Christmas cookies bonanza

It's that time of year again when Meg does her magic and I get to sample the fruit of it. Last weekend she baked a serious amount of vanilla crescents, although these are in such demand that more than half will be given away to friends who talk the whole year about it. But, the rest is mine. Better yet, she promised my favorite for the coming holidays - chocolate-glazed rum pie. Future is sweet!

Meg with vanilla crescents ready for the oven.

Meg: My Angus Glen 10k race

It was a beautiful crisp day with clear blue sky. Zoran and I were running side by side. I lengthened my stride to pump each and every step toward the finish line. We passed several runners and trotted on.

Ten meters to the finish line, a runner in green shirt sprinted by us. I then realized it was the same runner we just passed, who now broke out into a frantic chase. The spectators were cheering and clapping. It was a moment you know that you've outdone yourself. A moment that you've caused someone to feel intimidated, which I didn't intend to, and started to catch up with you. Actually, I think I've done something good to help push others through the finish line. I couldn't help but laugh. The laugh concluded my race. My first long distance race.

Endurance sports was never my thing during my track and field days. I've never thought I could run 3 kilometers, let alone 10! But the idea started to bud when I watched over and over again the video we made for my husband Zoran's Boston Marathon last year in April. Zoran was running the final stretch of the course. When I spotted him, I shouted his name. He saw me and blew me a kiss with a big smile on his face. He then proceeded to cross the finish line carried by the sound of people cheering, clapping, and ringing bells. All the runners were enjoying their moment. Among them a runner pushing a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, soldiers in full gear carrying a 20-plus-pound rucksack. It was empowering. Zoran whispered in my ear, "I wish you could feel what I felt during the race." So in May 2010, I started running.

It was going good until Fall when I've built up my strength to finish 8 kilometers. I started experiencing pain in both of my knees. And almost at the same time, an old injury in my shoulder came back to haunt me. I ended up with a frozen shoulder, which couldn't be cured even after 12 sessions of physiotherapy. That winter was not a happy one, with all these little aliments reminding me that I'm turning older. I rested and did nothing.

March 2011, Zoran and I tried out a short run to test my joints. It went well, and they got stronger over time. I managed to climb back to 8k and then 10k and then 12k with no problem.

In late September 2011, Zoran did his Berlin Marathon. Fall is a road race season. All small and big towns have their own races. When we came back from Berlin, we registered for the Angus Glen 10K, unplanned. We were lucky to get in, since there were just a few spots left.

The two fresh plain bagels were my fuel. And they kept me going without a hitch. Sitting there waiting for the start turned out to be entertaining—we made two new friends during the wait, and joked and laughed until shortly before the start. There were only 800 runners participating in the race and everything was well organized, including the pre-race warm-up, which was not a bad idea.

Then it started! Zoran was pacing me and reminding me I have to slow down to save the strength for later. But somehow, the atmosphere and the runners just kept me going faster than I should have.

The course went through some beautiful communities before winding its way out back to the main road. Zoran and I were chatting and joking. I was trying to relax and didn't pay too much attention to my breathing. Then I got a stitch around the 4k mark. With Zoran's advice, I pulled aside and stretched. It did the trick, the stitch eased and was soon gone.

There were hills along the route, but the last 2 kilometers were all downhill. That's a nice treat when your legs are tired and just want the race to end fast. The wind was blowing against us and it was acting as a cushion to buffer us from going too fast downhill. I felt like I was in the air. Floating.

When I saw the finish gate, I started pumping, lengthening my stride and passing people, while all the while being chased myself, and eventually, finished, with a medal on my neck.

Berlin: Spandauer Zitadelle

Today the rain decided to ruin our last day in town, but we wouldn't let it. Meg found an old citadel at the end of a subway line, and we went to investigate. We both are huge fans of old castles, so who could resist this charming Spandauer Zitadelle, first built 800 years ago?

The old turret was a special draw, with it's round and creaky wooden stairway...

...and its ghost!

Berlin Surprise Concert

As our last days in Berlin wind down, we find it more difficult to walk around, and we stay closer to the center. One of the squares we missed in previous canvassing of the town was charming Gendarmenmarkt.

On one side of the square is Franzoesischer Dom, where French Hugenots were allowed to worship during the time when they were being prosecuted in France. Opposite to it is almost identical building of Deutscher Dom, from which this picture was taken. Between the two mirrored buildings is Berlin Konzerthaus - in this photo, the building to the left. It was built in 1821, and its acoustic is fantastic.

As we peeked inside, an orchestra was in full practice, but we weren't allowed to listen, because they were preparing a "surprise concert" to introduce the new conductor of the orchestra, Ivan Fischer. Not to be deterred by being turned away, we bought the tickets for the concert.

It was an indescribable experience - the building itself, the concert hall was a feast for the eyes, but even better was the surprise maestro Fischer cooked for us: Liszt, Mahler, Brucker and a piece of contemporary cellist Giovanni Sollima, who solo-ed himself.

Earlier, we came across a graffitti artist at work on a patch of a white wall.

Baltic picturesque towns

Since we had a car, and have been down south yesterday, we wanted to take a break from all the history and monuments, and drove up to Baltic Sea. Our destination was a town of Stralsund, which we found on an overcast day showing off its cute houses like newly done dentures. At first it was all very nice, but it looked--too new!

Half of the town is under construction, being dedicated a UNESCO site, and is being restored, like this City Hall, which is undergoing massive construction works inside.

The other half had this colorful facades, almost without a sign of wear and tear, or being lived in.

Tourists moved around, locals were constantly rushing, bumping into the tourists. All the hectic atmosphere we found so unusual for a small seacoast town, where usually life slows down.

Hungry, and frustrated with this, real-time Legoland town, we drove down the coast in search for a less-active environment to eat, and rolled into Greifswald. I know the picture looks the same as the ones up here from Stralsund, but the atmosphere was completely different. Greifswald is a town of around 50,000, with a university, which is obvious from the number of young people strolling, or biking about. There were almost no tourists, and the town seemed less made up than Stralsund.

Dresden: A hidden pearl

Getting tired with sightseeing in Berlin, we rented a car and drove 2.5 hours south to Dresden. I read about it being restored to its pre-war beauty, after being badly destroyed in the bombing of 1945. I'm not sure what were we expecting, but Dresden amazed us and surprised us with its quiet beauty. It's being called the "Florence on the Elbe," and rightfully so. Wherever we turned in downtown, there was a picture. So we just oohed and aahed around, enjoying it.

Dresden was the seat of the kings of Saxony, one of the many kingdoms which will be united under Prussian rule in 19th century. Saxon kings ruled since 12th century, when their palaces and churches were built, then added to and expanded throughout history, until 19th century. The town's heavily decorated baroque facades are fascinating.

We took this picture at Theaterplatz, looking at the Residenzschloss Palace to the right, and Hofkirche church to the left.

From the square, Theaterplatz, we walked into Zwinger, once a venue for court festivities, today a museum and a gallery of paintings.

Of course, the most famous site is the Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady, which was completely destroyed in the allied bombing, left in rubble by the Soviets and Communist East-German authorities, to be completely rebuilt after the reunion of 1990. It's equally impressive during the day...

...or at night.

Equally stunning is a night shot of Hofkirche, a royal chapel and a burial ground for the generations of Saxon royals.

The nighttime view of Old Town Dresden from across the Elbe river needs no description.

A painted porcelain mural, on the outside wall of Residenzschloss royal palace, is the largest porcelain mural in the world, 102 meters long and 7 meters high. It depicts all the Saxon rulers from 12th century onward, in a procession on horses.

Of course, all that sightseeing is a tiring business, so there are cafes and restaurants on every corner, lining almost every street, to rest in the shadow of magnificent buildings.

Berlin: From Classical Greece to Oktoberfest

Berliners are especially proud of Pergamonmuseum, house of the collection of classical antiquities, ancient Near East and museum of Islamic art. We took a plunge this morning and didn't regret it. As soon as we entered, a narrow stairway took us up to an observation point where near-life-size painting of the classical Greek city of Pergamon was wrapped inside the huge cylindrical space. The lights changed to resemble the day and night in Pergamon, while we observed different scenes from the life of the period. Unfortunately, this experience is impossible to photograph, but if you stay tuned, we have a little video which we'll upload when we're back home.

The most famous exhibit is the one that gave the name to the museum - the real entrance to the Pergamon Altar, from aroun 170 BC. By the rules of the time (turn of the 19-20 century) the finder of the archeological objects is entitled to one third of the find. So, when the Germans found the whole Altar building on the ground belonging to modern day Turkey, they took a third of it, and it's proudly exhibited here.

Another famous and equally fascinating exhibit is the Ishtar Gate

from the palace of the king Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, dating from 6th century BC. Considering the sorry state in which the rest of Babylon is being kept in Iraq, one has to be glad at least a part of it is safe in Germany, escaping the annihilation during Saddam Hussein's era and following chaos brought by US occupation. But, let's not wade into those waters.

Lunch time brought us to Corroboree, an Australian restaurant with such menu items as kangaroo and alligator meat. Naturally, I had to try kangaroo steak burrito. What can I say - it tastes gamey, but if you like game meat, it's nice.

There's no better month to be in Germany than October. I know we're nowhere near Munich, but imagine the surprise when we emerged from the subway station on Alexanderplatz and saw - Oktoberfest stands, beer, sausages, sauerkraut and loud polka music. Who could resist?

Berlin: Eye candies

Since the previous post was heavy on the art and weak on the attractions, here are three random eye-candies:

Houses along the Spreeufer in Nikolaiviertel. The gorgeous facades look at the Museum Island, and lead to the maze of sites and shops, a tourist trap in the historical Nicolai Quarter.

Checkpoint Charlie looking toward Ivan (therefore a picture of the Russian soldier) in what used to be a border crossing from West to East Berlin, and vice versa.

Curry at the Wall - "admire" the remnants of the wall, then hop across the street for a currywurst. While you're there, you can hop on a balloon for an aerial view of the downtown. That last part for a hefty price.

Berlin: Arts and "crafts"

Sightseeing can be exhausting. Seriously! So, instead of circling around monuments, buildings and entire blocks, we decided to take a break from walking inside a gallery.

Gemaldegalerie near Potsdamer Platz seemed inviting with its treasure trove of 13-18 century European painters. Right at the start it greeted us with this Botticelli's classic, "Venus."

Alas, what was supposed to be an easy stroll, turned into an endurance event - the gallery has over 2 kms of halls and paths, loaded with paintings of breath stopping beauty and quality. Luckily, it had a bench in almost every room, for necessary short breaks.

Amazingly for a Saturday, the gallery wasn't crawling with visitors. Probably because the tourists all flock to the museum island. So we had it almost to ourselves, and Meg could enjoy her favorite Dutch master Vermeer--here's his "The wine glass"...

...while I myself found a new favorite - Giovanni Antonio Canal, called "Canaletto" with his amazingly detailed paintings of Venice in 17th century.

Since this Saturday was turned into an art day, still arts had to be complemented by some moving arts. I booked us cabaret tickets at a real old-style German cabaret called Kleine Nachtrevue. The performance was a spoof on the talent reality shows like American Idol, or X Factor. It's called "Be A Stripper, Be A Star" and it was, well you guessed it--about the stripping talent show. It was Meg's first time seeing a nude performance. The cabaret itself is a tiny venue, which can sit about fifty people, counting the bar seats too, which are the ones we got. The performance was sold out, but I hate to say that the most attractive ladies in the cabaret were the waitresses, in cute red corsets. Performers were seasoned queens of burlesque, aged to perfection. And, since the photography wasn't allowed during the performance (duh!), here's us at the bar in the tiny cabaret.

Berlin: Between the wall and Holocaust

Today was the day to pay our due to the remnants of wars--WW2 and the cold war. Since Brandenburg Gate was closed for the stage which is being set up for a concert this weekend, the next logical stop for the picture-hungry tourists was the Holocaust Memorial, just half a block south.

It's a somber display of concrete blocks. We saw the photos before, but one doesn't grasp the immensity of it until he's there. People climb the blocks to take pictures (until they're chased down by the security).

The somber ocean of concrete coffins is only matched by the even more somber display of photographs and lists of Nazi attrocities in the museum underneath the monument.

One can't move around Berlin without being reminded at every point about the wall. Its shadow still looms dark over this vibrant town. After being reminded so often of its existence, we decided to see it with our own eyes. I know it's ridiculous to attribute such characteristics to an inanimate object, but that barrier radiated evil. Even now, clearly only an exhibit in a museum, it still evokes a feeling of unease.

I couldn't begin to imagine how it was for Berliners to live next to such a raw wound on their collective soul and their town.

Well, all that brooding about the cold and hot wars made us hungry. Time Out guide for Berlin has a neat section with restaurants for cheapskates who like to eat good, so we followed it to Knofi.

I can only describe it as a tapas-like bar for Middle Eastern food. Here are 5 delicious "knofetti" ("tapas) we had - too rich for detailed description, but believe us when we say they're delicious.

Berlin: the two towers

Today was a slow day, at least when it comes to sightseeing. We strolled around the Alexanderplatz area, which was crawling with tourists. So, all we have to offer in terms of pictures today are these two:

A view from Muehlendamm street bridge over the Spree river onto Berliner Dom, which was a royal court church, and now is a church and a museum. It's not as old as it seems, built in 1905. The neat trick the Germans implement to be able to charge entrance fee into every church is - they turn it into a museum. So, while one is not supposed to pay to worship, you can't walk around without paying. But then, they charge for toilets throughout the town too. Makes it an expensive business, if one has a weak bladder.

We couldn't resist the alignment of the two towers--the red a tower on Berliner Rathaus (the city hall), and the steel Ferneshturm (TV tower), which is also the tallest building in Germany. No, we didn't go up (yet).

In the evening we visited the exhibition of polaroids taken by Helmut Newton, famous fashion/erotic photographer, who was born in Berlin. He started his foundation here and left a body of work to his birthtown to display. Unfortunately, we can't share that experience here, but we'd be happy to talk about it in person.

Berlin: The charm of royal Potsdam

Continuing in the royal/imperial spirit, we took a trip to Potsdam today. The town rose to fame when it became a royal seat and garrison town upon the creation of the kingdom of Prussia. Its glorious history of centuries past is tinted by the more recent history following the defeat of Nazi Germany. When the forces of anti-Hitler coalition swept into Germany from all sides, they decided to held a conference in the heart of Nazi power to show the world it was defeated. However, because of extensive bombardment of Berlin it was difficult to find a venue which can house and safeguard the most powerful leaders of the time. So they converged, appropriately, to the royal ground in Potsdam, where they debated how to divide Germany.

Of the many royal palaces in Potsdam, the one chosen for the conference was Schloss Cecilienhof. Here's Meg, imagining Churchill, Truman, or even Stalin, strolling around in this garden between the sessions at the conference.

The main courtyard at Cecilienhof still sports a red star made of roses - a reminder of it falling into the Russian zone.

The post WW2 history may be fascinating, but the historical importance of Cecilienhof can't compare with the majestic Sanssouci palace built in 1747. Its breathtaking cascading gardens are a trademark of the area. This picture took itself, I just happened to hold the camera.

Next to Sanssouci palace is Bildgalerie, built in 1764. It was the first art-gallery built specifically for that purpose in continental Europe. It still displays masterpieces by Rubens, Caravaggio, Van Dyck and others. Unfortunate thing is the glare from the windows opposite the paintings, which makes it difficult to enjoy the art.

After being slightly overwhelmed by the paintings, we had to check the town. Off we went through the Brandenbourg Gate - yes, they have their own gate. As a tour guide said, Potsdam had Brandenburg Gate much earlier than its suburb to the east, called Berlin. That dark speck in the middle of the gate is Meg waving.

From the gate cutting through the town is Brandenburger Strasse, crawling with tourists.

As a parting gift, here's one last look at the charming facades of historical downtown Potsdam.

Berlin: feeling royal in Charlottenburg Palace

When we were in Spain two years ago, breakfast was quite a problem. There was nothing light to eat, save the hotel breakfast, and we had to buy our own food in a grocery store.

Berlin doesn't pose such problem. It seems there is a bakery on every corner and in every subway station, so we can indulge in croissants and other freshly-baked buns, and coffee.

Today was overcast, so the plan was to stay indoors. Schloss Charlottenburg was beckoning, a royal palace built as a summer residence, but later transformed into the full-fledged palace where the Prussian monarchs of 18th and 19th centuries ruled.

It was badly damaged in the bombing of WW2, and is somewhat restored in its former glory with baroque furnishing...

...and oval reception room overlooking the gardens.

Here's a view of the palace from the rear side across the pond.

Such a royal adventure called for a hearty lunch: wiener schnitzel with-you guessed it- Meg's favorite fried potatoes. We noticed the portions are always on the verge of spilling over the plate. No wonder Germans are so big.

Evening called for a stroll, so we walked to the Brandenburg Gate to find it fenced off and being readied for a concert - notice the tents underneath.

We also made a quick stop in a souvenir shop in the area, where Meg took and old east-German Trabant for a ride...at least in her imagination.