OK - I hate to get political, but after touring Europe the past 3 weeks and seeing some historic sites and artifacts I have to say - "The extremists in Timbuktu are F'N insane!" And the rest of the World is just sitting around letting this happen...this is how the Nazi's gained their early successes...
This just disgusts me: Timbuktu's Sidi Yahia mosque 'attacked by Mali militants'
Monday, July 2, 2012
Pictures from Frankfurt! This is a very financial oriented city - lots of banks and skyscrapers, hotels, and a large redlight district. For those of you that didn't know, Prostitution is legal in Germany and the government regulates the trade. Frankfurt was mostly destroyed during WWII so it's pretty modern and pretty stale compared to everywhere else I have been. These pictures were taken with my iPhone so the quality is not nearly as good as with my digital camera...
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| This was actually from Sunday night before watching Spain defeat Italy in the Euro 2012 final |
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| Occupy Frankfurt! |
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| Skyscraper in Frankfurt |
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| Statue with a stuffed animal in a Frankfurt Park |
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| Side street in the redlight district - the neon buildings are Eros Hotels (Love Hotels) |
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| Another side street in the redlight district - the America Erotica Shop and Club |
I'm in Frankfurt for the night, but here are some cool pictures from the past few days I wanted to share...
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| Locals playing table tennis at the Tiergarten |
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| Produce stand at the the Hackeshermarkt in Berlin |
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| Reichstag Dome |
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| The statue on top of the Brandenberg Gate |
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| Underground station and train at Alexanderplatz |
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| A Pug who warmed up to me while I walking the Kururstendamm - a lengthy shopping avenue |
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| Cool building and Tram in Berlin |
Friday, June 29, 2012
I took the Underground at to the Olympic Stadium today. It was about a 30 minute ride from East Berlin.
The current Olympiastadion was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During World War II, the area suffered little damage.
The site was renovated in the early 2000's for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. On January 9, 2002, construction workers found an unexploded World War II bomb buried beneath a section of seating. It was defused outside the stadium by Berlin police!
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| Berlin Olympiastadion |
The current Olympiastadion was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During World War II, the area suffered little damage.
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| Amazingly this "self shot" came out pretty well! |
The site was renovated in the early 2000's for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. On January 9, 2002, construction workers found an unexploded World War II bomb buried beneath a section of seating. It was defused outside the stadium by Berlin police!
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| Looking towards the sky on a hot summer day! |
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Nuremberg at night! On 2 January 1945, the medieval city center was systematically bombed by the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces and about ninety percent of it was destroyed in only one hour, with 1,800 residents killed and roughly 100,000 displaced.
Nuremberg was a heavily fortified city during WWII. Despite this intense degree of destruction, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings. However, the biggest part of the historic structural condition of the old Imperial Free City was lost forever.
Nuremberg was a heavily fortified city during WWII. Despite this intense degree of destruction, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings. However, the biggest part of the historic structural condition of the old Imperial Free City was lost forever.
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| Bridge over the Pegnitz River in the old town center |
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| City wall tower and dome in the old city center with the half moon in the sky |
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| Church and monument in the old town center |
Yesterday we were in Nuremberg. Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi Germany era. Because of the city's relevance to the Holy Roman Empire and its position in the center of Germany, the Nazi Party chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions – the Nuremberg rallies.
Today, it has the largest remaining collection of Nazi architecture, such as Zeppelin Field, Congress Hall, and the Great Road. The Nazi Rally Grounds are a memorial today, yet they are used for large events such as concerts, F1 Racing, and Motorcycle races.
Unfortunately, the place was very commercial and we were a little disappointed in the advertisements everywhere and the Madonna music that was being blasted for the breakdown crew of an auto racing event held the day before...
Today, it has the largest remaining collection of Nazi architecture, such as Zeppelin Field, Congress Hall, and the Great Road. The Nazi Rally Grounds are a memorial today, yet they are used for large events such as concerts, F1 Racing, and Motorcycle races.
Unfortunately, the place was very commercial and we were a little disappointed in the advertisements everywhere and the Madonna music that was being blasted for the breakdown crew of an auto racing event held the day before...
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| Inside the Documentation Center - a museum for the Nazi Rally Grounds |
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| Nazi Rally tickets |
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| Congress Hall |
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| Zeppelin Field - this is the building were the famous American footage of the Nazi Swastika was blown up - the Swastika was on the top of the building |
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| Seating area and podium (where Adolf Hitler gave speeches) at Zeppelin Field - to the right you can see part of the race track area that there were currently breaking down. |
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
We stumbled onto this Michael Jackson memorial in a park in Munich. Defintely one of the strangest things we've senn so far..
You can read more about by visiting the Memorial to Michael Jackson page! Enjoy...
You can read more about by visiting the Memorial to Michael Jackson page! Enjoy...
Here are some Biergarten pictures from Munich...
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| Sean drinking a Weißbier (Hefeweizen) at the Viktualienmarkt Biergarten |
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| The "maple tree" at the entrance to the Biergarten - it displays what types of beer and food are served along with the merchants selling crafts and other goods... |
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| Me drinking a beer at the Englischer Gartern (English Garden) Biergarten - this is Munich's "Central Park" and it is the largest park in Europe! More than 100,000 people visit the park on summer days...no doubt drinking some beer! |
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| Panorama of the Biergarten with a Chinese Tower in the middle - we rented bikes for the afternoon and cruised around this awesome park... |
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
I apologize for not posting anything in several days. We have had very limited access to Wi-Fi. So, to catch up...
We left Krakow, Poland...
...and decided to get to Austria via Munich, by plalne (90 minutes) instead of train (16 hours)...
...we picked up our rental car, an Audi A6, in Munich and drove to Herschegg, Austria in the southern Bavaria region (Austrian Tyrol)...
...after spending a few days in Austria, we went back to Munich, Germany...
...and, now we are currently in Nuremberg...
...I'll post more soon...until then, Gute Nacht
We left Krakow, Poland...
...and decided to get to Austria via Munich, by plalne (90 minutes) instead of train (16 hours)...
...we picked up our rental car, an Audi A6, in Munich and drove to Herschegg, Austria in the southern Bavaria region (Austrian Tyrol)...
...after spending a few days in Austria, we went back to Munich, Germany...
...and, now we are currently in Nuremberg...
...I'll post more soon...until then, Gute Nacht
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