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Blending of cultures
While Macau was under Portuguese administration, it never attracted large numbers of colonists or missionaries. Most of the Portuguese who lived there were traders or soldiers, few of whom brought wives or families.
This resulted in an interesting blend of cultures. A dominant example of which, is the most visited landmark of Macau: the facade of the church Mater Dei. Next to it are the ruins of…
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Portuguese ups and downs
Having first arrived in Macau in the early 1500s, Portuguese traders used its natural harbour as a convenient place to trade with China. It was an important part of a triangular trade between Europe, India and China: Lisbon, Goa and Macau as well as Japan.
Much of modern Macau is characterised by high-rise buildings. The city Executive decided to purchase many of the low-rise buildings in the…
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A-Ma
The story of A-Ma (also called Mazu or Matsou) starts on Meizhou Island off the coast of the southeastern province of Fujian in China. A girl born there during the Min Dynasty was studious and quiet. Some say she was visited by a Taoist or Buddhist monk during her early teens who recognised her divinity. Legend has it, that she travelled long distances spiritually and saved people during…
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Up the Elbe
The origins of the city of Dresden lie in its position along the river Elbe. It flows wide and slowly here, making it good for trade. These days there are pleasant river cruises up and down river to other towns on the river.
Travelling from outside the Akademie der Künste to Pillnitz, you first pass two impressive buildings, now home to various ministries, on the northern bank.
On the other…
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Arts and lemons
Walking from the Zwinger towards the river, we passed the Semper Oper. A famous opera house that was severely damaged by the bombing in 1945. The reconstruction after the bombing was completed in 1985, although significant additions were made to create modern theatre and stage capabilities. The front remains true to the original Semper plans.
Once alongside the river, we admired the Academy of…
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Palace between the walls
Like the Fraunkirche, the baroque palace called “Zwinger” was severely damaged during the bombings of Dresden in February 1945. Its palatial rather than religious purpose resulted in its rebuilding being started by the Soviet administration in late 1945.
For many German speakers, the name of this palace appears odd. The word Zwinger originally referred to the section of ground between an inner…
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Princely procession
In the Augustiner Strasse in Dresden, you can admire the largest tiled mural in the world. The “Fürstenzug” (Procession of Princes) depicts 35 princes, who ruled Saxony from Dresden from 1127 to 1873.
It is the outside wall of what had been the palace stables. Since 1589 the wall had been decorated with murals of chalk.
The original of this painting was commissioned to celebrate 800 years of…
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Rebuilding with old and new
On 13 February 1945, allied air forces bombed Dresden. It had been a centre for industry, food manufacturing, banking and trade. Notably at that time, its airport was used for an airbridge to Wroclaw. This city, now in Poland, was being held by Germany, but surrounded by its enemies.
During the German Democratic Republic, many historic buildings were rebuilt in their original style. Other parts…
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Levitating up the hill
Not long after the funicular railway connected the district of Loschwitz to Weißer Hirsch, the residents of Oberloschwitz (Upper Loschwitz) also wanted a convenient way to travel up the hill. In 1901, the Schwebebahn opened and did just that.
The literal translation of Schwebebahn is “Levitating Railway”, however, it is more commonly translated as “suspension railway”. The German original…
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View from the top
The Luisenhof opposite the station also features in the novel which first alerted me to the railway.
We decided to give it a miss though and stroll around the neighbourhood and admire some of the elegant houses.
The time of day we chose made for lovely sunsets in one direction and the time of year allowed us a peak at the river Elbe through the leafless trees.
Weißer Hirsch, the name of this…
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#city#Dresden#Europe#funicular#funicular railway#Germany#Manfred von Ardenne#Standseilbahn#train#travel#Weisser Hirsch
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Dresden Funicular
A novel set in Dresden starts with a detailed description of the main character travelling up the steep bank of the Elbe using the funicular railway. Ever since I read that introduction, I wanted to travel on that funicular.
The system to buy tickets has changed a little since the novel’s description, the ticket machine accepts cards these days, there remains a barrier to enter the…
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Gardens of the Far East
The Korean garden is based on the “House of Lonely Friends” made in 1516 in Seoul. It has three distinct sections: the courtyards, the pavilion and the river landscape.
The courtyard walls are made in a traditional Korean fashion where clay is interspersed with fired tiles of different shapes to create lines and patterns in the walls. Tools commonly in use in traditional domestic courtyards are…
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Structural gardens
Two Gardens of the World in this Berlin park rely heavily on non-plant structures. Despite this, they are clearly gardens, where peace and rest join nature.
The Oriental Islamic garden is entered through a building, which provides a fitting introduction to the seclusion of the walled garden, not visible from the park.
Once inside the 4m high walls, fountains provide water and coolness in times…
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English landscape architecture
Unlike the show gardens, which are small and encased in tall hedging, the Gardens of the World park has some larger sections to represent particular styles. As a visiting English person, I was flattered to read on a sign that “Great Britain’s landscape architecture heritage is known all over the world; it is also central to European landscape and garden design.” Beyond the sign is about 6,000…
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Bears of the world
Like many cities, Berlin has a standard fibreglass sculpture of the city’s mascot. Buddy Bears, as they are called, are all over the city. Companies can buy them and decorate them. Many shops and company offices have one, decorated in brand style.
In the Gardens of the World park, there is one of many exhibitions of buddy bears. These have been decorated by artists from many countries to…
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Show gardens
On the eastern edge of Berlin in Marzahn, close to the border with Brandenburg, is a large cultivated park. Originally laid out in 1987 as the Berlin Gardenshow, it hosted the International Garden Exhibition, IGA, in 2017. It adopted the name Gärten der Welt, Gardens of the World, at the same time. It is easy to reach by public transport, the U5 to Kienberg – Gärten der Welt is a few hundred…
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Grounded planes
Along with the large collection of trains, the Technik Museum in Berlin is also home to many aeroplanes.
Starting with examples of early attempts at machines that could fly
it charts the development of aeroplanes through the 20th century.
As well as many full aircraft on display, many engines are on show with explanations as to why they were developed and why some are now no longer in use.
On…
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