A Glimpse of our Winter Adventure in Berlin

We knew it would be cold in Berlin. In the minuses, we knew, and in preparation had brought additional layers of clothing for our winter holiday there. However we had not expected the locals to complain as well!  ‘It is minus 7 degrees with a wind chill of minus 21! our shivering cab driver informed us as she hauled our luggage into her boot.    We travelled under a grey sky along grey streets and were met at a grey door behind which was our accommodation. Through a passageway and there they were – the beautiful, red brick, Berlin Lofts!  Once warehouses, today they are tastefully transformed into warm roomy hotel apartments – equipped with practically everything that visitors  to Berlin would want. I could quite happily live in this apartment with its open plan kitchen, dining and lounge area in which a party of 100 people would rattle about.  

Bundled into our many layers we  quickly strolled around the neighbourhood, purchased a few necessities   - oh look! over there looks to be a friendly local pub!  Such warmth – we sighed blissfully as we peeled off our layers of clothing and sat down to enjoy some local beer, wine and food  - and at very reasonable prices, too!  Our 20-month-old grandson was an instant hit with both the staff and regulars – our first realisation that the Berliners love babies!!  This pub became our ‘regular’ during our stay in Berlin  - no doubt the regulars missed our noisy repartee and baby’s antics after our departure.

About Newport Rhode Island

Having travelled by bus to Newport Rhode Island, we arrived on a hot Sunday afternoon, into a end-of-summer resort! Lots of shops, and tanned people strolling around. After lunching we walked, lugging our cases - on wheels, of course, down streets of 2 - 3 storied wooden houses with steeply pitched roofs and window boxes, to our home for the next 7 days. Many of the houses had plaques on them stating their age which was around 200 - 250 years old and the people who lived there - pewterers, silversmiths, etc. Ours was built in around 1750 and was occupied by a famous cabinet maker, John Goddard and his son Thomas. The house was moved to its current site from one nearer the water, because someone wanted the land, but not the building. The current owners refurbished the 3 storied house - 3 bedrooms, a huge attic room - ideal for grandchildren and for a crew of yachties, and numerous bathrooms. They often let the house out to visitors and would holiday on their boat. It was ideal for boating people like us - much better than a hotel!

Newport, as the name suggests was a port town situated at the beginning of Rhode Island Sound. It ends well inland at Providence, the area's current port. The sound is not as we New Zealanders are used to - high mountains, deep water, but instead, low bush and tree covered hills and about 30 islands amnd peninsulas. Apparently the land, like that in Sweden, Finland and around the Baltic Sea, is very slowly rising as it no longer bears the weight of glaciers.

At the beginning of the sound is Fort Adams - one of two ports built to keep the British out. However the British laid seige and stayed out to sea, so there was no battle and subsquently not a shot has been fired from the fort. This area is steeped in history, much of which had a profound effect on the direction of the United States which, of course, can be found out in great detail, on Google!!

So here is a very very brief outline about Newport Rhode Island in no particular order;
- People came to this area to escape religious persecution
- The rich came here to spend their summers - resulting in the erection of many huge beautiful and opulent palace like mansions - many of which can be visited today.
- There was a huge Sanitorium here - started by somebody who used electricity to cure everthing then discovered that there was more money and less responsibility in making the place into a 'health retreat' to which people came and did not want to leave
- The houses are very quaint and disctinctive
- The Navy's main base was here for many years - as it has moved its base elsehwere most of its many buildings are now Naval Colleges
- The area is quaint and beautiful and very cultural - art, crafts, music
- the (only) Main Street has heaps of pubs, cafes and touristy resort shops
- Around the waters edge are hundreds of holiday apartment blocks built around 20 - 30 for the huge summer population - part or a revival plan for the area after the Navy and America's Cup trophy relocated
- There are hundreds and hundreds of boats here - all of which have to be taken out of the water for the winter
- The loss of the America's Cup had a huge impact on the ecomony as well as the New York Yacht Club which owns a mansion donated to it by a former Commodore.

All in all Newport Rhode Island is a beautiful area - very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Apparently when the water froze over around 150 years ago, a large home was built on a very small rocky island as the materials could be brought out over the snow and ice by sled. Then one winter there was a severe blizzard lasting for several days. After it abated, the lady of the house departed to the mainland and swore never to go back again... Today the house has that rather neglected air about it.

Now I will sign off this item and write something about the sailing.....

The Advantages of Having a Personal Travel Agent

I am very fortunate in having my very own personal Travel Agent.

As well as organising some wonderful trips to my dream places, at the lowest prices he also selects accommodation - at the best prices which are romantic, unique, historic and/or famous.

So it was that in Washington we stayed at the Hilton Capitol - just around the corner from the White House. Originally known as the Hilton Statler, it was completed on the 18th of January, 1943, 3 days after the Pentagon.

it was the most modern hotel of the time and included alumunium windows - which were not widely used then. However the owners donated them to the war effort.

Many famous people have passed through the hotel doors over the years.
In 1963 the Deputy Director Bayard Rustin of the Civil Rights movement stayed there before That March and after that famous "I have a Dream" speech.

President Reagan stayed there and Rose Kennedy hosted the Kennedy Foundation's 1st International Awards Banquet at the hotel.

As I write this, we are back in New York. It is a great time to be visiting here, last weekend was Labour Weekend which is the last of summer , so everything is quiet - no queuesor crowds!!! - almost better than a winter holiday because it is warmer. Anyway before I talk about NY I must tell you more about Washington.....

Winter Holiday in Florence and more about Museums.

Gosh, I am so please that we decided to spend some of our Italain Winter Holiday in Florenza!

Here is was a little warmer than during our stays at Milano and Venice and it was very pleasant exploring the streets. Even though the skies were clear and the sun was shining, I have to say, I felt a little claustrophobic. I suspect it was because the sun was low, being winter, and it did not reach the streets. Also there are not many open spaces in the city centre. But we did note that a large area, near to the railway station was being refurbished.

There is not much traffic in Florenza - some of the streets are for walking only, while others seemed to be for servcive vehicles only. In fact when we viewed the city from the top of the Duomo belltower,which was over 400 steps to get there, it was apparent that the limited traffic zone extended for quite a large area. So it was ideal for exloring the city on foot, and to admire the old, but very neat and tidy variety of buildings. It was interesting to note that on some of the older buildings, all of which seemed to be in perfectly restored condition, had areas of the outer walls exposed so we could view the construction methods.

More by accident than by design, we ended up spending a lot ot time in museums during our stay in Florence,

We had made a reservation to view the Galleria at the Uffuzi Palace, and it took all morning to view the beautiful artworks on display. Most had been restored, as had a good part of the building.There was an interesting Exhibtion by Giovanni Francesco (Guecino) - 1591 - 1666, of his sketches and watercolours in brown wash.

Artwork in the Gallerail had been collected since the 17th century by the Medusa family, and feature was a special Medusa exhitibition was the famous Medusa Head with the snakes emerging from it.

We also visited the Museo d'ell Opera di Santa Maria del Torre, then a museum dedicated to the history of the Duomo. It has been in existance since 1891.

Even though the first stone was laid in 1296, the facade was not finished until the early 1900's due to various political reasons over the years. Many architects submitted designs for the facade, all of which were on display. There were also many statues and artifacts all of which were in the Duomo at some time or other.

Michangelo and Brunelleschi were two of the many famous artists who worked on the Duomo during its 700 years of construction.

We visited the Accadamea where the statue of 'David' resides, along with his 4 unfinished slaves. The Accadamea had much of the art collected during thte Medusa Dynasty, including a musical instrument collection and the worlds oldest violin. The exhibition was great until we entered a large hall chocker full of replicas of statues, including hundreds of busts lining the very high walls! A bit of overkill, we felt, as we quickly wandered through and on to other things.

Before I move away from talking about exhibtitions and museums, I have to repeat that there were few few people and tour groups around, so we could see everything at our leisure, in particular, the statue of David, around which everyone would spend hours gazing at. Winter is such a great time to do the 'indoors' of European Cities - museums are warm and comfortable.

As in all the other cities we visited during this winter holiday, the winter sales were on and lots of people were shopping. But that is another story.....