Berlin, Germany

The Reichstag with its clear dome

The Brandenburg Gate

Remnants of the Berlin Wall

Mack the Knife

Dear Girls and Boys,

if you have the chance to get to Arlington, Virginia, in the next two weeks, please visit Signature Theater and get tickets to see the Bertholdt Brecht classic "Three Penny Opera."

The first song will blow your hair back. Delivered by the sultry actress playing Jenny, the hapless, mistreated prostitute, the song "Mack the Knife" assumes a new slow and deep lovely pace.

The play features two absolutely fabulous performances: the afore-mentioned Jenny and Macheath, aka, Mack the Knife.

His frenetic movements bring dynamism to every scene, which provide counterpoint to Jenny's frozen expression of sorrow.

The contrast is considerable.

The stage set is amazing as well, with a hydraulic jail that comes and goes.

The singing chops of the cast cannot be topped, including those of Polly, Mack's wife.

The men in the audience enjoyed the provocative underwear--the prostitutes don't seem to ever put on anything new except for spike shoes.

Rated R+. :)

By the way, the action is set in the near future with Prince William's coronation in London, although the original was written in Germany in 1940.

Your theater enthusiast,

Patsie

Spotted: Hessian Regiment

Seen at Old Europe Restaurant in Georgetown tonight: a Hessian regiment who had just done battle "to save our king."

They questioned me as to my ancestry and luckily, my maiden name of Miller pleased them. 

They said, " Ah, Mueller!;) Auf wiedersein!"

Your German-American,

Patsie

Almost Ten Thousand!

Dear Imaginary Friends,

I have been writing this blog, for what it's worth, for 1.5 years, and I have now had almost ten thousand hits. (9896, to be exact)

I have readers in about one hundred countries. (I know!!!)

Who knew it would be popular? Certainly not me. My readers are not just American, but also French, German, Canadian, and many different tiny countries everywhere, as well as not so tiny countries such as Russia. I guess we have something in common: a love of family, art, travel and food!

SO here is a big thank you to all my many readers, and may you live long and prosper! All ten thousand of you!

Kind regards,

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie, resident of the global village

The Berlin Wall in Washington's Newseum

Checkpoint Charlie Tower Near the Berlin Wall

Patsie in Front of Berlin Wall

East Berlin Meets West Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie

Rhine River Cruise

Floating Down the Rhine

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Germany, its splendid Rhine River, and its gorgeous castles       in the countryside: how romantic!

Cologne, Germany: Smells Like History

Inside the huge cathedral of Cologne, built in Gothic times...the height of the ceiling was considered a representation of proximity to heaven and to God himself. 

What I noticed right away is that some Roman artifact ruins, including a pediment, a sarcophagus and various Roman capitals, were almost free for the stealing, outside next to the Museum. Are they so plentiful in Germany that nobody cares if they are stolen? Here in America, there are none, so they are considered true treasures.

Today, Cologne is a busy city with a sophisticated buzz. Yet Cologne is where the first eau de toilette was created. The original fragrance is still for sale as well as a updated version. Both smell lovely. It was an olfactory revelation to sniff what my ancestors sniffed two hundred years ago.  The old standard of flowers, mixed with herbs and incense, familiar and yet not...

Your imaginary perfume wearer,

Patsie

Castle on the Rhine

How magical it is to cruise down the Rhine River atop a boat sipping your iced tea, looking left and right to gaze upon one after the other Medieval castle? Some were more like forts and some were more like palaces.

Some are now open as hotels to defray expenses.

Once upon a time, castles housed lords who charged tolls to all those boaters who passed through "their" part of the Rhine. It must have been nice to have a fiefdom, and have your serfs collect your tolls!

According to the tour guide, the Rhine is the most heavily traveled river in the world. I find that dubious, but who knows. There were obviously many deutchsmarks to be made in the toll business.

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Tan Carlo and Pale Patsie

I am possibly the palest person you have ever not met. And in America, it is a negative. Here the tan, whether real or fake, is admired. Pasty white people are considered unhealthy looking.

Well, I finally found out where I need to move to: Japan.

On our cruise in Germany, one of the passengers was a Japanese obstetrician. She was a young woman around 30 who appeared to be allergic to the sun or perhaps mentally ill. She covered up her entire body even while inside, with black sweater sleeves that extended down to her mid-fingers. Outside, enduring the 93 degree heat, in addition to her entire body being covered up, she wore a ginormous hat that hung down to her chin, with a see-through green plastic inset, through which she could gaze. 

I thought, what in the world is her situation?

It turns out that in Japan, the whiter the skin, the higher the class. She was deathly afraid of getting freckles or tanning.

Whee ha! Sayonara!

Your Imaginary Friend,

Patsie

Prince Lowenstein's Wine Cellar

Candelilit wine barrels

Drinking the Prince's Brew

A huge candlelit wine cellar in Franconia, Germany

Dear Imaginary Friends,

Carlo and I took a side trip to hang out at Prince Lowenstein's castle, and drink his excellent wines. We liked the Silvaner Kabinett Dry. It is a 2009 Thungersheimer Scharlachberg. Hard to request that mouthful at a bar.

Most German wines are dry Rieslings.  They were excellent: clean  and crisp.

Living the life!

Your Imaginary Wine Taster Friend,

Patsie

Shmuck kontor???

Dear Imaginary Friends,

What is this, a shmuckkontor, in Koblenz, Germany, you might ask? It means jewelry store in German. AH, the charming language that trips off the tongue so delightfully.

Here is another word I love: Shnell. It means, hurry up.

German Frau Mutter to imaginary children: Shnell, kinder, und eat dat wurst!

Only one problem: there are no children in Germany. Apparently, Germany is too expensive in which to raise children, and all couples work. Therefore, the Deutsch govt. tries to bribe families to produce der kinder. But to no avail. Two hundred fifty euros per year is not sufficient bribe. Maybe the govt. should throw in a BMW? The birth rate is a sad little .8%. We saw no kids in Germany. On the other hand, Prague was chock full of them. Strollers everywhere and mommies smiling.

Another German word I like: kindergarten. It means children in the garden. Just as we raise and tenderly cultivate our children, so are the flowers. They grow if tended.

Which leads me to a pic of the Bund flower show:

Your traveler,

Patsie

Picture Perfect Koblenz, Germany

Half Timber Bavarian Style home in Koblenz, with geraniums in window boxes

Yo De Lay EE Hoo!

Frau Patsie Goes to Germany and Prague

This Notice Is To Inform You That All Fun Has Been Canceled for the Month of February

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Well, I am in a a snit. My fun trip to Egypt has just been canceled for once and for all. Can't a girl have any fun riding camels anymore? I would like to hereby cancel the entire month of February. Let's just get it over with!

Our cruise thru Egypt was officially canceled today by the tour operator. Apparently, there is a minor disturbance of revolutionaries, who are very, very cranky. 

Remember the ad when a bunch of young people sang, "I'd Like to Give, The World, a Coke?" Well, now would probably be a great time to ship some refreshing Coke to Cairo, so they can all just settle down, now. Take a break.

We are going to take our trip credit with Uniworld River Tours, and use it for a trip through "Fluffenflaffer, Germany" late this summer.
Next step, we are going to try to get Vayama - our air discounter- to give us credit toward a round trip flight to "Fliffenfluffer".
I have learned some things: If you book foreign travel directly thru a provider, and that provider is not Air France, you will fare better during emergencies, than with a multi carrier situation, like ours. On the other hand, if it is Air France, you are screwed.

SO the right thing to do always varies, depending. That is so you can never guess what to do!
And who knew that travel insurance would be so shifty as to say this civil unrest is not covered. They totally stink.
We are grateful that we are not standing around the Cairo Airport. It could be worse. And I hear there are NO smoothies! (I know!)

I think we will take a nice safe trip in February to someplace extremely boring and safe. Say, the Walmart on the outskirts of Lexington, KY. Unless of course, we just cancel February. Talk about a Leap Year!
And I hear that Dussenflapper is lovely in August.

Love,
Patsie