Staying in Cancun over the Christmas holidays, I decided to leave my all-inclusive escape bubble and journey out to see some of the amazing Yucatan beauty. I have been to Cancun before and seen the Mayan ruins, visited Tulum and Playa del Carmen, but had never ventured to Isla Mujeres, a beautiful little island about 30 minutes ferry ride from Cancun.
While there are several ferry companies to choose from, the easiest by far is Ultramar Passenger Ferry which has 4 different launch sites just in the Cancun area. One of them was literally next door to my hotel. The cost was $19 US round trip and they took US dollars, Pesos, and credit cards. From my location trips left almost every hour and half with the last trip going to the island at 8:45 PM. Final return trip from the island was at 9:15 PM.
You land at the Passenger terminal docks right in the middle of downtown Isla Mujeres. A magical little town full of tourist shops, all types of hotels and hostels, bars and restaurants, transportation businesses that rent bikes, mopeds, and golf carts. The downtown is also right next to Playa Norte, considered one to the best beaches in the Caribbean (locals say the world). It is a 5 mile stretch of beautiful white sand located on the northern part of the island. It is full year-round with tourists from all over the world mixing with the locals making for a very bohemian feel. It is also an amazing place to watch a Caribbean sunset while drinking a cool brew!
Preferred transportation is by moped or golf cart that are very easy to find all over the downtown area of Isla Mujeres. Golf carts rent for 200 pesos for an hour to 700 pesos for all day. Current exchange rate is about 17 pesos to 1 US dollar. I rented a golf cart for three hours and it was a perfect way to travel around the island even if it was not very fast. As you travel south out of downtown you pass through the residential areas of Isla Mujeres. Like all parts of Mexico you will find nice and poor areas, but overall the standard of living on the island is rather high. The Cancun area has an unemployment rate of under 2 percent.
After about 20 minutes you will come to a fork in the road. To the left will lead you to Punta Sur with the old lighthouse, an Mayan fort with a sculpture garden on the cliffs above the end of island, and to the east coast road back to downtown. To the right will take you up a thin peninsula that leads back toward the north. Here you will find several private luxury hotels and the famous Tortugranja (Turtle Farm) and the Dolphin Discovery park. Breathtaking views are in all directions as you travel around the island. To completely cover the island without many stops would take about an hour but each few feet there is another view, another place to relax with a cold beer or another taqueria serving delicious fresh seafood.
As you drive up the eastern coast road you continue to pass amazing views of the Atlantic although the coast here is much rockier. Also, this part of the island has some amazing private homes that reflect the great wealth that this part of Mexico has, and the very interesting mix of architecture brought by the different cultures that have passed through this area in the last 500 years.
Returned to the town of Isla Mujeres around sunset, turned in the golf cart, and had a very lovely dinner on the beach watching a sunset while eating fresh fish tacos. Caught the 6:45 ferry back to Cancun and was in my hotel room by 7:30 PM. A perfect Christmas day!
Other things to do on Isla Mujeres are to take advantage of the world-class snorkeling and scuba diving. Dive shops exist all over the island. Another huge attraction for diving and snorkeling fans is the famous MUSA Underwater Museum of Art which is an underwater museum located in the National Marine Park surrounding the Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Punta Nizuc area. MUSA contains over 500 sculptures of more than six different artists. The sculptures provide areas for coral growth and contribute to give shelter for fish. The Museum highlights the relationship between art and environmental science, and all of the sculptures are made from materials that promote coral life. The museum can be enjoyed by both divers and snorkelers.
In the last 80 years, the city of Berlin may have gone through more changes than anywhere else in Europe. First, the capital of a struggling and failing democracy, then the capital of a monstrous totalitarian regime, then an invaded city, then a divided city, then the epicenter of a political battle of the two most powerful entities in the world, then a united city, and now like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the capital of the most powerful democracy in Europe. That is a lot of history both good and bad, and Berlin faces that history in both celebration and somber recollection.
Two of the most somber places to face some of that dark history are the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, and the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism. The first is a memorial to the murdered Jewish people throughout Europe during the Nazis’ reign of terror, and the second is a memorial to that minority that Hitler almost eliminated in his racial purges, the Sinti and Roma peoples. The Sinti and Roma are nomadic people found throughout Europe and the United States. Often both groups are referred to as Roma, collectively, they are popularly referred to as Gypsies.
Before the Second World War, Berlin had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, and the Murdered Jews memorial seems to speak to that history. With its location in the city centre directly across from Tiergarten, Berlin’s large main park, and near to both the Reichstag buildingand the Brandenburg Gate, the monument provides a central reference point for visitors.
The monument is composed of 2711 rectangular concrete blocks, laid out in a grid formation, the monument is organized into a rectangle-like array covering about 5 acres. The design allows for long, straight, and narrow alleys between them while the ground below them undulates in dips and rises. Designed by American architect Peter Eisenman, the number of slabs (or stelaes) is not symbolic, but rather fit the dimensions designed by Eisenman. The slabs are made of gray concrete treated with a protective chemical coating that allows for the easy removal of graffiti and other forms of defacement.
There are many interpretations to the memorial design. Eisenman’s own description states, “the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.” The most common is that of a graveyard. And another is that the size, scale and straight lines of the design evoke the discipline and unquestioning bureaucratic order that kept the killing machine grinding along. There are parts of the memorial where you entered a dip and you are surrounded by massive blocks that cut you off from the sights and sounds of the city around you.
Beneath the slabs, is the real center of the memorial. The information center, which is located underground at the site’s eastern edge, begins with a timeline that lays out the history of the Final Solution, from when the National Socialists (Nazis) took power in 1933 through the murder of 500,000 Soviet Jews in 1941. The rest of the exhibition is divided into four rooms dedicated to personal aspects of the tragedy, like reading of the letters thrown from the trains that transported the Jews to the death camps, or The Room of Families which focuses on the fates of 15 specific Jewish families from different parts of Europe, or the Room of Names, where names of all known Jewish Holocaust victims obtained from the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel are read out loud.
To walk through these rooms is both humbling and horrifying. Humbling in the realization of the millions of people who suffered just because of their race, religion or sexual orientation. And horrifying when you realize the sheer scale of the Final Solution, and its amazing ability and efficiency to care out that goal. You have to look for the information center, and many critics have questioned the placement of the center. It is underground and not well-marked, but while the above slabs of concrete evoke a graveyard, the personal stories you hear of ruined lives and families and survival in the information center will break your heart.
The complete opposite of the Jewish Holocaust Memorial is the small, quiet, almost hidden Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism. The memorial is located inside Tiergarten just north of the Brandenburg Gate. This monument is dedicated to the memory of the 220,000 – 500,000 people murdered in the Porajmos – the Nazi genocide of the European Sinti and Roma peoples.
The memorial was designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan and consists of a dark, circular pool of water at the centre of which there is a triangular stone. The triangular shape of the stone is in reference to the badges that had to be worn by concentration camp prisoners. The stone is retractable, and a fresh flower is placed upon it daily. In bronze letters around the edge of the pool is the poem ‘Auschwitz’ by Roma poet Santino Spinelli.
While thousands stream through the other memorial because of its location and unique design, this quiet pool attracts far fewer people, but the message is no less powerful. The pool, the poem written along the pool, and the quiet respect people show give this small memorial a power that truly moves you.
There are certainly more fun thinks to do in Berlin, but importance that the city itself places on these memorials in the heart of Berlin make them essential places to visit. Not only to reflect on those who have gone, but to make sure horrors like this near occur again.
(Many of the facts about the Memorials were supplied by Wikipedia and other sources.)
On a recent business trip to the Bay Area, I had the chance to spend part of the day in Monterey, California. I had not been to Monterey in about 18 years, and I was both astonished but not surprised by the changes along the world-famous street “Cannery Row.”
Cannery Row is most famous for the John Steinbeck book written about it in 1945, Cannery Row. The book is set during the Great Depression and tells the tale of the down and out fishermen and cannery workers on a street lined with sardine canneries. The actual row was known as Ocean View Avenue until it was named Cannery Row in 1946 in honor of Steinbeck’s book.
Yet, the story of Cannery Row started long before that with the arrival in the early 1850’s of Chinese sailing families into the area, and they began fishing in the rich waters of Monterey Bay. During the 1880’s, the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in the area opening the rugged Monterey Peninsula to the world. By around 1902, the beginnings of what would be a massive fishing industry along the Monterey coast began with the first small canneries opening. In 1906, a huge fire destroyed much of the “Chinatown” area of Monterey ending their dominance among the local fishing workers, and they were soon replaced by Japanese and Filipino workers and other fishermen who also began to live around Ocean View Avenue.
From around 1916 to 1945, the Row became the “Sardine Capital of the World” as is supplied tons and tons of sardines for canning and for fertilizer. It only ended when they had totally over fished the Monterey Bay and surrounding areas of sardines. Then a slow sad decline began as the canneries closed leaving their huge metal skeletons empty along the coast. The buildings and small wood frame houses built among the canneries began to fill with painters and writers, bars and whore houses and bums.
During the 1950’s and 60’s, small family restaurants and eateries began to open along the Row making it more of a family atmosphere as tourism began to drift in due to Steinbeck’s book and the artist colony that now was established there. In 1984, the biggest change to the row since the end of the canneries came in the form of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium with its aggressive educational outreach programs to the local school children in the area.
When I first visited the area in 1998, the Row had a strong tourist vibe going but the shops housed antiques stores, thrift shops, second hand stores, and vintage clothing stores. A couple of chain restaurants had opened along the Row, but it still seemed to be dominated by local family places. My then wife and I bought a beautiful 3-piece vase and bowl set made of cut blue glass that I still use today. The Row still maintained a semi-hippy vibe and charm that went well with the Monterey coast and weather.
Today the Row is a tourist haven filled with upscale eateries and bars, Starbucks, and t-shirt shops. Anchored by the Aquarium, the cannery buildings that are still there have been turned into small indoor malls featuring all types of shops selling tourist junk made somewhere else. All the vacant lots are being filled with condos and upscale hotels. It was a November weekday morning and the street was crowded, during the summer it must be a parking nightmare with bumper to bumper traffic. There are also several B&B’s in the area that are worth checking out for a nice stay along the Row.
The City has done a nice job of trying to keep some the history of the Row with a recreation trail right in the middle of the area featuring markers along the way describing the history of the area and some of the older buildings that are now historically preserved. The area is a little hilly but totally walk-able and is contained in a 7 by 3 block area along the coastline. There is a wonderful open-air plaza with good eateries and ocean views called Steinbeck Plaza featuring a huge statue with several of the significant people who helped turn the Row into a vibrant destination including John Steinbeck and the famous marine biologist, Ed Ricketts.
The Bay is also on the comeback. It was turned into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the protected area extends for 35 miles offshore. It is a perfect place to go on a kayak or stand up paddle board ride, or just to take a walk along McAbee or San Carlos beaches to experience the beautiful Monterey coast.
Cannery Row is certainly worth your time to see and visit. Along with Fisherman’s Wharf and the Monterey Marina and the Aquarium, there are tons of things to do and experience. It is certainly has the potential for a great romantic weekend getaway.
My only personal drawback is the memory of a great day in the 90’s wandering through antique and second-hand stores discovering treasures of the early 20th century. All of that is gone now. Sometimes I wish progress was not so destructive in turning quaint, off the beaten track, tourist friendly environments into themed mega-shopping malls filled with chain restaurants and t-shirt shops. There is a sense that part of California’s amazing history is slipping away, and no one seems to be noticing.
But do not pay attention to me, go experience beautiful Monterey and Cannery Row for a magical day filled with history and shopping fun for yourself.
Definition of Terms:
Zim – Nickname for the country of Zimbabwe.
Zimbo (s) – people born and raised in Zimbabwe. Currently living there or abroad are always Zimbos in their heart.
Eish – an all-purpose expression by Zimbos to signify amazement, frustration, excitement, or acceptance of something they cannot change.
Capital City, Harare
Last night in the capital city of Harare, Zimbabwe around 4 AM in the morning, the military forces of the country removed the 93-year-old dictator who had ruled for over 41 years and showed him the door. Bloodlessly, I might add so far. Presently, he is under house arrest in his 26-bedroom mansion awaiting his fate.
Zimababwe’s President Robert Mugabe in 2000 (AP Photo/Christine Nesbitt)
The dictator is Robert Mugabe, also known to his fellow Zimbos as “Uncle Bob”. For most Zimbos, that is not a term of endearment, but a name that symbolized that unwanted family member who is always there, stealing your food or DVD’s or extra cash from your wallet, never returning anything he borrowed, and constantly threatening your kids to behavior and respect him. In other words, the uncle who is a total jackass! Only difference with “Uncle Bob” is that he did all these things at gunpoint. Robert Mugabe was a ruthless, brutal man who was highly educated and very intelligent that managed through intimidation and murder to hang on to power for four decades.
CIty Centre, Harare
This morning Zimbos around the world woke up with a collective “Eish”, as people did not know what to think or whether to believe the news that they were hearing. Even at this moment on the ground in Zim, the news about what is going on is guarded and sketchy.
For those of you who do not know, Zimbabwe is located in the south-eastern part of Africa just above the country of South Africa. At one time it was one of the richest of all African countries, but after 40 years of “Uncle Bob” it is now one of the poorest with a broken economy, almost worthless money, and raging unemployment.
Driving into Mutare
It is also one of the most beautiful, friendly, and hopeful places on the planet Earth. That is why I am writing this love letter to Zim and my fellow Zimbos. No, I was not raised there, but I have come to think of Zim as my second home. During 2012 to 2015, I lived and worked in Harare and all around Zim for a total of about 6 months. I traveled to all corners of the country and came to love its beautiful rivers, warm climate, lush forests, open savannahs with endless skies that make Montana’s Big Sky Country look small in comparison, dark evening skies filled with stars and its friendly, welcoming people.
I first went to Zim to work with a local arts NGO known as NIAA as a judge for their national drama festival. The next two years, I worked with them to develop an education program for rural teachers. The final year that I was there, I directed and co-produced a play for the country’s leading theatre organization, Reps Theatre in Harare. I also debuted a one-man show there and toured it around Zim and South Africa. My local Zim friends began to call me “an honorary Zimbo” for my obvious affection for their country and culture. Whether that was a joke or not, I took it as a serious compliment. So much so that I almost sold my home in Los Angeles and moved there full time to work as a theatre artist and teacher.
Workshop with Rural Drama Teachers
Why didn’t I move there if I love it so much? Well, I have to admit I am a product of my country, the USA. I like to be able to turn on a light and have it work every time. I like being able to drink the water from my tap. I like to be able to know that my money is worth something and it will always be that way. I like being able to openly complain about the idiot who is currently running my country without getting locked up. Zimbos could not do that. You always had to watch what you said in public and to whom. Eish!
Yet, every morning people all over Zim woke up not knowing if anything worked or what the government would take from them that day. Bob beat them down for 40 years, but what I remember was a people who were endlessly cheerful and hopeful. That is all they had to hang onto. Hope that one day it would get better. One day Uncle Bob would finally leave. And there would the opportunity to have things be better again. HOPE.
Zim’s iconic airport
But now after 40 years of turmoil and oppression and diminishing returns, he may be gone. Cannot say so yet, because Uncle Bob is a tricky guy with a lot of resources. Yet, there may be some hope for Zim yet. A chance to start over and realize the potential that these amazing people have and return their country to at least part of its former glory.
Zimbabwe is home of one of the oldest civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa. When the Portuguese found the Zimbos’ (known as the Shona) capital city (Great Zimbabwe) during the 1500’s, that city was already over 800 years old. There is a lot of history, a lot of pride and a lot of determination in Zim. Hopefully, they will get a government that they truly deserve, and it will allow them to flourish.
Kwe-Kwe main drag
As they say in Zim when things need to get done, “Let’s make a plan.” Hopefully, there are a lot of Zimbos making plans right now for a brighter future.
Recently had dinner and drinks at the Hudson in West Hollywood, a casual eatery featuring American cuisine on the corner of Santa Monica and Crescent Heights at 1114 N Crescent Heights Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046-5007.
First, how is it possible for a restaurant to open anywhere in LA and not have parking? Literally, there is no parking for customers, and the eatery is located on the corner of residential and commercial streets in West Hollywood. How does that happen?
This a cool thing. They have actually built the restaurant around living trees. You can dine, have a drink, or talk to friend in a restaurant with a full grown, stuck in the real earth, peel the bark off tree next to your table. Very cool use of space and keeping nature around.
Hudson Bar
The space has a very woodsy vibe with a lot of exposed wood and ceiling beams yet maintains a very cozy feel with booths along the walls, and tons of tables in the middle of the room with a small but lively bar area in the back of the building.
When my friend and I got there, the place was pretty empty for dinner. Yet, the host, while not rude, also just zipped us to our table, placed the menus on the table and was gone before we even sat down. Our waitress was nice enough, but was not very personable. She kept rushing away from the table to do something else. I just had the sense that the staff was trying to turn the table as fast as possible. We both felt like we were being slightly rushed the entire meal.
We started by sharing an Argula and Avocado Salad with parmesan, lemon, and olive oil. Very tasty and fresh, it was a good start to the meal. For the main course, she ordered the Hudson Brown Rice dish and I got the Pan Roasted Chicken with a lemon chill sauce. Both dishes were fine and professional prepared, but were kind of bland and not very exciting.
I like to check the service sometimes by asking for items on the side. This time I asked for the chill sauce on the side instead of on the chicken. The waitress acknowledged this and wrote it down, yet when it came the sauce was already on the chicken. I asked for more sauce on the side, and this created a real stir among the staff. The server went to get the waitress, who came to the table, then a bus boy came, followed by the manager. All of them telling me that the extra sauce (which was not extra) would take time because it had to be made to order for each chicken dish. I was almost finished with the chicken when a small dollop of lemon chill sauce arrived on my table. It had taken them 20 minutes to make this little bit of sauce.
We paid the dinner bill, again feeling rushed. To stretch the evening out, we decided to get a cocktail in the bar. What a difference! The bartenders were very friendly, made great cocktails, and while they were busy they actually tried to carry on a conversation with you. The cocktails are handmade and really very good. I was introduced to “white whiskey” something I had never heard of before. The bartender explained to me that whiskey gets it color from the barrels it is aged in, so this whiskey had not been aged for very long and that process had not been done in wooden barrels.
Trees growing right from the eatery
By the time, we got to the bar it was hopping. It had a real West Hollywood neighborhood feel to it with a very mixed crowd both by age and lifestyle. This a bar that I would come back to again.
Overall, not a bad dinner, but nothing to write home about. Bland food, confusion on the order, rushed service offset by a wonderful bartender and great drinks. So a real tossup as to whether to return or not. If you look at their reviews online, it is also a mixed bag. Great food and wonderful times for some, and sloppy bad service for others.
Check it out yourself and let me know what you think.
The Hudson 1114 N Crescent Heights Blvd, West Hollywood, CA. Call for reservations (323) 654-6686.
I have just returned from an around-the-world trip – Europe, Middle East, India, through Japan back to Los Angeles. I took 1000’s of photos, visited ancient and modern cities, saw tons of castles, museums, and old ruins. Visited old friends, met new ones and saw people and places that I will always remember.
I also fancy myself a travel writer. I have a blog – tripswithjames.com. My readership is small but slowly growing. I have my website, a FB page, a Google page, and an Instagram page. I have tried to publish at least one article a week and on the recent trip I was up to two per week. I posted 100’s of photos on my sites and use an app called Hootsuite that can publish on up to 10 sites at the same time (to save time).
I try to take this new hobby seriously, so that it may one day turn into something real. Like a real business. That is why I was shocked when I went to start a new blog post a week ago, and had nothing to say????
While on my journeys I had posted 11 blogs about Iceland and parts of Germany. I had not even gotten to India yet (I could do 11 on India alone). Yet, on that morning as I sat at my desk and tried to write about Berlin (where I spent a week) – nothing. I did not even want to edit some photos and post those. Just blah!
Of course, I was back home and my “REAL” life was taking over again. My job as a college professor, my ownership of an Airbnb guest house, and editing my new short film as a film/theatre director slowly invaded the space that once was taken up with the next adventure and the next place to see and experience. Slowly, the journey was pushed out replaced by the need to have the dryer fixed, a new dishwasher delivered, and the carpeting in the apartment replaced with laminate flooring.
Yet blah?
Travel has been my increasingly important passion over the past 5 years. Something that I dream about and plan for and save for, so that I can see something I have not seen before and experience something that I have not done before. So why the writer’s block?
Then, I started to put pressure on myself for not writing. I would make plans to sit down and write, but always found a way to put it on the back burner. Always found an excuse or just plain forgot. What was going on? And the pressure built because if you are writing a blog – you have to be consistent to build an audience for your work. And I had made a promise to myself to be consistent. Yet, nothing. What was going on??
One night during an editing session on the new short film (called Fancy Meeting You Here) I mentioned this block to the writer/producer of the film. How I was so frustrated and stressed about not writing, and she said write about that.
What? Write about not writing? Why would anyone want to read that?
She told me that I am a creative person, and I am upset with not being creative. That I had just returned from a world tour for 6 weeks where my only responsibility was getting to an airport on time for my next flight. Other than that, I had no restrictions at all. I could do anything I wanted too. Now, my real life and all the things that entails was taking over and blocking out the journey and the ideas that it generated. The very jobs that make my current passion possible were getting in the way of that passion.
Further, she explained, is that I have a blog about travel but also all the things related to travel. Wasn’t it ironic that the very things that made the blog possible were keeping me from doing the blog. So write about that frustration.
Great, I get that I acknowledged, but who wants to read about a travel writer who cannot write. Who cares?
The problem was not unique to me, my friend pointed out. Everyone gets overwhelmed by daily life. The mortgage, the kids, the job, the car, the repairs, the in-laws, your boss. It all adds up to take us away from what is really important to us. You have to make an active attempt every day to focus on what is important to you, because no one else is going to make that space for you. Some days you get the time and other days you don’t, but you have to always try to find the space to create or whatever it is that is important to you. And that is what you should write about.
Then we went back to editing the film.
So that is what today’s blog is about. Finding the time to do what it is that you want to do. It won’t be there every day, but if you plan for it and make space for it, most days it will be. Daily life is going to happen regardless. Your responsibilities, your obligations and society all work to take over your moment to moment life. Your daily obligations can overwhelm you, and soon you may not realize that you have lost control of your own day to day existence.
It would be very easy to put off writing for a day that turned into a week, into a month, into three months, finally into six months I forget that I have a website at all. Me, myself, and I have to make the space, the time, and effort to get to do what I want to do. Some days I will have it and some days not, but I will not blame myself for not doing it – I will just make sure that I do it the next day. One day at a time – make the space to do what you love to do.
You find yourself in Germany and you are on a budget. You are staying in hostels, taking regional trains to save money. You are eating in small cafes or roadside stands. Anything to save a few euros. You are always looking for a bargain. Some way to save money so you stay on the road longer. But you are tired of the castles, churches, and endless tours to see this and that. Yet you want something entertaining. Something that does not require you to buy a meal or a drink or a ticket, yet is fun and entertaining.
Well, buddy, I have a deal for you.
In Rothenberg ob der Tauber not far from Munich is the best entertainment deal in Germany. Cheap, fun, entertaining, and educational. There are no tickets. No long lines. You pay at the end not the beginning. If you don’t like it just leave, no problem. It lasts an hour and walking is involved. Yet, I guarantee that you will laugh, be entertained and learn a whole bunch of things you did not know.
What is this fantastic deal – it is the Night Watchman’s Tour of Rothenburg ob der Tauber featuring the most famous, non-famous actor in Germany.
Ok, lets stop here a moment and fill in some gaps.
Every night (from March to Christmas) just before dark (7 PM in the fall and early spring, and 8 PM in the summer), a single bearded man dressed in a long grey cape, a tri-corner hat, carrying a lantern and a hellebarde (a type of ancient spear with an axe head on the top used in medieval times) strolls into the main square of Rothenburg. He stands on the steps of the ancient city hall and groups of people who have been waiting for his arrival – some for an hour – gather around him. Some nights the crowd could be 50 to 100 people, and some nights in the summer the crowd could be as large as 300. From all over the world – people gather in front of this stranger and wait for him to speak. In a soft, sing-song voice that somehow carries quite far, speaking in English he advises the people that if they want to take a photo with him – to do it now, and that it is free. And as many as 30 to 40 people will rush up and take selfies, or group shots with this mysterious man.
Who is this person? Is he a cult figure, or some religious or political figure? No, he is Hans Georg Baumgartner, an actor, and he has been doing this wonderful tour for 25 years.
Awarded the TripAdvisor Award for Excellence in 2014, Baumgartner tells his stories about Rothenburg’s medieval history using dry wit and sly puns with a comic’s timing. He tells you just enough without boring you with endless details and too much information. Yet, he does convey the harshness of medieval life even in what was one of Germany’s grandest cities of the 14th to 16th centuries. He talks about the day-to-day life in a walled city where the livestock were stored inside the city gates at night in the people’s homes, the constant fear of famines, and the unpleasant odors (especially in the summer) from people throwing their waste into the streets each day and the open sewers that ran through the city. He talks about plagues, the wars, how the city became wealthy, and how it slipped away.
All while he manages to hold an audience’s attention without aid of microphones or projections or sound effects. Just a single performer using his voice and his story-telling ability to weave his story as he walks the streets of his small town as cars, motorbikes, other tourists and residents pass by. It is really a very impressive performance as he leads through the streets and down alleyways, through gates, in and out of tunnels and to vantage points that offer sweeping views of Rothenberg and the surrounding valley.
Yet, Baumgartner is not really acting a role, he is the role because after doing this tour for 25 years the entire tour reflects his wit, style and personality. His bright blue eyes flash with humor and his devilish smile and inflection get constant laughs from his engaged audience. Yet, the narrative is what drives this interesting tale full of legends and true stories.
A legend like a 1631 drinking contest, in which the mayor of the town supposedly saved Rothenburg from being destroyed by the Catholic army during the Thirty Years War. It’s said that he downed three liters of wine in one gulp, besting the conquering general.
Or the very true story of how the town suffered during the end of World War II, when Allied bombing destroyed about 40 percent of its buildings and 2,000 feet of its wall. The town was about to be destroyed by the Allies when an official in the US State Department halted the bombardment because his Mother had gone to the village as a young woman and fallen in love with it. Years later, she often talked about the experience around the family dinner table, so when he heard about the possible destruction of the village he had to act. The official told the US commander to offer the Germans a chance to evacuate or be destroyed. The Germans withdrew and Rothenburg was saved all because a son honored his mother’s memories.
Rick Steves, the travel guide-book author, savvy in what American tourists will pay to see in Europe, calls the watchman tour “flat-out the most entertaining hour of medieval wonder anywhere in Germany.”
At the end of the tour – which lasts almost exactly an hour – he passes the hat and almost not one person refuses to pay him. Many in fact give him more Euros because of the quality and fun of the tour. He has a DVD for sale as well, that he hawks a couple of time during the tour, but even that gets a laugh. Baumgartner is a rock star storyteller and you can tell he loves the audience reaction.
This is without a doubt the best entertainment deal in Germany. Check it out and enjoy the ride.
NOTE: There are several Rothenburg’s in Germany. Do not go to the wrong one. You must go to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (the city’s official name) or you will miss out on Germany’s kept medieval city.
NOTE 2: There is also a strictly German-speaking tour later in the evening. Baumgartner sometimes does this one as well, but there is another Night Watchman for the German tour. Check local travel guides for the times of this tour.
After 5 rainy days in Munich, I took the train out of Munich to Rothenburg to experience the community that has been on this site since 1150 AD. The official name of the city is Rothenburg ob de Tauber, or “Red Fort on the River Tauber.” Around 1160, Rothenburg was swiftly became a commercial center because of its’ enviable position on the age old trade routes through Germany where goods from the East passed through, but also because of “the white gold” known as salt.
700 year old cobble street
By 1400, the city was one of the largest and most successful cities in the area. The city had a population that topped 6000 people, and business was booming. Rothenburg was becoming very wealthy and was much worried about the safety of its’ wealth and citizenry. The city elders through the years constructed a sophisticated system of walls, towers, and gates for the protection of the city. Massive stone walls were constructed that were pierced with 7 main gateways and aided by 42 stone towers for defensive positions and protecting the town. Along the inside length of much of the city’s walls, covered walkways were built that allowed for archers and other solders to take up protected positions for watching or shooting at possible invaders.
Guards walkway on the outer wall
However during the early 1500’s and into the late 1600’s, the city began to experience a steady decline because of political and religious upheavals like the Peasants War, the Reformation, the counter-Reformation and the 30 Years War. Plus the “Black Plague” that were sweeping through Europe killing millions of people also visited Rothenburg and killed as many as one-third of the citizens. What remained by the 1800’s was a walled village that was once famous yet now was a backwater town with no real business and thus no real reason to change anything. It was if the once prosperous medieval village was trapped in a time warp. Narrow cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses with red tile roofs, massive stone walls that no longer protected anything but a poor half-empty village that recalled a more ancient time.
Massive stone walls and towers are part of the defense.
Yet along about 1850, fortune began to smile on Rothenburg once again. This time it was because of the very backward nature of the village that people were attracted. Because of its’ very medieval look and feel, artists, poets and writers discovered the old town and painted it, wrote about it, and talked about it. What was considered ancient and backward now became quaint. And as is true through the ages of man, when the artists and creative types come, soon the general public follow and you have tourism. Tourists helped make Rothenburg relevant again.
Chapel courtyard
They came for the quaint ancient walls and half-timber houses that were 500 years old. They came to see the old churches like St. James Church, the Gothic masterpiece with its hand carved altar. They came for the excellent Franconian wine, food and hospitality. They came for the chance to step back time and experience a little of what it must have been like in the Middle Ages.
One of the many gateways into the town
And that is what you get when you spend a day or two in Rothenburg – living history. Walls and houses and buildings that are in some cases over 700 years old, but people still use and live in them. A chance to walk cobblestone streets that have carried people and goods for over a thousand years. Walking the same covered walkways along the village walls that some guard walked 500 years before you.
You can actually walk the city by using the guards walkway
There is a suggested Town Walk around the village that will lead you through large squares where you will see historic buildings, along the city walls where you will find towers, churches, gateways and bridges that date from the 12th century and leads to other parts of the city where you may decide to wander off the “official” tour to see some mysterious door or walkway of Rothenburg that interests you. There are several museums in Rothenburg like the German Christmas Museum showing the history of Christmas through the centuries, the Imperial City Museum with its’ collection of items covering 9 centuries, and the gruesome and very interesting Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum featuring scary examples of torture and execution devices.
Center square
The most interesting thing to see in Rothenburg is actually live entertainment. It is the world-famous Night Watchman’s Tour which I will write about in my next blog, but it is without a doubt the best hour of entertainment in Rothenburg and at 8 Euros the best deal in Germany.
400 year old cover bridge (rebuilt of course)
The most romantic place in Rothenburg is the Castle Garden and Burgtor Gate. A huge quiet garden at one end of the town as you pass through the Burgtor Gate with spectacular views of the city and the surrounding valley. There is a small old chapel that has stood there since the 14th century and a lovely herb garden. The area is quite large with many old trees and benches to sit and read or just chill. If you walk further in the park past the chapel and herb garden to another viewpoint of the surrounding valley, rumor has it that this is the best place to grab a kiss with your significant other.
View of Rothenburg from the Castle Garden Park
And of course as a tourist destination, there are plenty of eateries of all types and places to sleep inside and outside the village walls. For something to eat, you have traditional German fare, non-German styles foods, Italian food (because it is just on the other side of the nearby Alps), sandwiches and snacks plus several Biergartens (beer gardens) all covering a range of prices and styles. But make sure that you eat early. Rothenburg shuts down early. In the Old Town there are no night spots, although a couple of places stay open till mid-night during the summer where locals mix with tourists.
My Hotel, PhinzHotel Rothenburg
If you are staying in the Old Town there are more than 20 hotels and hostels to chose from and in all different prices ranges from very expensive to a very reasonable hostel located in a former horse-powered mill house. Outside the walls, there are even more choices of food and hotels.
One of the Tower Gates into the City
Getting to Rothenburg is very easy. By car or bus, you are on the Romantic Road, a route that extends from Fussen in the south to Frankfurt in the north, and you pass right through Rothenburg. There several car parks in and around the Old Town, and cars are allowed to drive in parts of the Old Town. If you are coming by train, the station is literally a block away from the main gate of the Old Town. You can only get to Rothenburg if you make a connection in Steinach. It is a little spur line with a small train that runs about every hour until 10:30 PM. If you arrived after 10:30 in Steinach, there is a subsidized taxi service that can take you to Rothenburg, but you must call them 2 hours ahead of time to make a reservation. To use them call AST at 09861/2000 in advance, and they will take you to Old Town for 4.60 Euros per person instead of the regular 31 Euro daytime charge.
Enjoy Rothenburg and step back in time for a romantic and fun adventure.
Continuing on with the castles of Munich, we come to the town of Hohenschwangau which is a village in Germany’s southeastern state of Bavaria about one hour’s drive from Munich. This is the home of not one but two of Ludwig’s castles. His childhood home is here Schloss Hohenschwangau, and his dream castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein whose entrances are literally across the main village road from each other.
Village of Hohenschwangau
Ludwig’s father raised his sons primarily in the country at the family palace of Hohenschwag to be far away from the court intrigue of Munich and the two palaces there. So Ludwig would never developed the hard shell needed for the political hardball that Munich and governing required.
Foothills of the Alps around Hohenschwangau
HOHENSCHWANGAU
Lake Alpsee
Built high about Lake Alpsee in the foothills of the Alps, Schloss (German for castle) Hohenschwangau started out as a fortress in the 12th century. The castle started to take shape around 1535 when the owners brought in an Italian architect to create a new interior floor plan while keeping the existing walls. That owner then sold the residence to the Wittelsbach family, the Kings of Bavaria in 1550 and it stayed in their family (mostly) until Ludwig II’s time. The place was used mostly as a hunting lodge and retreat for the family. However, in 1832, Maximilian II, King of Bavaria and Ludwig’s father, began a new reconstruction of the old place and turned it into his official summer palace. This is where Ludwig grew up and fell in love with the beauty and seclusion of the area. From windows in Schloss Hohenschwangau, he could see the location of where his future palace, Newschwanstein would be. He continued to live in Hohenschwangau for large sections of time during his reign splitting his time between Hohenschwangau and Schloss Linderhof after it was finished.
Hohenschwangau Castle
After Ludwig II was deposed by his family, the castle continued to stay in family hands, and even after the King of Bavaria stepped down, the German state allowed the family to continue to use the residence up until the current day. While belonging to the German state and being used as a museum/tour destination since 1913, the family has continued to live there even during World War I and II.
While I did not actually tour the castle during my Grey Line tour, you can clearly see it from below in the village and if I had more time on the tour, I would have loved to see it. You can tour Hohenschwangau separately or as part of different tours that run out of Munich. If you happen to be in the village itself, you can purchase tickets right from the local ticket booth which handles tours for both castles.
Lake Alpsee
NEUSCHWANSTEIN
Young Ludwig was a dreamer and romantic at heart. He was born at a time when as King of Bavaria he would not have absolute power but was part of a “constitutional monarchy” where he shared power with a legislature in Munich. He hated this position plus as well his government was being played by Prussia on one side and Austria on the other. With no real power and not being able to do much about it, he turned inward and began to dream of magnificent castles like Versailles and his personal hero, Louis 14th of France. Imagining himself to be like Louis, he envisioned great castles that would reflect his hoped for and never to be achieved power and control, and Neuschwanstein is the zenith of that dream and desire.
View from Neuschwanstein
As king of a constitution government like Great Britain, the cost of the building came from his personal and his family’s fortune, and he borrowed that money from the Bavarian State Treasury. As he was building three or more castles at the same time, the cost was immense and as the members of his family saw their fortune being eaten away and were now in huge debt to the State, they conceived of a plan to remove Ludwig from power by proclaiming him mad. Thus Neuschwanstein and another castle were not finished during his life. He actually only lived in Neuschwanstein for about 170 days before he was removed in a coup. He was mysteriously killed or committed suicide the next day.
Neuschwanstein
Schloss Neuschwanstein which in German means “new swan stone” was built as a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace. The swan was Ludwig’s favorite bird so the name reflects that and images of swans are on displayed throughout the castle. The palace was also as a homage to Richard Wagner, and the romantic German legends that his operas are about – myths, legend and heroic characters.
Inner Courtyard
The castle was never completely finished although it was far enough along that he could move in. After his death, the family immediately opened it to the public as a museum and tour destination. Since then more than it is estimated at over 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Great Escape, and served as the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle at the Disney Theme Parks.
Tours of Neuschwanstein can be brought almost anywhere. Online, local tour companies in Munich, or locally in Hohenschwangau if you take the train down from Munich at the local ticket office. Please read the entrance requirements before you come because the tour is very strict about time of entrance. There is a new tour starting every 5 minutes and if you miss your time you are out your money. No refunds or excuses. Also be prepared to walk a lot. You have to walk up hill to the castle and in good weather it can take 45 minutes. There are buses, horse carriages, and other forms of rides part way to the castle but they do not go all the way up, so you will have to walk at least some of it uphill. Please check for any handicapped access or help with the local German tour office or view online.
KitchenPantry to Kitchen
NYMPHENBURG
Nymphenburg Palace
The final stop to the Palaces of Munich happened on the 3rd day. Again a wet, windy, cold day in Munich, I ventured out once more to see the exalted lifestyle of the former Kings of Bavaria, the Wittelsbach family.
Schloss Nymphenburg or “Castle of the Nymph (or Nymphs)”, is a Italian Baroque style palace located on the outside of old Munich. The palace served as the main summer residence for the House of Wittelsbach. The palace was commissioned by the King Ferdinand Maria and his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy after the birth of their son, Maximilian II. The castle was gradually expanded and transformed over the years. (The Wittelsbachs still live and use the Palace as a residence living in one wing of the Palace.)
Great Hall
Starting in 1701, Max Emanuel, the heir to Bavaria, undertook a huge redo of the entire palace. Two pavilions were added one on the south and one on the north connected with the center pavilion by two gallery wings. Other parts were added to the Palace to make it equal on both wings and huge formal gardens with lakes were added in the back of the Palace as well.
Great Hall
Interesting factual note – to those who trace the line of legitimate British monarchy down through the legal heirs of James II of England (Jacobites), the head of the house of Wittelsbach is the legitimate heir of the Stuart claims to the thrones of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland; this claim is not being actively pursued.
Ceiling Great hall
Where the Residenz tour goes on for miles, this tour only shows about 16 rooms in total. The tour starts in the Great Hall, which barely begins to describe how huge it is and the effect that it was supposed to have on visitors. It is truly a beautiful and grand statement of power and royal taste.
Then you view North wing which were more state rooms for the king’s business and then return to the great hall to view the more interesting South wing which were official apartments for the Wittelsbach kings.
Most impressive is King Ludwig I’s Gallery of Beauties. Using the greatest single pickup line in history, “I would like to have a portrait painted of you”, King Ludwig would invite beautiful women from all over Munich and all classes – elite and commoner – to come to the summer palace and have their portrait painted by the court painter. During this time, the affair would start – some short, some lasted very long. Who could refuse that offer? King, Portrait, Affair! He used it 36 times, and the beauties all hang in a room of the tour. You will notice one physical trait that they share – I will leave you to find it.
Part of the wall of Beauties
The tour is relatively short but you get a real sense of this place and the type of people who lived here. Again most the furniture and paintings are not original to the house. Many were lost to bombing in the war or stolen. The replacements are from other palaces in Germany or donated by the public after the war.
This palace is also the birth place of Ludwig II, the mad king. He was Ludwig I’s grandson.
The gardens in the back extend far back beyond the palace and are open to everyone. Joggers and walkers alike.
After my 5th palace in 3 days in a cold, wet Munich – I stopped for (when in Munich) a cold beer and rested my feet. That was a lot of walking, but totally worth understanding the history and position of Munich and Bavaria during Europe’s long history of war and struggle among all the royal families.
One of the most famous storylines in science fiction is the time line story. A man goes back and time and has to be very careful to not change history by his actions. One of the counter arguments to that storyline is the belief that most people even if they went back in time and somehow acted in the past it would have no effect on the time line because we are just not that important.
Very few men stand on the ledge of history and have the chance to change the world. Even fewer know that they are even in that position. And if they knew the outcome of their actions would they still do it? Today’s blog is about such a man and such a time.
The site of the Beer Hall Putsch – Munich
On November 8, 1923, a 34-year-old Austrian led a large band of armed men through the street of Munich. His intention was the armed over throw of the beleaguered German government struggling to find a way in light of the harsh postwar measures put in place by the Allied powers at the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War 1 that stripped Germany of much of its power, money and pride. Outside the old Munich royal palace known at the Residenz, the group of insurrectionists ran into a solid line of Munich police. After a fierce gun battle in the street, 16 of the insurrectionists lay dead plus 4 policemen. Whether the leader was wounded or not is up for debate, but he was arrested for crimes against the German State and High Treason and placed in jail.
Line of police/soldiers waiting for the mob
The leader felt that Jews and Marxists were ruining Germany from within, and the Allied powers were ruining Germany with their harsh treatment from outside. Germany was in the clutches of some of the worst runaway inflation that modern society has ever faced. He was a born leader, rousing public speaker, had fought for Germany in the World War 1 and had been awarded the Iron Cross for Bravery. He was not scared of war, guns or violence. Once before he had been arrested for stirring up trouble and his plight did not look good for him or his party of followers. He was a Germany nationalist and believed in the purity of the original German race.
The other side of the street. The confrontation point.
Of course, I am talking about Adolf Hitler, one of the great monsters of the 20th Century, and the rebellion that he tried to lead that day became known at the Munich or Beer Hall Putsch. And being responsible for the death of 4 policemen, leader of a rebellion against the state, and charged with high treason, that should have been the end of Adolf Hitler and his very small NAZI party.
However, this debacle of a fight would turn out to be one of the luckiest days of Hitler’s young life. And all because of one man who you have probably never heard of.
Hitler’s Trial
The senior judge of the council of three judges that would hear the treason case was himself a NAZI sympathizer. He also selected two other judges who shared the same beliefs in Hitler and his ideas. In a wild 24 day trial, the three judges gave Hitler full rein to expound his anti-government and anti-Semitic beliefs, and the national papers printed almost every word. Hitler even admitted in open court that he was solely to blame for the uprising. Yet at the end of the trial instead of being shot for treason or put in prison for life, Hitler got 5 years in jail and was out in nine months for good behavior. But the long-term effect of the trial was that Hitler now became a nationally known person, and his thoughts and party took on a larger presence in German politics.
Hitler and associates serving out time in prison. Looks like really hard labor.
It was during that time in jail, that his philosophy on how to accomplish his goal changed from armed conflict to winning at the ballot box. He wrote his book, Mein Kompf and began to reorganize his party from street fighters to politicians.
And who was this upstanding judge who followed his feelings of national fervor, and not the laws of Germany at the time was George Neithardt. Mr. Neithardt did not become a favorite of Hitler from his soft touch, but the judge did go on to have a very successful judicial career.
George Neithardt, Judge
You could make a really good case that if the judgement had been by the letter of the law instead of in spite of it, that the Honorable George Neithardt made World War II possible.
While there are several ferry companies to choose from, the easiest by far is Ultramar Passenger Ferry which has 4 different launch sites just in the Cancun area. One of them was literally next door to my hotel. The cost was $19 US round trip and they took US dollars, Pesos, and credit cards. From my location trips left almost every hour and half with the last trip going to the island at 8:45 PM. Final return trip from the island was at 9:15 PM.
You land at the Passenger terminal docks right in the middle of downtown Isla Mujeres. A magical little town full of tourist shops, all types of hotels and hostels, bars and restaurants, transportation businesses that rent bikes, mopeds, and golf carts. The downtown is also right next to Playa Norte, considered one to the best beaches in the Caribbean (locals say the world). It is a 5 mile stretch of beautiful white sand located on the northern part of the island. It is full year-round with tourists from all over the world mixing with the locals making for a very bohemian feel. It is also an amazing place to watch a Caribbean sunset while drinking a cool brew!
Zimbabwe is home of one of the oldest civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa. When the Portuguese found the Zimbos’ (known as the Shona) capital city (Great Zimbabwe) during the 1500’s, that city was already over 800 years old. There is a lot of history, a lot of pride and a lot of determination in Zim. Hopefully, they will get a government that they truly deserve, and it will allow them to flourish.
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