Every Nook and Cranny: a World Travel Guide: Book 3

By Faye Day

Every Nook and Cranny is the series of autobiographical travel guides touching on every continent, most countries, and hundreds of islands.

Travel with the author through steamy jungles and bird-filled tropical rainforests to scorching deserts and the wilderness of Arctic regions, from Stone Age tribes to the sophistication of the world’s most modern cities. Explore the ancient civilizations and participate in amazing wildlife encounters.

The author’s personal experiences are related together with some historical facts, many interesting stories, adventurous episodes, and several amusing anecdotes. In-depth and descriptive passages are illustrated with hundreds of photographs that will enable readers to visualize and fully appreciate the text.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Oct 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543407945

Faye Day

I wrote the books in response to many requests – and so that I could remember what I have done! At the age of 79 I am still backpacking and hope my stories prove an inspiration to others. Having been born and lived all my life in Australia, I have travelled it extensively, but it will come as a finale to my last book.

Book preview

Every Nook and Cranny:

A World Travel Guide

Book 3

(Have Will Gunna Travel)

Faye Day

Copyright © 2018 by Faye Day.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 10/26/2018

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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CONTENTS

EASTERN EUROPE 2000

MADAGASCAR 2001

ETHIOPIA, KENYA, ENGLAND & MALTA 2001

DEDICATION

T o my son Michael for showing such stoicism in his battle with cancer and my daughter Selina for showing how much she cared.

Pictures on the Cover are:

Skogafoss in Iceland

Avenue of Baobabs Madagascar

church art Lake Tana Ethiopia

St Basil’s Cathedral and memorial Red Square Moscow

entrance to stone church Lalibela Ethiopia

Ethiopian church art

Marsaxlokk harbour Malta

Procession of Princes Dresden Germany (Christoph Münch)

Zamość Poland

EASTERN EUROPE 2000

T he world is a book and those that do not travel read only one page: St Augustine

What is my favourite destination is the question that I am most often asked. It is impossible to answer because each is different and appealing in its own way, but Eastern Europe would have to be amongst the top choices. The munificent splendour of its churches and palaces was staggering, much more so than in the west.

Europe was named after Europa, the lover of Zeuz, father of all the gods.

GERMANY

G ermany gave us Bach, Beethoven, Einstein, Franz Joseph Strauss, Ludwig Erhard, Marlene Dietrich, Martin Luther, Karl Marx, Mendelssohn – and Austrian-born Hitler.

Frankfurt

M y first stop was Frankfurt , where I found a reasonably priced room at the Hotel Münchner Hof, reached via the convenient S-Bahn from the airport and very near the main railway station from where, armed with passes, I would be setting off on my journey. Even at that early date, due to the annual book fair, the world’s largest, I was unable to secure a booking for my return in four months’ time.

Frankfurt was not only an expedient starting point but presented some interesting buildings. I found sculpted visages and a façade with full-sized naked male figures, fruits in hand, either side of a caduceus: snakes entwined around a winged staff, used as a symbol of medicine.

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Frankfurt façade

Viewed through a decorated red brick overpass supported by Atlas-type images, the five-storey red and white north wing of the Römer (Old Town Hall) had a square white tower featuring black quoins, a clock, and a colourful picture of a figure pouring from a jar. Enhanced with flower boxes overflowing with red blossoms, the covered overpass led to a beautiful red façade with fancy gables, an elaborate balcony, and statues in niches. Two more decorative white towers were interspersed within the whole.

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Atlas

The Römerberg, Frankfurt’s old central square, was resplendent with restored 14th- and 15th-century half-timbered multistorey buildings with steeply pitched roofs and attic windows. Tall narrow-fronted structures were wedged between larger buildings. Nikolaikirche had an elegant copper steeple, one half-timbered edifice had a spired turret, and the eastern aspect of the old town hall featured stepped gables. The façade had statues of armoured knights on brackets above a stone balcony, and the central gable was embellished with a clock flanked by double-headed terracotta eagles below tiny upper windows; a small cupola crowned the apex.

half-timbered buildings and stepped gables

A figure with a spear surmounted a pedestal, and the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Font of Justice) had that lady holding the scales within a flower-draped wrought-iron enclosure. In 1612, at the coronation of Matthias, the fountain ran with wine instead of water. Tables and chairs were set around the perimeter of the square, window boxes were bright with blooms, and the strains of music wafted on the breeze.

I wandered down an alley with an illustration of cats on a red brick wall, a table with a ceramic cat contemplating a fish bowl, and two white cane chairs, on one of which slept a white cat – this one real. Streets off the square were also filled with a combination of red brick and white structures with decorated façades and ornate stone balconies. Topped by dark spired turrets, a white building had black quoins and relief of the double-headed eagle.

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an interesting roofline

A stylised version also appeared on an oriel and I was to see this quite often. Long trams ran through the city. Passing an interesting fountain with storybook characters sculpted in metal, I came to the elegant Hotel Frankfurter Hof. Enclosing the open courtyard in front of its entrance, a semicircular colonnade with red flowers lining the top resembled a coliseum. There were many tall narrow-fronted buildings, such as a pink façade with an elaborate gable, red-flowering boxes, and a complementary red umbrella shading tables with red cloths in the street. Another square opened before the Alte Oper (Old Opera House) with two sculpted pediments, the larger surmounted by Pegasus, the lower featuring a figure in a chariot drawn by four creatures that I could not identify. Images stood atop the ends. Old-fashioned lamps lined the perimeter of the square, and an enormous fountain lay in the centre.

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the Opera House

I spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Palmengarten, with many water features and both formal and cottage type gardens. There was a fountain at the entrance and another in which the play of water created interesting patterns.

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attractive fountain display

Lovely weeping plants graced the banks of a pond containing ducks, and another had sculptures in the centre. Strolling through a rose garden bordered on one side by an overgrown arbour, I entered a tropical conservatory where a small waterfall flowed over rocks resembling basalt columns into a pond containing carp. The floral display included bromeliads, philodendrons, palms and tree ferns, anthuriums, an exquisite pink spray, other exotic flowers, and many varieties of foliage, including a striking green leaf with stark white veins.

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in the conservatory

Amongst different coloured bracts was a pure white variety, which exploded in brilliant blood red florets at the ends. Birds could be heard but not seen, and I indulged in one of my favourite pastimes: close-up photographs of flora, many with glistening drops of water clinging to petals. The English-type gardens were a mass of mixed blooms in delicate pinks, blues, white and yellow, and included dahlias, feathery plumes with tiny mauve flowers like purple mist, and a variety of thistle.

Even Frankfurt’s railway station was a work of art.

Erfurt

E rfurt , capital of Thuringia , founded in 742 and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, was my destination next day. Walking through narrow cobbled medieval streets with decorated arched doorways and flower-filled window boxes, I headed first for the famous Fischmarkt square in the Altstadt . The wonderful beige-coloured Gildehaus (1892), its façade covered with predominantly female forms and faces, stood adjacent to the Renaissance Haus zum Breiten Herd (1584), which was also graced with sculpted figures on its rich red surface; mythical winged creatures flanked the free-standing gable. These were flanked in turn by angels blowing horns, and an image holding a flag stood on the summit. Yet another multistorey marvel, the Haus zum Roten Ochsen (1562), had similar decoration around the gable. This consisted of horned and hoofed images, two angels blowing golden horns, fanciful winged horses, and a warrior (with gold accents) holding a flag on the topmost point. A variety of busts leant from pediments above windows. All three had wonderful embossed friezes, the two former depicting the four virtues and five senses respectively. The latter had a red ox in the centre and white medieval-type images representing the sun and planets on a blue background. One held a gilded sun in his right hand, Mars wielded a sword, two carried spears – one being Venus who held a red heart in the left hand – and several played musical instruments. I also detected Jupiter and Saturn.

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detail on Haus zum Roten Ochsen

detail on the Haus zum Breiten Herd and Haus zum Roten Ochsen

This abutted a pink edifice with a design incorporating large leaves on the pediment. Projecting a warlike appearance, the gilded statue of Roland Erfurt guarded the centre of the square, where I also observed an accordionist.

Gildehaus, Haus zum Breiten Herd and statue of Roland

The neo-Gothic stone Rathaus (1870–75) looked like a cathedral with its arched windows, turrets, a clock, rose window, and cupola on the steeply pitched roof. There were other ornate gables and towers, many dormer windows, a building with a red and white banded effect, pink and yellow structures, stucco fruits and flowers in red, faded green and beige below a sill, highly decorated stone window frames, enclosed balconies, numerous faces and heads of animals, a wealth of intricate relief, and figures flanking a crest on a grey and yellow building with a gilded iron balcony. Long trams also negotiated the roads of Erfurt.

Other streets were locations for façades featuring cherubs (one with grapes) cradled in lengths of cloth strung like hammocks, keystones with fierce faces, a carved tableau portraying Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and a stone obelisk in the middle of a fountain with metallic cherubs, the water pouring from grotesque mouths and vessels held by life-sized figures. These were followed by a black and white half-timbered structure gay with red-flowering boxes (and with a distinct lean!) and a stone edifice with small round windows in turrets at each end of the red tiled roof, their burnished copper domes gleaming in the sun.

cherubs

I came to the Krämerbrücke where half-timbered houses were constructed over a stream, their windows featuring the now common flower boxes ablaze with red and willows drooping into the water at one side.

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Krämerbrücke

A narrow cobbled street had nasturtiums and marigolds seemingly growing from the pavement, and an old stone building above an arch straddling the roadway had an adjoining tower. Suspended from shopfronts, metallic images such as a teacup indicated the trade therein. Coloured façades and umbrellas added a cheery tone, and one narrow alley was accessed via an ivy-draped arch. In some cases the timber frames were sagging with age, and one four-storey structure was only the width of a single room.

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interesting combination

The 13th-century Dom St Marien (St Mary’s Cathedral) and the Severikirche (1280) stood adjacent to each other, presiding over the huge Domplatz. The first was dark inside, but the finely carved altarpiece with its statues and spiral columns entwined with vines was still impressive. There was an unusual painting which incorporated a unicorn. The second was entered via one of two portals like a series of conjoined arches, each containing a life-sized image, of which the Wise and Foolish Virgins were evident. A figure also adorned the central column of both sets of heavy carved wooden doors, a depiction of the Crucifixion in the tympanum above one pair. The interior had a bare vaulted ceiling but plenty of other rich ornamentation: alabaster angels around the organ, heavily embossed stonework, choir stalls with elaborate woodwork, a marble altar and stone baptismal font (1467), both intricately carved, a painting on the stone surface of St Christopher ferrying the child Jesus across the water, a stone Madonna (1345), a sorrowful pietà, which also appeared ancient, and ceramic tableaux with a bronze-coloured veneer.

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the Wise and Foolish Virgins

I found a wall covered with a mural depicting storybook characters, and a square where even the rooftops stood out as a feature: four tiers of attic windows drew attention to a sharply pitched grey slate roof lodged between red tiled surfaces, one of which abutted a tall white gable with a scrolled edge.

a strange wall illustration and typical European architecture

Girls in local costume performed in the arcade of the beautiful old City Hall: a long building with a copper-domed clock tower, ornate gables and a steeply pitched roof. A nearby façade was completed with a brilliant gold-trimmed gable, gleaming even in the overcast conditions. Amongst Erfurt’s impressive buildings was Petersberg Citadel, founded in 1665, which I also visited.

Leipzig

M y next destination was Leipzig , founded in the seventh to ninth centuries as Lipzk (meaning Place at the Limes) by Slavic settlers who revered the lime tree as sacred, and the first attraction was Thomaskirche (1212). It had an exceptional triptych (altarpiece) such as I was to see many times, with predella and wings (centre and hinged side panels) portraying different scenes plated in gold. An incredible stone carving to one side depicted people standing on a balcony to observe martyrs being mauled by lions, others attempting to escape, and buildings in the background. Also in stone, a life-sized armoured figure was standing on the back of a lion. Groins of the light-coloured vaulted ceiling were defined by red ribs with bosses at their junctions. Outside stood a 1908 statue of one of Leipzig’s august sons, Johann Sebastian Bach, who was choirmaster of the 780-year-old St Thomas’ chorus from 1723 until his death in 1750 and whose tomb was in the choir. He was represented standing against an organ, his left-hand jacket pocket turned inside out because he always claimed to be broke from supporting 20 children from two marriages! Appropriately, the lovely sounds of piano music emanated from somewhere nearby. Other great names from the world of music associated with Leipzig were Schumann and Mendelssohn.

Interesting glimpses in the street included a stone church with a soaring white tower at one end of a long pool containing a row of fountains; a shingle, steel and glass turret above a banana-shaped window surrounded by a mural showing an Oriental figure, cherry blossom and a peacock; colourful flower gardens and planters, statues, and tables and chairs beneath umbrellas. One stood outside a shop with life-sized elephant heads flanking the name Riquet above the entrance. A notable relief depicted a reclining figure together with a child-like image under a tree. Leipzig had a number of passages or arcades, one of which, the glass-roofed Specks Hof, had a modern mural around the walls and large statues. Konigshaus Passage was entered through the cream, salmon-pink and grey Baroque Apelshaus (1606) with bay windows and lovely decoration including cherubs and garlands, and which once hosted Peter the Great and Napoleon. The amazing Nikolaikirche (St Nicholas Church, 1165, oldest in the city) featured fluted columns with sprays of stucco leaves erupting from the top and blending into groins of the decorated arched ceiling. Fantastic stone carvings portrayed Jesus’ triumphant ride into Jerusalem, his vigil in the Garden of Gethsemane, condemnation by Pontius Pilot, and ultimate Crucifixion. Here again was a triptych with lustrous gold panels and paintings on walls and in the dome.

I headed out of the city to the extraordinary Battle of Nations Monument (1913). Facing a reflecting pool, this monolithic 91m-high memorial bearing a regal soldier and fallen horse commemorated the victory over Napoleon’s army one hundred years earlier. Prior to WWI, it was the largest battle in history, involving 700,000 soldiers. Back in the centre, I saw the wonderful bronze diorama of the March of History and more grand domes. Leipzig was also home to the Stasi or Secret Police Headquarters in the building known as Runde Ecke (Round Corner), now a museum, and although all in German, it was still a disturbing display, even holding large jars containing ‘odour samples’ of undesirable citizens, an identification device considered as important as fingerprints! Mail was stamped with false postmarks to deceive the addressee into believing that the letter took the correct route.

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last picture of Leipzig – an interesting trio

Quedlinburg

L eipzig’s population was 500,000, its train station, with 26 platforms and three floors of shops, the largest terminus in Europe, and I left from here to go to Quedlinburg , one of Germany’s gems with just 20,000 inhabitants. Over 1,000 years old, this charming UNESCO World Heritage Site had street after cobbled street lined with 1,200 handsome half-timbered buildings: fairytale ‘gingerbread’ houses that included the one where I stayed. Dated 1660, it was an archetypal medieval multistorey half-timbered building with lamps, flower boxes, and a red tiled roof with dormer windows.

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my pension

After the bustle of a big city, the more relaxed atmosphere was immediately apparent. The enormous cobbled square had a multitude of large half-timbered buildings with window boxes, including one in red and black made more pronounced by white window frames and a stone clock tower rising behind. Situated next to a black and white half-timbered house, its beams etched with the date 1774, was a pink and grey edifice with maroon decoration and white frames, each level protruding above the one below.

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buildings jutted at all angles

Other grandiose buildings had coloured façades, many with stucco trim, and one steep red roof had a bright blue gable. Yellow umbrellas matched a yellow building, and everywhere was gay with flowers, even adorning a solid stone structure. At the far end of the square, a group of bronze musicians stood on a round dais.

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town square

I was in my element wandering these ancient corridors of time. I saw a fish gargoyle protruding from a gutter, and a small house with tiny windows, flower boxes, a shingled gable and a crazy lean, the sharply pitched roof making it appear top heavy.

the entire town was captivating and gay with umbrellas

Another was engraved with an inscription in German and the letters Ano Dom 1562. Statues like large chess pieces stood in the street, metallic musicians were inserted into the iron railing of a bridge spanning a small stream, and a white-bearded barrel organ grinder had a toy monkey. An oddly shaped building in a haphazard mixture of red brick and stucco had an embossed larger-than-life figure on the façade, faces flanking windows, and heads adorning a square tower topped by a dark spire. It was important always to look up because the skyline was punctuated with turrets, pitched roofs, and fancy gables, the latter with scalloped edges, criss-crossed with slats, or intricately carved.

turrets and more fancy gables

One half-timbered building was dated 1677 and a stone gable with relief of a crowned eagle bore the date 1902. Coming from a young country, it was difficult to come to terms with the age of most structures, and I saw a projecting upper floor that sagged above the arched entrance. Bordered by metal railing festooned with a profusion of red, white and blue flowers, a narrow rivulet ran alongside red brick, stone and half-timbered buildings. At one end was the early 14th-century Ständerbau, Germany’s oldest half-timbered house, with a rounded wall and tiny windows.

Ständerbau and the rivulet

The old twisting and turning streets were at times divided by interesting structures in the middle. One of these, on stone foundations, was a narrow-ended half-timbered house with a high peaked roof and again tiny windows; another, with red bricks laid in different patterns between the black beams, was relieved by flower boxes. An archway at the end of this street led to other narrow winding lanes, and many people were walking dogs. Two homes featured beams inscribed with the names of the original occupants and the dates 1606 and 1680 respectively. Quedlinburg joined the Hanseatic League in 1426.

my favourite picture and another house in the middle of an intersection

Walking uphill on the approach to the castle district, another characteristic building was perfectly framed by the entry arch. Whilst interesting, the 16th-century black-domed yellow Schlossberg and stone Church of St Servatii or Dom (1129) opposite, could not compare with the view from the site. It looked down on steep cobbled and crooked streets with rows of tall, very narrow, leaning half-timbered houses (one rose pink), roofs like pointed witches’ hats, small windows with flower boxes, and tiny gables over tiny attic windows, giving the impression of the pages of a fairy tale brought to life!

storybook houses

There was a pleasant sunken garden with colourful flowerbeds and statues at intervals on the low surrounding wall. The whole town was like a picture book. Decorative motifs, one bearing the date 1614, were set in panels of a half-timbered brick façade, which also featured carved ornamentation on the woodwork; pastel-toned houses faced gardens and an emerald sward like an English village green, and streets were lined with old-fashioned lamps. Window boxes, which always seemed to contain red flowers matching the tiled roofs, enhanced many buildings. Numerous attic windows featured lace curtains – the twin spires of a stone church visible behind one group – and there was the occasional stone building and a few strong colours but surprisingly few shutters.

many streets were lined with the wonderful half-timbered shops and houses

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twin-spired church in the background

I sauntered down an alley with flowering pots and fruit in boxes on the paved road, there being no sidewalk. Inside one doorway, a comical Halloween-like figure with glasses, a scarf, skirt and blouse, apron, red gloves (socks) and slippers was ‘asleep’ on a chair next to a straw broom. Several doors were embossed with flowers and patterns in different colours, a bright blue and white building was engraved with the date 1577, an apple-green half-timbered house was sandwiched between two yellow structures, and a stone façade with sculpted figures and decoration was topped by a shingled roof. Other dates that I noted were 1612, 1677 and 1694. The main altarpiece of the Marktkirche St Benedictii had spiral columns, artwork, statuettes, and a tableau possibly depicting Jesus’ ascent into heaven. A side triptych consisted of a gilded predella and folding panels, and the delicately carved pulpit was supported by a life-sized angel. There were sculpted medieval figures and fine stained glass. The tower incorporated a small house used by the town watchman until 1901. I came across a figure with leafy legs, which was to become so prevalent in Europe, this one with wings, and the centre of an intersection was beautified with sculptures, a fountain and flowers, but a towering yellow edifice appeared out of place. A gleaming brass kettle in a window constituted my last picture.

Magdeburg

I stopped off at Magdeburg on the Elbe River and cloaked my luggage at the station in order to see the massive Gothic Dom (1209–1363). Built on the site of a tenth-century church, it was a disappointment because it was under restoration, but I was nevertheless able to go inside. At first encounter, the massive seemingly comparatively plain interior belied the riches to be unearthed on closer inspection. Amongst artworks spanning eight centuries, I found the huge carved wall pieces with skulls, cherubs, figures, faces, and intricate crowd scenes to be the most fascinating. One portraying the Crucifixion was three dimensional in effect, having large figures kneeling in prayer before a host of smaller jumbled bodies at the foot of the cross on Calvary.

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part of the Crucifixion tableau

Displaying excellent sculpted images (two missing their heads), the stone pulpit rested on the shoulders of the apostle Paul; smaller figures adorned the overhead canopy.

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Dom pulpit

I regretted that there was nobody to offer explanations. Walls were studded with life-sized statues, which included a very sorrowful Madonna and child. The choir stalls were endowed with beautiful reliefs including the condemnation of Christ and the Way of the Cross.

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the condemnation of Christ

Their tops were decorated with serried heads, and strange figures appeared beneath the seats. Painted wooden panels portrayed the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib and the duo in the Garden of Eden. The embossed metal image of a regal identity completed my tour. In 1806 Napoleon used the cathedral as a horse barn and sheep pen!

I passed other buildings of note on my way back to the station: the grand Deutsche Post (Post Office), façades with stucco images, a huge structure with onion domes, and one with an entablature supported by a pair of bearded figures. A futuristic fountain consisted of a massive urn with water issuing from the mouths of small figures in a variety of contorted poses hanging off the rim. On steps around the base, larger images depicted two naked children wrestling near a naked adult male, a dog, a man climbing a ladder, and a woman drying her offspring with a towel.

Berlin

B erlin was a complete surprise, particularly the old Eastern Sector because this was where most of the lavish buildings were located. I arrived into the confusion of the three-and-a-half-kilometre Kurfurstendamm , West Berlin’s main thoroughfare, where with the aid of helpful staff at the Tourist Information, who also provided me with a Welcome Card, I found accommodation in the nearby Hotel Pension Insel Rugen. Heading back to the Kurfurstendamm (known locally as Ku’damm) to join the City Circle Sightseeing bus, items of interest were a red brick church with a copper steeple in a garden setting behind a fountain, and tree lined streets with colourful flowerbeds. A huge gaping round window in a clock tower marked the stark and impressive ruins of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche (1895), destroyed by British bombs in 1943 and situated on the Breitscheid-platz at one end of the Ku’damm. In contrast, a modern skyscraper stood adjacent, and a new church (1961) featured incredible blue glass and a contemporary crucifix.

My first stop was the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. Packed with people and all explanations in German, it was difficult to follow, but there was no mistaking the sections of Berlin Wall with paintings by both well-known and amateur artists. Illustrations included a naked female with a bull, its horns painted red, white and blue, barbed wire held aloft by a silhouetted figure, a naked woman with the dove of peace, hands bending bars, army officers, a naked couple, and a white dove above bound hands holding a rose.

sections of the Berlin Wall

Constructed in August 1961, the wall divided an entire street, the buildings on the east side forcibly abandoned and their windows bricked up. The exhibits included photographs of creative and bizarre escape methods, from a hot-air balloon to a mini submarine, used to get people past the wall, and there was grizzly documentation of abortive attempts. The museum was situated in a house from where, through a small window, escape helpers could observe all movements at the border crossing. In total there were 5,075 successful escapes; 239 lost their lives. Truly an international exhibition, it numbered amongst its artefacts Mahatma Gandhi’s diary and sandals. In the words of this great leader: From every injustice arises justice, from every untruth truth, from darkness light. The wall was torn down in 1989. Leaving here, the bus passed graffiti-daubed portions of the wall still standing. The opulent Konzerthaus (1819), with its large columned portico and figures on top of sculpted pediments, stood on Gendarmenmarkt and was flanked by symmetrical cathedrals. Both the Deutscher and Französischer Doms had domed bi-level central towers and many figures on the roof. A white memorial with three statues occupied space in front of stairs leading up to the Concert Hall.

On a small island in the River Spree, known as Museumsinsel because of the number of world-class museums located there, loomed the great neo-Renaissance Berliner Dom (1904), its huge central copper dome visible from many vantage points around the city. To one side was a pool with nice reflections and, in front, a wide grassed area with a fountain in the centre. To the left, when facing the Dom, stood the Altes Museum with statues either side of steps leading to the entrance, which was overwhelmed by a massive colonnade with eagles lining the top. Behind the museum was a structure bearing figures with rearing horses (one winged) at the four corners of the parapet. Walking through the Nikolaiviertel (Nicholas Quarter), past a figure on horseback battling a dragon, with twin spires in the background, I came once more to the river, where large lions guarded the head of steps leading to a promenade, the Dom again making an appearance in the distance. It had begun to rain and was rather dismal, but gilded balcony railings and glistening wet red umbrellas at a pavement café added gaiety.

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St George Berlin

Next, I arrived at the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall, 1860), an enormous but unprepossessing red brick building with a square clock tower in the centre of the roof. Behind it, shrouded in mist, stood the 365m needle of the Fernsehturm (Television Tower). A nearby structure was surmounted by figures either side of heavy sculpting, and another building had gilded decoration above a golden bust between stone eagles. The lovely Schlossbrücke (Palace Bridge) was lined with pedestals bearing marble statues from 1845 to 1857, which traced the development of a Greek hero from youth to manhood, his death on the battlefield, and the taking of his body to Olympus. The naked recruit was portrayed with goddesses Nike, Iris and Pallas Athene, the daughter of Zeus, after whom Athens was named.

statues on the Schlossbrücke

The metal railing incorporated images of fish interspersed with mythical creatures having the head and forelegs of a horse and lower body, with long curling tail, of an aquatic dweller. Here again, there was a view of the Dom, and a red building (possibly a church) with miniature spires around the roof and on the four corners of its symmetrical square towers. Berlin has more bridges than Venice!

There were other huge marble statues, including winged figures, atop tall pedestals, and many buildings were enhanced with impressive images around the perimeters of their flat roofs. A particularly appealing pediment was carved with horses, chariots and classical figures. I took shelter from a heavy downpour inside a venue with a crystal chandelier, gold topped pillars, and gold ceiling decoration. At the western terminus of Unter den Linden, the only surviving gate, Brandenburger Tor (1791), was once the boundary between East and West Berlin. This gigantic five-arched structure was crowned by the Quadriga, a two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses and driven by the Winged Goddess of Victory holding a staff with the symbol of a bird on top.

Quadriga

A lovely frieze below also depicted chariots and classical figures. Underneath the arches, deep reliefs included a man with a bow and arrow aiming at a group of naked figures, a man wrestling a bull, and another, clad only in a loin cloth, wielding a massive club against a mythical beast in order to protect a female companion.

figures under the arches

In front of the gate, green lawns encompassed beautiful beds alive with red, white and blue flowers and a high-jetting fountain. From where I stood, the perspective made the central spray appear as tall as the top of the Quadriga, which was coated with the green patina of aged copper. Just north of the gate was the reconstructed Reichstag (1894) where the reunification of Germany was enacted on the second day of October, 1990. In May 1999, it once again became the seat of parliament. Not far away was a 68-bell black marble and bronze carillon, the largest in Europe, which I was fortunate to hear chiming. Nearby, the shell-shaped Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) had an uninteresting piece of modern sculpture in the forecourt. From the bus, I saw the Victory Column surmounted by another replica of the winged Roman goddess, this time in gold. Paintings around the base were protected by a covered circular colonnade, and it was possible to climb a spiral staircase to the top, but I did not stop here. We passed another old arch with a large metal statue in a shallow recess at one end.

The simply amazing Schloss Charlottenburg (1695–1713) was the highlight of Berlin. From outside, it was nothing special: solid carved stone gateposts at the ends of gold topped railings were capped with two opposing gladiators wielding swords and shields, life-sized figures surrounded the base of a pedestal holding the equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm I in the courtyard, and a gold figure stood atop the dome on the clock tower. In the foyer, scenes heavily executed in marble were the introduction to a room with rich red walls, gold-framed portraits, fine bas-reliefs, a moulded floral frieze around the cornice, and a ceiling featuring painted panels; the corners contained painted faces and ceramic flowers.

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relief in the foyer

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cornice featuring ceramic flowers

This led to a room with blue brocade walls, a painted ceiling depicting heavenly scenes, more delicate reliefs, and alabaster cherubs frolicking in the folds of fabric simulated with stucco.

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cornice featuring cherubs

At this stage, I was reprimanded for using a camera, but the temptation to continue with illicit photography was too strong to resist because the apartments became more and more stunning as we progressed through the palace; every available space was filled with finery.

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door treatment

The next room was in vibrant lime green, the entire ceiling covered with a heavenly vista that flowed into a wall feature, its elaborate gold top incorporating white stucco cherubs and a golden vase holding white flowers. We came to a long wood-panelled corridor with chandeliers, gold cherubs above a marble relief, and painted insets with intricate surrounds. There was Delftware on a mantel and a vast collection of period furniture, which included a console supported by a male form and a winged creature.

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gilded console

A similar small table with lavish gold legs appeared in the Glass Bedchamber, its ornate gold ceiling embellished with alabaster cherubs and crystal chandeliers. A silver-framed mirror and mirrored wall panels reflected the gracious interior ad infinitum.

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Glass Bedchamber

A similar opulent ceiling featured in a room with beautiful classical paintings on wall panels below a gilt cornice. From here, we were regaled with a view of the French gardens and a fountain.

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wall murals

Exquisite period tapestries covered the walls of another salon with a gold cornice and crystal chandelier. This room contained a small table supported by alabaster figures enveloped in gold ornamentation. A small intimate space had traditional European paintings, an ornate gilded cornice, and a fascinating ceiling with cloud formations spilling (in part) over their irregularly shaped gold surround which contained coloured enamel flowers. Small gold crowns occupying the corners were flanked by white alabaster figures, some playing instruments such as a flute and horn.

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ceiling detail

The next apartment was the ultimate in grandeur: entirely red and gold, its ornate gilded cornice, golden figures, and red walls lined with gold sconces were shown off to effect by a white ceiling, mirrors and crystal chandeliers. Ornaments adorned a mantel.

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maroon room

Another small space was overwhelmed by its ceiling paintings, gold cornice, and carving. A portrait framed in a heavily wrought gold wreath graced an emerald green wall. However, the pièce de résistance was the fabulous Porcelain Chamber, its walls swathed in Chinese blue-ware reflected in mirrors, the ceiling illustrated with convoluted figures (one holding a scythe) and a chariot drawn by six white horses driven across the heavens by a bare-breasted woman holding a flaming torch.

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ceiling painting

Amongst alabaster figures on the cornice were cherubs wrapping themselves in folds of maroon ‘fabric’. Almost as overpowering was the blue and gold Eosander Chapel inundated with painted and pottery angels and cherubs even hanging from the ceiling, one blowing a trumpet. At one end, angels held a huge gold crown around which cherubs cavorted. The walls and ceiling were also bestowed with other fine stuccowork, much of it gilded.

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Eosander Chapel

The rooms that followed all had beautiful artwork on the ceilings, and a wood-panelled area had a wealth of carved scroll and floral ornamentation incorporating a child’s head. The last three were basically all white and featured, respectively, walls with gold-topped pilasters and gilt-framed pictures beneath a domed ceiling, its base circled by stark white stucco figures and floral garlands; porcelain ware in a room with beautiful marble tableaux in relief, and finally, gold capitals on white pilasters between arched windows, one of which was topped by alabaster figures either side of enamel flowers in a gold urn. Cherubs fluttered around another highly decorative piece on the elaborate gold cornice. All the floors were parquetry. In the palace gardens, I passed a pair of tall columns surmounted by the winged Victory.

stark white décor and white relief

Driving by an old sign in four languages, which announced that we were leaving the American sector, the bus entered a modern part of the city with an all glass skyscraper. We drove past many grand old buildings, including one with a sculpted pediment above a columned portico facing a severe concrete courtyard, nevertheless beautified by low hedges forming perfect squares, a potted hydrangea in each one.

Potsdam

I caught the S-Bahn to Potsdam on a day trip. The station was ‘enhanced’ by a futuristic mural depicting emaciated heads and figures wrestling snakes! The first thing that I came to was the enormous cobbled Alter Markt, with elegant buildings around the perimeter and the huge Nikolaikirche (1850) with a great neoclassical copper dome above a circular colonnade on the roof. Four figures atop slender towers marked the corners, and the entrance was through a pillared porch. An obelisk with figures at the base stood on the square in front. Except for some lovely artwork, the inside of the church was relatively unadorned.

Even though only 24km from the capital, a walk through the streets revealed a town enjoying a more relaxed pace; cobbled thoroughfares led past no high-rise other than a church steeple. I passed the cream-coloured Brandenburg Gate (1770), older than Berlin’s but not as dramatic, to enter a pretty park with a rotunda reflected in a pond and a carillon nearby. Another green domain was approached through four-pillared gateposts with ornamentation on top. These Renaissance type gardens featured an avenue of trees leading to a circular grassed area surrounded by beds of dainty blue and white flowers. These were enclosed on one side by a low stone wall with urns on top and classical near-naked figures at the ends. Busts on pedestals stood in front of high hedges opposite.

The reason for my visit to Potsdam was the renowned Sanssouci Park, of which my first glimpse was the reflection of trees and the dome of Frederick the Great’s palace in a large pool. The dome, a gold figure on top, had considerable ornamentation around the edge and sat above a façade with figures in arched niches. Statues on pedestals were dispersed amongst tree-lined avenues leading to a pool ringed by graceful images. Bordered by beds gay with red and yellow zinnias, lawns flanking the approach contained two complementary columns with figures on top. From here, one could see the Historische Mühle (Historic Windmill, 1787–90) like that at Versailles. Beyond the pool, stepped terraces with trimmed box hedges led to the actual Schloss (1745–47).

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stairway to Schloss Sanssouci

Climbing the steps, I was confronted by a yellow façade with many elaborate life-sized heads and torsos on pilasters between tall arched windows, ornamentation on the parapet, a low copper dome with decoration around the rim, and a curved colonnade.

The interior of the edifice totally defied description; it is impossible to convey in mere words the opulence of the sumptuous apartments. The introduction was an extensive area with a magnificent painted ceiling depicting dainty cherubs and a nymph in a billowing red gown. Statues stood between fluted columns with gold capitals, gold decoration enhanced the cornice, and exquisite gold bas-relief panels with fable-like scenes were encased by white floral stuccowork. A long hallway contained gold framed pictures, crystal chandeliers, marble statues and busts, period pieces, intricately carved doors, wall murals of picturesque ruins in elegant gilt surrounds, mirrors with gold trim, and a plain blue ceiling heavily overlaid with gold.

This was followed by a round room with gold like a sunburst in the centre of finely worked gold filigree on the pink and blue ceiling, and a gold embossed panel above a small white bust. The next room had blue brocade walls and a matching chair, its carved back depicting an urn balanced atop a head. This room also contained a set of small drawers incorporating an extremely ornate clock, and its intricately patterned ceiling was reflected, together with a marble bust, in wall mirrors.

Delicately wrought gold enhanced all the mirrors, paintings and doors of the following room and also featured on the walls and ceiling, from which hung a crystal chandelier. Red tapestry chairs and rich blue vases on the mantel of a black and white marble fireplace contrasted with the gold, and the room was reflected in the mirrors, amplifying the sensational sight. One attractive gold-edged mural portrayed naked females bathing in a garden, and mirror surrounds included elegantly crafted birds and leaves.

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elegant décor

Solid gold cherubs graced a room with a painted ceiling similar to the first, and the following room had the same fluted gold topped pillars between marble statues (they favoured naked ladies) in pink marble recesses, but the extraordinary gold-trimmed domed ceiling had small alabaster figures entwined with gold leaves and perched in groups, their legs protruding over the jutting cornice! Above these, gold miniatures of armour and weapons seemed incongruous in such a setting.

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Schloss Sanssouci

Other touches were a crystal chandelier and a gold chair, upholstered in red, standing on a marble floor inlaid with green vines bearing bunches of pink grapes. The white door was embellished with intricate gold filigree. In the next room, scenic murals with finely moulded gold edges were located above doorways, beside one of which a delicate pale pink fresco showed a hunter aiming his bow and arrow at birds roosting in branches climbing towards the cornice. Gilt framed pictures adorned the walls, and gilt-framed irregularly shaped mirrors, one above an elegantly carved fireplace, were flanked by branched sconces. A pastel blue settee sat on the parquet floor.

The last room was the best of all; it was absolutely stunning and by far my favourite. Strangely, except for rich yellow drapes, there was no gold in this room! The attraction was in the wondrous profusion of porcelain decoration. Walls and ceiling alike were covered with birds, fruits and flowers in striking colours. Sconces consisting of delicate blue ceramic flowers graced the pale yellow walls, and a similar lighting