Smile

This is what travelling is all about: finding something that makes you smile. And these "smiley faces" did. I do not know what all those pickles are but someone has had a nice idea to spread joy and succeeded.
I saw these on my current rail trip in Europe. The jars were at a stall in Budapest great market hall. Nice addition to all those stall selling paprika!

Tower

East-Berlin and Alexanderplatz - well, nowadays just Berlin, but I actually used to work in East-Berlin in 1988, approximately  a year prior to the Wall coming down. My apartment was round about here where the photo is taken from.  I went back last summer (2012) for the first time since then and managed to locate the building. It had been turned into a hotel.. (I wish all the cockroaches had died out before that). Every morning I walked around the corner and saw the TV-tower, just like in this photo. And I could swear that the Reiseburo sign was even then on the top of that tall building.

It was really interesting to stay and work in the DDR (East Germany), and that is something that no one can experience again. 

Berlin has changed a lot from those days. I really enjoyed my stay there, back then, and now, although the experience was slightly different, from many points of view.

Working on Ganges

I thought it was about time to start again, with this blog. I have so many photos that I have not looked at since I took them - and it is a shame.

Here is one again from India. This was taken in Varanasi (Benares) on the Rives Ganges in April 2012. 

It was nice to be back in Varanasi after almost 19 years! The River had not changed much, it was still dirty and holy, perhaps dirtier after all these years? The Ghats (river banks) had changed some, but I managed to find the same Inn or Hotel in which we stayed all those years ago. Back then we also took a boat ride with a young boy, much like this guy here. But there were no ads on the boats and everything was much bleaker, or so it seems now from the old photos... 

The feeling was still there.. the feeling of being in an ancient city and the feeling of elevation from so many who do believe in the magic of Varanasi and the mighty River Ganges.