Crops

 

The arable land use is really interesting as we travel through different countries.  We were surprised in Italy how each tiny bit of land in a backyard was used to the enth, with gardens and chook houses and general feed the family stuff.  Then in Switzerland there were little chalets and plots that apparently were rented out by the owner to people who wanted to have small growing sections. The chalets contain all the tools etc and you come out to your ‘garden’ and tend it for a while…..

We could not say we saw the same enthusiasm for growing stuff in the Czech Republic as they lived in apartment blocks that went kilometre after kilometre and the only difference in the apartments, was the colour of the building.  I think this more than likely reflects the poverty of the country and also the political upheaval they have experienced in the last 30+ years. 

We started to notice the yellow field when we once again crossed into Austria as we made our way out the bottom end and toward Germany.  Cathy was supposed to Google what the crop was and we have hassled her for days about it, only to be told today by Jan, that it is a crop that is used to make Canola Oil.  Now that we are in France, we have noticed large tracts of land used for cropping and farming, which you don’t really expect to find in Europe as I had expected it to be packed to the gunnels with people (where do they fit them all???)  In the Lake Constantine area, there were heaps of grapes and fruit trees, which is close to the Black Forest (or lack thereof) so it must be really fertile land. 

Jan is Back

Dijon is an amazing place and we could have spent a couple of days there.. (next time, Ian )  The old city is wrapped around what appears to be a residence of a Duke and it is ornately designed, no doubt with defence in mind!  It is lovely and old and peaceful and I feel we did not have enough time, but we have had a taster.

Jan has already managed to go where none of the rest of us, bar Alex, possibly could go…. on the children’s toys no less!

Oh!  Guess what we saw today, driving along the Autobarn??  A naked man!  Well, possibly only naked to the waist (not really wanting to check that one out), but still pretty unusual considering it was sweatshirt weather outside and you can always turn on the aircon if you get a bit hot…????

Milking the Cow in Dijon.  No rhyme or reason why.........????

They Do It So Well in France...

I have so many stories to tell and so little internet!!  This hotel is actually quite good, but the last couple have been miserable.  We collected Jan from Colmar this morning, after a night in Freiberg, which was really lovely.  I am running out of superlatives to keep describing all these old and magnificent places!  From Colmar we went to Dijon (home of the mustard) and walked around the city.  I have photos for a later date…..

Then on to Fontainebleu (mainly to be close to Paris, to collect new passports in the morning!!  ANZAC Day, no less!!!)  We are staying in a quite old hotel, and our room is very small, in fact we have no where to put our bags out to get into them, except right in the doorway corridor.  There is, however, an amazingly French set of doors, leading out to a verandah with ivy and carved marble ballistrades…….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontainebleau 

It looks so much more than it is- but then again, we can't complain..... we are in France and heading to Paris for the weekend!!!!

The Black Forest (of rather disappointing proportions, actually)

In parts of Europe it is perfectly okay to stand on the side of the road and openly solicit.  We in NZ are thinking Papatoetoe Shopping Centre, late at night, after ten, with the lights out, but NO!  Apparently there is more to be gained by standing on the side of the road just across the border into the Czech Republic than one could imagine!  Also the area around the Black Forest is well known as a stop for just such a thing.  We have had heaps of laughs in our travels as we are all quietly sitting in our van, going about our travelling business and Iain pipes up “there’s one” and damn it, he is right!  But we are all too slow to actually see the poor wretch!  We spotted 3 just inside the Czech border and each time, I had let down my guard and was too slow to get a photo!  Probably not that you would want them, but proof is everything!!   

Apparently the Black Forest (well just a bunch of trees that you can see through to the other side of)  is rife with them, but again, we innocent, naïve New Zealanders miss them thinking they are just people, dressed poorly and slightly suggestively, or even totally wrong for the climate, waiting for the bus.  It is more likely one of us would rush out and give them a cardi, or a spare Ice Breaker because we think they will be getting cold!!

In NZ we travel along and as a car game, we count squashed possums on the road, in Europe you can travel along counting…….. nah, not going there!

There Are No Shorts In Munich

And now a funny blog post-  Alex’s legs!

This morning it was warm and we were waiting out the front of the motel, on the street for the van to arrive.  Alex had shorts on and to be perfectly frank, I wish I had had shorts on.  The weather is 14 seasons in one day and it was WARM. 

I have got use to the gawking that occurs around Europe when Alex wanders along.  I don’t know if it is some sort of compliment to be openly ogled by men of all ages, but I usually bring up the rear (because I am trying to get photos mostly!!!) and give them my best Momma Bear glare, but it appears that shorts are unheard of in Munich!  A novelty even!

So, Alex stand on the footpath, with our bags and I stand on the road, trying to make sure no one parks in front of the motel, so we can easily pack our bags in the van.

Every single person (read MEN) stare at my daughters legs!  Some walking toward, some subtle stares, some blatant gawks and head on backwards!!!

“Yes, they are legs!”  I state at one stage.

“Oooohhh, look!  Its shorts, the national costume of New Zealand!!”

“Yes, they’re shorts- we wear them a lot in New Zealand!”…… getting kind of annoyed and a bit loud. 

Brilliant plan enters small brain….  Every time someone walks past with their head on backward I picked up the camera and took a photo of Alex- and the Uncle Perve-y!  It didn’t stop them, but it definitely slowed them down!!

If their own Momma Bear had been better, she would have taught them some manners- also perhaps they should come down to NZ sometime and see if they can get away with that sort of behaviour! (first country to give women the vote, first transgender politician….etc…etc…) first country to teach European men some manners…????

Dachau

We spent the day going on a tour of Dachau Concentration Camp, which was both fascinating and ghoulish.  We picked up the tour in Munich and caught a train out to the city of Dachau and then caught a bus that followed the exact same path the prisoners walked in the early days to Dachau camp.  It opened in 1933  and operated for 12 years.  Hitler initially sent anyone who did not agree with his policies there, or even people who had voted against him.  Then, in a stroke of appalling brilliance, he took the disillusioned 23% of the population that were unemployed at the time and told them they were better than all these other immigrants and Jews, trained them up and turned them into soldiers!  Bingo!  Instant following.  Instant SS.

The camp has an eerie feeling about it and most of the time it is silent as you walk around.  The prison block is especially yuck, as the people were tortured, beaten and abused more than those in the general camp because the Nazi’s actually wanted something from them.  Usually information or just to prove they can dominate groups by treating one person badly and sending out the question of who might be next?

The huts were designed for 150 men and at one stage toward the end of the war they actually housed 2000+ in the same space!  Not much larger than a standard NZ classroom L

When prisoners arrived they were herded through a gate and into an antechamber where they had to relinquish all their belongings.  Prior to the war they got to keep stuff, but once the war had started, not so.  They had to hand over everything they owned, papers, jewellery, photos, clothing and then were herded into showers.  (I would die of embarrassment at the clothing part!!!)  Ironically, there is a huge sign on the wall that translates to ‘No Smoking’ as some Einstein doctor there had actually worked out it might be bad for you!!!  The irony being, nothing else in the whole camp was going to be good for your health!!!

The German words on the Dachau prison gate translate to Hard Work Sets you Free…………???  The Nazi’s had a little dummy thing going where they set up all the best kitchen stuff and washing and clean barracks and when the Red Cross would come round (prior to the war) they would stroll out all the healthier looking prisoners and feed them up and cry hearty.  (bastards!)  Everyone else got worked into the ground and feed very little, to nothing.  They even had to work when there was nothing to do.  They even had to do parade every morning until everyone was found, so if you were fortunate enough to die in the night, everyone else had to stand in whatever the weather and wait until everyone was located.  It gets down below zero here and they had to stand, and stand, and stand…..

The whole place is a memorial now and is very well done.  The guide told us that it is in the German School Curriculum and all children must study this, in the hope that it can never happen again, which you have to admire.  Europe is such a multicultural place and it must have been for many thousands of years, that it is hard to even find what you would consider to be a German looking person.  I can only imagine how easy it would have been for a purest regime to look around and go, you’re out, you’re out, you’re……. out!

One of the most sad parts of the whole tour was a memorial stature called something like 1950s Statue.  It is a little old, bald man in an over sized coat and it represents all the prisoners who were set free, only to find there was nothing to go home to, or no people or property left, so they wandered aimless.  That is something you don’t really think about because they were freed from these horrible places, so it must be better.

Very, very sad.

First Few Hours in Munich

 First observation of Germany...... this is a cafe near the main street and all the seats are single file and are in rows, all facing the same direction.  I know not why..???  First we thought something must be going on in the square ahead and everyone was sitting waiting for it to happen, but it turns out, they just like the order.

Next we head for the Laundromat in our very ethnic neighbourhood to get some rather needed washing done.  I am uncertain as to the reason for the colour chosen for the laundromat interior design.  It was electric and the signs were in German, (obviously), Arabic, Chinese and English, so it shows it must be an incredibly mixed place, much like all of Europe.  We think about immigration in NZ as a local problem, but it is clearly world wide and in Europe, has been for 1000's of years. 

The laundry took some time and we were pretty tired, so bright green silliness became the order of the day.

 And finally, when is a fake clearly a fake? 

When someone wears their Gucci slip on shoes to the Laundromat, with their socks.  To me, that doesn't scream "these shoes are genuine!!!"

More to come from Germany...... tomorrow.