I first met “little traffic light man” while cycling through the GDR in 1990. He’s the equivalent of the Walk/Don’t Walk signals at home. Amplemann is hard not to like, with his jaunty walk and his hat. I was not the only one to take a liking to Amplemann. He is one of the few …
It’s easy to think of Germany as a single country. Reunification happened a long time ago, right? Imagine your country forcefully divided, each half operating under very different forms of government. Children grow up with different values, different expectations. These differences don’t go away because a treaty was signed. They take generations to erase. On …
You say you’ve dined at the Jules Verne in Paris? They know you by name at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans? You yawn when the duck is served in Beijing? Bah. Your life is not complete until you’ve had currywurst at Curry 36 in Kreuzberg.
Soviet troops were the first to reach Berlin during the war and it cost them dearly. This immense memorial was built to honor their sacrifice. Over 9000 are buried here in anonymous graves. To the cynical Western eye, there seems to be quite a bit of propaganda to promote the Soviet socialist ideal. But we …
You know how you plan, you pack, then when you arrive you discover that you left your socks behind? Well, I forgot to show you photos from a visit on a sunny English afternoon to Flatford Mills, where John Constable painted some of his best-known works. Don’t know the guy? Google him. He was an …
We landed at Schönefeld, the old G.D.R. (East Germany) airport and were met by friends Siegi and Margit. More on them and our first day in Berlin later. In the mean time, here’s the obligatory tourist photo at the Brandenburg Gate.
All good things comes to an end. So, too, our rendezvous with Andy, Danielle, Jim and Betty. The latter two returned to Guildford and Mary Anne and I flew to Berlin. But not before one last dinner at a country pub in Newbourne.
Amusement piers are a traditional, if fading, feature of British seaside resorts. You can generally count on them to offer food, much of it Junk, arcade games, souvenirs, and some unexpected joys. In Brighton, I once found a doughnut-making machine that included a mechanical hand that flipped the doughnuts over midway through the cooking process. …
Welcome to Southwold, a somewhat more upscale seaside town. Or village. I’m never sure when a village becomes a town. The subject of this post is Beach Huts. You’ve seen them before in my Felixstowe post. To review: they are essentially toolsheds on leased land by the beach. You can’t spend the night in one. …
In the States, we call them Bugeyes. Apparently they’re known as Frogeyes in England. At least that’s what Andy calls his. More formally, this is an Austin Healy Sprite, smaller sibling to the venerable Austin Healy 3000.