Andrew's trip to Germany and the Czech Republic -- September/October, 2003


Below is a photo travelogue of my trip to Germany and the Czech Republic. Click on any photo to get a full resolution version. If you're viewing this web page over a modem, it will take a few minutes to fully load. Sorry about that. There are lots of photos. At the bottom, you can check out complete galleries of all of the pictures I took. Here links to the sections below:


Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
I had a 5-hour layover in Amsterdam so I took the train into the city and walked around for a while taking pictures. What a cool city. How can you not love canals and a parking lot for about 10,000 bikes?

back to top

Bremen, Germany:

The purpose of this trip was to attend the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), where Jason Gallicchio and I gave talks at the SETI sessions.


The IAC had a medieval celebration of German culture. Of course, Jason and I couldn't pass up the axe throwing and crossbows booths.


Bremen, Germany is a fun town. The Hauptbahnhof (main rail station) and conference center are shown in the upper left and right. The main town square had historic buildings like the ones in the center and bottom rows.

back to top

Munich, Germany:

These are the images that I remember most from Oktoberfest, in Munich. (All of my photos from Munich are from Oktoberfest. Go figure.) It was a much larger festival than I had imagined (left) -- a bit like a state fair, but much, much bigger (6.6 million people during the two-week festival; 1 in 1000 living humans attended!). Each of the six 6000-person beer tents (one for each of Munich's major breweries) looked like this (center) -- band in the middle and tons of people standing on picnic tables drinking beer and singing songs. There was a wonderful festive and jovial atmosphere. The last night of Oktoberfest featured a sparkler sing-along (at least in the Hacker-Pschorr tent) -- sort of like raising your lighter at an 80's big-hair band concert, except with class.


One of the best things about Oktoberfest was meeting interesting people. That's Jason and I prosting, as everyone seemed to do about every 5 minutes. The guys in the upper right were at our table the first night. The guy on the left is a cop in Berlin. He was aghast when Jason and I jaywalked on our way to the U-bahn. Those silly Germans and their rule following. Everyone was friendly, like the women on in the lower left dressed in a dirndl. (A sizable fraction of the people wore dirndl or lederhosen.) The Italian guys in the lower right just stopped me because they saw that I had a camera: "Oh, you take-a the picture, send-a the email!"


There was definitely great beer and good eats. Ummmm, bratwurst. (My dietary experiment in mammal absintence was on hold for the trip.)

back to top

Neuschwanstein Castle:

Neuschwanstein was gorgeous. I took way too many pictures. Here are a few from the trail approaching.


After getting tickets, you wait in this nice courtyard for your tour to begin.


Because they sell photobooks at the gift shop, interior pictures are forbidden. They do however allow photos taken looking out. Here are two views that King Ludwig II must have enjoyed. On the left you can see Hohenschwangau, the castle that his father rebuilt and that he grew up in. On the right is the valley below.


Hohenschwangau would have been a spectacular sight anywhere but in the shadow of the dreamy Neuschwanstein.


There's a mountain behind Neuschwanstein (Tegelberg, I believe). To climb it, you start by crossing Mary Bridge and admiring the castle below, as I did in the two shots on the top. As you climb higher, the views get grander and grander.


Schloß Neuschwanstein.

back to top

Prague, Czech Republic:

Prague was incredible. I was continually drawn to the narrow alleys, the spires, and the Old Town Square. I originally planned to spend three days there, but I extended it so that I could just walk around for another day. Sights like these were a major reason why. The shot in the upper left of Old Town Square was taken from the Astronomical Clock Tower and shows about a quarter of the view. Tyn Church dominates the scene in the upper right. Unfortunately the Church was closed for repairs so I wasn't able to go inside to see the grave of Tycho Brahe (the astronomer who provided Copernicus which the data for his heliocentric model). A memorial to 14th-century revolutionary Jan Hus rises above Old Town Square in the lower left. Finally, that's the Church of St. Nicholas in the lower right.



Panorama of Old Town Square. Medium and huge versions available.

Jan Hus gazes toward Tyn Church on the left. The Astronomical Clock Tower is shown on the right. This remarkable instrument was both an astronomical observatory and a clock tower. When in use, astronomers would sight the Prague meridian and annouce noon every day with a cannon shot. The clock was built in the 15th century and shows solar, lunar, planetary and stellar orbits, the Prague time and date, an astrological calendar, and has a glockenspiel. It was the envy of Europe for many centuries.


The Chalres Bridge was another memorable sight in Prague. Note the large number of spires in the photo on the right (looking down the bridge into Stare Mesto).


Prague's Castle is really a fortified small village across the Charles Bridge from the Old Town. The shot in the upper left shows the view as one approaches over the Charles Bridge. After hiking up the hill and entering the castle gates, one is treated to a view of Old Town Prague. The gigantic spire in this shot is the TV tower, which the Communists were planning to use to jam Radio Free Europe. They started building it in 1985, but it wasn't finished until 1992, three years after the Velvet Revolution. Also on the grounds is St. Vitus Cathedral, shown in the middle and lower left, and in the lower right. I happened to be on the castle grounds for the changing of the guard (middle right).


Here are a few miscellaneous sights from Prague. Of particular note are the Old Synagogue (center) and the nearby graveyard (middle right, built up because of stacked graves), and the winding streets, alleys, and markets (bottom row).


There were many interesting and old doors in Prague.


I met some great people in Prague. In most of these photos we were having a reunion the day after our "Beer Tour of Prague".


back to top

Berlin, Germany:

The architecture of Berlin (clockwise from upper left): Brandenburg Gate, Berliner Dom, Charlottenburg Castle, and an unlabeled modern architectural marvel.


Berlin was rich with history. Reminders of WWII and the Cold War were all around. Although many of the buildings have been repaired, a surprising number still have their WWII bullet holes and shrapnel wounds (upper left). Checkpoint Charlie is still there (upper middle). A few sections of the wall survive, as well (lower left, lower right, upper right. and marked around city as in lower middle). The city is growing up around the former wall -- one section has to be protected by a fence (!) and another stands as a reminder in the ultra-modern Potzdamer Platz. The KaDaWe (Kaufhaus des Westens, middle right) was the mega shopping center that so many East Berliners longed to visit during the Cold War. One of the most interesting buildings is in the middle left. It was the only major Nazi Building to survive the Allied bombing. The East German Communists stripped it of eagles and swastikas and used it for (I'm not making this up) their "Ministry of Ministries" -- what a fantastic Orwellian name.


Statuary of Berlin.


The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche was bombed out during WWII and was one of a few buildings left as a ruined monument. The shattered, broken tooth spire kept luring me back for another look; I must have visited five times. I labored in vain to shoot the broken chain sculpture and church well (on the right), but the sun wouldn't cooperate in bringing good light (or maybe I need a photographic lesson).


Here are a few treaures from Berlin's museums (left to right): Pergamon Temple of Assyria (2nd century BC), Bust of Queen Nefertiti (around 1340 BC), section of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (6th century BC).


back to top


Galleries:

 A random link for you to enjoy: Vida Kazemi!