Lynne Martin's Blog, page 5

Chinese Opulence, Berlin Style

The Brandenburg Gate

We threaded our way through tourists snapping photos of each other in front of Berlin’s magnificent Brandenburg Gate. The deep columns of the triumphal arch, inspired by the Acropolis in Athens,  glowed pink in the late afternoon light.  The monumental gate’s crown is the magnificent bronze Quadriga, a heroic sized four-horsed sculpture of Victoria, the goddess of victory, riding her chariot as she urges her steeds forward. The enormous sculpture glittered on its perch almost 100 feet above the crowd.

Across the Pariser Platz we stepped into the Adlon Kempinski Hotel.  We tried hard not to gape at the gorgeous stained glass dome and the stunning marble, brass, plush red carpets and polished woodwork as we surveyed the lobby.

Have you ever noticed that the toniest places usually have the most gracious staffs? It’s the wannabe stores, restaurants and hotels that seem to have the the snooty attitudes.   Let me tell you that the Kempenski is not a wannabe.  It’s the real deal – an establishment that’s loaded with good looks, charm and style, qualities good hotels and my darling husband share.  A handsomely uniformed hotel staff member noticed our confusion as we searched for the entrance to the China Club Berlin, where we were meeting a new friend for dinner. He offered his assistance and invited us to follow him through the hotel to the proper entrance. I quickly realized why one night at the Kempinski could cost as much as a whole month’s rent in  our Berlin apartment. As we walked along with Karl, my new best friend, I covertly inspected lavish private dining rooms, cozy leather and mahogany bars, and cleverly placed comfortable areas that invited private conversation.

We left the hotel building, walked a few yards, and Karl opened a plain door leading to a large, empty lobby.  ”Chust valk over there to the elevator and poosh the button,” he said with a smile.  He bowed slightly and disappeared.  Only a click of his heels was missing from his performance.

There was one button, no bigger than a doorbell, near the elevator.  Tim pressed it and a voice asked our name.  After a brief pause, we heard a soft whoosh, and the elevator door slid open.  There were no buttons inside.  After a moment, the car began to rise. It occurred to us that security is tight in places where heads of state go to dine well in privacy!

The Quadriga, Up Close and Pesonal!

A lovely young woman was waiting at the elevator.  She said, “Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs Martin.   Mr. Iwanowski is waiting for you on the rooftop terrace.”  We followed her up a delicately wrought glass-enclosed iron staircase, and as we rose, Berlin stretched out below us.  At the top Tim and I stopped, speechless.  There was the Quadriga – this time at eye level, awash in  the slanting autumn sunlight. The sculpture was so close that we could almost hear the horses hoofbeats and the rustle of Victoria’s wings!

Michael Iwanowski

Across the wide terrace, Michael Iwanaowski rose to greet us.  He had contacted us when he saw an article about  in The Berliner Morgenpost, the daily paper, about our traveling life, so we had dined with him a week earlier in a charming neighborhood near one of the many beautiful canals in the city.  Michael’s company,  Reisebuch Verlag Iwanowski, has published beautiful guidebooks in the German  language about places all over the world for thirty years, www.iwanowski.de. He also owns a thriving tour company specializing in Africa, Iwanowski’s Individuelles Reisen, www.afrika.de, and a software company, too.  Michael is a busy man and a delightful, entertaining companion.  We were delighted to spend another evening in his company.  This time, he introduced us to his son Andy, who had recently returned to live in Berlin after having lived in the United States for several years.  Andy’s youthful take on the world, and his views on travel and adventure added an extra dimension to our conversation. This was his first visit to the exclusive China Club, too, whose limited roster includes an international group of high-powered members.  He meant to make the most of the opportunity.  He had a camera the size the space shuttle mounted on a tripod.

The Spectacular View

And for good reason.   The view of the city was so mesmerizing that all four of us gravitated immediately to the edge of the terrace to get a better look. Directly below us was the dramatic Holocaust Memorial, almost five acres of thousands of concrete slab stelae.  Seen from several stories above, the coffin-like slabs cast long shadows in the early evening.  All of us were silent for a while and the soft evening light glancing off Berlin’s unique skyline:   massive church and capitol city domes,  historic monuments and ultra-modern  buildings, with the Brandenburg Gate as its centerpiece, were all juxtaposed in an expression of Berlin’s youthful energy, its long history, and its vibrant international appeal.

We were treated to a rare warm, still evening in Berlin, so dinner was being served on the terrace. I wish every foodie I know could have shared the meal that followed.  Candles and torches flickered everywhere and other diners’ murmurs and laughter drifted on the soft evening air.  The China Club’s chef produced platter after platter of exquisite Asian specialties, which the four of us devoured without leaving a morsel.  The service was, of course, impeccable, but unpretentious.  The wine superb, and of course I never declined when the server appeared at my elbow.  It occurred to me that even heads of state and international captains of commerce need to relax sometimes and enjoy an evening of fabulous food and  companionship in a spectacular setting!  Chancellor Angela Merkel is a frequent visitor and probably every important personage who comes to Berlin has tasted Chef Tam Kok Kong’s drop-dead signature wasabi prawns.  Several times I glanced across the table at Tim and I wanted to giggle because I knew that he and I were both thinking “What are a couple of retired travelers in their same old black dress-up duds doing in a fabulous joint like this?”

Inside the China Club Berlin

We lingered over dessert and coffee, and then Michael invited us to have a look at the China Club facilities  one floor below.  As we entered, I gasped involuntarily.  I’m never very subdued, but even if I were I would not have been able to control myself just then.  The China Club is decorated with priceless antiques from all over China, and contains one of the most significant collections of modern Chinese art outside that country. It was spectacular.  There were luxurious silk-covered walls,  polished mahogany furnishings, antique gold-plated wooden panels, and most of all fabulous modern sculptures and paintings which were perfectly presented.

The Mao pop art was colorful, lively, sophisticated and entertaining!  I think Michael enjoyed our obvious delight in seeing a Far Eastern aesthetic merging with a cosmopolitan space!  For a moment he and I were in a room alone.  A pen with the club’s logo lay on a table.  He smiled conspiratorially, picked it up and whispered, “Here – put this in your purse!”  And of course, I did.  We laughed like naughty children all the way out to the street.

A short cab ride later, Tim and I carefully wound our way through the hundred or so bicycles parked haphazardly in the unlovely, plain courtyard of our apartment building and entered our comfortable but simple apartment.  Tim said “Ah….home sweet anywhere!  Nights like this make hauling suitcases, coping with oven-less kitchens, signs we can’t read and machines we don’t know how to operate worth it!”

We plopped down on our crazy orange sofa, enjoyed a nightcap, and composed a thank you note to Michael, whom we hope to see again in Florida, London or Paris!  Making new friends  truly is the best part of home free living, and  we’re perfectly happy to dine in a country pub in Ireland, a no-name bistro in Paris, or a sidewalk pizza cafe in Florence, but I must admit that I’ll  always treasure that magical evening when we dined with the Brandenburg Gate shimmering in the background!

Just Say Yes!

Saying “Yes” whenever we can is the attitude that has made Tim’s and my nomadic life possible.  First, we said “Yes” when we came up with the idea of selling our house so we could hit the road free of obligations.  Saying “Yes” to readers who want to meet us on our travels has allowed us to embrace a marvelous  group of new friends who are scattered all over the world; and saying “Yes” to the challenge of writing an article for the Wall Street Journal sent our life into a new, exciting direction, with thousands of new friends on the Internet and ultimately a book about our adventures which will be published in April 2014.

The view from the exclusive Journalists’ Club on top of the Berliner Morganpost building. A great adventure for two travelers.

Last year we discovered a marvelous way to meet people when we were in Paris, so we’ve said “Yes” three times to spending an evening at Jim Haynes’ Sunday evening social gatherings.  I read about these parties in the New York Times, made the first booking, and each time we return, his tiny apartment is full of jovial, interesting people from around the world. Each guest pays 30€ for a so-so dinner and some boxed wine.  But of course the cuisine is immaterial because the evening’s purpose is to provide a  gathering place for people who are excited to hear new stories about travel and share their own tales with fellow explorers.  We always meet new friends whose itineraries intersect with ours, and we never fail to get lots of ideas and helpful information.

This time, we met Gerlinde Schulte at the soiree.  An attractive, smart, lively, Berliner, she invited us to look her up when we arrived in her city in August. Surely you know by now what our answer was!

When we arrived in Germany we phoned Gerlinde, and she invited us to lunch at her apartment.  We were delighted to say “Yes,” and the next Sunday we were whisked by the S-Bahn (the Berlin train system) to her beautiful treelined neighborhood.

Gerlinde, Andreas and me enjoying a lovely luncheon at her apartment.

Gerlinde’s  apartment was amazing. It was very large, comfortable and welcoming. Its high ceilings and hardwood floors, its generous proportions and comfortable furniture made us feel right at home.   Andreas, a  Brazilian friend who was working and living in Portugal, and was visiting Berlin for meetings,  joined us.   After a sumptuous breakfast and lively discussions about the state of the world, during which we tried valiantly to explain the mysteries of American politics, (we failed utterly, of course, because no one can explain it) we departed with several pages of excellent notes. They told us how to enjoy the best of Berlin, giving us tips it would have taken us months to accumulate on our own.  We soon discovered that Gerlinde is not an anomaly;  Berliners are among the most welcoming, generous people we’ve encountered in our home free experience, and meeting her started a small avalanche of opportunities to get to know other people and see special places that would have been unavailable to us if we had not met her!

We had been so busy swapping stories that we’d never even asked her what she did for a living, and we were surprised to find out that she worked as a journalist for the Berliner Morgenpost, the popular morning newspaper in Berlin.  As we talked about her work,  she said,  “Say, if my editor agrees, I’d really like to do an article about you two and your fascinating life.”  If you don’t know how we responded, you’re simply not keeping up!

Gerlinde phoned the very next day to say that her editor loved the story idea, that she’d like to come to see us and bring a photographer. She also invited us to a dinner party her friend was hosting on that Saturday evening.  Naturally, we said , “Yes, yes, yes,” to all of it!

Gerlinde’s big article surprised us all, and Reto’s photos made us look like aging rock stars. Right On, Man!

The next day Gerlinde sent us an email confirming the interview/photo date, and we spent the next few days enjoying Berlin, learning the transportation system, discovering grocery stores (more on those adventures in a subsequent entry.)  When she appeared along with her photographer from the newspaper, they had already chosen a park across the street to serve as the background.  He Reto Klar was charming, efficient, and before we knew it, we had photos that made us look like aging rock stars!

A few days later, Gerlinde phoned to say that the small article she had anticipated had become a half-page story and had been picked up by Die Welt, the national newspaper.  Wow!  Another demonstration of the power of “Yes.”  We thought that was amazing news, and we hoped that perhaps Germans, who are great travelers, would enjoy hearing about what we are doing.  Here’s the story that ran.  No, we don’t speak German, but friends gave us the general drift!

Now, here’s where the power of “Yes” really kicked in.  Gerlinde sent an email with the name and contact information  of a woman named Heidi Hetzer, whom she said we would really enjoy knowing.  She is a woman everyone in Germany knew about – a fascinating personality.

The extraordinary Heidi Hetzer at
our fun dinner!

I sent Heidi a note saying that we would be delighted to meet her, and within a few minutes, she phoned to invite us to dinner.  She was such a force of nature that her energy practically leapt through the phone. We could hardly wait to meet her.  Surely you know how we answered her invitation. We agreed upon a day and time, and, of course,  the minute I hung up we Googled her.

Heidi Hetzer really IS a force of nature.  At 76, she is planning a driving trip around the world in a 1930 Hudson, with her mechanic as her companion.  No follow cars, no TV crews, just the two of them.  We were utterly fascinated.  She will follow the route of Frauline Stinnes Fahert who, in the 1930‘s was the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a car. Heidi’s family owned three Opel car dealerships in Berlin, so she was wealthy enough to travel the world on the rally driving circuit.  During our evening together, she regaled us with wild stories like having been in a Turkish prison after a car accident during one of her rallies!  She was absolutely fascinating, and we will be following her progress as she prepares to set off across Siberia and begin her journey in 2014.  Please note the purse she is holding in the picture.  It’s shaped like a car.  I know for a fact that she has another like it in red, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she has a closet full of them in every color.  It was a memorable encounter, and we parted company vowing to stay in touch and find each other again as we move around the world.  She’s definitely a person who knows how to say “Yes” to life’s adventures.

Once set in motion, the positive energy continued to bring us the best Berlin had to offer.  Our dinner with Gerlinde, her sister, Kerstin with her two darling children at the home of her friend, Gabi Becker-Smith, was delicious (she served Caribbean food that was the best meal we found in Berlin), and alive with fascinating conversation.  Everyone at the table, including 13 year old Nick and 15 year old Alessandra, was well traveled.  In fact, when I asked Mr. Personality, Nick, what was favorite place in the world, he replied immediately, “Singapore.”  The boy had a very sophisticated view of the world and kept up with the adult conversation flawlessly.  It was exciting to meet such a young person who has several languages to his credit and the confidence to fully participate in a rapid-fire grown-up exchange!

Here’s a photo of the group we so enjoyed.  We became fast friends with Gerlinde and Gabi,

Our wonderful dinner group enjoying Berlin’s great fall weather.

and we’re planning to meet up with them next summer when we are all in Paris.

As I write this, we are sailing back to the United States for a few months, and I’ll be making new entires very soon about the other fascinating people we met in Berlin: the man who invited us to visit The China Club, the exclusive enclave of the rich and famous, our TV debut with a film crew from Germany’s public television, and yet another visit with our dear friend and fellow traveler, Judy Butcher.  Germany was the fifth country in which we’ve managed to see one another!  I’ll also share some spectacular views and photos from some locations that only a few lucky people get to see in that vibrant city!

We’re saying “yes” to a transatlantic voyage, and goodbye
to the Azores. We’ll be sharing more about our wonderful
month in Berlin and all the great people we met very soon!

Meantime, I’m going to say “Yes,” to a lovely shipboard dinner and a great big glass of Malbec to go with it!

 

 

 

To Shop or Not to Shop – That is the Question

 

Oh no….another temptation!
Don’t I need that hat?

One might think that the most difficult part of being on the road full time would be missing family, friends, and familiar territory.  The inconvenience of uncomfortable furniture, constant language barriers and the need to cope  with unfamiliar cultures and customs could also be viewed as wearing after many months.  But the truth is that  none of these challenges really cause us inordinate discomfort any more.  We have learned to be flexible, and we remind ourselves when we’re feeling cranky, tired, lonely or displaced that we are extremely lucky to have the health and energy to continue having  such a rewarding lifestyle and should never grouse or complain.

The problem that does give us the blues, though, no matter where we are, is our self-imposed ban on shopping!  I know that may sound shallow, but I’m woman enough to admit it for all the world to see.  We just can’t help it . We LOVE to shop, and we are constantly being assailed by temptation everywhere from the souk in Marrakech to Oxford Street in London, from that shopaholics’  dream, that endless mall  called Fort Lauderdale to the  scarf and bag nirvana of Florence.  But the most unbearable venue  is Paris.  Every day in that beautiful city causes the agony of deprivation. It’s not that we can’t afford to buy anything, but the very nature of our nomadic life demands that we must follow our cardinal rule:  when we buy something new, something must be left behind.  For this reason, we are forced to peer longingly in windows, sometimes even enter and caress the goods, then sigh and  move on.

A big event: a new skirt and blouse!

Every sortie around the city tests our resolve, and generally we manage to look, even touch, but still resist the urge to purchase very much. It was a thrill when summer finally came in July this year and the steamy Paris heat justified the purchase of a few new threads to supplement our wardrobes.  A couple of linen shirts and a wonderful skirt became mine during those  scorching days, and Tim bought a pair of salmon-colored cotton pants, which were all the rage among the French men.  Paired with a loose linen shirt, he looked every inch a Parisian!

Don’t I WISH?

Strolling along the avenues delights us, but pains us, too.  The designer windows along San-Germaine-des-Prés,  Avenue des Champs Elysées, or Rue de Rivoli  stop us dead in our tracks.  And the shoes….oh, the shoes.  Stunning footwear everywhere, but none in my hideously large 11 1/2 AAA, for which my banker, Tim, is grateful.  We can still stop and stare, though.  Let’s not even get started with Le Gallerie

Lafayette,  Au Printemps and Le Bon Marché, all of which elevate the notion of “department store”  to a whole  new level.  Their wares are completely beyond our price points, but  they do allow peasants like us to wander through their glittering halls gaping at the finer in wonder.

The exquisite goods offered in the brick-and-mortar stores are hard enough to resist, but our masochistic attraction to flea markets and street fairs bedevils us even more.  These events   occur all over Paris on the weekends,  and addicts like ourselves join shuffling masses  slowly making their way through aisles of booths and tables laden with the contents of thousands of attics, dresser drawers, sheds and barns that have been collected throughout the country by dealers.  Fabulous lamps, tables, china, silver serving

pieces, jewelry, crystal, games, sculpture, paintings, oddities  vintage clothing, and much more are presented in the haphazard, colorful way of the street fair, punctuated with vendors selling hand-made crafts, food, and curiosities. People laugh, joke, haggle and have a great time, but it’s exquisite torture for two collectors who no longer own collections or a place to house them.  Our favorite, Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves, was a five minute tram ride from our apartment, and after several visits, we did succumb in some very small ways.  I now possess a collapsible travel cup (well, I NEEDED it, didn’t I?) which tucks into a wonderfully preserved leather case with a little snap.  It’s from the 1940′s and I have invested it with all kinds of

We want it ALL.

magical tales about its history.I bought an old silver lapel pin that features Istanbul’s fabulous Hagia Sophia in relief.  It was probably someone’s souvenir from a visit to that exotic city. Of course, I can spin all kinds of romantic tales about its origin, too.  And, best of all, we found a gift for our daughter Alexandra and her family.  The farm where they live in California is plagued by roaming herds of deer, so we could not leave behind the bizarre salad tongs made of deer hooves.  They’re deliciously disgusting and will no doubt be an ice-breaker at  many a dinner party in the Chamberlain household.

We’ve moved on from Paris now, and although Berlin and London do offer their own brand of special temptations, we didn’t find those  cities nearly as upsetting to our acquisitive natures. But we’re not really out of the woods because we will be returning to Paris next summer, where all roads, including the one to Marché aux Puces market lead to Le Gallerie Lafayette.  Hmm….I think I  might just pack really, really light next year!

Random Travel Information

As we continue our home free life, moving every month or two, we gather more information that we think would be of use to fellow nomads.  This is truly a random list, and we’ll add to it as information comes to us.  If you’d like to comment, please do, and we’ll all help one another. We have absolutely no business connection with anyone we recommend.  These are simply services that we believe are excellent and will answer the particular needs of people on the move!

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HEALTH AND TRAVEL INSURANCE:

We get emails constantly asking us for information about this very important matter, and our personal insurance agent, Susan Polk, who has provided us with flawless service for almost twenty years, has agreed to personally help Home Free Adventure readers with advice about what plans would work best for them.  Here is the contact information:

www.susanpolk.com

susan@susanpolk.com  Be sure to put “Travel” or “International Travel” in the subject line so she’ll know what it’s about.

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MAIL SERVICE:

Friends ask us all the time what we do about our mail.  In our case, it’s easy because my daughter Robin has kindly agreed to take it for us, providing us with a U.S. address and all that entails, like drivers’ licenses, voting, etc.  Now we have found a service that will do all of that for a nominal fee and even forward packages to you anywhere in the world.  I contacted them and it’s really TRUE!  They will scan the return addresses on mail every day and email them to you anywhere in the world.  Then, if you want them to open and look at it for you, they will do so, scan it, and send you the scan for $3.  WOW!

USA2Me.com

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INSIDE PARIS INFO:   We have a couple of practical pieces of information for Paris visitors.

TAXI:  Taxi in Paris:  English speaking.  If the person who answers does not speak English, he/she will find someone who does and they will get you a taxi almost anywhere in Paris quickly!

0141276699

DENTIST:  Here’s a winner!  An English speaking dentist whose office looks like an art museum.  He charges  60€ for the best teeth cleaning we’ve ever had, and I know from a good friend that he does other work beautifully, too:

Stéphane Brun, 28, rue Pierre Lescot, 75001 Paris. 0142366320 (phone). undenstisteaparis.com.

 

 

My Paris – My River!

Here I am waiting for you to show up!

Please come sit right here beside me in this café next to the Pont Alexandre on the Seine while I tell you  about living for a while in the City of Light.

Paris is snobbish, hectic, brash, reserved, old, new, mean spirited, intolerant, irritating, accommodating, expensive, sophisticated, low-down, bone chilling cold, steaming  hot or fragrantly perfect.   It can be any or almost all of those things in the space of  five minutes.  But no matter what its particular mood or attitude, it is GORGEOUS.  All the time.  Every day.  Irresistibly, drop-dead, gob-smacking beautiful.

But above all else, it’s that damned river that gets me every time.  I can be  on a bus, on foot, in a cab or a friend’s car  on the way to lunch, to shop, to see a sight, and  blam – suddenly it’s there!  Suddenly some elegant, beautifully proportioned bridge appears and below it the river endlessly moving along its stone restraints reflects the old trees that line the boulevards beside it, and behind them the most heart-stopping (to my mind) buildings on earth stand shoulder to shoulder, marching together to win my complete adulation.  Stairways take pedestrians down to wide riverside walkways where a parallel life goes on every day.  Bicyclists, dogs, kids, exhausted tourists, barges where people live their lives in full view of everybody, the Bateau Mouches grinding up and down loaded with photo-snapping visitors.  Notre Dame, the D’Orsay, the Tuileries, the Eiffel Tower, the Hôtel de Ville, the glass of the Grand Palais sparkling above the trees, all of them visible,  available, up-close, personal.  My delight in the visual feast is uncompromising and complete.  I am hooked forever.

This is the Pont Alexandre. Now, you tell me if you don’t think it’s the most outrageously stunning bridge you’ve ever seen. Baby blue! Can you believe such a marvelous sight?

 

So are you with me here?  Beginning to see why I’m a perfect fool for this place?  I could stay for ever here, just “being.”  As Tim says, “If I lived In Paris, I’d be snooty, too!”  And I agree!

You know just how madly in love I am with Paris.  A stroll down almost any street gives us a new insight into French life, or shows us a new bit of charm or beauty (oops, mind the dog poop), and each encounter with the French brings us new understanding.  Wait ’til I tell you about our friend the  manicurist!  We are so crazy for it that I have too many photos and thoughts to share in a single entry, so I PROMISE that I will be sending several more in short order.  They’ll be stories about food, shopping,  the entertaining people we’ve met along the way and much more.  Since Home Sweet Anywhere, which will be published by Sourcebooks, Inc., on April 1, is in its copyediting stage, I get to have fun with this blog again, and I hope you will, too.

Meantime, here are a few more of “my” river.  Tell us about “your” rivers, please!