Davitte Blog

I have been thinking about how to approach yesterday’s visit to the site of the concentration camp at Dachau. It is hard to be there, in the present day, to see the flocks of tourists, like ourselves, wander the grounds and snap pictures, where such inhumane atrocites  were perpetrated with ruthless industrial ferocity by our fellow beings. So I decided to focus on the memorials, that have been enshrined there to honor the prisoners of the camp, which over the time, until it was liberated by the US forces, held over 200,00 inmates, over 43,000 who perished. Of particular note was the Jewish Memorial.

As you walk down into the interior of the memorial, there is an opening in the top, which lets light filter down in to the darkness, which, to me, symbolizes that even in the darkest of times, the light of the human spirit cannot be extinguished.

The railings along the side represent the razor wire fences that surround the camp, a  rather innocuous term camp for what went on there.

Along a walls an more recent memorial/reminder, that persecution, genocide and hatred of others is still with us , as depicted by the varied colored glass, representing different groups of people. The most recent in in pink representing the LGBT community.

Probably the most disturbing monument is one that depicts emaciated bodies tangled in barbed wire. At least that my interpretation.

I added this link for more information on Dachau and the Memorials.

Dachau Memorials

On a lighter note, we again dined on wieners and one liter beers last night. The rain has extinguished the heat wave. On our way back, we came across this wonderful group of musicians who were ticket away in an alcove.

A little post Zurich fun with pictures of 2 staples prevalent there. Your guess, as to which comes first!

We have entered Germany, which looks to be a very well cultivated and prosperous country, as the power house of the EU. Of note, as we have read in the press, there are many middle eastern folks here, and they look like they are well to do travelers. What we have not seen is the over 1 million refugees from the conflict in Syria. As a side note, when we were in Zurich, our server at the Fondue restaurant was from Sri Lanka and told us that there are 60,000 Sri Lankans in Zurich, escaping the conflicts in that country. Interestingly he was on a list for housing, which after a 2 year wait he finally obtained one for 800 Swiss Francs, roughly equivalent to 800 US dollars. Zurich is a very expensive city to live in but somehow is finding a way to provide immigrants, hardworking and striving ones, a means to thrive. I would say the safety net is alive and well in Europe but these our just the observations of a traveler passing through. I am sure all is not perfect but it makes one ponder… Anyhow on with the travelogue what greeting us a short walk form our hotel were the old and new town halls. The new town hall was completely destroyed, as was most of Munich and WWII. If I have my facts straight the old town hall survived, or they are really good at making it look old.

Old town hall

Of course no visit would be complete without enjoying a few very large frosty brews from one of the original 7 brew masters represented on a large maypole in the market square. See if you can catch the symbols of some famous recipes that have made it to the US.

In the beer garden you are cozily surrounded by festive Germans and visitors.

Prost!

On our city walk, hosted on our phones by the inimitable Rick Steves, with his corny jokes, we were introduced to the Jewish Synagogue, which Hitler had destroyed in 1937. The walls are made from travertine, which represent the Jewish wailing wall. The steel mesh top, represents the tents used during their time in the wilderness.

Later in the evening we visited the world famous HB beer hall well attended to say the least and evident that there are still some conspicuous meat consumption going on in the modern German state!

Again Prost in the 1 liter format!

On our walk back to the hotel I caught this shot, which somehow took me back to early German cinema with its tendency to exaggerate forms for the surreal effect.

We are here until Saturday so more posts will be forthcoming, Auf Wiedersehen!

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, we left Lake Como to Zurich via a number of train connections with anticipation for our, most looked forward to, train ride on the Bernina Express, which take out the express part and you have a most scenic view of the surrounding mountains, charming villages and wonderfully turquoise hued lakes.

 

Really nice view friendly train that runs on DC current, very smooth running on a serpentine track, that winds you through the mountains. The train summits at 7300 feet. If you look closely you will see our tour guide’s reflection in the window.

We were pretty constant on our phone cameras, as you might imagine, a few of the views are selected from among many worthy shots.

Traveling companions

The Bernina Route

We arrived in Zurich just in time to enjoy the setting sun reflecting off the stately buildings, and the channel that leads to Lake Zurich, and yes we did have fondue for dinner, cheese and chocolate!

 

The weather has turned as we are now nestled into the mountains on Lake Como. Very picturesque place, even shrouded in the mist, with pretty strong swells, kicked up by the winds rushing down the mountainsides. Not a lake you would venture out on if you were not in the proper type of craft but for an experienced sailor, I would think a worth challenge.

Shot of the Ferry from Bellagio, on the opposite shore, to where we are staying in Varenna.

I think Amy and I had our best dinner so far on this trip last night at a place called La Vida. The staff was superb and the food, as the foodie’s always say, to die for, and with an electrical storm to accompany dinner, out on a deck, in the mountains, by a large body of water, maybe we could!

Amy had a very fine carrot soup a great way to get you vitamin A. Our entrees were lamb shank and medallions of beef cet bon and a nice Barolo Red wine.

Light show no extra charge

 

The Hotel Du Lac

View from our room

Few more pictures from our short stay here on to Zurich today via the Bernini Express, a wonderful train ride up into the mountains beyond.

 

For our last day in Cinque Terre, we spent the day training from town to town along the coast. We trained from Vernazza to Monterossa to encounter a most heavily occupied beach with umbrellas and seats fully occupied, so no room at the inn for us. So we went to the thin strips of beach designated as free for a quick swim, and exit to the south to meet Nick and Margeaux, who embarked on another strenuous hike from Corniglia to Manarola, whose regular trail is under repair so they had to take the circuitous mountain route, very taxing but they made it and we had a nice lunch in town.

Flocks of sunbathers in Monterossa

Manarola for lunch then a brief train ride to Riomaggiore for a quick swim

 

As this is the height of tourist season, plus locals enjoying a Sunday outing, I was prompted to train back solo to Monterossa to take the hike back from there to Vernazza, just get get a little breathing space.

Heading out of Monterrossa

Up on the trail, Monterossa down below

Interesting monorail contraption that snakes down the valley through the vineyards to load the grapes from the harvest

On the road to Vernazza signpost checkpoint

Views from the trail. The white grape is famous for the locally made wine

 

Coming into Vernazza

 

 

Memorial for local villagers lost in the wars.

 

Our hosts family, long time residents of this area were directly impacted by the Nazi, Communist and Fascist parties. More on that later but for now goodnight from Vernazza Chao!

The crew did 2 hikes yesterday, in opposite directions, Margeaux and Nick from Vernazza to Monterosa  Trail to Monterosa ,which is for hikers in very good condition, lots of elevation gain and Amy and I from Vernazza to Corniglia Vernazza to Corniglia also consider expert by trail guide, based on terrain. The views along the way from Vernazza to Corniglia were quite breathtaking of this gorgeous coastline on the Ligurian Sea, part of the larger Mediterranean.

We took a side excursion along the way to a remote beach that was, in a word, a challenge beyond what the normal trail offered. A bit steep and scary but we did it with barely a bump or bruise. Pay no heed to the signs adventurers!

Beach was rocky but we adapted to the lack of shade with what we had with us

Some shots of the beach and there was a creepy old abandoned rail tunnel, which we did not venture far into. The most difficult part of the climb was encountered, because access to beach  required us to use an existing  rope to lower ourselves down the cliff and back up when done. That was adrenaline moment to be sure. Amy was very impressive in her stamina and strength. Survival will do that to you.

 

On the trail to Cornigila

Morning in Vernazza from our villa

View of the hillside vineyards above the villa

The secluded beach we hiked down to just before we descended on the rope. Kayakers had a much easier time getting to the beach!

This odd plant just caught my eye

You will come across sights of old abandoned gates and other structures that take you back to just how long this place has been inhabited.

On the road to Corniglia

As we get close to Corniglia some views taken towards the town The people who settled this area worked very hard to cultivate the terraces fields and no doubt were excellent innovators, when it came to water capture.

Corniglia

Above the town of Corniglia, where an old church still peals its bell

Beautiful aqua waters in Cornigllia

 

What more steps! We descend to catch the train back to Vernazza. No round trip hike for us!

After a short train trip from Florence, we made it to Vernazza on the northern coast of Italy on the Mediterranean Sea. After all the frenetic surging through the crowds of Rome and Florence, we were really looking forward to just chilling out a bit and while the crowds are here too, but so is the sea and the scenery.

The Villa we are staying at for the weekend is high of above the town of Vernazza and it is not an easy place to reach. It is a series of stone steps and trail that interconnects all the towns along the coast, so well traveled but don’t forget your deodorant. But well worth the climb.

The hills are supported by a series of retaining walls and grapes cover the hills sides in very steep rows. The locals prefer the whites produced by the grapes, which we have tried and they are quite good.

The meals are obviously Mediterranean inspired and from the sea, anchovies being one local source.

As you can imagined the sunsets are quite nice and very photogenic.

Especially when you come across some of the locals as the sun recedes to close another day in very beautiful Vernazza.

When we got back to our villa last night the stars were out, as there is not alot of light to obscure the view and the wind was howling down from the mountains. The sound was very impressive, atleast to me so I posted the audio here not very much of a visual but imagine you are poised high over the town and the sea below, it allows you to imagine what this area was like a 2000 years ago when the Romans, and before them the Greeks, plied these seas and caught those winds.

Our secondi day in Firenza required some adept adjustment of the agenda, as our morning scheduled tour of the Doumo Tower, a pretty good stair climb by the way, guide never showed. So we shopped! The leather goods here are well renowned for craftsmanship or is that craftpersonship? Any how the ladies got these fantastic gloves, which will contrasts nicely to the Northface utilitarian types mostly seen in our chilly days.

Gelato is also always welcomed between audio corny jokes on Rick Steves walk around Firenza tour.

The Duomo was to be one of the largest churches in Christendom and the scale of the buildings reflected the region’s status, as  a flourishing center of the Renaissance, both artistically, commercially and militarily.

Inside the Duomo Cathedral

In the afternoon we went to the interestingly named Museum of Science, which is actually the home of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David, as well as many more of his famous works and he was prolific indeed.

Michaelangelo made a series of statues called The Prisoners, the concept was to render images still entrapped in the stone, so to some extent it looks unfinished but they are actually completed.

This one was very moving statue of Mary grieving as she holds her son’s lifeless body.

The powerful Medici family were major benefactors for the artists. He is pictured here second from the left with a natty yellow bowtie.

We ended our tourist day being guided through the town accompanied by Rick Steves and his audio tour. The river Arno is spanned by a commercial bridge Ponte Vecchio.

Oh one more picture of the ceiling at the Museum of Science, too good to pass up posting.

Oh Oh one more thing to post the wonderful land of Gelato no relation to Geppetto.

 

 

Probably the most challenging but finally rewarding sightings, if you will, is seeing Pope Francis and as you can imagine we we far from alone. It is with religious fervor or really frenzy that greets the visitor, as you are thrust along by the agitated momentum of the crowd, which are from everywhere.

And yes there he is the leader of over a billion people on this planet!

After that crush of the crowd, we ventured over to The Pantheon, which is a spectacular example of the ingenuity of the Romans,  still standing, pretty much as it had in the day it was a Temple to the multitude of Gods worshiped at that time. The dimensions are exact and the roof the the ocular opening was made of concrete and limestone, a Roman invention.

 

After the Pantheon, it was on to Florence, which is hovering at 100% with pretty substantial humidity, thus the allegorical tale of the inferno is literally felt and we live like the days of old in our stifling apartment, you guessed it no air! We will spend much time in museums mot only for the incredible arts works that are here but just to cool down! Our first visit in Florence was to the Uffizi Museum, with its great collection of Italian Renaissance mostly gathered my the powerful Medici family and other rich patrons who engaged the artists, like Botticelli below.

Leonardo da Vinci

 

Venus Boticelli

Scary Medusa shield for the Prince

Statues of Zeus and Hercules. The museum is full of statues as many of the artist rendered art in that form as well as painting.

Rembrandt’s later more realistic portraiture and a self portrait of the artist

The museum corridors , which are longs,and the view outside of the River Arno and Ponte Vecchio Bridge.

Bacchus always fun to hang with.

Much to ponder a brief snippet of the art without wordy descriptions!

First night dinner at a very nice restaurant and a walk in one of the many squares. Italian design promotes sociability.