Domberg is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  The current structure is a Romanesque building from the 13th century.  When you go in, however, it is a shock, because the interior had been redone in Baroque style in the 17th century.  It almost seems like a disconnect.  I once had an architecture professor who called the Baroque “Eclectic clutter.”  My reaction was “majestically bizarre.”  Elaborate frescoes, pink stucco, gilt and an alter piece originally painted by Rubens (The one there now is a reproduction, the original was carted off somewhere.)  The organ is really a baroque organ, the decoration is so … Continue reading Domberg, The Cathedral Church in Freising

The taxi driver from Clontarf to the airport offered to take me a different route, around Dublin Bay, along the coast pass the fishing village of Howth and then into the airport.  “It’s more miles but with school getting out it now may be less time.  At Howth he said “You’ll be flying right over that when you take off.”  (We did.)  I think he wanted the longer ride so he could ask me what I “really” felt about Sarah Palin.  He rather likes the idea of a governor named Sean Parnell. Aer Lingus charges bags by weight.  15 kg … Continue reading Sometimes flying becomes the theatre of the absurd.

After a good night’s sleep in Freising, Germany (on my way to Tbilisi) fueled with two double espressos, I took off to see the oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephan.  This brewery has been in continuous operation since 1040.  People have been brewing beer a lot longer than a thousand years and there is evidence of brewing at this site since the mid-700s, however the monks in this monastery kept records of their beer going back to 1040.  In 1802 the Bavarian Kingdom nationalized the monastery (before Marx had the idea) and it is now part of Bayerische Stattsbraueri. I … Continue reading Weihenstephan Abbey, the oldest brewery in the world

Freising, the town closest to the Munich Airport is a nice place to lay over between two overnight flights.  Pictures here are from this winter and this summer, different views at different times of the year.  It has, that it claims to be the oldest brewery in Germany, a friendly Marriott airport hotel and shops and cafes that allow for a restful stopover between flights. Continue reading Freising, Bavaria, Germany

To visit the German Bundestag housed in the Reichstag building you need an invitation.  We applied, sending our passport information and addresses, on line.  I got our PDF invitation letter just before we left for Warsaw.  Our appointment was 9:30 Monday evening.  We got off our train grabbed a cab, dropped our stuff at the hotel and went on to the Reichstag.  The building was burned as Hitler came to power.  Hitler blamed it on the Communists.  Others blame it on Hitler as an excuse to grab more power.  The building was largely unused just on the western side of … Continue reading Reichstag, Berlin, 2013

March, 21, 2013 This week Suzi and I attended Radio Days Europe and got to tour some different radio stations. A highlight of the sessions was the tour of Haus des Rundfunks, or Radio House.  The Funkhaus was designed in 1929 in the Bauhaus style and went on-air in 1931.  It claims to be the oldest purpose built radio station building in the world.  The Funkhaus is the home of Radio Berlin and Brandenburg (RBB), which operates 6 radio services.  While it was built as a national headquarters, right now it serves Berlin’s local public radio. The building is a … Continue reading Rundfunks Berlin