Germany

Tuesday, 3 December, 2013

Time to meet old friends. Frankfurt is as attractive as I remember  and   we enjoy walking, talking and having dinner  at the Michele restaurant. For Jennifer Germany means train travel,friends and parties, for me mainly reconnecting with friends. I feel that perhaps this is the best part of the trip.
I am looking forward though to my Hamburg stay; I was here many years before and for now I planned a 'walk around town'.  This is not to be though; it is very cold and  windy, the water levels are so high  that the port, a main Hamburg attraction is closed to visitors.  So I resign myself to visit the town in a two deckers bus and  walk through the shops, with good shopping results.
 I am grateful  though for the mild weather on our last day in Friedberg, when I can take Jennifer for a walk  to the old tower and ramparts. Typical 'old little town in Germany.

 Hamburg street  (the weather improved just as I was leaving)

Huge appliance store

Wintery scape

Paris

Tuesday, 26 November, 2013-Thursday, 28 November 2013

We are in Paris, in our 'appartement', supposedly in the centre of Paris, 'a deux minutes de marche de l'Opera'.
If you take giant steps. Still, the metro is nearby and we don't mind walking along La Fayette streets.
While Jennifer is communing with some writer  at the cemetery I go to visit l"Institut de Monde Arabe'. I have been here before but after my visit to Morocco I like to remember the achievements of the Arabs before they turned to terror.  The building is as spectacular as I remembered so I climb the 5 floors and study the books, art objects, astrolabes and especially the books.
The highlight of our short visit must be the Jacquemart-Andre  museum.  This is not  areal museum, but a very elegant private house, 'hotel particulier' built by 'connaisseurs' to house a magnificent art collection. So it is like visiting  people and admiring their own paintings and art works.  The collection is exquisite and displays paintings from the French, Dutch, English  ranging from the 15th to the 18th century. Reminds me of the Frick collection in New York.
Paris is preparing for Christmas and the shops are full with people buying 'cadeaux'.
We do some  'Christmas shopping'  too.

'Les vitrines' at Galleries Lafayette

The last day we spend at close to Notre Dame, la Seine, Cluny and the shops of Gibert the booksellers.
Then comes my long anticipated train ride with Eurostar.
It is indeed wonderful to get on the train at the Gare du Nord -thus avoiding the hassle of airport controls and get off t the St. Pancras in the centre of London.

Our hotel is in Bayswater and we get ready for a nice stay. Jennifer -off to Cambridge, and I, ready to rediscover London.

Friday, 29 November, 2013London is as beautiful and exciting as I remember and so think lotsof other people, from England and abroad.  Trains are full, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square are flooded with tourists.  The buildings though are large enough to dominate the crowd.
I am planning a visit to the theatre  and  a trip to Warrwck Castle, Oxford and Stratford on Avon.

I don't know the meaning of the gallic rooster but the hannukiah is evident

Saturday, 30 November, 2013

Today I go to the Regent canal. It is a part of Londond beibg reconstructed. It is fun watching the boys getting ready for a game of -perhaps- football in water.

 The dog  seems interested

I visit the Foundling museum, established  in 1740  to care the babies who couldn't be cared for by their mothers.  Sad stories but the hospital saved lives.  Pity that not all children-babies could be accepted.
Judging by the exhibits their fate was not too bad.
The museum also houses a beautiful collection  of paintings by the portraitists, Reynolds and Gainsborough and  some of Hogarths  series, featuring mothers who cannot or won't care for their babies.

In the afternoon I go to the theatre. It is the '39 steps' presented as a comedy with only 4 actors playing a multitude of roles. Wonderful.

Sunday, 1 December, 2013

St. Pancras  view

My trip to Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon, and Oxford.

From  a distance Warwick Castle looks promising; turrets,  crenellated towers, dungeons.  Unfortunately Madame Tussaud crowd has taken over the castle and transformed it into an amusement park.  The original buildings are still there but they are  overshadowed by various money making activities, mainly for children, There are also  display of castle dwellers figures -getting ready for battle, cooking and cleaning, counting money,. I suppose  money is needed for the maintenance of the castle but I feel cheated.

The walk in  Oxford though, is lots of fun. We pass by some famous colleges - All Souls,  Balliol, Oriel, Corpus Christi,  and visit Christ Church,  with the food hall made famous by Harry Potter.
I try to recognise some streetscapes I have seen in the Inspector Morse series.

Warwick castle

famous Food Hall

Monday, 2 December, 2013

After some fun shopping in Oxford streets (glad to see that Mark&Spencer are still there) we go the the theatre to see The book of Mormon. The theatre is new and elegant, the seats excellent , the play very good and very, very rude. But  the general impression is of a vey polished performance,  very energetic and fun.
A wonderful way to round up our stay here.

Essaouira

Sunday, 24 November, 2013

It rained in the morning but soon the sun came out and our day in Essaouira was a great success.
I wanted to come here to see and walk over the ramparts  built by the Portuguese which were inspired by a disciple of Vauban, the naval architect who designed St. Malo.  The region though, like all of Morocco has a much richer history involving berber tribes, Carthage, Rome, the Vandals, Spain as well as Portugal.    Today this is peaceful place, a favourite recreation and tourist spot but battlements, the two sqalas (sea bastions) and crenellations  (bevelled-built by Europeans and  the Islamic,  square in shape), speak of past wars.

vestiges of past dangers

the Atlantic ocean

prosperous cats

admiring fabulous views

freshest of fish

art gallery 

We looked at the ocean, remembered that Orson Wells has filmed here his Othello, then go down to the Medina. Here we find the maze of narrow streets and oval gates, housing  shops and the painting galleries which made this town famous for the modern tourist.  We walk, shop, admire  the views, take pictures and  have lunch at the port. This must be the first  good meal in Morocco; fish freshly caught, grilled and served with salad and the delicious Moroccan bread.
Before we leave we have coffee and a pleasant talk with the owner of the cafe. She comes from Swithzerland and talks to us about herself, the people of Morocco, Essaouira, IN FRENCH.

Marrakech

Friday, 22 November, 2013
(afternoon)

We are in Marrakech ad ready to explore its medina, the Bahia palace and the Saadian tombs and admire the funerary architecture.  We admire, at the Saadian tombs the Islamic architecture  reminiscent of Alhambra, the fountains and gardens surrounding the Bahia palace and wish for more time to  spend here; these are not sights to be seen in a hurry. They call for slow, leisurely  walks and contemplation.

enjoying the garden

wood decoration and stone arches

We also walk through the maze of the souk streets with its display of everything. The large hulks of beef are on display as usual. I try to avoid looking at them (as  usual) but our guide insists to show us a piece of meat of major importance.
"This round ball is the male organ of the ox", " it indicates a higher quality meat."

There will be more vegetarian choices for dinner that night.

Best sight in Marrakech: storks on the minatet

Dades Gorge, Ouarzade

Thursday, 21 November, 2013

Ouarzate


We visit the Taourirt  Kasbah, home to the Glaoui family. It dates from the 18th century and is the seat of the Glaoui family who have collaborated with the French.  The house is definitely eastern in conception; the rooms are like a maze of staircase and and  rooms with no specific purpose except for the large reception rooms with decorated ceilings. Children must have enjoyed playing hide and seek here.

windows are protected

decorated ceilings

entrance gate to Ouarzate


Friday, 22  November, 2013

We drive through more sand and ochre coloured stony  cliffs with houses to match.  Very pretty but the young have abandoned them for the comfort of modern houses with running water and electricity. Still, we get to see the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, which is a UNESCO  World Heritage site. We climb  the stony steps, visit the rooms on the various levels, admire the views and drink mint tea offered by the host. Yes, a family is still living here along with domestic animals.

tall towers, narrow passages

crenellated wall

 view from the top

Jennifer with Yasin

view from the top terrace


Tizi-n-Tichka Pass road

We start on a long winding mountain road down towards Marrakech. Views follow each other rapidly. Pity, I wish I could take a photo of the goats clinging comfortably (so it seems) to the mountain side. They graze the meagre grass and do not seem to mind the  sheer surface of the mountain.

To Merzouga

Tuesday, 19 November, 2013

We drive from Fez through the Middle Atlas to Merzouga where we are to watch the sunrise over desert dunes. The way to the desert goes through pine forests covered in snow. Rather unexpected

in 'sunny Morocco'.

After the mountains we go through towns. The houses are lovely -  red and yellow and shaped like sand castles. So much more suited to this country than the  art nouveau Casablanca  old buildings.

Merzouga.

We are in  a desert oasis, Merzouga.  We shall sleep in a hotel which looks more like an inn. Rather primitive but oh, so romantic.    There is a terrace on top from which people would watch caravans approach.
In front of the inn camels are waiting

.
Jennifer rides a camel and I take photos.


Wednesday, 20 November, 2013

This is a special day. We get up at dawn and ride in jeeps to the sand dunes to watch the sunrise.  it is really cold, and I am wearing the quilted jacket I wore in Alaska.  It is  very dark and  I can see the dunes only as ghostly shapes. We wait, shivering for the sun.  It does appear, but oh, so slowly.  It is beautiful though, because the air is so clear and the surrounding  scene so bare that the rising sun is seen in all

 its glory.

Later, same day.

I didn't think I would be impressed by mountain views in Morocco. After seeing the Alps, the Carpathians, and Bryce canyon, not to mention the Grand Canyon I have become a bit blase. But Todra Gorge is truly spectacular. It rises as a huge straight wall of stone faced by another huge wall of stone both faces enclosing a narrow path.  I got giddy only looking on, yet I saw a brave soul actually climbing the sheer stones.

The blue patch is a climber

The houses are also remarkable. They are so designed that they appear to grow out of the stone.

The day is not over yet. We go for a walk in an oasis where we learn from our guide Mohammed about sustainable growth in an oasis. I

It is a very fragile environment and the land is worked with care (by women)

We stay overnight at Hotel Tombuctou. designed in memory of the camel travel.  Each room is different and named after caravan; chambre Audahost, chambre Fes, chambre Beni Sbih, Taoudeni,... Very romantic.

Fez

Monday, 18 November, 2013

I love the Royal Mirage Hotel. It s a modern luxurious hotel, with bar,  restaurants and swimming pools. Pity that the weather is awful  The next morning we are supposed to visit the town and I hope for a bit of sunshine. This is not to be so we stand, in the rain, in front of the royal palace   (we are not allowed inside) and listen to the story of the town. Our guide introduces himself; he is a language student and has written a thesis comparing the Hebrew and Arabic languages.  He tells us that the old section of  Fez,  is the oldest city of the world.  Unlike Jericho, it   continued existing as a living city through the centuries. Looking at the  state of the buildings I can well believe that. What I cannot understand is how people manage to live here, and survive.  There is no running water, and cooking is done at the baker's.
We watch a baker at his trade; people bring their loaves to be cooked. There is a mosque though, and as the guide  tells us, as long as there is water, a place for prayer and food, people will survive, and prosper.
We follow him in the maze of narrow streets. This is fun; we never know where he will take us next, meet  overloaded donkeys, people at work, children bringing loaves to be baked, women carrying water, shopping.  We come a cross a sort of central place filled with shops. We are in full medieval town, with street separated by trades;  tailors,  brass and copper smiths, clothiers, carpenters as well as food sellers (with horrible carcasses of meat).
We get a closer look at the arts of mosaic and leather. Jennifer gives in to temptation and buys a very nice handbag.

baker at his trade

a very old city

means of transport

a real souk

paint fot leathers

We are taken for lunch to a place built over several stories of various sizes.  I can't imagine how it was planned, if planned it was.  We need assistance in finding the entrance, the exit, toilets.  Evidently the local idea  of planning is different from what we are used to. But we sit on cushions and the food (as long as it is only vegetables) is not too bad.

In the afternoon we visit the Al Karaouine  mosque, dating from the 9th century. Unlike the houses we have seen earlier it is in very good repair.  The roof, covered with emerald green tiles and the ablution basin in the center  make it look special. I look at it with some interest because it has been frequented by Averroes