Time in Alberta

My Dear Great Ones,
After two wonderful weeks in Europe we headed to Calgary, Canada from Berlin on British Airways with a stopover in London.  There was no problem getting to London, but just before we were to board our flight for Calgary it was cancelled.  The only flight cancelled that day.  So we had to spend a night in London.  After waiting an hour in line to get through customs we were told that Celia did not have a visa to enter England.  Her filipino passport is just not that great. Ugh.  So we spent another hour with British Airways begging for a voucher to let Celia in.  Ugh.  By then our patience was gone and Celia went into irritated grade 3 teacher mode and gave the students, uh people at British Airways, a scolding that made it crystal clear that she was not happy with their work.  It was awesome!  Anyway Celia got into London and the next day we reported to the airport still rather miffed.  When we got on the plane we were first brought to business class, a surprising upgrade, and then due to a panel popping open over the seat next to us we were asked to move up to club.  Club? For a second we thought it was another word for economy, but much to our delight it meant first class!  We did a little jig as we were escorted up to club and enjoyed our 8 hour flight from London to Calgary in style.  I think Celia's scolding paid off big time!
 

Leg room, space, unlimited champagne.  Not bad.

Leg room baby....

Salmon meal on white linen.

British Airways.  All is forgiven.

Celia's Mavik Air captured our three main stops in Alberta:  Calgary, Sherwood Park, and Red Deer in style.

On the day before we left Alberta we enjoyed Elbow falls with two great ones.

Two excellent hikers:  Alf and Helga!

Alberta is a great place and it was wonderful to see it again and visit with some great people.

Have a great week!  Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Two Amazing Days in Germany

My Dear Great Ones,

Celia and I had an amazing July visiting great people, traveling to six different countries, and seeing some amazing things.  For example we spent two amazing days in Friedersdorf, (near Berlin) and traveled with Tante Burga, and cousins Silke and Doerte to some great places.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves: 

First stop was the DDR museum, a whimsical, tongue in check look at a country that lasted for 40 years and then got extinguished when the country lost the military support of their old masters (the former USSR.)  This caused the government of the DDR to lose credibility and power and they were quickly swept aside by the people (das Volk) of the DDR.  They made it very clear that 40 years of living under communist rule was more than enough and the wall came crashing down.

 Two icons of the DDR.  The Trabant was the people's car that never changed its style from the 50's.  They also contributed to terrible air pollution.  The wall according to the DDR government was to keep capitalists out, in reality it was to keep those disgruntled with communism in.

Many Trabants broke down to poor workmanship.  No problem they could still be used.

Celia got to "drive," a Trabant at the DDR museum.

 Yeah right.  Real control came through fear and intimidation by the despised Stasi. (secret police)

At the DDR museum one could get a taste of the intimidation that kept people in check.

 Gorbachev the former leader of the USSR and Honeker the former leader of the DDR demonstrating the close ties that kept the DDR alive.  Once Gorby said no to military support for the DDR it was over very quickly for the little police state.

 The DDR museum had many interactive displays that were very interesting.  This one shows the military that was also very noticeable during the DDR times.

 Some flags showing the communist "brothers" that the DDR had during its 40 years.

 Many massive street protests against the DDR government in the late 80's started at church.

 Typical DDR wallpaper that seemed to grace every home.

Celia put on some DDR clothes.  Video technology is amazing.

After the DDR museum we went on a short boat ride along the Spree to see some sites.  The old east Berlin TV tower is in the background. 

Berlin Dom.

Reichstag.  German parliament building.

 After our boat cruise we headed to the Bode museum.

The Bode museum was amazing.  After all that culture we headed to little Friedersdorf and experienced a different type of culture.  Something I also experienced in Canada!

 It was surreal seeing American/Canadian culture in Germany!  Redneck culture no less.

German bands wee cranking out country music in English.  Impressive.  And everyone seem to know how to two step.  It was an interesting way to end a day!

The next day we went to:

Monument of Christ the King) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Świebodzin, western Poland, completed on 6 November 2010. The figure is 33 metres (108 ft) tall, the crown is 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall, and along with its mound, it reaches 52.5 metres (172 ft) overall.

It was amazing!!!

 At the border between Germany and Poland we visited a market that Germans love due to low prices.  The sign is offering delicious geese, ducks, and bunnies for consumption.

Celia standing on the border between Poland and Germany. 

 We ended off our day  back in Friedersdorf, Germany visiting with more relatives and enjoyed a barbecue.   

Yours truly, Soren, Silke, Burga, Doerte, Gerriet and Ingrid, Frauke and Volker.  Great people all.

Two amazing days in Germany.  Great stuff!

Have a great week!  Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

I am a Hamburger

Hello My Dear Great Ones,
Hamburg will always be dear to my heart since it is the city of my birth.  It also contains some great people who I always love to see.  Celia and I were in Hamburg for a few days after our time in Heidelberg.  Even though the weather was rather wet and cold it did not dampen our joy in being there.

 On the train ride up to Hamburg I sat beside someone who was very interested in what I was reading.

 Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station).  A very busy place.

Some Hamburg landmarks include:  Hamburg Hauptbahnhof...

 Michel Church....

 City Hall (Rathaus).

This house was in my mother's side of the family for 104 years!

 Statue of Martin Luther.

  Hamburg has some culture.  We checked out the Kunsthalle and were impressed.

The Kunsthalle itself is a work of art.  Seemingly endless hallway with hundreds of rooms.

 Here are some samples of the artwork that we saw...

The food in Hamburg is great.  Well the food all over Germany is great.  Here is a small sample of what we enjoyed...

 Of course the best part of Hamburg are the great people.  Here is Tante Doerte, Onkle Hermann, Little Luka, and cousin Maren.

Here I am presenting some wine to my excellent God Mother Ingrid.

Hamburg!  A wonderful place.

Have a great week!  

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk