Thursday/ 🌸
The blossoms are out here on Capitol Hill’s 16th Avenue— but the weather is still on the chilly side. We only had 52 °F (11 °C) here in the city today.
(We’re on track to experience the first recorded April without a single 60-degree day, according to forecasters, reports the Seattle Times).
Wednesday/ arrival in Seattle 🛬
We landed at 12.00 pm— 20 minutes early, so we had to wait for our space at the gate to open up.
Then at baggage claim it took a while for the luggage to come out— but after that it was smooth sailing to clear customs.
I just had to stop at the Global Entry* kiosk for a face picture, and stand for a minute in a short line to show my passport to the customs official.
*A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States.
Our plane is an Airbus A330-300 (twin jet).
This wide-angle view is from the new skybridge, on the way to the international arrivals baggage claim & arrival hall. (Mount Rainier, visible from on the other side of the skybridge on a clear day, was obscured by clouds).
Wednesday/ ready to fly ✈️
It’s a soggy morning here at Frankfurt airport.
I made it through the obstacle course of baggage checking, passport checking and security checking, and will soon board my flight.
Yes— the golden age of flying is now long gone, but at least everyone (with a little money) can fly nowadays, and we have with jet engines and not turboprops— right?
Tuesday/ back in Frankfurt
I made the 4-hour trip on the Intercity Express train back to Frankfurt today.
I’m staying at a hotel here in the Frankfurt airport complex.
So in the morning, I can simply walk down to the departure hall to check my bags, and catch my flight home.
This is the ICE train that departed just before ours.
Monday/ strolling down Karl-Marx-Allee 🏢
Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by East Germany (the ‘Deutsche Demokratische Republik’) between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin’s Friedrichshain and Mitte neighborhoods.
Sunday/ what sharp teeth you have 😱
The Tristan Otto* T-Rex fossil is on loan to the Museum für Naturkunde (Museum of Natural History) in Berlin for research and presentation over the next few years.
It is one of a handful of original Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in Europe, and is one of the best preserved T. rex specimens in the world.
The deep black skeleton from the Upper Cretaceous period (100 million to 66 million years ago) was found only in 2010— in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, USA.
*The names of the sons of the two private owners of the fossil.
Saturday/ at the Kaufhaus 🧸
You talk like Marlene Dietrich
And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
Your clothes are all made by Balmain
And there’s diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes, there are ..
– From ‘Where Do You Go To My Lovely’ by Peter Sarstedt (1969)
It was crowded on the streets and in the stores today.
As Easter weekend goes, Friday was a Sunday (and German stores close on Sundays), today is Saturday, with tomorrow Sunday— and Monday another Sunday.
The highlight of my day was to rub shoulders with Berlin’s upper crust at KaDeWe.
KaDeWe is Kaufhaus Des Westens, ‘Department Store of the West’, second in size only to Harrods in London.
The eateries on the top floor include an oyster bar— and I’m sure I would have found caviar if I looked for it.
These shirts and jackets go for oh, $900 or $1,000 apiece. Kind of safe to say that I will never wear these, but who’s to say? Maybe I will— after I had won the Powerball or Mega Millions lottery.
Friday/ a cold rain and coffee ☕️
[Photo by Ewald Gnilka]
I was checking out the beautiful Wittenbergplatz U-bahn station when I realized the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church* is down the street, and I walked down in the rain to it to take a closer look.
(When I was here eight years ago, I just caught a glimpse of it on the way out to the airport).
Then it was time for coffee and a slice of banana bread at Starbucks nearby. Starbucks might be a little passé for many Americans, but not so for South Africans and for Germans. There were no seats left inside, so I sat outside on the only dry chair I could find. A little sparrow came for my bread crumbs that had fallen on the ground.
*During World War II, on the night of 23 November 1943, the church was extensively damaged in an air raid.
Thursday/ the U-bahn as art 🎨
Life is short, art is long.
— John Ringling
Maybe I should extend my stay in Berlin so that I can photograph every single U-bahn station.
Three new stations were added just in the last year or so to the U5: Unter den Linden, Rotes Rathaus and Museuminsel.
Wednesday/ arrival in Berlin 🚊
It was still dark when we landed at Frankfurt airport. I had plenty of time to find the platform for my train to Berlin, and spent some time in the airport terminal before walking to the platforms at the train station.
The train to Berlin took four hours, with four stops along the way.
A sign inside the car said the train ran at 200 km/h (124 mph), but it can actually go much faster—with a maximum speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).
Deutsche Bahn’s Intercity Express (ICE) train rolling into the station at Frankfurt Airport. The train stops for only 3 minutes! Get on board if you’re not at the right car — you can always find your car and seat once you’re on the train. I had a reserved seat at the window in first class, and chased a guy with a general ticket out of my seat. (The car was not full, but if I didn’t sit in my reserved seat, I risk getting chased out of my seat as well as more passengers board at stations along the way). The Deutsche Bahn app also lets you ‘Check In’ to your seat. The ticket inspector can see that, and then he does not have to nudge you while you sleep, or bother you, to ask for your ticket.
The impressive modern structure— with multiple levels of shops and offices and train platforms— came into operation in 2006.
Tuesday/ northbound ✈️
My time in Cape Town is has come to an end, and I will fly out to Frankfurt overnight.
From there I will take the train to stay in Berlin for a few days before I go home.
These sunset pictures are from Clifton 4th Beach last night. The steps down to the beach are called the Seagull Steps, and the rocky hilltop overlooking the beach is Lion’s Head.
Monday/ water lilies 🌸
The water lilies and their flowers (family Nymphaeaceae) in the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden are gorgeous.
Sunday/ here comes the sun ☀️
It’s a short drive from my hotel up with Kloof Nek Road, to reach the turnout onto Signal Hill Road that runs to the viewpoint at the top of Signal Hill.
Sunrise is at 7 am, and I was in position and ready to take a few pictures of Table Mountain catching the first light of the day.
Saturday/ a walk in the Gardens 🌺
It was quiet early on Saturday morning in the Gardens (also called ‘The Company’s Garden).
The garden was originally created in the 1650s by the region’s first European settlers and provided fertile ground to grow fresh produce to replenish ships rounding the Cape.
Friday/ Long Street 🏫
My hotel is in the Tamboerskloof neighborhood in Cape Town.
Theses pictures from my self-directed architecture walk are all from Long Street or nearby.
That’s Table Mountain in the last picture, of course.
Thursday/ Cape Town bound
I’m back at Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo International Airport, and getting ready to travel to Cape Town.
The Embraer E195 jet is made by the Brazilian-led multinational manufacturer Embraer SA and is the largest member of the Embraer E-Jet family.
Wednesday/ birdwatching in the city
I found these two blacksmith lapwings (Afr. Bontkiewiet, Vanellus armatus) at the parking lot of a shopping mall.
Tuesday/ a drive to the city 🚗
Here’s my round trip that I made on Tuesday, with a few stops.
I thought to stop in downtown Pretoria and walk around a little bit around Church Square, but decided against it.
Monday/ the Voortrekker Monument
The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers (pioneers) who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk.
Construction started on 13 July 1937 and the monument was inaugurated on 16 December 1949 by Prime Minister D. F. Malan.
[Information from Wikipedia entry for Voortrekker Monument].
I walked around the monument today, before going inside. I climbed the 299 granite steps from the carpark to the top (at the inside), in the process. From the ceiling balcony one looks down at a cenotaph* that says ‘Ons Vir Jou Suid-Afrika’ (‘We For You South Africa’).
*A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere.
