Monday, January 28, 2008

Propped up balcony in Slubice (Poland)

28012008076.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Slubice - a number of houses here have their balconies propped up in this dodgy fashion - Taken at 9:52 AM on January 28, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Polish border marker in Slubice

28012008075.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Polish border marker in Slubice - Taken at 9:49 AM on January 28, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Welcome to Slubice Poland

28012008074.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Slubice is the other side of the river Oder from Frankfurt Oder. Sells loads of cigarettes - Taken at 9:48 AM on January 28, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Frankfurt/Oder Border Post

28012008073.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Former border control post in Frankfurt Oder - Taken at 9:43 AM on January 28, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

How do I get to Poland ?

28012008072.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Signpost in Frankfurt Oder - Taken at 9:38 AM on January 28, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Sunday, January 27, 2008

In memoriam or selective guilt.

Today is Holocaust Memorial day in Germany. Offfical buildings have flags at half mast (most folk don't know why) and there are ceremonies around the place as well. Berlin also has its Jewish Museum and the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe and other smaller remembrances as well. I wonder though is it time for other countries to follow suit - putin could designate a day to commemorate the 50 million (or more) that Communism killed; - France and Belgium could remember the deaths in their colonies; - needless to say QEII could mark the deaths of so many people in former UK colonies; - the US could think about Vietnam; - the Israelies could pay respect to the innocent Palestinians they have killed in refugee camps and other attacks; - maybe we could look at the killings on our own island And maybe we would realise that every country is culpable of evil but only some get called to account. Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone

Berlin and the Underworld

I flew to Berlin today for a few days. Uneventful flight - we arrived early but didn't have to suffer the false fanfares to which Ryanair subject their passengers. So off with me to U-bahnhof Gesundbrunnen to go on a bunker tour with Berliner Unterwelten. It cost 9 euro and lasted 90 minutes. The first part showed us a World War 2 bunker which was converted in the 80's for civil defence. Even in WW2 this bunker was lacking in capabilities and its doubtful if it would have been any more useful than an aspirin in a nuclear war ( our guide called in nukuleer). No generator and sweet all filtering. The second bunker was in Pankstrasse station and the station itself was designed to be sealed off in case of war. Bunkbeds would be eeverywhere and it was designed to hold folk for 14 days and the other bunker was designed for 2 days. Entrance was behind an innocuous door in the station but behind that door lay a double airlock. The tour was excellent and any travellers should check out the webiste for times and further details. Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone

Potsdam in the dark

27012008066.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Potsdam in the dark - Taken at 5:17 PM on January 27, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Display cabinets on the Ku'Damm - Berlin

27012008067.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
These display cabinets are so typical of West Berlin - Taken at 7:27 PM on January 27, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Berlin - Mercedes Star and God's church

27012008068.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Berlin - God and mammon - Taken at 8:28 PM on January 27, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Berlin U-Bahnhof Gesundbrunnen Bunkers

27012008062.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Old one man bunkers outside. The bunker tour starts here. - Taken at 12:21 PM on January 27, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Berlin Strasse der 17 Juni - market

27012008061.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
Quite a good market - Taken at 11:45 AM on January 27, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Knorr 100% Beef Goulash - Avoid

We had this soup earlier tonight and it has been repeating since then. It's a pity seeing as their mushroom soup in the same range is tasty. It's a bulky soup with spuds and a wee smattering of beef but the overall taste is bitter rather than peppery and ultimately it fails. I won't say anything about how the Green party interprets a less-than-majority vote as a mandate ... John Gormley's world seems to be a strange place...

Friday, January 18, 2008

Bang the drum

18012008058.jpg Originally uploaded by despod
I signed up for bodhran classes earlier in the week - Taken at 4:45 PM on January 18, 2008 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu