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Purefrancenow in Italy!
New Blog on our recent Italian sojourn coming soon. Watch this space!
Purefrancenow in Berlin – What a sight! by Brian Franklin
As Purefrancenow discovered, Berlin is one of those historical cities which has to be high on the list to visit, at least once.
I went with my wife, Lucy, and our son, Ellis, and Juliane, my wife’s mother ( who was born in East Germany, and is from Prussian descent.) Juliane had never been back since WWII, after the Russians moved in. Not a good time!
So, a bit of a symbolic and emotional trip in many ways, as well as a short vacation for us all.
A short flight from Lyon, where we are based, and you are there – in the heart of the metropolis of Berlin. Living and breathing in all its tangled history.
Berlin is a place, of course, full of strange contradictions and with such a fundamental place in both the ancient and modern history of Germany. And like many countries in the Europe, with a very complicated and intriguing history.
Yes, you cannot escape the symbolism, myriad images, and history of war. But you really don’t want to!
This is recent history which still has current momentum.
The remnants of bullet holes in old buildings is all part of it. My son, Ellis, and I competed in spotting them as we wandered the streets!
But there is much, much more, of course.
The remarkable new architectural structures which have risen from the destruction of war, have been designed and built for a variety of new government buildings, international embassies, art exhibition centres, residential apartments, offices, theatres, museums, etc. (part of the opportunity of reconstruction after the war, and the eventual re-unification between East and West.
A new modern landscape has been created, interspersed with the few carefully renovated older buildings, including cathedrals and churches which still remain.
Brilliantly designed and informative museums – particularly the Deutsches Historiches Museum (History of Germany from Ancient and Roman times through to the modern day and the Jüdisches Museum (History of the Jews). Impressive.
Places of interest abound (some not so obvious to find!) Including remnants of the cold war, such as the ever-present Berlin Wall (many grafitty-designed pieces of it dotted around the city as a permanent symbol of the communist annexation after WWII), Checkpoint Charlie, and the original Gestapo Building nearby, Hitler’s bunker (no monument here, of course!)
I could go on, but you will find much more in the guide books. We often use the Eye Witness ones – brilliant!
The Holocaust Memorial, is particularly unusual, amazing and thought-provoking, and the Brandenburger Tor really needs no mention as, bizarrely, the essential German symbol of both triumph and defeat.
Walking around the inner heart of Berlin is easy, and you can get to key places of interest very quickly. However, it is always good when your feet are beginning to ache to jump into and experience the superb German taxi – often clean, leather-seated Mercedes driven at fast confident speed through the crowded German streets. Most definitely not expensive compared to other places I’ve been.
The quality and variety of restaurants is excellent, probably as you would expect in a major capital city, but the quality of food, friendliness of service, and most reasonable prices were a pleasant surprise. Whilst we were there we ate German, Thai, Italian, Chinese, and Bavarian – all exceedingly good.
In the week that we were there ( and I know you expect a major capital city to be full-on) Berlin did seemed to be a tremendously active, dynamic, and intriguing place.
Obviously you can never ‘do’ Berlin justice in such short time, of course, but we got a good ‘feel’ of it all.
I felt that it was an especially cosmopolitan, contemporary, creative city that was thriving (despite the current economic malaise in Europe), and most content and confident with it’s heritage and both it’s colourful and dark past, but also distinctly focused on a bright and modern future – striving forward.
A very interesting place. I would visit again, there’s much more to see!
If you’ve never been – just go!
As an additional bit of fun for the family, it is well worth going to the Berlin Zoological Gardens ( a famous original-style zoo with some modern touches, and where you can get closer to the animals than normal.) The old Natural History Museum, too, is most definitely worth a visit – the kids will love it!
www.dhm.de – Deutsches Historichess Museum
www.jmberlin.de – Jüdisches Museum Berlin
Berlin Tourist Information – Visit Berlin
Happy Bastille Day!
On July 14th the French celebrate Bastille Day.
This day marks the end of monarchy and the beginning of the French Revolution.
Several factors led to the Revolution. France had the largest population in Europe and not nearly enough food to feed it. The wealthy and growing bourgeoisie (the middle-class, merchants and businessmen) were allowed no political input or power. The poor were in a bad situation and it was getting worse. The country was nearing bankruptcy. By the late 1780s the people of France were fed up and began speaking out. Assemblies were held and demands of a constitution were made. When King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, tried to quiet the unrest the people rebelled.
On July 14, 1789 the masses banded together and stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of the corrupt political system. This began the Revolution. The following year on July 14th delegates from all regions of the France gathered in Paris to celebrate the Fête de la Fédération and proclaim their allegiance to one national community. This made France a paragon for the rest of Europe and established them a nation of liberty.
The Bastille
The First Republic was established in 1792. This period is known as the Reign of Terror. The leaders (like Maximilien Robespierre) rejected the idea of federalism and enforced their own ideas upon the people. They held mass executions by guillotine, closed churches, and repressed religious freedoms among other things. They claimed their acts were justified because of the European monarchy allegiances just outside of France and the growing number of uprisings within the borders. In the end, in an ironic twist of fate the leaders of The First Republic found themselves under the blade of the guillotine.
The Revolution lead to the tricolor flag of blue, red, and white. Blue and red are the colors of Paris and white is the color of royalty.
Bastille Day was proclaimed a national holiday in 1880 and in 1848 the motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was reinstated. In France, most folks take Bastille Eve off and celebrate with festive balls and brilliant displays of fireworks. The day that follows is filled with parades, bands, dancing and general good times.
The French Revolution of 1789 — Its Legacy
At the end of the 19th century the French considered the enduring gains of the Revolution to be the idea of the nation, one and indivisible, based on a voluntary union and incorporating the principles of human rights and national sovereignty, the rule of law and a republican form of government. As they are associated with France, these concepts are symbolized by the “Marseillaise,” the anthem to national unity composed in 1792 by Rouget de Lisle. Except for the period between 1815 and 1830, the tricolour flag has represented France since the Revolution; it marries blue and red, the colours of the city of Paris, with the royal colour of white. Bastille Day, 14 July, was officially proclaimed the national holiday in 1880 and the motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was restored in 1848.
The French Declaration of 1789 is not simply a copy of the American Declaration of Independence, it takes as a starting point the the reflexions of the philosophy of the Enlightenment and in particular of authors like Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. Admittedly, the US document had a great influence on the French. But the originality of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was conceived to recognize eternal and universal values. It thus had, after its publication, a great repercussion on the Western thought.
Moreover, the powerful aspiration to equality, inherited from the Enlightenment philosophy of Rousseau, stands out as the most resonant principle of the Declaration and following revolutionary movements. Unfortunately, because of the troubles during the Reformation and its repression supported by the Catholic powers, the “enlightened ones” had in France an anti-religious fervor. Never-the-less “equality” is the most enduring, original characteristic of the French Revolution, within the great sweep of political change which first radiated from the shores of the United States. ( funmunch.com)
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Speciality olive oils, vinegars, and mustards in the Roannais.
For more than 120 years, in the southernmost corner of Burgundy, near the Roannais region, has been the home to the cultivation of a range of culinary oils with an authentic fruity flavour.
Through the generations, the LEBLANC family has handed down its trade secrets based on the watchwords of authenticity, tradition and nature, flavour, gastronomy and sophistication.
Is it the stone mill that has been grinding the seeds and fruits since 1878, or is it the age-old techniques passed from father to son?
It’s probably a beautiful combination of the two that guarantees the quality and special identity of every precious trickle of oil that emerges from the press.
The famous J.Leblanc oils in the Roannais – by Lucy Franklin