and parked her tractor next to the brewery.  They then started pumping spent grains into the trailer, so she can take it off and put it to some good use.  Lots of malty liquid was seeping from the trailer onto the ground.