Europe2016

Soldiers nearing death. Inside the visitor center was this emotionally disturbing display of the Soviet soldiers who had been photographed prior to being executed by the SS in 1941.

A photograph of former prisoners at the camp, just after liberation.

As the Soviet and Polish troops neared Berlin in 1945, as many as 40,000 prisoners were marched to sites away from the front. The marches of emaciated prisoners resulted in very high numbers of deaths and are thus labeled 'Death March' (Todesmarsch). This monument in a neighborhood outside the camp is at a site that was on the march.

Berlin Westhafen (Western Harbour), a large inland port connected by canal to the Oder and Elbe rivers. The port opened in 1923 and is still in operation, though some of the buildings are no longer used as port buildings and have been converted to other uses and some of the port has been filled in. I was fascinated with the idea of Berlin as a port. Having spent a good portion of my life in cities whose founding and continued livelihood was closely linked to being a port for oceangoing vessels, my mind has lots of trouble thinking of inland cities as ‘ports’. Even though I've spent quite a bit of time in Sacramento, another inland port, my mind just can't comprehend how a place without foghorns, the bellow of the horns of big ships, constant seagulls, marine smells, and salt in the air, can be a port! See: www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/westhafen-west-harbour-behala

BEHALA - Berliner Hafen- und Lagerhaus (warehouse) AG, the corporation that runs the port. The building looks to be architecturally interesting, hopefully I can get a closer look at some time.

Berlin Westhafen (Western Harbour).

Unloading of Andromeda (!), which was hauling what appears to be gravel.

Passing Ideal.... at Westhafen Berlin.

I was trying here to capture a sense of the amount of railroad traffic in the port, but due to focusing problems, that came out somewhat indistinct.

A scrap metal load, at Westhafen Berlin.

What, in the U.S., would be assumed to be a homeless encampment on the edge of Westhafen.

Birmingham??? When I mentioned to people that I was going to Birmingham in the UK, they invariably gave a response that was some variation on “why would anyone go there?” My reasons for going to Birmingham were multiple. One was simply wanting to see some part of the UK that isn’t a typical tourist sight, another was wanting to avoid the expense and congestion of London, but a key part was also that I wanted to explore the canal structures that were built in the early years of the industrial revolution (in the 1700’s and 1800’s). As I began to investigate how to see those canals, I discovered two things: 1) many of the best preserved were in relatively rural areas that would require renting a car, and 2) a surprising number (not as well preserved) were in Birmingham itself. Since I didn’t want to experiment with driving on the left, I settled on using Birmingham as a base. My original intent, then, was to just explore the canals of Birmingham – but it turned out to be a more pleasant city overall. It’s a mix of very modern and very old, the central part is very walkable, and all of the people I encountered (with one understandable exception) were quite friendly. The understandable exception was something I had not experienced elsewhere on the trip – inability to understand the people at the border station in the airport. I had flown from Berlin to Birmingham (via Amsterdam) and the English border agent and I seemed to be unable to communicate. I was tired and thus probably sounding some of the American Southern drawl that returns when I’m tired, while he had a thick Midlands accent. He kept asking me questions that I couldn’t understand, and he didn’t seem to understand the responses I was giving. He was clearly getting very frustrated and I was afraid he was going to deny me entry, but finally I figured out what he was asking and was able to provide an answer he accepted.

I was in Birmingham at the time of the Christmas street fairs. As had been the case in Berlin, I found the Christmas markets to be far more enjoyable than I expected.

Late (for winter) afternoon light on Cathedral Square in central Birmingham, from my hotel window.

St Phillip's Cathedral, in Cathedral Square in Birmingham

Victoria Square and Birmingham City Council House, with preparations for the Christmas market that gets busy later in the day. Unfortunately I hadn't done any background on central Birmingham, so didn't know that there was famous (or infamous) artwork there. The square is dominated by an artwork (fountain and sculptures) officially called "The River", but locally known as the "Floozie in the Jacuzzi". The centerpiece of "The River" is a bronze statue of a reclining woman (nude), visible here just in front of the Santa figure. Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of her, but see adjacent picture will do (more about art in later pictures): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_(artwork)#/media/File:River_by_Mistry.jpg

The art installation includes two obelisks, described by the artist as "Object". The artist provided no description to the city regarding their meaning in the installation. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_(artwork)

As part of the fountain are two interesting sculptures known as "Guardians". Locally people complain that their faces look like characters from the TV children's show "Thomas and Friends." See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_(artwork)