Vampyre Hunting and other adventures

Intriguingly Budapest was actually two cities, Buda and Pest and a few years back was actually called Pest-Buda, until they decided to bring the two cities together as one. It seems to have lots of different areas to it, the narrow windy cobbled streets close to the river on the Pest side, with larger avenues as you move further away, while Buda is hilly and is home to the castle and feels a lot older as you walk around it.
I have been spending the weekend with Beth, Kate and Diana who have now gone on to Vienna, while I plan to head to Romania. On saturday we crossed the Danube to the Buda side and climbed up to the castle. The Fishermans Bastion, and walls are incredible. Built in a greyish white stone, with towers and statues they look like something pulled straight from Minas Tirith. You cant helping expecting to see the Pelennor Fields in front of you rather than Budapest.
The view is however fantastic, especially at night when the cathedrals and churches, along with the bridges are lit up. Near this is the Matthias church, burial place of King Bela and his wife. Every wall inside is decorated with frescoes which is beautiful, if a little busy, and the mainly dark reds and blues used mean that the church itself is quite dark.
I believe that the Buda hills could be made of limestone, and underneath the castle are caves made by water percolating through, which have since been strengthened by brick arches. You get to go down with an oil lamp because parts of it are so dark, but other areas have been lit up. The Labyrinth as it is so called has been used in the past for storgage, but was also used as a bomb shelter during the second world war.
Now it contains copies of the Lasceaux cave paintings, and styrofoam models of people, but it does add to the atmosphere a little, even if that wasnt the common opinion. I did manage to scare them by pretending to have my hand eaten off at one point. Just wish I had had a sleeve in which to hide it! It was a little like going into the Mines of Moria though, especially as at the beginning they had a drum like heartbeat sound playing.
On Sunday, we visited the Terror Museum which is excellent. It contains detailed descriptions of how the Soviet AVH (secret police in Hungary) kept them in power until the fall of the iron curtain, even after the attempted uprising in 1956. It also talks about the labour camps and the deportation of Jews by the Nazis in their short period of occupation. At the end there is a kind of wall of shame, showing the names and faces of lots of leading members who allowed atrocities to go on. Not sure I agreed with that, but there you go.
We also visited the St Stephens Cathedral which is again lovely, and all the more so because it is more modest. Strips of blue and red marble, with white stone in between, along with a lovely altarpiece and painted dome. From the outside it looks a little like St Pauls Cathedral.
The Synagogue is also very much like a church and I think is either the largest or one of the largest in Europe if not the world, the only difference is in the patterns of the decoration which incorporate the Star of David. There is also a museum which contains metalworked objects, as well as a circumcision couch. Not really a nice thing to read about.
Over the weekend I have started to learn about the most important things in life from the girls, namely ice cream, free lunches, shoes, oh and ice cream. I will try to take these things on as much as I can in future.
So this weeks three songs are as follows.

By The Beautiful Blue Danube - R Strauss
Waterfall - Stone Roses
Three Friends - Levellers

Got to Budapest Friday evening and will wait to tell you more about the place, but what I am about to tell you deserves an entry all to itself.
After chatting to my room mates until about midnight while a group of about fifty (no exaggeration) french people were partying two doors down and still going, I went to bed, looking forward to some sleep and then some sightseeing. I will clarify at this point that there were three other girls and one guy in my room, all american, the girls having been out in Guinea working for the Peace Corps, and now doing some travel in Europe.
At 4am I was woken by an odd sound, and being on the bottom bunk one of the girls opened the door, within a matter of seconds, water was pouring into the room and the carpet was getting soaked. None of us really knew what was going on and just sat around on our beds after ensuring that any items were placed up high.
A drunk frenchman suddenly appeared in the doorway and shouted, heavily accented, "Get out! Now!"
We gathered our most precious belongings, after a hurried dressing, for me this was shoes and small bag and stepped out into the landing. This was by now also covered in water but barring our way to the staircase was a horizontal blast of water at about shoulder height. How were we to get out? A couple of guys suddenly appeared from another room, jogged up slippily to the jet, ducked and got underneath and through. Just think of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - "The penitent man will pass".
Needless to say we copied them and got out onto the staircase only mildly damp, and quite pleased with ourselves. I have neglected so far to say that we were on the 4th floor, and now had to get down the stairs which had become a kind of waterslide.
We got down one flight only to discover that there was now a waterfall barring our way to the next landing. There was no choice but to pass through it. You can now remind yourselves of Last of the Mohicans. We were now very wet. The remainder of our journey downwards passed without incident, and we came out into the still warm air, though still dark, the street now full of what looked to be refugees from Waterworld. We were the only ones not part of a group.
No one really knew what was going on, as no management of the hostel were yet to arrive, and the French were still pissed. At some point the water was finally switched off and some people had ventured back to the rooms to collect larger backpacks and suitcases. They also brought down our bags, although they had let some of the girls clothes fall into the mini swimming pool, and they had been soaked.
Having retrieved our bags we were able to change into dry clothes, but we still wanted to find out what was going on.
As dawn broke, street lights went out and the French began to sober up and quieten down. Finally a manager arrived and one of the girls went to find out what was going to happen, and the result was good. We were given our money back and told that we would be given a free breakfast and put up in one of their hotels for free for the nights that we had paid for.
Taxis arrived and started to take some of the French away, but then they refused to return because they were picking people up who had been sitting around on the street! The situation was explained, and eventually we were taken to a nice hotel for a free buffet breakfast, but had to wait a couple of hours before getting into our room. As such I have made instant friends with these girls and am in a four bed room with them, and enjoying the sights of Budapest together as well.
This has also given me the idea to go to Romania tomorrow, and as the best route back is through Budapest, will come back to see more in a couple of weeks time. What a story though, eh?

For any of you thinking that Bratislava may be just a small Prague, its not. It has a few windy cobbled streets and some pretty buildings but it has a much more working feel about it rather than a tourist destination.
It is very small, but when you consider that the Slovak Republic has only been going for about a decade, and that this was once part of Hungary, and then Czechoslovakia, up until now it has pretty much been playing second fiddle, and feels much more like a County Town. It did become capital of Hungary when the Ottomans controlled what is modern day Hungary, and many Hungarian kings were crowned here in St Martins cathedral.
Unusually it is an oblong shape, rather than the cruciform you would expect, and the inside is not particularly ornate, just understated, probably like the rest of the city. The side altars are hard up against the wall rather then set into their own alcoves, but they are nice, and one has a carving which is an exact copy of Da Vinci's Last Supper.
All the museums seemed to be staffed by women over the age of fifty, and most of them want to say hello to you, they are very friendly. The Slovak museum contained some stuff on the differences between the wine making and fruit growing south compared with the agricultural and shepherding north, including some examples of traditional clothing, and glass bottles containing agricultural scenes.
They also had a special exhibit on Jaroslav Jesek (Jerry Hedgehog in english!) who was a Slovak composer and famous in the 20s and 30s mainly for comedy revues. The museum also houses the natural history collection, and has lots of stuffed animals that look as old as those in the Natural HIstory Museum in London.
The old town hall contains a museum with roman and pre roman finds, as well as memorabilia relating to the old guilds, including signs, weights and measures and tankards. It also houses beautifully painted targets, complete with arrow holes! The jail is underneath, and displays the cells and pits, along with torture devices ranging from thumb crushers to spanish boots, which are iron and contain spikes to grind into your ankles.
The castle is tiny and there isn't a huge amount there, although the gardens outside are great places to chill on a nice day and you have fantastic views of the countryside around, including the Danube which runs to Vienna in one direction and Budapest in the other. It does have a history museum which contained a few paintings and some furniture, along with hordes of coins found from all over the roman and european countries. It also holds a replica of the Hungarian crown.
Have spent a lot of time in coffee shops here as there is not a huge amount to see, but it is nice to chill between the busy Prague and the likely busy Vienna. Have had some wonderful cake here as well, and some Pirogi and some more beer, this time Zlaty Bazant, which is very tasty. It is also just as cheap, if not cheaper at about 65 pence a half litre. At a couple of places you can get a discount from staying the hostel I am in, but it is so cheap that I am too embarrassed to do them out of 17 crowns!
Not really met too many people here, only a Canadian girl who's also studying in Europe, and an aussie couple from Tasmania. There have been some other english staying here but they have been the most monosyllabic! Strangely there seem to be lots of Italians and Spanish here.
If you are someone who enjoyed the shenanigans of Prague, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Bratislava, as although it has a nightlife, it doesn't have all the touristy gumph that comes with it. However if you want somewhere cheap, with an old fashioned feel, then this is the place, and I think would be an easier place to spend a few weeks than the Czech capital.

Why do all the pretty girls speak foreign languages?
I long to go and say hello while they eat their sandwiches.
If I could get to know their tongue it wouldn't be such a test.
For me to go and tell the Slovak girls they are the best!

I'd like to start by documenting some of the food I've eaten here. The other day I had a venison goulash with dumplings which was delicious, the meat was fantastic, and all for about a fiver. I also visited another restaurant near the castle which was once frequented by Prince Charles! I had a three course meal, with aperitif, wine and coffee, and all for a little over a tenner. Expensive for Prague, but still...The pork was gorgeous as well, beautifully cooked.
Recently visited a couple more musuems, the history of Prague Castle, which is inside the old royal palace, with vaulted ceilings and everything. Here they hold St Wenceslas coat of mail (who is a patron of the Czechs) as well as several pre-historic artifacts. They also have grizzly remains of humans who have been buried nearby, apparantly with their hands tied and weighed down with stones in order to stop them coming back to the land of the living.
Also toured the Lobkowicz Palace, home of Prince's of Bohemia. The commentary on the free audio tour is actually done by the current Prince. They have some great collections of guns and crossbows, musical instruments, as well as manuscripts of Symphony's by Beethoven (the 7th prince was a patron) and works by Mozart. They have a Breughals, and two Canaletto's of 18th century London, one from the current location of Blackfriars Bridge and the other from Lambeth Palace. It made me feel quite homesick!
Have seen more musicians on the Charles Bridge, including a blues guitarist, and an organ grinder. Also a great puppeteer with puppet pretending to play a spanish guitar while the music plays. Its very clever. Also saw a concert by a Czech rock band called Ready Kirken, who were great. I couldn't understand a thing they were singing but the melodies and guitar licks were superb.
Been chatting to more americans, aussies, canadians and even a couple of finnish girls, and been given some good thoughts of Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest, so now very much looking forward to going there. Also been able to try some real Staropramen which is Prague brewed and don't think have been to bed before 1am for the last few nights, sometimes later. Even had a free BBQ last night which was good.
Next stop is Bratislava, but first the three pieces of music for this week.

A Dvorak - Slavonic Dances
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Ready Kirken - Druhy Ja

Apparantly Prague means Threshold and comes from the fact that it was a visionary project to be built. Or something...History was a bit sketchy back then. Am starting to enjoy it more here now, and the crowds not getting to me in the same way as they were.
Its great to stroll through the cobbled streets, sometimes realising that you are walking in an area you haven't walked in before and you come across a courtyard or a fountain. The busiest place as to be the Charles Bridge (Karlovy Most) which is full of jewellery sellers, portrait painters and people. Yesterday I did see a group of musicians playing some jazzy type stuff. One opened a bottle of wine and they just passed it round, each taking a swig, before it was recorked. Then when they started playing, the double bass player had a cigarette in his mouth, as did the banjo player. They all looked throughly bored and it was actually quite comical.
I have visited the art galleries up at the castle, which hold some nice paintings. Titian, Veronnese, Tintoretto, as well as Dutch, German and Czech works. One fantastic one, Judith with a Sword, by Furini, where she gazes right out of the picture at you and there is such emotion in the eyes and the fact that its almost impossible to draw yourself away from it. It really is incredible.
The Antonin Dvorak museum is housed in the university area, which is incredibly quiet and reminded me a little of Bologna in terms of the buildings and the streets. The museum holds his viola, as well as copies of parts of his works, including the Largo from Symphony Number 9. I'm sure you're humming it already! The building itself was built as a summerhouse, and the upper room has a fresco covering it which is almost worth seeing alone.
The Franz Kafka museum is also fascinating. They have books and letters that he wrote which reveal a lot about the way he saw the world and saw himself. It seems he was very troubled and confused. The exhibits also have odd things here an there like mirrors and curved hangings which seem to distort reality a little. I'm not sure what his books were about, but I imagine that these were meant to be related. I will definately have to try reading some of his works.
Still can't get over how cheap it is here, especially beer. Have been chatting to a few americans who are studying over in Europe (England, Paris, Budapest) and now know the difference between a Freshman and a Sophomore and what they all mean. Its been bugging me for years. The hostel is also great, a little outside the centre and so it is quiet but with a great atmosphere. They have a little garden out the back and I have made friends with the kittens who live out there. They keep wanting to sit on my lap!!
I'll sign off now as it is likely that I am on the threshold of another night of beer.

Have made it to Prague now, and had a little wander into the main town today. I couldn't believe the number of people there! There were swarms of tour groups everywhere and it was difficult not to get caught up in the middle of them. The city's architecture is beautiful though.
It is also exceptionally cheap, especially beer, which is cheaper than a cup of coffee. I had a huge pizza and two beers for dinner yesterday, and it came to less than a fiver. Ridiculous. And the transport is also incredibly cheap, 280 Kc for a week. To those of you not familiar with the currency, that's less than 7 pounds, less than 10 euro. For a week! A whole week!
I do have to mention that I had a meal a couple of evenings ago in Berlin. It was in the Eastern part, on Karl Marx Strasse and supposedly (as far as I could tell) mainly did Alpine food. On arriving I was given my menu. I asked the girl if she spoke English (only because its a bit easier for all involved if I don't use my strangled German). Anyway, before I could say something along the lines of 'it doesn't matter' and make an attempt anyway, a look of fear spread across her face and she suddenly disappeared.
Re-emerging a minute later with one of the chefs who could possibly speak about ten words of english (about the same number as me in German) and between us we managed to make an order. I ended up with a nice beer, and a huge omelette thing with bacon, potatoes and onion. I have to say it was delicious. I did feel that they were so friendly and helpful that I have a slightly larger tip than usual at the end.

Checkpoint Charlie, not named after a person, but the third crossing point after Alpha and Bravo, and right in the heart of Berlin. Nothing remains of it now, however there is an interesting museum which details escapes from the GDR and attempted escapes.
These were by several means, including tunnels, swinging across on wires, and hiding in suitcases, bags and welding machines. Fascinating stuff. It also says that the GDR, in order to stop people getting across, fixed automatic guns with sensors fixed at three different heights, and there were also several kilometres of runs for large dogs.
There are two major chunks of wall left, one just down from C.C. which is where the former SS building stood. There is now an exhibit on this (in German) as well as an exhibit on the Nuremburg Trials, along with transcripts of some of the evidence that was given. The Judges summing up was quite funny.
The other piece of wall runs along by the Spree, and is known as the East Side Gallery because it has been painted with different murals. Its amazing to think that it has been almost 18 years since the wall was opened, and to see it now as a piece of art where once it stood for all that was against freedom is quite strange.
Stranger still is the site of Hitlers bunker. It is now a car park and small garden for some blocks of flats which surround the area. I think it is a fitting response that shows that life goes on and the only memorial to the fact that he spent his last hours there is a sign which states that the bunker used to be there.
I have also visited the German History museum which stretches from Celtic times up to the present day and is huge. It is very informative and I think I now have an understanding of its history, as well as the reasons for the 1st World War, which up until now I've struggled to fathom. I spent at least 4 hours in there and still skipped a lot!
They have several museums here and I have only been to one other, which contained lots of Botticelli's and Lippi's, some Holbeins, and more by Lucas Cranach as mentioned before. It is also huge. Interestingly, Cranach also did some woodcuts for one of Martin Luther's works.
The weather here has been glorious, and I have tasted some local Bratwurst and Berliner Beer which is very tasty. I think I prefer what was East Berlin, to West Berlin, as it has more character. There are areas to sit outside and have a coffee or a beer, as well as restaurants. One part reminds me a little of Hoxton / Shoreditch and at times you could be sitting by the Thames.
In contrast the long Ku'Damm in the West is much like Brompton Road, with lots of expensive department stores and restaurants. The transport system is excellent also and I have even ridden the U2! Potsdamer Platz is the place to hang out though really, as it was in the 20's. There are cafe's, bars and cinemas. I even went to the cinema yesterday and it is cheap and comfy. They also come out with ice creams just before the main feature, like the old days back in UK!
I plan to leave here tomorrow and head to Czech Rep and Prague and into the true East of Europe. But to anyone who wonders whether Germany is worth visiting, I would tell them in no uncertain terms, Ja, Ist Gut!
I finish with more songs for this week.

Journey of the Sorcerer - The Eagles
Take My Breath Away - Berlin
One - U2

Greetings from Berlin. Am currently writing to you from the Heart of Gold - that is the hostel and not the spaceship - but that is where it gets its name. To those of you uninitiated, the Heart of Gold is the spaceship from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, but none of the people working here have two heads and I haven't confirmed whether any of them are manically depressive either.
Anyway, speaking of hostels, the one I stayed in in Dresden was a former Communist Party training centre, and judging from the friendliness of the staff, they may have been there at the time. I did have a two bed room to myself though, nice for the privacy but not for meeting people unfortunately.
Therefore I toured the museums, which are comprehensive and numerous. The art gallery contains many Dutch and Italian works by the likes of Canaletto (lots of Venice, but also some of Dresden), Titian, Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer, as well as a large collection of German artist Jacob Cranach. A pair of humerous paintings by him depict Hercules killing a group of pygmies who try to attack him!
The 'Rustkammer' as it is so called is full of swords, axes, armour, pistols, longbows and bolts, as well as a model of two knights jousting on horseback. Fascinating, but a little one dimensional unless you like weapons.
Also visited their green vault collection which houses ornate works of art made from gold, jewels as well as natural products including shells, carved cherry stones which you have to view under a microscope, and cutlery with handles made from coral. All very odd. It also contains a 42 carat green diamond which gets its colour from nuclear radiation.
Dresden is a pretty place, and the broad sweep of the Elbe make it a stunning location. Unfortunately it is full of tourists, and although the buildings may look old, they are in fact quite new. Obviously there are reasons for this, but I'm not sure of the thinking behind rebuilding faithfully buildings that had been destroyed.
Anyway, not quite so much beauty in Berlin, but it does have a nice buzz about it. The narrow Spree winds its way up and down through the city, and on a nice day you can sit and have a coffee by its side. The Brandenburg gate is an icon, and has seen a lot in its 200 year history, from originally being part of the customs wall, to being in the death strip of the Berlin Wall and inbetween being looted by Napoleon and vitually destroyed in the war. Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Platz are interesting areas, and the Tiergarten is a nice place to wander.
Met an Irish guy here who has lived in Germany a couple of times, but has never picked up the language! Also got chatting to a German girl who had come to do a test for a job. She'd never heard of the book that inspired this hostel, but regarding her test I told her not to panic!

Single, double, triple swipe
Blades swish and cut through the air
Almost silent
Almost whispered on the air they slice into ribbons
And waves radiating out.

Both, starkly they stand, and
Like a field of uncultivated flowering tulips
Heads shimmering and sheening, stalks proud and high over the landscape
Spinning and turning in their pride over all they survey.

Rotating, rotating
Constantly, never ending
In their blading in the fields and meadows
Silver giants
Devouring the sky and the horizon
Chomping and digging
Biting into the fields and the valleys.

Power full they stand and yet powerless
As still wind bites back
Now breathless, gasping, fish-out-of-watering
Drowned in the dry hot sun
Dizzying no longer and waiting
Waiting
For a whisper on the breeze to break the silence
And a breath to feed their sharpened lungs.

I have now made a short hop within Saxony and am in Dresden, the city flattened by Allied bombs at the end of the Second World War, but before that, I will take you back to Leipzig for a few moments.
As it was Easter, a mock medieval market was being held outside the old town hall in the area where the market traders historically used to meet.
It was full of tudor style market stalls and people in period costume selling all sorts of things. Leather pouches and leather bound books, crystals and even linen shirts and jerkins. I would have quite happily bought myself a costume if I wasn't continuing mz travels!
They were also selling food and ale in the centre, and a man was playing a kind of bagpipes but the back was made of leather. I'm not sure what the instrument was called though. Speaking of live music, it doesn't seem to matter where you walk in Leipzig, you will hear some classical music somewhere, and on Good Friday a five piece brass band were playing opera tunes, baroque, jazz and stuff from musicals to a wide audience - in the freezing cold - and they were still eating ice creams. There are ice cream parlours almost everywhere and I noticed the same in Bremen. It must be popular over here.
I also visited the contemporary history museum which tells a little of the story of the division and reunification of Germany. Again, most of it is in German, but it contains pass books, posters, photographs, machinery and a few videos. And you kind of get the idea of what went on. There is footage of the creation of the Berlin wall, as well as the demolition of old buildings by the GDR to make space for new ones.
On the last day I got chatting to a couple of girls in my dorm, a Swiss girl who was, rather oddly, carrying a trombone around with her which she had found somewhere, but could not play it! Also a canadian girl, and I took her for a candlelit dinner - no joke, but it wasn't like that. It was just a shame she was from Calgary, the home of the Flames and local rivals to the Oilers. Ha, ha. Anyway, we both agreed that it was nice to be able to eat with someone else for a change.
I did enjoy Leipzig, it has great architecture, even some of the shopping malls are within beautiful old buildings, and you could be in Italy or the Burlington Arcade in London. And it has a bustle to the place without being too busy. Dresden is just as pretty, but it is very touristy - they are everywhere! And the old and the new parts are quite separate to the extent that you know that wherever you look it is a tourist and not a local.
But, the buildings are beautiful, mostly rebuilt but I think faithfully. I have visited the three main churches, the Kreuzkirche who's inside has been left unfinished, giving it a rough look, but it is quite effective and judging from the organ music doesn't affect the acoustics. You can easily see what was left after its destruction as the bases of pillars are in a different stone to that of the new work.
The Frauenkirche seems to be the church to see, judging from the queues which are about twenty metres long! But very ornate inside with a beautifully carved altarpiece and painted dome ceiling. It is a round church that looks to have been partly decorated in marble but it is just too full of people, much like the Sistene Chapel, and although you can sit down, it is not easy to relax.
Much nicer is the Hofkirche which is the Catholic Cathedral. Again mostly destroyed in the bombing and rebuilt, but it is beautiful. Not painted inside, but there are a few paintings on the walls, (it being Easter I noticed the stations of the cross which are individual paintings), and carved confessional boxes. It feels much more peaceful within and a lovely place to sit out of the cold and relax.
I plan to visit the museums tomorrow, so will end with this weeks three pieces of music. And this time in honour of Leipzig I have gone classical.

JS Bach - St Matthew Passion
R Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, op 54
F Mendellsohn - Incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream

I am now on my German leg of this tour, and I started in Bremen which is in the north west. The centre of the town is fantastic, a huge open cobbled square and standing within it is Bremen's oldest parish church, the town hall and the cathedral which are all massive and really quite imposing.
The church, dedicated to the Virgin, is built on the original site of a church from the 11th century, but this one only dates back to the 14th century. It is built of brick, with a brick vaulted roof, but a new nave built in the 16th century seems to be have a plaster roof. When I entered, I was accosted by an elderly lady speaking to me in nothing but German. When she finally asked Sprechen sie Deutsch? I was confidently able to answer Nein.
The cathedral is a lot more ornate, and painted in colours of green, yellow and red, but apparantly this was only done at the beginning of the 20th century. Just shows that you can't believe everything you see these days, even in a cathedral. It also has some lovely carvings and paintings, but I didn't know what of as everything is written in German.
Bremen is also famous for the town musicians, as mentioned in the title which come from a Grimm brothers fairy tale which you'll have to look up to find out more, but there is a statue of them outside the town hall. There are some lovely areas to walk in Bremen, both along the Weser river which runs south of the old city and was in constant use when Bremen was a port, despite being so far inland. You can also walk along the old moat which runs north of the old city, along the old route of the city walls. There is a path either side and some lovely parkland in which to sit and watch.
There are also some old medieval style streets, very narrow and a bit like Shambles in York, with cobbled streets and houses close together. But they mostly contain gift shops and eateries, although one does house a Glockenspiel at the top, a triangular arrangement of bells which ring a tune for about ten minutes three times a day. Lots of people come to watch.
But the heart of the place is the huge square and there are plenty of cafes and bistros where people can drink Beck's (which is brewed in Bremen). I got chatting to a Japanese guy at the hostel who is studying photography in Maidstone and we sat there one evening. I had some Schitzel and beer and have to say that it went down very well indeed.
There also appear to be plenty of other things to see in Bremen and around, and you could quite easily base yourself there for a week without getting bored. On the way there on the train I got chatting to a girl from Bremerhaven (other photography student - this time in Essen) who recommended that I come to Leipzig. So here I am and it is also lovely.
It has a great chilled out feel to it, with some more old and imposing buildings. It is also the first time that I have been in the old 'East' and today visited the former HQ of the Stasi, the GDR secret police, in this area. It has been kept just as it was in 1989 with the same cream walls and yellow linoleum on the floor and odd musty but pungent smell. Here they have a collection of badges, medals, clothing, letter opening machines, copiers, phone tappers and tape recorders and cameras along with loads of other stuff which was being used day to day by the Stasi, Almost hard to comprehend that it was still going on only 18 years ago. They also had a drawing which I have seen in the history books, of the profiles of Stalin, Lenin, Marx and Engels all together.
However Leipzig is also known for music, and was the home of Bach for twenty years before he died as leader of the Church of St Thomas Choir School. The museum is very nice, all in German of course, but for the price of entry you get a free audio guide which also plays you bits and pieces of music along the way, as well as a comparison between a Clavichord, a Harpsichord and a Hammer Piano. It is located right opposite where Bach lived and worked with his family, and outside the church there is a statue of him.
Weather is still bright, but it has turned very cold again here but I suppose it is still only April. I am in Leipzig for a couple more days so will have further reports shortly

It was with a heavy heart that I left Amsterdam and I will miss the canals and cafes, the cobbles and cigars...I could go on! Apart from drinking the odd glass of Heineken and the odd cup of coffee, I did manage to see a few of the other sights as well.
The Rijksmuseum was enjoyable, although its a shame that only its main exhibits are currently on display. Having said that, the 'Nightwatch' is probably worth the entrance fee alone, a great painting that almost leaps of the canvas at you. They also have plent of other Rembrandts which are also lovely and interesting to see the way he would scratch into them to create the image of points of light.
They have about four Vermeer's as well, not the one made famous by the film, but still very nice and very peaceful to look at. There are plenty of other dutch works, along with some Delftware originally made for William and Mary.
The Neuwe Kirk is no longer used as a Church except for coronations, and now holds exhibitions. Its a shame, because it would be nice to enjoy the interior in itself as there are some stained glass windows and a wonderfully carved pulpit, as well as monuments to two heroes of the Dutch navy (one of who is buried there) and the other who was the last Dutch man to inflict a defeat upon the British Navy. At the time they had an exhibit on Istanbul, including examples of Koran's, clothes, weapons, furniture and the whole place had rugs all over the floor. Interesting, but I would rather have seen the church alone.
I also paid a visit to the Red Light District, of course, and how strange a place it is. You first notice that the streets seem to become a little more cramped, but there are still plenty of bars and shops around and only the odd DVD shop betrays the fact that the area is different. However, stray down the wrong road and suddenly tap, tap on the window and women are trying to grab your attention wearing nothing but their underwear. Its almost quite comical really, but you don't know where to look. In typical english fashion I kept my upper lip firmly stiffened!!
I have to say that most of them weren't even particularly attractive and easily the wrong side of forty. I can only think that the empty windows normally displayed something a little better! Just as bazaar is the Sexmuseum which contains several photographs, drawings and sculptures of nude men and women, usually having sex or just about to.
They also have a tableu of a brothel and some other stuff about fetishes and the like. I have to say that it seemed much more like a giant 3D porn magazine to me, but worth seeing I suppose and once again quite comical.
Got chatting to a Canadian in the hostel who's father is dutch and his mother has dutch parents and he's going to be staying with family for a while before travelling himself. He was quite impressed with my knowledge of Canadian culture!
Did some more people watching and noticed the large amounts of jewellry and cigars on display also. It seems that the Dutch do like their pastries and fatty foods betrayed by fried chips with huge dollops of mayonnaise, but it is tasty.
I will finish with three more songs to round of this week.

Roxanne - The Police
Dear Diary - The Moody Blues
Fly on the Wings of Love - Olsen Brothers