BERLIN - EAST MET WEST!

THREE YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE WALL

BERLIN - AUGUST 1992

On August 13, 1961, a wall was erected between East and West Berlin. It lasted until November 9, 1989, when Berliners from East started crossing and demolishing the wall. On October 3, 1990, German reunification became a reality in international law.



"K-DAM - Three years after the fall, there were demonstrations on Kurfurstendam"


"K-DAM - Kurfurstendam, Berlin's most famous shopping boulevard: inside a shopping mall"


HAMMURABI CODE - The five Museums in the Museum Island in Berlin (Old Museum, New Museum, Old National Gallery, Bode Museum and Pergamon Museum) are fabulous. The Pergamon, for example, hosts some incredible pieces too large to be caught in a single photo: The Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate and the Procession Street of Babylon, and the Mshatta Facade. It also keeps a copy (original in the Louvre Museum) of the famous stela bearing the laws of King Hammurabi (1792 BC-1750 BC) of Mesopotamia - The Hammurabi Code. It is the earliest known complete set of codified laws, but not the earliest laws, since a portion of the older Code of Lipit-Ishtar, circa 1868 B.C., was discovered in the 1930's"


"ASSYRIANS - The entrance to the reconstructed Neo-Assyrian palace hall is dominated by replicas of the colossal gatekeeping statues of mythical beasts"


"EAST BERLIN - Nothing special"


"NO MAN'S LAND - It will hopefully look nicer almost fifteen years later"


"ZOO - On a sunny day"



"ZOO - Elephants and wolfes"


"U-BAHN - Zoologischer Garten"


"UIA CONFERENCE - Portuguese lawyers (and some accompanying non-lawyers) dining in Berlin"

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POTSDAM

Potsdam, the capital city of the State of Brandenburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. It's most popular sight is the Sanssouci palace, the former summer residency of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, located in the park to which it gives its name.



"PARK SANSSOUCI - The 287ha large park around the palace consists of several different gardens, all with many statues and fountains. Here we see the gardens from the steps the Palace's steps"



"SANSSOUCI PALACE (Without Worry) - A small rococo palace on the top of a hill. With 500 ha of parks and 150 buildings constructed between 1730 and 1916, Potsdam's complex of palaces and parks was inscribed in the Unesco World Heritage List. Voltaire stayed at the Sanssouci Palace, built under Frederick II between 1745 and 1747.


"SANSSOUCI - Voltaire visited the palace, and it is said that one of the most fascinating rooms was his room!"

HOTEL POLANA - MAPUTO - MOÇAMBIQUE

THE GRAND DAME OF MAPUTO - TWO WEEKS AFTER RE-OPENING

AUGUST 1992

The Polana Hotel is an institution in Mozambique. These pictures were taken roughly two weeks after its 1992 re-opening, during the hard times of civil war. What is not shown is the almost obscene breakfast that was then provided to guests, the most luxurious has ever been tasted until now! Some time later, they reduced the incredible offer, and it came down just to standards of excellence!



"THE BUILDING - The majestic building has many decades of history, and keeps the splendour of ancient times. Furthermore, its location is perfect"



"THE SWIMMING POOL - A fabulous spot, with vibrant gardens and an unequal panoramic view"




"VIEWS - The magnificent views of the bay, available from almost everywhere in the Hotel"



"SIGHTSEEING - Not much time, and not much to see in those days"


"FAREWELL - Ready to go. Next morning, I took the early flight to Johannesburg, spend some hours at the Holiday Inn at the Airport, and took the night flight to Lisbon..."

TRAVELLING IN SWITZERLAND

ZURICH - LUGANO - GENEVA

WITH AN INCREDIBLE TWO HOUR MEETING IN LUGANO - JUNE 1992


"RENT A CAR - On the way from Zurich Airport to Lugano"


"ZURICH - LUGANO: Technical stop to take a shot"


"LUGANO - After the meeting, Mount Salvatore"


"LUGANO - Around the Lake; a restaurant with a fabulous view!"


"CAMPIONE D'ITALIA - Casino enclave. No need to take lire from the ATM machine: Swiss franc was used everywhere..."


"LAKE COMO - BELLAGIO at distance. A beautiful place to stay"


"LUGANO - GENEVA, another technical stop"


"MONTREUX - No Festival, just Lake Leman"


"GENEVA: Lake Leman again, before heading to the Airport"

EXPO 92 - SEVILLA

JUNE 92 - EXPO'92 took place in Sevilla from April, 20th to October 12th 1992!


"The Visiting Group from Algarve to Sevilla"


"The photographer at the Japanese Pavillion"


"Totem at the Canadian Pavillion"


"Fakes! whatever you wish, you get"


"Globe - The United Nations Pavillion"


"Lights and views"


"PALA - The Pala from Alvaro Siza for the Expo 98 in Lisbon is much more interesting!"


"EEC Pavillion - Flags from the 12"


"Avenue of Europe. Twelve towers remembering the cheminees of the the Alhambra in Granada represent the members of the EEC"


"Monorail - introducing new technologies"


"Central Avenue"


Morocco Pavillion"

ALSACE AND BLACK FOREST

END OF SUMMER - SEPTEMBER 1990

ALSACE



"COUNTRYSIDE - Beautiful anyway"


"FORD SIERRA COSWORTH- 200Km/H and more in the German highways, without infringing the Law..."


"REST with a nice view"

***


BADEN-BADEN

"SO GOOD THAT THEY NAMED IT TWICE"



"KURHAUS - Built between 1821 and 1824, it keeps its its unique Belle Epoche elegance"


"NEUES SCHLOSS, situated on the Florentinerberg, is the former residence of the Margraves of Baden"

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FREIBURG

THE SUNNY CAPITAL OF THE BLACK FOREST IS ONE OF THE MOST COLOURFUL CITIES IN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG



"MÜNSTERPLATZ with its colourful morning market. Up until 1785 the square was surrounded by a wall and in the Middle Ages it was also used as a cemetery"


"FREIBURG'S «BÄCHLE», little streams running through gullies, are one of the historic old town's trademarks. Some say they were originally designed to supply the city with water, and for sewage; others say they served for watering cattle and, above all, as a fire precaution. The legend is that those who accidentally step into one of them will marry a Freiburger"


"HAUS ZUM WALFISCH - In the Franziskanergasse stands the beautiful House of the Whale, with its splendid late Gothic doorway. Built in 1514-15 for Jakob Villinger, Chancellor of Emperor Maximilian I. It was the home of Erasmus of Rotterdam, when he had to leave Basle after the Reformation in 1529"


"KAISER JOSEPH STRASSE - Freiburg's main street, lined by arcades built since the war, was the central marketplace in the Middle Ages with wooden buildings known as "Lauben" down its centre. The "Große Gaß" is bounded to the South by the Martinstor to which further storeys were added in 1901/03. The Christoffeltor to the North was torn down in 1704"


"MARTINSTOR is to the southwest, and marks the border to Freiburg's historic city centre"

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SCHWARZWALD


"BLACK FOREST is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south, with an highest peak - the Feldberg - at 1,493 meters. The name Black Forest comes from the dark color of the pine trees growing in the region"


"BLACK FOREST is also the English name for the dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Black Forest gateau consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. These layers are topped with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. Traditionally, the cake is saturated with Kirschwasser. In the USA, Black Forest gateau is usually prepared without alcohol... Guess why?"