Last night we tried to find a restaurant that Annie and Cherie noticed as we biked to the Oranienburgerstraße Synagogue. The neighborhood has lots of art galeries and stores. Along the way we passed Koppenplatz, a small square with a very understated memorial. It shows a bronze table and chairs, with one overturned, as if someone had just been dragged away by the police. Along the sides was a text by Nelly Sachs. Here´s how google translate puts it ""... Oh, the mansions of death, / Inviting prepared / for the landlord of the house, he was once a guest - / O fingers / The input threshold of legend / Like a knife between life and death - / / O you chimneys, / O you fingers, / And Israel's body in the smoke through the air!" Koppenplatz, however, is a local dog park, and as we watched, one of the pooches pissed on the overturned chair.
I tried to retrace our steps but we couldn´t find the one they remember ("on the left, in a bombed out space between two buildings, with lots of trees"), so we went to an Italian place on Tucholsky Straße recommended by my guide book. The minestrone soup and the pasta was ok (too mild and slightly too bland for my tastes), and the mezzalunas did not look like half moons, but rather ravioli. At the various tables, people were watching the opening games of the World Cup.
On the way to and from the restaurant we noticed several prostitutes in the area around the synagogue. Apparently, this area is well known for that. Not surprisingly we also found a large British stag party in the area at an outdoor bar getting drunk and watching the game, including one lad who looked as if he was wearing Borat´s notorious florescent green g-string under his partially unbuttoned pants. I heard a drunk guy muttering behind me and so I told Cherie and Annie to walk quicker. Annie glanced behind and immediately agreed. We made it to the u-bahn without difficulty.
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast, and Annie and I talked about the museums we saw yesterday. The DDR Museum very much engages in ostalgia, with only some discussion of the terrors of communist rule. I compared it to the Museum of Communism in Prague. That too, has a very light touch but the film really packs a punch. When I tried to describe the end of the film, which features the song "Děkuji" ("Thank You"), I started to cry. The scene shows how individuals engaged in nonviolent protests were beaten and attacked by the police, while the juxtaposition with the music emphasizes their martyrdom. The effect is very powerful and I found the memory of it overwhelming.
I think also I cried because I wasn´t able to at the Holocaust memorial. In order to teach the subject, I build up walls around it to protect myself from the pain, and after a while I get inured to it. While this is my psyche protecting itself, it isn´t good for my teaching to be so jaded. I think this memory of Czech suffering provided an outlet for me that I needed.
After breakfast, we headed over to West Berlin. Annie and Cherie really wanted to get a sense of how the two sides of the city are different. We started off in Nollendorfplatz, in order to visit Christopher Isherwood´s old neighborhood. As we got off at the station we saw a big rainbow ballon arch with a banner "Willkommen zur lesbische und schwule Stadtfest" ("welcome to the lesbian and gay city festival"). The big pride parade (which I saw in 2006) is next Sunday, but this is a street festival that happens the week before the big event.
We walked for about a block down Motzstraße, as far as where the Eldorado night club stood before it was closed by the Nazis in 1933 (this was Berlin´s gay and lesbian neighborhood back then too). We stopped at some shops, and I chatted with some people in the German Radical Faerie booth. They had some sharp words for what they called the "mainstream" and "commercial" event the following week, instead preferring their alternative, rather hippy event scheduled for later this summer.
From there we took the u-bahn one stop to KaDeWe, the largest department store in continental Europe. We took the escalators up to the top floor to the Wintergarten cafe (the fanciest cafeteria you will ever visit). I found an empty table and sent in Annie and Cherie first, since I knew it would take them a while and I wanted to make sure they had a place to eat when they got out (it was very crowded, even though it was 1:30 pm). They eventually got the hang of it and when they came out with their food, I went in. I decided to try a traditional German meal of rinderroulade (a beef roulade), with red cabbage and potato gratin, along with a white pinot grigio and a fancy dessert. The roulade was interesting, but not enough so that I would order it again (a little greyer in flavor than my taste), but I very much enjoyed the sour cabbage and the gratined potatoes.
Of course, the dessert had my heart. Normally I try new things, but I think I had this the last time I ate here. It was constructed in layers: at the bottome was a thin slice of biscuit cake, followed by a thiner layer of raspberry cream, followed by another layer of cake. On top was a thick layer of tart raspberries in gelatin (about the same height as the lower levels of the cake). The cake was then garnished with star fruit, kumquat, and red currants. The kumquat, the currants, and the raspberries are all quite tart, so the dessert is almost more sour than sweet. I loved it. The piece was huge: two inches thick, two inches high, by three inches long. I shared it with Cherie and Annie.
After such a big lunch we moseyed our way down to the sixth floor: the food courts. We started with the chocolate section, where I stocked up on some Neuhaus chocolates for my trip. I think Cherie was overwhelmed by the choices, but I helped her find some that she liked. Waiting in line to buy some hard licorice buttons for Annie, we got into conversation with a couple in front of us buying stacks of biscuits and animal crackers. I feared I might of made a faux pas when I asked if she was buying them for her grandchild (never ask a woman if she´s pregnant or a grandmother!), but luckily she wasn´t offended (she had three grandkids). I asked where they were from and they said Mexico City.
We spent some time window shopping and then headed down to the Ku´damm. This is the Rodeo Drive of West Berlin. It has a real different feel than East Berlin: it´s fancier, more commercial, calmer in a way, less casual than in the east. I stopped at an Ahava store on Fasenstraße, near the Jewish community building, and bought some shower gel. Then we headed back to Prenzlauer Berg. I think we´re going to have a light dinner tonight in the neighborhood. I´m hoping we can go to the Pergamon Museum in the morning, and maybe hang out in Kreuzberg in the afternoon at Checkpoint Charlie and the Eastside Gallery. That would leave Wannsee, the Max Liebermann Villa, and the Brücke Museum for Monday, our last full day in Berlin.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Boating on the Spree
Everyone felt so refreshed after our showers that we decided to head back to Gugelhof. This was one of the pioneering restaurants in Prenzlauer Berg after the fall of the wall, and specializes in Alsatian cuisine. It was crowded and there were no seats outside, but we managed to get a very nice table in a back room, with an open door overlooking the garden.
I ordered the prix fixe menu of cream of asparagus soup with pumpkin seed oil (very tasty), along with the pasta roll stuffed with goat cheese and aubergine, accompanied by white asparagus in a savory cream sauce and couscous. Cherie ordered the same main course, while Annie had the trout sauteed in riesling with butter and herbs. She loved her fish and we all agreed the white asparagus (at first the pieces looked like pasta) was spectacular. My meal came with a dessert: creme brulee, which I split with Cherie. They had tap water, while I ordered a large (.4 liter) Berliner Pilsner to relax me.
I took some melatonin that Annie gave me last night, and slept much better; all the way from 11 or so pm to 7:30 am. The weather today will continue to be hot 30 C, with a low of 18, but we´re expected a cold front to come through tonight bringing rain and much lower temps (23?) tomorrow.
Cherie joined us for breakfast just after 9 am. We stashed some rolls, cheese, fruit and eggs in my bag and that became our lunch. Afterwards, we headed out to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We got there just after 11 am, and I was curious to see how long Cherie would spend there, since I plan to take students there next summer. We spent a lot of time in the first room, the Introduction that summarizes the history of Nazi Germany´s persecution of Jews. We met an elderly woman from Israel in a wheel chair. She told us she was 18 in 1939 when the Nazis entered Warsaw. After two months, she said, she managed to flee, but we didn´t hear the whole story of how she got out. She was somewhat hard of hearing and her Hebrew was sometimes difficult to understand. Annie spoke more with her and I spoke some with her son who was assisting her.
Cherie really took in the information and was terribly moved by it. The Holocaust can be overwhelming, particularly if you´re not used to hearing about it such detail. It took a lot of energy and time for her to come to terms with what she was reading. The second room contains text written by fifteen different victims under various circumstances. The room after that chronicles the lives and sufferings of different Jewish families from all over Europe. The museum is very well done. One of the hardest things in teaching the Holocaust is moving from the overview to the specific. Stalin once said that the death of one is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic. How do you discuss the deaths of millions and not lose the tragedy of the individual? In one room, the deaths of individual after individual (with a short bio) is described in both German and English. I read somewhere that it will take them years to go through the small list they have.
Afterwards, we walked to the Tiergarten across the street. Cherie and Annie walked through the plinths of the memorial, while I stayed on the ddge (I find the experience makes me slightly nauseous). Annie told me that walking through it gave her a difference perspective on it, and that while it didn´t "read" well from the outside, the gridlike layout with its rows leading to death no matter which way you turn, and it its interplay of light and dark did work.
We decided to make for the boats, but I passed a sign for the Holocaust memorial for gays persecuted by the Nazis and insisted we see it. In a controversial decision, the memorial we went to was specific to the Jews of Europe, and not the other victims (there are references to the Roma, but none to the murder of the disabled or gay men). Each victim group is establishing its own memorial.
The gay memorial is just across the street from the plinths, but a little further into the park. It echoes the plinths as it is also a large concrete oblong pillar, but this one has a window. As the plaque points out, under the Nazis, gay men could be sent to concentration camps for as little as a kiss. When you look through the window, you see a short, contemporary black and white film of two young men kissing.
We headed from there to Unter den Linden. After listening to a busker oompa band do ABBA´s Supertrooper, we made a brief bathroom stop at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, just inside the Brandenburg Tor. I made the mistake of having us walk to the Spree River, as this somewhat tired Annie. We got there around 1:40 and bought tickets for a onw hour loop tour of the Spree River.
We hoped to eat our sandwiches in the cool, inside deck, but we were told that the only food there had to be what was bought there, so we headed to the upper deck. Luckily we were all slathered in sunscreen, and Annie and I wore baseball caps. The tour was nice. First south to Nikolaiviertel, and then upstream passed Museum Insel, the Reichstag, the Hauptbahnhof, all the way to the House of Culture, and then back. The Tiergarten and the trees along the river are so green. There´s some sort of light, white cotten fluff falling from the trees throughout the city. On the way back, we went downstairs to enjoy the AC, now that our lunch was over.
By the time we got back to the dock, Annie needed iced coffee and Cherie wanted ice cream. I found a bakery cafe nearby but they didn´t have ice cream. We ended up in a faux "alt berlin" beer garden just past Rosenstraße (I pointed the monument out to Annie). They had iced coffee and a few ice cream sundaes. Cherie was not happy with the waitress as she refused to modify the sundae to substitute chocolate syrup for strawberry syrup, and she was forced to have the sundae without any syrup. "It´s such an insignificant difference," she said, "I don´t understand why they won´t make this little change." The ice cream wasn´t particularly good either.
After that we headed back to the Spree so we could go to the DDR Museum. Cherie wasn´t thrilled with this as we had already visited one museum that morning, which is usually her daily limit. Annie convinced her that this was a small museum and that it would be interesting. Annie really liked learning about how the wall worked and made all sorts of connections between the objects on display and the content of films like "The Lives of Others." I spent some time with Cherie explaining the how the Iron Curtain and the Cold War worked. "Why don´t they teach this in schools!?" she angrily asked/demanded.
The images of communist-era housing gave Annie the shivers, and we both laughed as we recognized several kitchen items we had seen in Israel were common in East Germany (e.g., the plastic pitcher to hold the milk pouch). Annie found this great book on the wall, before and after, but it was in German only. I tried to find one in English, but the staff suggested that I simply translate it for her. "But I´m just her friend, not her husband," I told them. "Then he should do it," they replied. "I don´t think that´s going to work," I answered.
After that everyone was tired so we made our way back to the hotel. Several of the cafes on Gleimstraße have big screen tvs set up for people to watch the world cup. We´re not going to the English Language Theatre in Berlin as Cherie and Annie are tired; instead we´re going to try to find a cool, outdoor cafe we passed on our bike trip yesterday, somewhere near the Oranienburgerstraße synagogue.
Tommorow, I promised Annie we could finally get to West Berlin.
I ordered the prix fixe menu of cream of asparagus soup with pumpkin seed oil (very tasty), along with the pasta roll stuffed with goat cheese and aubergine, accompanied by white asparagus in a savory cream sauce and couscous. Cherie ordered the same main course, while Annie had the trout sauteed in riesling with butter and herbs. She loved her fish and we all agreed the white asparagus (at first the pieces looked like pasta) was spectacular. My meal came with a dessert: creme brulee, which I split with Cherie. They had tap water, while I ordered a large (.4 liter) Berliner Pilsner to relax me.
I took some melatonin that Annie gave me last night, and slept much better; all the way from 11 or so pm to 7:30 am. The weather today will continue to be hot 30 C, with a low of 18, but we´re expected a cold front to come through tonight bringing rain and much lower temps (23?) tomorrow.
Cherie joined us for breakfast just after 9 am. We stashed some rolls, cheese, fruit and eggs in my bag and that became our lunch. Afterwards, we headed out to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We got there just after 11 am, and I was curious to see how long Cherie would spend there, since I plan to take students there next summer. We spent a lot of time in the first room, the Introduction that summarizes the history of Nazi Germany´s persecution of Jews. We met an elderly woman from Israel in a wheel chair. She told us she was 18 in 1939 when the Nazis entered Warsaw. After two months, she said, she managed to flee, but we didn´t hear the whole story of how she got out. She was somewhat hard of hearing and her Hebrew was sometimes difficult to understand. Annie spoke more with her and I spoke some with her son who was assisting her.
Cherie really took in the information and was terribly moved by it. The Holocaust can be overwhelming, particularly if you´re not used to hearing about it such detail. It took a lot of energy and time for her to come to terms with what she was reading. The second room contains text written by fifteen different victims under various circumstances. The room after that chronicles the lives and sufferings of different Jewish families from all over Europe. The museum is very well done. One of the hardest things in teaching the Holocaust is moving from the overview to the specific. Stalin once said that the death of one is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic. How do you discuss the deaths of millions and not lose the tragedy of the individual? In one room, the deaths of individual after individual (with a short bio) is described in both German and English. I read somewhere that it will take them years to go through the small list they have.
Afterwards, we walked to the Tiergarten across the street. Cherie and Annie walked through the plinths of the memorial, while I stayed on the ddge (I find the experience makes me slightly nauseous). Annie told me that walking through it gave her a difference perspective on it, and that while it didn´t "read" well from the outside, the gridlike layout with its rows leading to death no matter which way you turn, and it its interplay of light and dark did work.
We decided to make for the boats, but I passed a sign for the Holocaust memorial for gays persecuted by the Nazis and insisted we see it. In a controversial decision, the memorial we went to was specific to the Jews of Europe, and not the other victims (there are references to the Roma, but none to the murder of the disabled or gay men). Each victim group is establishing its own memorial.
The gay memorial is just across the street from the plinths, but a little further into the park. It echoes the plinths as it is also a large concrete oblong pillar, but this one has a window. As the plaque points out, under the Nazis, gay men could be sent to concentration camps for as little as a kiss. When you look through the window, you see a short, contemporary black and white film of two young men kissing.
We headed from there to Unter den Linden. After listening to a busker oompa band do ABBA´s Supertrooper, we made a brief bathroom stop at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, just inside the Brandenburg Tor. I made the mistake of having us walk to the Spree River, as this somewhat tired Annie. We got there around 1:40 and bought tickets for a onw hour loop tour of the Spree River.
We hoped to eat our sandwiches in the cool, inside deck, but we were told that the only food there had to be what was bought there, so we headed to the upper deck. Luckily we were all slathered in sunscreen, and Annie and I wore baseball caps. The tour was nice. First south to Nikolaiviertel, and then upstream passed Museum Insel, the Reichstag, the Hauptbahnhof, all the way to the House of Culture, and then back. The Tiergarten and the trees along the river are so green. There´s some sort of light, white cotten fluff falling from the trees throughout the city. On the way back, we went downstairs to enjoy the AC, now that our lunch was over.
By the time we got back to the dock, Annie needed iced coffee and Cherie wanted ice cream. I found a bakery cafe nearby but they didn´t have ice cream. We ended up in a faux "alt berlin" beer garden just past Rosenstraße (I pointed the monument out to Annie). They had iced coffee and a few ice cream sundaes. Cherie was not happy with the waitress as she refused to modify the sundae to substitute chocolate syrup for strawberry syrup, and she was forced to have the sundae without any syrup. "It´s such an insignificant difference," she said, "I don´t understand why they won´t make this little change." The ice cream wasn´t particularly good either.
After that we headed back to the Spree so we could go to the DDR Museum. Cherie wasn´t thrilled with this as we had already visited one museum that morning, which is usually her daily limit. Annie convinced her that this was a small museum and that it would be interesting. Annie really liked learning about how the wall worked and made all sorts of connections between the objects on display and the content of films like "The Lives of Others." I spent some time with Cherie explaining the how the Iron Curtain and the Cold War worked. "Why don´t they teach this in schools!?" she angrily asked/demanded.
The images of communist-era housing gave Annie the shivers, and we both laughed as we recognized several kitchen items we had seen in Israel were common in East Germany (e.g., the plastic pitcher to hold the milk pouch). Annie found this great book on the wall, before and after, but it was in German only. I tried to find one in English, but the staff suggested that I simply translate it for her. "But I´m just her friend, not her husband," I told them. "Then he should do it," they replied. "I don´t think that´s going to work," I answered.
After that everyone was tired so we made our way back to the hotel. Several of the cafes on Gleimstraße have big screen tvs set up for people to watch the world cup. We´re not going to the English Language Theatre in Berlin as Cherie and Annie are tired; instead we´re going to try to find a cool, outdoor cafe we passed on our bike trip yesterday, somewhere near the Oranienburgerstraße synagogue.
Tommorow, I promised Annie we could finally get to West Berlin.
Biking Through Berlin
Cherie made it to the buffet breakfast 10 minutes before it closed. We then packed lunches from fruit, cheese, and rolls from the buffet and headed to the S-Bahn station to pick up travel cards.
Then it was on a bus to get bicycles. We found a nice bike rental place on Kollwitzstraße and off we went. Annie really wanted to see the remnants of the wall. Mauerpark (one of the borders) was only five blocks away and we made our way along the wall´s route. Unfortunately for us, there was little of the actual wall to see.
Annie found the route confusing -- "are we in the East or the West? Which side are we on." I told her that the wall didn´t follow a straight line and that I didn´t know.
We finally reached the memorial for the wall. They had large cartoon posters, in which individuals who grew up affected by the wall described their experiences. It was really moving. We finally found the recreated "death strip" where we could look through cracks in the concrete and see the actual wall across the no man´s land. We also ran into an Israeli tour group (though I´ve found them relatively common in Berlin). After a brief chat in Hebrew with one of the members who wanted to know where we were from, we headed off to the Oranienburgerstraße Synagogue. I wanted to go in, but I couldn´t figure out how to get the chain connected on the bike.
Instead, we cycled across Museum Insel and Unter den Linden to the Tiergarten. Once we were there, I let Cherie set the direction and pace. She chose to rest in a quiet little part of the park, where we had to dismount our bikes to preserve the peace and quiet. Lots of green trees, bright flowers, and peaceful ponds. Both Cherie and Annie lay down on the grass and rested (I sat on a bench in the shade -- I got a little sunburned on my neck today).
Cherie really wanted an ice coffee, so I said we should go to the Cafe Einstein Stammhaus. "But we passed one," Cherie said. "No," I explained, we want the original. A relatively short ride later we reached it on Kurfürststraße. The place almost looks like a small embassy from the front, very formal and manicured. Inside, we were directed by waiters in bow ties to the outside garden. Annie and Cherie both ordered large Eiscafes, with whipped cream and ice cream. I ordered a Kirschtopfentorte, with tart cherries and farmer´s cheese. I also got a large bottle of mineral water for the table to stave off dehydration.
By 4:30, the sky was starting to get thunder clouds in the distance, so I suggested we head back. I took us by way of Potsdamer Platz so they could see the pieces of the wall on display. From there we headed to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Cherie had some culture conflict when a proper middle aged German matron proceeded to lecture her for not having her bike fully in the bike path, but partly on the sidewalk. I pointed out to the woman that she didn´t speak German, so she had to stumble through it in broken English.
At the memorial, I encouraged Cherie to walk through some of it to get a feel for it. Annie and I both agreed that the design of the memorial didn´t work for us. Cherie didn´t care for it either, saying that it was like they didn´t put a lot of effort into it. I don´t agree with that, but the memorial still doesn´t work for me. We may try to visit the museum under it tomorrow morning.
We came back via Alexanderplatz and then to Kollwitzstraße. I had them stop at Gugelhof to look at the menu, and Annie found something to order. After dropping off the bikes we spent time while Cherie window shopped in the weekly vegetable and craft market (though we did buy a kohlrabi -- Annie and Cherie like to eat them raw).
Because the U-bahn is out, we had to take a hot, unairconditioned bus. Between the heat and humidity we were dripping by the time we made it back to the hotel. They´re showering now, but I don´t think Annie has enough energy after the bike ride to walk back to Gugelhof, so we´ll probably eat in one of the many placeson our block.
Then it was on a bus to get bicycles. We found a nice bike rental place on Kollwitzstraße and off we went. Annie really wanted to see the remnants of the wall. Mauerpark (one of the borders) was only five blocks away and we made our way along the wall´s route. Unfortunately for us, there was little of the actual wall to see.
Annie found the route confusing -- "are we in the East or the West? Which side are we on." I told her that the wall didn´t follow a straight line and that I didn´t know.
We finally reached the memorial for the wall. They had large cartoon posters, in which individuals who grew up affected by the wall described their experiences. It was really moving. We finally found the recreated "death strip" where we could look through cracks in the concrete and see the actual wall across the no man´s land. We also ran into an Israeli tour group (though I´ve found them relatively common in Berlin). After a brief chat in Hebrew with one of the members who wanted to know where we were from, we headed off to the Oranienburgerstraße Synagogue. I wanted to go in, but I couldn´t figure out how to get the chain connected on the bike.
Instead, we cycled across Museum Insel and Unter den Linden to the Tiergarten. Once we were there, I let Cherie set the direction and pace. She chose to rest in a quiet little part of the park, where we had to dismount our bikes to preserve the peace and quiet. Lots of green trees, bright flowers, and peaceful ponds. Both Cherie and Annie lay down on the grass and rested (I sat on a bench in the shade -- I got a little sunburned on my neck today).
Cherie really wanted an ice coffee, so I said we should go to the Cafe Einstein Stammhaus. "But we passed one," Cherie said. "No," I explained, we want the original. A relatively short ride later we reached it on Kurfürststraße. The place almost looks like a small embassy from the front, very formal and manicured. Inside, we were directed by waiters in bow ties to the outside garden. Annie and Cherie both ordered large Eiscafes, with whipped cream and ice cream. I ordered a Kirschtopfentorte, with tart cherries and farmer´s cheese. I also got a large bottle of mineral water for the table to stave off dehydration.
By 4:30, the sky was starting to get thunder clouds in the distance, so I suggested we head back. I took us by way of Potsdamer Platz so they could see the pieces of the wall on display. From there we headed to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Cherie had some culture conflict when a proper middle aged German matron proceeded to lecture her for not having her bike fully in the bike path, but partly on the sidewalk. I pointed out to the woman that she didn´t speak German, so she had to stumble through it in broken English.
At the memorial, I encouraged Cherie to walk through some of it to get a feel for it. Annie and I both agreed that the design of the memorial didn´t work for us. Cherie didn´t care for it either, saying that it was like they didn´t put a lot of effort into it. I don´t agree with that, but the memorial still doesn´t work for me. We may try to visit the museum under it tomorrow morning.
We came back via Alexanderplatz and then to Kollwitzstraße. I had them stop at Gugelhof to look at the menu, and Annie found something to order. After dropping off the bikes we spent time while Cherie window shopped in the weekly vegetable and craft market (though we did buy a kohlrabi -- Annie and Cherie like to eat them raw).
Because the U-bahn is out, we had to take a hot, unairconditioned bus. Between the heat and humidity we were dripping by the time we made it back to the hotel. They´re showering now, but I don´t think Annie has enough energy after the bike ride to walk back to Gugelhof, so we´ll probably eat in one of the many placeson our block.
In Berlin
Blasted German kezboards!
With some pushing and shoving, we made it to the taxi by 5 pm and to Schipol airport in plenty of time. After getting Annie´s and Cherie´s luggage checked in, we had plenty of time before our flight. Cherie was hoping to find a McDonald´s so she could have a "stroop waffel" McFlurry (pieces of treacly sweet waffles with caramel filling broken up in a McDonald´s milk shake), but no such luck. The airport sandwiches weren´t bad though.
A short flight later we were in Berlin. Much warmer and somewhat humid, we took the taxi to the hotel (City Apartment Guesthouse Berlin). Unlike the last two times I stayed here (in 2006 and 2007), now they wanted the entire amount in advance AND they no longer accept credit cards. I suppose the wire transfer for the deposit should have clued me in to that. We did not have the remaining 380 Euros. The clerk told us to put our stuff in our room and then go to the bank automat around the corner.
I´m not comfortable being confrontational, so Annie took over and spoke to the night manager, who then allowed us to pay the remaining balance by the next night (tonight). With that hurdle overcome, it was time to find something for Cherie to eat, as she was quite hungry. We went to Schall & Rauch next door, but Annie suggested the Tapas place next to that, but none of the menu choices were vegetarian. So back to S&R we went, only to find that the kitchen closed at 10:30, and it was now 10:45 pm. So then we headed back to the cafe in our pension where Cherie ordered the Greek farmer´s salad. A few minutes later the waiter came back to say that they were out of salads.
By that point, all I wanted was my beer. Cherie wanted every part of the menu item´s description translated, and I couldn´t remember all the words (e.g. for capers or cucumbers). It was enough, I thought, that I confirmed it was vegetarian. I became more and more agitated and decided to simply recuse myself from the discussion. I`ve always been a person who makes decisions quickly; I find agonizing over choices to be, well, agonizing. It´s alright, I suppose, when others do, but very painful for me when I have to be part of the process.
Cherie ended up with a salad caprese (sans ham), while Annie had an Erdbeerbowle (a kind of liquored up strawberry punch, quite good), while I was very happy with my large cold beer.
Feeling much more relaxed, we went for a stroll through the neighborhood at 11:30 pm. Annie and Cherie liked all the stores and cafes. There´s a big multi-plex cinema across the street, and Annie and Cherie ended up splitting some fresh pomme frites with mayo and ketchup at a dönner kebab stand by Schönhauser Alle S-bahn. Cherie was overjoyed to find an H&M department store just a block from the pension. Then it was back to the pension to sleep.
The arrangement of our rooms is not the best. Annie and Cherie are splitting the double bed. Their room fan whirrs pretty loudly and their windows open on to the courtyard where the recycling is (mine don´t open at all). The bathroom is pretty spacious for Europe though. I´m in the second room, which is long and narrow like a strangely shaped walk-in closet, with a sliding door separating it from the main room. I kept the overhead fan on all night to stay cool, but woke up pretty early anyway.
Today the expeceted high is 32 and partly cloudy. Once Cherie has breakfast, hopefully before the buffet closes in half an hour, we´ll go for bicycles. Tomorrow there´s a good chance of thunderstorms. Annie is really interested in the history of the wall, so I thought we might cycle along part of it´s route today (as well as the Tiergarten).
With some pushing and shoving, we made it to the taxi by 5 pm and to Schipol airport in plenty of time. After getting Annie´s and Cherie´s luggage checked in, we had plenty of time before our flight. Cherie was hoping to find a McDonald´s so she could have a "stroop waffel" McFlurry (pieces of treacly sweet waffles with caramel filling broken up in a McDonald´s milk shake), but no such luck. The airport sandwiches weren´t bad though.
A short flight later we were in Berlin. Much warmer and somewhat humid, we took the taxi to the hotel (City Apartment Guesthouse Berlin). Unlike the last two times I stayed here (in 2006 and 2007), now they wanted the entire amount in advance AND they no longer accept credit cards. I suppose the wire transfer for the deposit should have clued me in to that. We did not have the remaining 380 Euros. The clerk told us to put our stuff in our room and then go to the bank automat around the corner.
I´m not comfortable being confrontational, so Annie took over and spoke to the night manager, who then allowed us to pay the remaining balance by the next night (tonight). With that hurdle overcome, it was time to find something for Cherie to eat, as she was quite hungry. We went to Schall & Rauch next door, but Annie suggested the Tapas place next to that, but none of the menu choices were vegetarian. So back to S&R we went, only to find that the kitchen closed at 10:30, and it was now 10:45 pm. So then we headed back to the cafe in our pension where Cherie ordered the Greek farmer´s salad. A few minutes later the waiter came back to say that they were out of salads.
By that point, all I wanted was my beer. Cherie wanted every part of the menu item´s description translated, and I couldn´t remember all the words (e.g. for capers or cucumbers). It was enough, I thought, that I confirmed it was vegetarian. I became more and more agitated and decided to simply recuse myself from the discussion. I`ve always been a person who makes decisions quickly; I find agonizing over choices to be, well, agonizing. It´s alright, I suppose, when others do, but very painful for me when I have to be part of the process.
Cherie ended up with a salad caprese (sans ham), while Annie had an Erdbeerbowle (a kind of liquored up strawberry punch, quite good), while I was very happy with my large cold beer.
Feeling much more relaxed, we went for a stroll through the neighborhood at 11:30 pm. Annie and Cherie liked all the stores and cafes. There´s a big multi-plex cinema across the street, and Annie and Cherie ended up splitting some fresh pomme frites with mayo and ketchup at a dönner kebab stand by Schönhauser Alle S-bahn. Cherie was overjoyed to find an H&M department store just a block from the pension. Then it was back to the pension to sleep.
The arrangement of our rooms is not the best. Annie and Cherie are splitting the double bed. Their room fan whirrs pretty loudly and their windows open on to the courtyard where the recycling is (mine don´t open at all). The bathroom is pretty spacious for Europe though. I´m in the second room, which is long and narrow like a strangely shaped walk-in closet, with a sliding door separating it from the main room. I kept the overhead fan on all night to stay cool, but woke up pretty early anyway.
Today the expeceted high is 32 and partly cloudy. Once Cherie has breakfast, hopefully before the buffet closes in half an hour, we´ll go for bicycles. Tomorrow there´s a good chance of thunderstorms. Annie is really interested in the history of the wall, so I thought we might cycle along part of it´s route today (as well as the Tiergarten).
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Rain
I usually have trouble sleeping my second night of travels. The first night, I'm so exhausted I have no trouble, but last night, my brain was racing. After an hour of meditation I finally fell asleep, and didn't wake up until 9 am.
Annie was already getting breakfast ready. Andy left coffee for us and set up the toaster before he went to work, so we had melon and youghurt, while Annie had her rye pumperknickel baked nearly black.
We needed to return the bikes today, but it was raining and Cherie was still asleep so I wheeled the first one back in the rain. It wasn't raining too heavy and there were still children jumping rope in the square. All I could think was that in America, all their mothers would be screaming at them to get out of the rain, and how much healthier the parents were here. Then the skies opened up. I had an umbrella but was drenched by the time I got back for the other two bikes.
The rains lightened and Annie and started to walk, but then it nearly stopped so we quickly rode them to the bike place. Annie loves the bike culture here in Amsterdam, the children and the elderly, everyone bikes. Toddlers ride in a kind of wheelbarrow seat.
From there we headed to the Van Gogh museum. There were some amazing paintings, and Annie really liked the way his early work captures the Dutch light. We both thought the paintings at the Kroeller Mueller museum were better, though. Around 12:30 we got a text from Cherie about meeting us. We figured she would be late so we grabbed a quick bite in the museum cafe. By then we got a text that she didn't have any cash on her so could she take a taxi to us. We suggested meeting at the Central Station.
We found her by the canal cruises. She was hungry, but first we stopped so Annie could get some herring from a street vendor. Her mother had told her about them. We got a large Matjas herring with onions and sweet pickles. It was great. Then we went to a little cafe called Soup Kitchen, so Cherie could have some sweet potato soup.
By then it was 2:30 and they needed to be at the apartment by 4 to pack for our flight tonight to Berlin. Neither were in the mood for another museum, so I raced across town to the Hermitage. Along the way I stumbled through the red light district, the holocaust monument, and the city opera house. I finally found it.
The exhibit, from Matisee to Malevich was absolutely incredible. The opening room was dominated by Matisse's Harmony in Red. Absolutely intense and striking. They had terrific collections of fauves and cubists, like Derain and Picasso, and van Dongen. I really liked the latter's "Lady in a Black Hat," with her green shawl and intense eyes. But my absolute favorite were the Kandinskys, particularly the early fauvist, pre-abstract expressionist ones. Intense, sumptuous colors, that just seemed to pool and flow across the canvas. There was also an amazing self-portrait by Chaim Soutine. I looked at the dates of his life and saw that he died in 1943, so I assume he was killed in the Holocaust.
I only had a half an hour and then I raced back to the apartment. It's so humid now, so I'm dripping with sweat as I type this. Now to pack and take a taxi to Schipol for our flight to Berlin.
Annie was already getting breakfast ready. Andy left coffee for us and set up the toaster before he went to work, so we had melon and youghurt, while Annie had her rye pumperknickel baked nearly black.
We needed to return the bikes today, but it was raining and Cherie was still asleep so I wheeled the first one back in the rain. It wasn't raining too heavy and there were still children jumping rope in the square. All I could think was that in America, all their mothers would be screaming at them to get out of the rain, and how much healthier the parents were here. Then the skies opened up. I had an umbrella but was drenched by the time I got back for the other two bikes.
The rains lightened and Annie and started to walk, but then it nearly stopped so we quickly rode them to the bike place. Annie loves the bike culture here in Amsterdam, the children and the elderly, everyone bikes. Toddlers ride in a kind of wheelbarrow seat.
From there we headed to the Van Gogh museum. There were some amazing paintings, and Annie really liked the way his early work captures the Dutch light. We both thought the paintings at the Kroeller Mueller museum were better, though. Around 12:30 we got a text from Cherie about meeting us. We figured she would be late so we grabbed a quick bite in the museum cafe. By then we got a text that she didn't have any cash on her so could she take a taxi to us. We suggested meeting at the Central Station.
We found her by the canal cruises. She was hungry, but first we stopped so Annie could get some herring from a street vendor. Her mother had told her about them. We got a large Matjas herring with onions and sweet pickles. It was great. Then we went to a little cafe called Soup Kitchen, so Cherie could have some sweet potato soup.
By then it was 2:30 and they needed to be at the apartment by 4 to pack for our flight tonight to Berlin. Neither were in the mood for another museum, so I raced across town to the Hermitage. Along the way I stumbled through the red light district, the holocaust monument, and the city opera house. I finally found it.
The exhibit, from Matisee to Malevich was absolutely incredible. The opening room was dominated by Matisse's Harmony in Red. Absolutely intense and striking. They had terrific collections of fauves and cubists, like Derain and Picasso, and van Dongen. I really liked the latter's "Lady in a Black Hat," with her green shawl and intense eyes. But my absolute favorite were the Kandinskys, particularly the early fauvist, pre-abstract expressionist ones. Intense, sumptuous colors, that just seemed to pool and flow across the canvas. There was also an amazing self-portrait by Chaim Soutine. I looked at the dates of his life and saw that he died in 1943, so I assume he was killed in the Holocaust.
I only had a half an hour and then I raced back to the apartment. It's so humid now, so I'm dripping with sweat as I type this. Now to pack and take a taxi to Schipol for our flight to Berlin.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Thai
We met Cherie and Kaitlin for dinner last night. We arranged to meet them in Leidesplein, but it took us forever to find a tram that went there from our neighborhood (it didn't help that I was fading in and out of rational consciousness due to jet lag). We finally got there and called them.
"Where are you?" Cherie asked.
"We're in Leidesplein," we answered.
"Where?"
"By the Bulldog Cafe and near the Burdger King."
"We're just across the street." Click.
Five minutss later, we see them round a corner into the square. Not sure where they really were.
After much hugging and kissing, we were off to find one of the vegetarian or cool restaurants I had found for Amsterdam.
Unfortunately, the first, "Eat at Jo's," was closed for remodeling, and the second, "Balthazar's Keuken," was just closed (on Mondays and Tuesdays). We ended up at a very nice Thai place just up the road. It was a little more expensive, but not much more so (about 23 Euros/person). The tables all had ties under the glass top (ties - thai, get it?) and each table had a unique, Amsterdam-style lamp shaped like a naked man, with a small on/off switch in the groin.
We had vegetable tempura and then Annie had the steamed fish, while I had the chicken red curry. Nice and spicy, the way I like it. Over Cherie's and Kaitlin's objections, I ordered bottles of water for the table.
After dinner, I basically crashed. We went back to Andy's and finally met with him. He's flight had been delayed and he just got in from Izbiza. His apartment is drop-dead gorgeous. In a renovated section of Amsterdam called the Jordaan. He's on the top floor with views of the city skyline. He was so generous, he gave Annie his guest bed and me his own bed, while he insisted on sleeping on the couch.
Today we got up and Cherie checked out of her hostel and into Andy's apartment. We went and got her a bike and then we went to the train station to go to Arnhem. Annie's friend had recommended a major impressionist collection in a national park outside of Arnhem, so we took our bikes on the train. An hour later, we reached Arnhem, in rural Netherlands. The weather was wonderful: mostly sunny and warm.
We cycled out of the city in the direction of the Hoge Voluwe National Park. One terribly steep hill later we were drenched in sweat and out of breath. After 45 minutes and some 10 kilometers we reached the entrance of the park. From there it was another 10 kilometers over mostly level ground through a variety of wonderful terrains, including scrub brush, forests, and sand dunes. Just as our strength was petering out we reached the Koeller-Mueller Museum.
This museum has the finest and largest collection of Van Goghs outside of the Van Gogh museum. We only had an hour before the museum closed, but we all needed coffee to enliven ourselves. I felt rushed, but very much enjoyed the intense paintings. It was also a treat to discover some Dutch painters I hadn't seen before, like Leo Gerstel and Charley Toproot (or something like that, I can't remember his name, I'll look it up later).
At 5 pm, when we left the weather looked threatening. There was no way we could cycle the 20 km back to Arnhem, so the staff recommended we make to Otterlo (10km away) and catch the bus to Ede. There was no guarantee, however, that the bus would take our bikes.
Just as we reached Otterlo, the heavens opened up. We found a bus shelter and cowered against the wall to stay dry. Luckily the bus driver took us all and we got a train back to Amsterdam.
We returned to find a wonderful dinner prepared for us by Andy, including fabulous Dutch cheeses, a great South African red wine, and a main course of baked salmon over stir fry peppers. A dense apple cake for dessert. Now it's time for bed.
"Where are you?" Cherie asked.
"We're in Leidesplein," we answered.
"Where?"
"By the Bulldog Cafe and near the Burdger King."
"We're just across the street." Click.
Five minutss later, we see them round a corner into the square. Not sure where they really were.
After much hugging and kissing, we were off to find one of the vegetarian or cool restaurants I had found for Amsterdam.
Unfortunately, the first, "Eat at Jo's," was closed for remodeling, and the second, "Balthazar's Keuken," was just closed (on Mondays and Tuesdays). We ended up at a very nice Thai place just up the road. It was a little more expensive, but not much more so (about 23 Euros/person). The tables all had ties under the glass top (ties - thai, get it?) and each table had a unique, Amsterdam-style lamp shaped like a naked man, with a small on/off switch in the groin.
We had vegetable tempura and then Annie had the steamed fish, while I had the chicken red curry. Nice and spicy, the way I like it. Over Cherie's and Kaitlin's objections, I ordered bottles of water for the table.
After dinner, I basically crashed. We went back to Andy's and finally met with him. He's flight had been delayed and he just got in from Izbiza. His apartment is drop-dead gorgeous. In a renovated section of Amsterdam called the Jordaan. He's on the top floor with views of the city skyline. He was so generous, he gave Annie his guest bed and me his own bed, while he insisted on sleeping on the couch.
Today we got up and Cherie checked out of her hostel and into Andy's apartment. We went and got her a bike and then we went to the train station to go to Arnhem. Annie's friend had recommended a major impressionist collection in a national park outside of Arnhem, so we took our bikes on the train. An hour later, we reached Arnhem, in rural Netherlands. The weather was wonderful: mostly sunny and warm.
We cycled out of the city in the direction of the Hoge Voluwe National Park. One terribly steep hill later we were drenched in sweat and out of breath. After 45 minutes and some 10 kilometers we reached the entrance of the park. From there it was another 10 kilometers over mostly level ground through a variety of wonderful terrains, including scrub brush, forests, and sand dunes. Just as our strength was petering out we reached the Koeller-Mueller Museum.
This museum has the finest and largest collection of Van Goghs outside of the Van Gogh museum. We only had an hour before the museum closed, but we all needed coffee to enliven ourselves. I felt rushed, but very much enjoyed the intense paintings. It was also a treat to discover some Dutch painters I hadn't seen before, like Leo Gerstel and Charley Toproot (or something like that, I can't remember his name, I'll look it up later).
At 5 pm, when we left the weather looked threatening. There was no way we could cycle the 20 km back to Arnhem, so the staff recommended we make to Otterlo (10km away) and catch the bus to Ede. There was no guarantee, however, that the bus would take our bikes.
Just as we reached Otterlo, the heavens opened up. We found a bus shelter and cowered against the wall to stay dry. Luckily the bus driver took us all and we got a train back to Amsterdam.
We returned to find a wonderful dinner prepared for us by Andy, including fabulous Dutch cheeses, a great South African red wine, and a main course of baked salmon over stir fry peppers. A dense apple cake for dessert. Now it's time for bed.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Screaming Toddler Airlines
First things first: I arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam with all my belongings intact.
The flight to Chicago was fine; my problems started on the flight to Brussels. Several of the middle rows of coach (at least four) will filled with young south Asian mothers traveling with two toddlers each. The children ranged in age from 1 to 5. Their fathers all seemed to be in first class or on another flight.
Starting half way through the movie (Tooth Fairy - shudder), they started screaming, and the screaming continued on and off for the next five hours. I put in my earplugs and closed my eyes. Every now and then a piercing shriek would wake me, but I did manage to sleep for at least two hours, and maybe as much as three (I kept my eyes closed for four hours).
In the morning, the kids all got yogurt. One of them, who had been coughing rather thickly, coughed, coughed, and then threw up all over himself, his mother, and the cushion. He was one row ahead of me, across the aisle. I looked at my watch: just under 30 minutes before we landed. I hoped for the best.
I found Andy's apartment in Amsterdam without too much trouble. I managed to convince one of his neighbors to let me in the building. "I'm not supposed to," she said, but I showed her Andy's letter explaining how I should get the key, so she decided to trust me after all. Annie* had arrived the day before and I saw her stuff in the guestroom. I dropped off my bags and went downstairs to look for her.
As I was walking over the bridge, I heard a geshrei, and there she was. We hugged and she told me all about her trip so far and her visit with her daughter Cherie* yesterday. They and Cherie's college friend Kaitlin went to the Anne Frank House last evening, and the experience profoundly moved Annie. We talked about it over a nice lunch of a bagel tuna melt and hot tea at a small cafe near the apartment.
I should add that Andy's apartment is in a really cool neighborhood, called Jordaan (various theories of the origin of the name). He's on the top floor and has a great view of the old city sky line.
After lunch, we rented bikes and took our lives in our hands to make our way through the city. There are so many bicycles here; they have their own traffic lights. We made our way to the Rembrandt House. We toured the historic section and watched one of the docents making a print from an etching. By the time we reached the current exhibition of Dutch photography, we both were feeling wiped.
From there it was a short trip to the Portuguese synagogue, where we chatted in Hebrew with the entrance guard, who was from Uzbekistan. After that we went across the street to the Jewish museum, but I was really feeling the effects of too little sleep.
At 5 pm, the museum closed. We called Cherie to see what she and Kaitlin were doing, but they were rather disorganized, so we decided to go for a ride. After much to-ing and thro-ing we made our way back towards the central station. I found a Change both and changed most of my dollars into Euros. Then we made our way back to the apartment.
Andy comes back tonight from Izbiza. I'm not sure if we're going to wait to have dinner with him since Annie is hungry and I'm pretty wiped. We're going to look at two cafes near Leidesplein that are supposed to be good.
That's all for now.
*At Annie's request, she and her daughter will be referred to with pseudonyms.
The flight to Chicago was fine; my problems started on the flight to Brussels. Several of the middle rows of coach (at least four) will filled with young south Asian mothers traveling with two toddlers each. The children ranged in age from 1 to 5. Their fathers all seemed to be in first class or on another flight.
Starting half way through the movie (Tooth Fairy - shudder), they started screaming, and the screaming continued on and off for the next five hours. I put in my earplugs and closed my eyes. Every now and then a piercing shriek would wake me, but I did manage to sleep for at least two hours, and maybe as much as three (I kept my eyes closed for four hours).
In the morning, the kids all got yogurt. One of them, who had been coughing rather thickly, coughed, coughed, and then threw up all over himself, his mother, and the cushion. He was one row ahead of me, across the aisle. I looked at my watch: just under 30 minutes before we landed. I hoped for the best.
I found Andy's apartment in Amsterdam without too much trouble. I managed to convince one of his neighbors to let me in the building. "I'm not supposed to," she said, but I showed her Andy's letter explaining how I should get the key, so she decided to trust me after all. Annie* had arrived the day before and I saw her stuff in the guestroom. I dropped off my bags and went downstairs to look for her.
As I was walking over the bridge, I heard a geshrei, and there she was. We hugged and she told me all about her trip so far and her visit with her daughter Cherie* yesterday. They and Cherie's college friend Kaitlin went to the Anne Frank House last evening, and the experience profoundly moved Annie. We talked about it over a nice lunch of a bagel tuna melt and hot tea at a small cafe near the apartment.
I should add that Andy's apartment is in a really cool neighborhood, called Jordaan (various theories of the origin of the name). He's on the top floor and has a great view of the old city sky line.
After lunch, we rented bikes and took our lives in our hands to make our way through the city. There are so many bicycles here; they have their own traffic lights. We made our way to the Rembrandt House. We toured the historic section and watched one of the docents making a print from an etching. By the time we reached the current exhibition of Dutch photography, we both were feeling wiped.
From there it was a short trip to the Portuguese synagogue, where we chatted in Hebrew with the entrance guard, who was from Uzbekistan. After that we went across the street to the Jewish museum, but I was really feeling the effects of too little sleep.
At 5 pm, the museum closed. We called Cherie to see what she and Kaitlin were doing, but they were rather disorganized, so we decided to go for a ride. After much to-ing and thro-ing we made our way back towards the central station. I found a Change both and changed most of my dollars into Euros. Then we made our way back to the apartment.
Andy comes back tonight from Izbiza. I'm not sure if we're going to wait to have dinner with him since Annie is hungry and I'm pretty wiped. We're going to look at two cafes near Leidesplein that are supposed to be good.
That's all for now.
*At Annie's request, she and her daughter will be referred to with pseudonyms.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Photos- Day Trips from Quito (last batch for the trip)
On the Saturday we arrived, they took us on a short trip north of the Equator.
We had lunch on the edge of a volcanic caldera:
On the way, we passed a restaurant serving an Ecuadoran speciality: guinea pig
Despite being on the equator, the height of the mountains and the cloud cover made it quite cool.
Afterwards we went to the equatorial monument. This is where the French geographers determined the line to be. Unfortunately, GPS has shown that they were off by about 80 meters.
This is the actual line of the equator, which we went to on our second day trip from Quito.
(dad is standing between Nancy and Ed, with whom we spent the day touring)
I enjoyed much more, though, visiting a traditional bakery in Cayambe, with its wood-fired oven:
and hand-crafted pastries:
We had great views of the volcanic countryside near Otavalo:
From there we went to the famous Otavalo indigenous market,
And the people who worked there:
And here's where the locals ate:
We drove up to Cuicoche Lake National Park:
Where we had a great view of the Imbabura volcano and Otavalo beneath it:
From there we went to the leather goods center of Cotacachi so dad could buy a new wallet:
I particularly liked the views of the volcano:
While dad liked this graffiti (after I explained what it meant):
We went for lunch at Hacienda Cusin, an 18th-century inn and restaurant near Otavalo:
Dad really liked the flowers near our table:
We had lunch on the edge of a volcanic caldera:
On the way, we passed a restaurant serving an Ecuadoran speciality: guinea pig
Despite being on the equator, the height of the mountains and the cloud cover made it quite cool.
Afterwards we went to the equatorial monument. This is where the French geographers determined the line to be. Unfortunately, GPS has shown that they were off by about 80 meters.
This is the actual line of the equator, which we went to on our second day trip from Quito.
(dad is standing between Nancy and Ed, with whom we spent the day touring)
I enjoyed much more, though, visiting a traditional bakery in Cayambe, with its wood-fired oven:
and hand-crafted pastries:
We had great views of the volcanic countryside near Otavalo:
From there we went to the famous Otavalo indigenous market,
And the people who worked there:
And here's where the locals ate:
We drove up to Cuicoche Lake National Park:
Where we had a great view of the Imbabura volcano and Otavalo beneath it:
From there we went to the leather goods center of Cotacachi so dad could buy a new wallet:
I particularly liked the views of the volcano:
While dad liked this graffiti (after I explained what it meant):
We went for lunch at Hacienda Cusin, an 18th-century inn and restaurant near Otavalo:
Dad really liked the flowers near our table:
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