Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Without worries..

Cloudland Blue Quartet – Track of the Day
“So Long Kid” from “Soundingfall” (2009)

Playlist
Udo Lindenberg - Stark wie Zwei
Udo Lindenberg - Stark wie Zwei Live
Annette Humpe  - Solo
Ich + Ich - Gute Reise

Track of the day moves into 2009 and "Soundingfall" - take a listen...

Up around 6 to another sunny day...

As usual, out for the rolls...

The view from the staircase...



On to the balcony...



...for another tasty German breakfast...



To the U Bahn and day tickets bought...





To Alexanderplatz and then onto the S Bahn to Potsdam...



...and a bus out to Frederick II's palace, Sans Souci...

















The CDs were too dear at 20 Euros a pop but the ice cream was enjoyed...



...as were fountains...



...and vines...



...and more fountains...





Very impressive buildings and gardens...





On, through the gardens to the new palace at the other end of the grounds...



Rather large...













...and that's just the front...

Round the back...





...erm, to the real front...











Roasting weather...

Back to the bus, back to the station, back to Alex on the S Bahn and to Saturn for some CD buying..

Then, back to Gleimstrasse on the U Bahn...



...and into Cafe Fog for some coffee and to check t'interweb...





...while purchases were perused...



...and listened to upstairs before heading back out to Kastanien Allee and the Prater Biergarten for tasty tea of sausages and potatoes...



...and, of course, bier...



...at the same table as new chum from Shonfeld, gay Conrad and his partner, who very much entertained us...



To the Kulturbrauerei for a look around but nothing was happening other than a young lady singing opera to piano accompaniment - not the Exec Producer's cup of tea...







However, nearby bar "...an einem Sonntag im August..." certainly was...





More bier was enjoyed before heading home on the U Bahn...

Highlight of the Day : San souci...

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Walk, don't walk...

Cloudland Blue Quartet – Track of the Day
“Erstazreal pt 2” from “Erstazreal” (2007)

Playlist
Various - Recent Acquisitions Jukebox
Maria Callas - Collection Vol 3
Various Composers - Musik von Sans Souci
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Half a Lifetime Away

Track of the day today is the last track from "Ersatzreal" - tomorrow into 2009...

Up early again to another hot day...

Down 85 steps and along the street to the bakers...



Back up the 85 stairs for breakfast on the balcony...





To the U Bahn and day tickets purchased...



To Alexanderplatz and out to be greeted by the tallest structure in Europe, the Fernsehturm...



Also in the square, the Marienskirche and a fountain, featuring Neptune and a crocodile...



Over the road and onto Museum Island...









Opting not to actually venture inside any of the museums on the island, we enjoyed some refreshment instead...



...before heading back out into the sun...





...and, after a frozen yoghurt, onto the S Bahn and up to the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauerstrasse...













There is one small stretch of the original wall and death strip which has been maintained...





To the Hackeschen Hoefe, the old shopping courtyards of Berlin...





To the Ampelmann shop, where souvenirs featuring the green and red men from East German pedestrian walk/don't walk signs were featured...



Coffee cups were purchased...



Further courtyards were visited...



...before heading back to Gleimstrasse...



...under the blazing sun...



...for coffee and Berliner doughnuts on the balcony...



Relaxing to the music of composers featured at Sans Souci, where we will visit tomorrow, along with my 1st of May song, "Half a Lifetime Away" which tells the story of 1st May 1981...



We were chased from the balcony by a sudden thunderous downpour...



...which was soon over and forgotten...

Out to Kastanian Allee and to Pasta & Passione, where the chefs entertained...



...and produced very tasty pizza funghi and tagliatelle carbonara...



We walked home, purchasing beer on the way and enjoyed same on the balcony...





...before heading inside to watch "Hellboy 3" and "Inglorious Basterds", both dubbed into German...

Highlight of the Day : Wandering around seeing the sights...