journal

W. is of the opinion that the re-unification of Germany after 1989 was a conquest and that the BRD claimed the conqueror’s or (Realpolitik) victor’s prerogative of rewriting history. This to explain the missing years. Arriving at the Sony Centre after a brief jaunt down to the

What I described as retro-chic would be better called Osti-chic. It carries that somewhat questionable association, like Red Army chic or Soviet chic. Because today we visited two of the Sunday markets where the consistency of this style was readily apparent. In the clothes. The furniture. Some of

Little time to bid goodbye to Venezia this morning, our itinerary requiring that we take a bus boat to Piazzale Roma, thence a bus bus to the airport, to check in with Air Berlin for an 11:30 flight to … Berlin. Check-in time stated as 9:00, so arising

Buzzed in the night by mozzies, we woke late to rain, pedestrians with umbrellas in the muted Venetian light, the sounds softened by rain, the umbrellas and wet-weather gear a peremptory affectation, given the interval between rain-drops, their density and the degree of penetration gained into the narrow

Our pleasure in arrival in Venice soured by an accommodation of a modesty verging on meanness, a flight of stairs up from the foyer, properly floor one-and-a-half, with low heavily timbered ceiling, as if an overcautious builder had decided to throw several trees at it, just to

Leaving Manarola difficult in the brilliant sunshine, our airy and light-filled ‘typical’ Ligurian house – missed in retrospect. We explore a little more of the town before setting out, finding at its limit where the streams from the surrounding hillsides come together to cascade under it and they would’ve