From 1961 to 1989 Berlin, divided into East and West since 1945, was scarred with an invincible concrete wall topped with multiple rolls of impenetrable barbed wire. Armed Vopos, the East German ‘people’s’ policemen equipped with a licence to kill, controlled from their watchtowers the so-called ‘death strip’ passing between the two Germanies; none of the GDR’s involuntary citizens were to escape the socialist paradise imposed on them. Inhabitants of West Berlin belonging to the Federal Republic were better off – and seemingly unimpressed by their severed freedom. Although fenced in, neither their positive attitude, nor their special sense of humour could be suffocated – nor their creativity be paralysed by the circumstances.
Posts about Destinations
Meersburg: A fine Palace by Lake Constance
It goes without saying that, since there is a New Palace Meersburg, there had to be an Old Palace Meersburg first. The latter was neither a spacious nor a representative enough residence for the then-ruling Prince-Bishops of Constance, who were advised to change address to Meersburg after Constance had become protestant. More distinguished quarters were asked for and they decided for a handsome annex befitting their elevated status (that was in 1710). Later, further posh extensions added another layer of glamour to the building. Now of stunning grandeur and in line even with prime princely requirements, the new Baroque structure became a magnificent venue of unseen splendour – and a fashionable meeting point for the influential and powerful of their time.
Austria. Alpbach in Tyrol: Beauty meets sustainability
Alfons Moser was known as a successful businessman and – from 1945 to 1979 – as the dedicated mayor of Alpbach, a Tyrolean village nestled in a dulcet valley cutting through the Kitzbueheler Alps. He had a vision worldly enough to become reality: according to a law passed in 1953 and prevailing since, all newly built houses had to comply with the existing traditional architecture in local alpine style. Basta!
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Germany. Frankfurt: Trading places with the blind
A Dialogue in the Dark
I had decided to join a group on a guided tour through a museum that functions vise versa to the regular ones: here the exhibits are invisible; they only become apparent to the touch. The guide cannot rely on his eye-sight, he has been blind since childhood. Still he convinces me that I will be safe in his care these next 90 minutes of absolute darkness. For more reassurance, he takes my hand and strokes it softly. I am surrounded by a merciless sea of black. No ray of light gives away where I am.
South Africa: The ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ has ended
Nelson Mandela is dead
August 05, 1962 in KwaZulu Natal: Coming from Groutville in the Midlands Meander, an Austin Westminster was rolling along the R103 country road, chauffeured by Nelson Mandela, who acted as a driver in disguise for his comrade Cecil Williams. They were heading back from a visit they had just paid to Albert Luthuli, then president of the African National Congress ANC. Near Howick, the car was stopped by armed police and Mandela captured. 27 long years of incarceration followed, 18 of which Mandela served at the high-security jail on Robben Island off Cape Town’s coast.