16. Partly cloudy with flurries - and Freud

I didn't know that my mobile phone even had these words in its weather forecast!  Never been used (on my phone) before.

Today is noticeably the coldest we have had.  Two pairs of socks as we go out for dinner tonight.

Today we went to the Freud Museum.  It was his office and practice until the family left Austria for London in 1938.  Despite the entreaties of friends, Freud resisted leaving Vienna until his daughter, Anna, was detained by the Gestapo for 24 hours.  Freud moved his family, their furniture and possessions with them to London, including his famous couch.  He had to pay a substantial tax to the Nazis.  He died in London the next year.

However this location in Vienna has been developed as a a museum, with substantial input from Anna, after the war.  Very generous of her I thought. You won't learn much about the details of his work, but there are lots of pictures and documents from his life, including a film of home movies with commentary by Anna.

Outside the Museum.

Inside - his shingle.

There is another museum in London - now added to our list when we are next there.

17. Trains and Prague

It has been cold in Vienna - we woke to light snow on cars and the roof.

We caught the train from Vienna to Prague.

Inside the train - seats.

Inside the trains - vestibule

Inside the trains - speed signs.

Along the way, we could see some snow in the fields.

And later in the day there was none. Very pretty scenery.

Prague is also cold, but it doesn't seem so bad!  Somewhere between 0 to 3 degrees. We must be acclimatising.  Imagine busking in this weather - playing a keyboard in gloves!

But some do eat ice-cream it would seem - cucumber ice-cream at that!

Mulled wine for sale - introduced to us by Anne.

18. Prague

Today we saw the Old Town Square, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

They have a Rathaus too - with its own clock.

Every hour it does a performance and people gather to watch.

Tonight we saw it.

Of course we compare it to the Glockenspiel in Munich.  This is a much shorter performance, but not so celebratory.  The apostles (the two little windows above the dials) appear at the behest of the skeleton ringing a bell (to the right of the uppermost dial), presumably reminding you of your mortality!  As if we needed reminding.  Both performances finished with a crowing cock (in the little window right at the top).

The sort of church lighting you can have when you are famous for crystal.
This was inside St Nicholas Church.

Random street shots of Prague Old City.

And today's weather - my mobile phone is getting used to these icons!

Today I wore long johns, two pairs of socks, three layers under my down jacket, my polar scarf, and gloves of course - all were needed.  Tomorrow is a much warmer 4C.  I think we will appreciate it!

19. Prague - Sights and Kit

Today we did more sightseeing.

We went to the Jewish Museum, which is not one building but a whole series of synagogues and a cemetery and a ceremonial hall (below). There is a lot of history about the Jews in the area.

The Spanish Synagogue - inside

and its gorgeous dome.

The Charles Bridge is an icon.

Its entrance tower.

Walking onto the bridge.  KM is to the left, with the grey backpack.

A couple of random street scenes.  It is a beautiful city.

It has been cold. Those who are here are well rugged up - including us.
That pile of puffy jackets and high-vis vests contains SIX children!

And this is our kit!

It is supposed to be the off-season.  It must be packed in summer - I guess you can fit more people into the Old Town Square when we are not wearing all those winter clothes.

20. Food in Prague - Trdelnik and Pork Knuckle (or schweinhaxe).

We saw trdelnik again this morning.  It looks like doughnuts on a spit.  Some pics.

The stall.

Being made.

About to be eaten.  Nice and chewy, and the only sweetness was from the sugar it is rolled in.

And you can get them filled with ice-cream. A lady let me take a picture of hers.

And pork - looked like ham.

KM had heard about pork knuckel.  We had to make a reservation at a nearby hotel to get a table.  This is it - when we remembered to take a picture that is.

21. Czech law enforcement

We have had Italian food several nights now - as Hoon had said, it is readily available.

When we could not get a table for pork knuckle at a nearby pub, we went to an Italian Restaurant in the Old Town Square where we saw Czech law enforcement in action.  A man had come into the restaurant and began swearing. He looked a bit disheveled and probably intoxicated.   The staff tried to talk to him in English (not their first language) while we puzzled where he was from.  The wait staff had said he was English, but I told them he did not sound English to us, nor American.  in fact he sounded Australian.  The staff called the police, who eventually came.  When two, tall Policie walked in, he became meek and mild.  They said they would take him back to his hotel. Apparently the police had attended to him before.  They were very nice to him - who knows what happened next.

On talking to the waiter, we discovered that:

The restaurant was Italian.
The waiter was Bulgarian.
The owner was Serbian.
The patrons (us)were Australian and Singaporean.
And the man was Canadian, so they said.

22. Prague to Berlin

You know you have been in Germany too long when you can tell that 2 degrees feels warmer than zero.

And when you regret that your makeup has any SPF in it!

Today we caught the Czech train from Prague to Berlin.  We got to the station in plenty of time, which was just as well as it was a very confusing station.  Two semi-offical-looking people helped us, one took us to our platform, told us where to wait (on the wrong side, but we sorted that out) and where our carriage would be.  Then he came back and asked for a tip - they were not employees - but enterprising locals!  Found a euro to give him, as he had been helpful.

Four and a half hours later, we arrived at Berlin.  Not much else to report, apart from pic of the train and the station.

We got to our hotel, walked down to Alexanderplatz in the former East Germany, with street architecture to match.  It reminded me of some streets in China's cities - very wide, plain buildings, all coloured by the winter leafless trees.

And German efficiency in action.  This is where you put your dirty dishes at the cafeteria at Galeria Kaufhof - it is a conveyor system!

Tomorrow's forecast is a warm 6 degrees! 

23. Brandenburg Gate.

Seeing the Brandenburg Gate was one of my reasons for coming to Berlin.

As we got closer...

but this is what we don't see in docos - the back view.

For the record, this is the Brandenburg Gate after the fall of Berlin, presumably from the front.