Saturday, June 9, 2012

Venice is a Merry Go Round


It's hard to believe there is a part of me who loves carousels. Or do I just love the details I observe every time I stand by one?
This one I found in Piazza dei Signori, in Treviso. 
Too bad there is a TV antenna on the background; well, this is Italy, after all.


Sunday, June 3, 2012

Wannsee-Kladow and Back


We had been to Kladow last year in late summer, with cloudy skies and an almost deserted  harbor walk.
Last week, though, the weather was clearly inviting us to give it another try.
As I had suspected, we were not the only ones who had had this idea.
The ferry F10 was jam-packed with day trippers and bicycles (up to 25 are allowed): one the way back to Wannsee the captain seemed to be a bit nervous about being on time and parted from us passengers with a "when you leave the boat, be quick!"


The ferry ticket to Kladow is included in the Berlin AB ticket, so you can consider this an inner-city trip. 
It doesn't look like that, does it? And it doesn't feel like that, I promise.



On our way to Kladow, meeting other ferries and sailing boats





Harbor front in Kladow, with the island Imchen (a bird sanctuary where access is NOT allowed) on the back


Playground in Wannsee, in proximity of the ferry pier



Note: if you live near Zoologischer Garten, you can take the bus X34 to Kladow.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Big City Idyll - Viktoria Luise Platz, Berlin



I observe the way people walk. I want to know how they relate to their surroundings.
Me, I walk with my head up high, so I don' t miss the shape of fun clouds. This one looked like a big smurf, or GrisĂș, the little firefighter dragon...




Lots of places in Berlin have the name "Platz" (square), but they are all quite different from the squares you might expect in Italy or France.
This is one of the few I consider a "real" square, even though its form is rather that of a circle. 



Here you can sit for a chat, eat some ice-cream, be hypnotized by the fountain's dancing jets and listen to the sound of the subway that runs just below your feet.