Day 9 •The East
ain't the West.
After
the usual meat and cheese breakfast, we head to downtown Jena in search of the
elusive $100 Leica (a German camera that usually sells for around $800 without
lens). There, in a camera store, we meet Hans Seeger who had stayed at our hotel
and is also on a quest… he is looking for old military binoculars. It seems
he has published a book on the subject, and Jena being the original home of
Carl Zeiss, is a haven for technical information on optics. It wasn't about
beer, but it was interesting.
Leaving
Jena, we took a quick detour at Bad Köstritz to see the Köstritzer
brewery. They claim to be the inventors of 'Schwartz' beer that is now being
imported into the US. However the brewery and the tavern were closed, so we
don't get to learn the history.
Continuing on, we stop in Chemnitz. Strangely, for a Saturday, the stores are
mostly closed and there are not many people on the
street. On seeing the large (40 ft high) bust of Karl Marx, I remember that
this is Karl-Marx-Stadt! I don't think they're over that yet.
We drive around Dresden, which was severely firebombed in WWII and while it
is very developed, there are still signs of
damage…
55 years later. We surmise that the East Germans just didn't have the economy
to rehab all the structures…quite different than the west. When we lived
in Germany in 1956, I recall several blocks of destruction near the cathedral
in Köln…no signs of that now!
After a short visit to the flea market, we head out of town in quest of a local
brewpub… I need a fix! The Waldschlösschen brewpub was quite nice,
copper kettles and several beers. The bartender was great and didn't charge
us for the beers or the glass. I gave him a bottle of Ramstein beer for which
he was most appreciative allowing me to take his photo.
Berlin, here we come! I notice along the way that I feel I'm driving toward
New Orleans in Mississippi; the tall pine trees along the road! Not what I expected.
Although
it's getting dark, we drive around Berlin for a while, trying to determine if
we're in the east or the west. My dad was here last when the wall was going
up and it's changed a lot! We decide to go find a beer place and explore tomorrow,
Sunday morning, when there is less traffic… we'll see about that!
Note:
This link, German
Beer Photo Tour,
is the same tour referenced in Days 8, 9 and 10.
Back to Belgium 2001
)
After
the usual meat and cheese breakfast, we head to downtown Jena in search of the
elusive $100 Leica (a German camera that usually sells for around $800 without
lens). There, in a camera store, we meet Hans Seeger who had stayed at our hotel
and is also on a quest… he is looking for old military binoculars. It seems
he has published a book on the subject, and Jena being the original home of
Carl Zeiss, is a haven for technical information on optics. It wasn't about
beer, but it was interesting.){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}