Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Berlin has a lot of water in rivers and lakes. The largest lake is the Müggelsee in the East, the one most often used for swimming is the famous Wannsee. Most often considered as the most beautiful lake is the Schlachtensee at Steglitz-Zehlendorf. It has a tubular shape and is often used for swimming due to its good water quality; but you can also have long hikes along its shore or use it for diving or stand-up paddling.
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The Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf is a cemetery in a forest belonging to the city quarter Zehlendorf (now Nikolasee) of Berlin, Germany. It was created after World War II and is one of the cemeteries in Berlin where you can find the graves of celebrities which have a strong connection to the city. The cemetery still has the character of a forest and you can enjoy long walks in nice nature; while doing so you will find the graves of personalities like Jakob Kaiser, Paul Löbe, Walter Scheel and Otto Suhr.
Continue reading “Für dich soll‘s rote Rosen regnen”
The Waldbühne Bremke is located in a forest close to the village of Bremke, belonging to the community of Gleichen. It was created in 1949 honoring the Brothers Grimm and for entertaining visitors mostly with fairytales. The Waldbühne offers 942 seats, the season is always between May and September (with a break for summer vacations). They play family-oriented classics like Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin or The Magic Flute.
Continue reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
The capital city of North Macedonia, Скопје, is not a destination that comes into the mind of tourists immediately. The country is a former part of Yugoslavia which received independence in 1992 but is still searching for its national identity. North Macedonia doesn’t have a coastline (only the wonderful lake Ohrid as a good replacement) and Скопје is beautifully located in a valley surrounded by green mountains. With the Romans, the Osmans and the Soviets once reigning there the city is an interesting mix of different cultures and religions – and therefore the perfect place for an extended weekend abroad.
Continue reading “City of monuments”
I honestly didn’t expect to find one of the best museums on the Holocaust at Скопје, North Macedonia. It is modern, it uses multimedia technologies and it achieves that visitors immerse themselves into the topic. The Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia remembers the former Jewish citizens of North Macedonia and the Balkans. It was opened in 2011 in the former Jewish quarter of the capital city, between the river Vardar and the old city center.
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Just fifteen kilometers afar from Скопје you can discover the Матка canyon. Here the river Treska is floating through high mountains (up to 700 meters high) and a dam for generating electricity formed a beautiful lake. People get there to take a boat tour, to rent a canoe or to simply hike through the valley. The place also offers a wonderful restaurant with good views on the lake and two tiny cloisters hidden in the mountains.
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I love Byzantine churches and the best ones are those hidden in secluded areas. One of these is the church Sv. Pantelejmon at Горно Нерези, not far from Скопје in the Vodno mountains. It was three times painted with the oldest layer being from the 12th century CE; the newest one from the 19th century has been completely removed to reveal the ancient masterpieces. The specialty of this church built in 1164 is that it shows the depicted characters as persons with emotions which is pretty unusual.
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Скопје, North Macedonia, is beautifully located in a valley surrounded by mountains. The Hausberg of the city, reachable pretty fast from the center, is the Vodno. It is located in the southwest and the highest point (Krastovar) is 1066 meters high. On top of it you can find the Millennium Cross (or Mileniumski Krst) – a 76 meters high cross made of steel and illuminated at night. It was placed there in 2002 as a symbol of the new millennium.
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The zoological garden of Скопје is located next to the city park in the recreation zone northwest of the city center. It is only twelve hectares large but surprisingly good for a zoo in southeast Europe. You can still see how it evolved over the last years (partially due to sponsoring, but mostly after a 42 million denar investment by the city) and there are areas that urgently need an uplift – but it is already a pleasure to have a stroll through this nice garden and visit around 500 species of animals.
Continue reading “зоолошка градина”
The church Sv. Kliment Ohridski at Скопје, North Macedonia, has a special architecture: with its 36 meters wide cupola and round shapes it could be confused with a mosque. But once you get closer you see the richness in decoration and the icons typical for an orthodox Christian church. It was opened in 1990 (with construction works already starting in 1972) and is therefore a rather young church.
Continue reading “St. Clement of Ohrid”