Berlin 6/22/18

Thursday morning's major expedition was to the grand painting collection at the Gemaldegalerie. It's one of the most comprehensive and important collections of European art from the Renaissance through the 18th century. Highlights include masterpieces by such favorites as Durer, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Watteau and Caravaggio. The collection's rarities include noteworthy works by such Flemish/Dutch artists as Van Eyck, Van Der Weyden and Bosch. After a refreshing lunch of pasta and Barbera wine at a friendly Italian restaurant ("Essenza") on the Potsdamer Platz, we headed to the Nikolai Church (1230,)  the oldest building in Berlin. Remodeled in the Gothic style, this church is now a museum with many displays of past life in the city. Despite intermittent rain, we also saw the Biedermeyer-era Knoblauch House, near the church.   Our Berlin dinner was at the famed Aldon Hotel (aka The Kempinski,) in its "Quarre" restaurant. During the inter-war period, the Aldon, near the Brandenburg Gate, was the site of celebrated visitors and residents, from Berlin's society and intellectual worlds. - Dan

Berlin 6/21/18

On Wednesday morning our train from Leipzig arrived in Berlin just one minute late, typical for German efficiency. After leaving our bags at the hotel, we walked to the grandiose "Dom," or cathedral, an example of late 19th century historicism. We both climbed the 276 steps to the dome, rewarded by spectacular city views. Also on Museum Island (a UNESCO Site,) we toured the elegant Old National Gallery, where we enjoyed seeing paintings by Bocklin, Manet, Hans Marees and others. After a marvelous lunch at the Haeckescher Hof Restaurant, we returned to our hotel to finally get our room following a slight tussle with the staff over the unacceptable delay in the availability of the room. We took a break then rallied to make a visit to the German Technical Museum, to see many large locomotives, passenger cars and related items all displayed in the twin engine roundhouses at the site. Surprisingly, the museum even included trains and photographs from the WWII era; usually Nazis are never shown in German museums. Dinner was at another high quality restaurant, "Oxymoron," located in the Haeckescher Court, a courtyard decorated with very distinctive Art Nouveau period tile work that covers all of the tall walls. - Dan

Leipzig 6/20/18

On Tuesday our friend Wolfgang again gave us a comprehensive tour of his city. We started at the University, where the new Gewandhaus and Opera are located. There is also a modern university church which replaced a Gothic church, (St. Paul's,) which was, sadly, blown up during the Communist regime. At the top of a tall modern skyscraper we enjoyed an excellent panoramic view of the city and environs. Then we visited the Nikolai Church, where J.S. Bach played the organ. Its Gothic interior was changed into the neo-classical style, with pink and pale green trim, with the capitals of columns ending in palms. After seeing various architecturally significant buildings we had lunch at the historic Auerbach Cellar, where Goethe wrote much of "Faust," and where Offenbach wrote the prologue of his opera "Tales Of Hoffman." After lunch we walked to the St. Thomas Church, full of historical mementos. This refined Gothic church was where Martin Luther preached and where Bach led the (now) 800 years old boys choir. The great J. S. Bach's grave is located before the main altar, covered with fresh flowers. Across the street we visited the Bach Museum and Dan even played the first prelude on a soft-voiced clavichord, Bach's keyboard of choice for teaching. Finally, we visited the art museum, which has fine works by Max Klinger and Beckman. We returned to the old market for our last dinner in Leipzig at a lovely French restaurant, "La Provence." - Dan

Leipzig 6/19/18

Monday morning our train took us to the historic Saxon city of Leipzig. Jim's friend Wolfgang showed us the gigantic train station and then drove us to our hotel. A couple of hours later, Wolfgang took us to the Mendelssohn house, where the great composer lived and died. Many of his possessions, including a group of his fine watercolors, are on display. In a special room, one may also "conduct" his works, aided by a computer (see photos.) Then we went to the 1920 monument that commemorates Napoleon's battles in the city. This powerful and sculptural building sits on a hill surrounded by an impressive landscape that includes a graceful reflecting pool. Then Wolfgang took us to his suburban house where we had a coffee and tea hour with his gracious wife Birgit. Around 6 pm Wolfgang drove us to the man-made Stornthaler Lakes where we had an outdoor dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner our friend showed us the vintage automobile and ephemera collection of the restaurant owner; it was like stepping back to the DDR (communist) era with Russian, Czech and German cars from decades ago. Our last stop before returning to the city was the poignant ruins of the 14th century church at Wachau. The church ruins reminded me of the superb Romantic paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. Today Wolfgang will once again be our gracious host in Leipzig with visits to many more attractions including the J.S. Bach museum on our agenda. - Dan