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Tandem Tour 2013 – Dessau to Magdeburg
Filed under: Cycling, Travel | Tags: Dessau, Elberadweg, Magdeburg
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This is a very quiet stretch of river in every sense. From Dessau we took a bit of a short cut to Aken where we crossed the Elbe on one of the ubiquitous ferries. The larger villages and towns are on the opposite side such as Schönebeck. But it is very green and peaceful. There is also a campsite at Plötsky, an option we wanted to keep open. It also promises a quieter approach to Magdeburg through the Stadtpark Rotehorn.
We arrived in Magdeburg again quite late and in the dark. Finding a hotel was not so easy, though we headed towards the railway station and came across the Roncalli Haus with vacancies. Roncalli became Pope Johannes XXIII. The Haus is a hotel, conference/seminar/meeting space, restaurant, etc. My misgivings about the religious affiliation dissolved quite quickly. The people were friendly – they actually put themselves out to help us on more than one occasion during our short stay. The adjacent café served up some good vegetarian fayre. They cook to order; suffice to say, this is not a place to get through in a hurry.
Magdeburg itself seems to have come of age. The cathedral tells a different Lutheran story to that found in Wittenburg. Clearly Luther was not universally loved; indeed, the panels in the cathedral go out of their way to highlight some of his less-endearing characteristics.
More secular is die Grüne Zitadelle (right), the final building by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser (http://www.gruene-zitadelle.de/englisch/). Inside one finds over 100 dwellings, visitor accommodation, workspaces, shops and a theatre. Hundertwasser never saw it built, but his rejection of symmetry and straight lines is clear from the outside. Though we did not venture inside, there is plenty more unsymmetry if the photographs displayed in the foyer are anything to go by.
Tandem tour 2013 – Dresden to Dessau
We arrived in Dresden 1530 on Sunday 18 August. We got off the train one stop short of Hauptbahnhof (Dresden Neustadt) in order to make way to a campsite situated to the North of the City marked on the Bikeline guide in Wilschdorf (and checked the night before online). It proved not to be there. We had to continue on to a site located to the south of Moritzburg (Bad Sonnenland). There we pitched, showered and ate at the onsite restaurant. Just in time (most campsite restaurants close by 2100). We also took breakfast on the site before our first real day of pedalling.
Monday 19 August was the only wet day that we had. Even then it was not too bad. We 
sheltered away from the worst of it at a café in Meissen (having decided not to go back into Dresden). The castle and cathedral (right) huddle together for safety.
We camped for the second night at a site to the north of the small town of Strehla. It is a town of one restaurant, one hotel, a zoo and a massive outdoor swimming pool which also hosts the 
campsite (left). The campsite is spacious – but the showers are not very private – there are no doors to the cubicles and one is also exposed to a seating area adjacent to the Sanitär. The restaurant was unexpectedly good, however.
A bit of overnight rain cleared and we got on our way following the Radweg to Lutherstadt Wittenberg through Belgern, Torgau, Dommitzsch (where we crossed by ferry) and Elster. Lutherstadt Wittenberg is where martin Luther had nailed his theses to the door of the church. After a very late arrival in the dark, we checked into a recommended small hotel (Am Alten Anker) and decided to have a day to explore the town and nearby Dessau, the second and final home of the Bauhaus.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a bit of a tourist trap and its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at nearby Dessau
adds to this. We visited the Luther House where he lived with his wife, a notable business woman in her own right, for many years. The museum in the house is, as small provincial museums go, breathtaking. the artefacts are not many, but they are treasures. The life of the man and history that he made are documented in large panels in German and English.
The room (right) was one of my favourites – the altarpiece at the end has Luther as close to God as possible. The man had quite an ego as well as guts to go to Worms to face the wrath of the Pope.
On the same day we took in Dessau. We took the train (35 minutes) and headed to the Bauhaus which is close to the station. The really iconic Bauhaus buildings are located in Dessau, now part of the university in the town.
The museum – constituting only two rooms – is in the basement. One room focuses on artefacts, the other on teaching and ‘philosophy’. The Bauhaus is one of the few institutions whose history is perhaps best told through the minds behind it (easy when it was so short-lived). Figures like Walter Gropius, Hannes Meyer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Josef and Anni Albers, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Breuer, Marianne Brandt and Paul Klee, to name a few. There is in the second room a large biographical graphic that locates these figures in history from birth to death, from place of birth to places of career, etc. The Bauhaus was dissolved by the Nazis who regarded it as subversive and ‘un-German’. There is a chilling photograph of the Bauhaus buildings in ruins with some satisfied Nazis celebrating a job well done.
Tandem tour 2013: introduction
This year’s tour was really two contrasting rides. The first section Dresden to Hamburg along the banks of the Elbe. For this tour we followed the Elberadweg (paths on both banks) guided by the publication from Bikeline (http://www.esterbauer.com/db_rtb_detail.php?buecher_code=ELBE1). We complemented this with our Garmin Navigation device (see entry: 14 June 2013 https://weiterzugehen.net/category/cycling/). We selected the banks on the basis of places to stay (campsites) and places of interest (Luterstadt Wittenberge, Dessau, etc.). There are not so many bridges across the river; though there are many ferries – some are for passengers and bicycles only, others carry cars and small commercial vehicles. Some use a sophisticated cabling system to cross the river, others use conventional diesel motors.
The second part of the tour involved a coastal tour along the north coast of Holland starting in Groningen and ending at Europoort. This took in 
the amazing 30km-long Afsluitdijk separating the North Sea and the Ijsselmeer. This route was of our own making; but those readers who have cycled in the Netherlands will be aware that the Dutch make cycling and navigation particularly easy. The cycle tracks are superb (though one has to beware of mopeds) – and usually separated from the road. In addition, cycle signs make navigation relatively simple with a numbering system that is intuitive. We used a national cycle map purchased from the Tourist Information Centre in Groningen. The map comes as a spiral bound book which, on the whole, works; though some of the numbers do not come out at the edge of each page. The Garmin navigation device, however, helped overcome this as the numbers are incorporated into the maps.
Tandems are quite difficult to get on and off trains. In Germany it is not possible to use the Intercity routes. One is restricted to Regional Services involving quite a few changes but are relatively inexpensive. We travelled from Munich to Dresden (arrival pictured left) with the tandem for under 50 Euros. The journey took over 7 hours: Munich to Nürnberg; Nürnberg to Saalfeld; Saalfeld to Leipzig; Leipzig to Dresden. We travelled on a Sunday. With hindsight, this was a mistake. The competition for bicycle spaces on regional services at the weekend is high. By contrast, travelling between Hamburg and Groningen on a Wednesday was uncomplicated (Hamburg to Bremen; Bremen to Leer: Leer to Groningen).
Railway stations are not optimised for bicycles, let alone tandems. Some, including Bremen, have no escalators. Changing platforms requires unloading bags and carrying the tandem down and up stairs. Some stations do have lifts, but these are too small to accommodate a tandem. Trains are also subject to platform change at late notice.
The Elberadweg is challenging. Riders encounter many surfaces. One of the least frien
dly is cobblestone. In dry conditions cobblestones are manageable at slow speed (picture right). In the wet they will be very slippery.
Cobbles are encountered in most villages and towns through which one passes (for example, Lauenburg an der Elbe). Equally, in the countryside (pictured right) and in damp forested areas with gradients (the approach to Lauenburg an der Elbe on the north bank was particularly gruelling).
Other surfaces include asphalt, concrete and shingle (again, fine when dry but no so easy in the wet). Good puncture-proof tyres are advised.
The Elberadweg is peppered with campsites, small hotels, pensions and available rooms. We took with us a 25 year-old Vango 2-person tent, microlite sleeping bags, inflatable mats and pillows. We did not carry any means of heating or cooking food. We used either cafés onsite or in nearby villages. Bakery shops are also good sources of breakfasts. We did our best to eat a substantial meal in the mid-late afternoon. As vegetarians, we encountered some very interesting menus; but with some flexibility (especially where eggs are concerned), eating was not a problem.
Rotterdam, museums
Rotterdam, at first sight, seems not to have any recognisable iconic buildings that so differentiate other European cities. However, Rotterdam makes up for this in museums and food. Spoilt for choice, just wandering around ensures that one encounters objects – cranes, boats, steam engines – from the maritime museum (left) with bi-lingual history plates.
The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the City’s primary art gallery, home to an eclectic mix 
of pictures, sculpture and furniture. Some of the pictures are very special. Paintings by René Magritte always seem like old friends, unless one has not met them before as in the case of La jeunesse illustree,1937 (right) with its path occupied by some familiar – and not so familiar – Magrittian objects against a blue sky and deep green grass. There are examples from a number of notable surrealists including Man Ray and Salvador Dali. Cubism in the guise of Picasso is also well represented.
There is work by Van Gogh; for example, Cineraria’s from 1885. Still life is celebrated more widely, with Claude Monet’s Poppies in a Vase from 1883 (both left).
The curators of this museum have much humour integrated into the
plates. For example, Jan Adam Kruseman’s Damesportret from 1829 (pictured right) is, according to the curators, apparently a lesson in timelessness. The unnamed sitter is dressed in all her finery, which, at the time, may have been the height of fashion, but now looks a little overdone and reflects badly on the judgement of the painter rather than the sitter. Lovely smile, though.
Equally, the plate accompanying van Gogh’s Cineraria’s (above), informs us that this painting was supposed to be lighter and more commercial to help sales. However, the plate concludes with the statement, “it is still not very colourful”. Contrasted with Monet, certainly.
There are also examples of the legitimisation of the flat landscape as a subject. Paul Gabriël’s 1898 work, Landschap bij Overschie (Polder with mills near Overschie) is a notable example (bottom left). Earlier one finds the more traditional approach to landscape painting such as Andreas Schelfhout’s Landschap met rechts een boerderij tussen hoge bomen (Landscape with farm between high trees) from 1817 (below right).
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The museum also houses a collection of modern design artefacts. This collection is not really systematic nor specifically Dutch. There are collections of desk lamps, chairs, even door handles all tracing design innovations and materials. There are also plenty of metal and ceramic artefacts.
Left luggage facilities – Rotterdam Centraal
Rotterdam Centraal Station is huge and new. It was very much a building site when we arrived (15 August 2013). The left luggage lockers (left) are located near to platform 17, come in two sizes (5-8 Euros for 24 hours) and require a credit or debit card – no cash. The key is a flimsy card a shade bigger than a credit card. The lockers open when it is inserted. Once open it cannot be relocked without payment.
Charging gadgets at Brussels Midi
You know the scenario, battery low and nowhere to recharge. The three people pictured left are charging phones and laptops with their own kinetic energy at the Thalys terminal at Brussels Midi station. Essentially, pedal and you generate electricity that can be transferred to your device. Neat?
One wonders. First, this is discriminatory. I was surrounded by a lot of elderly people who, to be fair, would struggle to get on this contraption, let alone pedal. Likewise if one is in a wheelchair.
Second, how much energy went into making it relative to what it generates? I cannot help but think that it really would not cost that much to put in a bank of sockets that are attached to solar panels located on the roof for travellers who pay enough to ride the trains.
New crop of cigarette advertisements
Filed under: Cigarette advertising | Tags: Gauloises, John Player Special, L&M, Lucky Strike
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Cigarette advertisers have finally launched their summer campaigns. Four are now visible on the streets of Munich. Galloises (pictured left), L&M (below right), John Player Special (below left) and Lucky Strike (below right).
The new Galloises campaign is not new at all. It continues to align smoking with the good urban – Parisien – life. Like its predecessor (see post 5 June 2012) there is leisure, urban greenery and attractive young people. Only one of them smokes. The emphasis continues with the ‘natural’ sense of the product and that it is without additives.
Meanwhile, the L&M brand pursues two distinct approaches. First, and similar to Galloises, the natural line (right). The greenery is there, there are no additives, the packaging is recycled. Surely one should try them? Compelling, don’t you think?
However, that may not be compelling enough. So, in parallel, L&M have the good value approach (left). A big choice and a good price. Presumably these do have additives at no extra cost?
John Player Special continues with the ‘Just Free’ theme. Previously in this campaign, three young people stride forward from
the shackles of ordinary life towards cancer (see post 23 March 2013). The latest edition has a lone young man jumping over these exact same shackles.
And not to be outdone – or maybe an afterthought – women can jump over them, too.
A winning campaign if you ask me.
And finally, Lucky Strike. What is going on here (right)?
The strapline reads – assuming my translation works again – Almost as good as the original – with the ‘almost as good as’ struck out. Luckily, no doubt.
There are two more in this series – ‘taste the difference’ (left) and ‘taste is everything’ (right). In advertising terms, it is a bit of a mystery how these are 
supposed to achieve customers. Is it something about making the viewer work a little to get the point? Or is it that they are seen to be clever?
Echt! As they say.
Buying rail tickets online in the UK
Friday last was a bit of a challenge on Southern Railway – there seemed not to be any staffed ticket offices on the stations that I visited and a number of ticket machines were also out of order. I intended to travel to Gatwick Airport on Thameslink (First Capital Connect) – never a good idea to travel without a ticket. So I went online and bought a ticket for the journey. When using online booking sites – in my case Southernrailway.com – one has to designate a machine from which to receive the ticket after purchase. I did this, only to find that the ticket machine was not working.
I arrived at Gatwick Airport and sought guidance from a ticket inspector at the gate. I showed him the receipt for the transaction from my mobile. I asked him how I could get my ticket. Easy, apparently. All that stuff about designated machines is nonsense. Tickets can be printed from any machine on the network. This simple piece of information could have saved me some grief.
Killing on the streets of Istanbul
At face value, the violence surrounded a small park (Gezi) in the central district of the European side of the City. The park is being destroyed to make way for a shopping mall and a reconstructed ‘barracks’ that was once on the site. That does not explain the extreme violence meted out to the protesters.
The Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is not known, seemingly, for tolerance and accepting criticism. Secularists in particular seem to be under pressure from the Government. There were violent clashes also on May Day. The Government has also instituted legislation against the consumption of alcohol raising fears of increasing desecularisation, something which has been defended since the establishment of the secular state by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923. He also seeks to establish an executive presidency by changing the constitution.
I’m struggling to download any pictures, but in the first instance please go to http://imgur.com/q3XfOFf from where I have extracted the following pictures and captions. There are many disturbing images.
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Additional video footage can be found here: http://webtv.radikal.com.tr/Turkiye/3653/yorumsuz.aspx
The Guardian newspaper in the UK now has a photo strip of demonstrations in Istanbul and Ankara: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2013/jun/02/protests-istanbul-ankara-pictures?picture=409969309#/?picture=409969309&index=0
The Prime Minister seemingly now blames the opposition and ‘social media’ for the unrest.
I travel more than I could ever have thought possible in my youth. I recently visited Istanbul as a tourist. Events there yesterday are shocking in their own terms; the fact that I have been to the city and the locations of the police violence against citizens makes it particularly so. My ignorance about the politics of Turkey and Istanbul reflects the nature of tourism.
Hotel decoration
When in Brussels, we stayed in the relatively new Park Inn adjacent to Midi station. It was a very comfortable hotel; a bizarre relationship to breakfast – in bed or not at all. But we found better alternatives to a hotel breakfast in the city.
Design always intrigues me. Park Inn apparently is a brand (above left). Those colours under the 
word ‘park’ are critical. So much so that a design/decor firm sold the idea of incorporating them into the internal decor of each room. The result is a sticker that goes up the wall like a London Tube map and then blooms on the ceiling. I can assure you this is disconcerting when one first wakes up.
Be informed 