Belgrade, Serbia

Thanks to AIESEC and AIESEC Alumni I reached my target of visiting a new country early this year and Serbia it was. I arrived just before midnight as the flight was delayed. We were already boarded on the aircraft in Munich but the doors would not close. So we de-boarded and waited two hours for a new aircraft to come from Vienna before heading off to Belgrade. 

There my friefnd Tanja from Macedonia welcomed me and we went straight to the city centre for a drink at Cantina di Frida. The Serbians I met there were very welcoming, enjoy singing and dancing  to live music and smoke heavily (as it's not EU, you can still smoke in all restaurants, clubs and bars).

The next day, I spent sightseeing with Tanja's overnight guest - Paul from the Netherlands. We took a bus to the city centre and then walked from sight to sight in the pouring snow.

We started off at a church. The nearby Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church was closed.

Princess Lubica's residence was either closed or was hosting a media conference when we tried to get in, so we moved on to the Kalemagdan fortress. 

The widespread fortress had some slippery bridges and passageways so you need to be careful. In the centre, there is the Military Museum and I was quite happy to enter and warm up. The museum showcased the historic development of Belgrade and Serbia from ancient times to nowadays. It was very interesting to learn more about the history and Serbia's relations.

We filled out empty stomach at the Kalemagdan Terasa restaurant which is one of the best in Belgrade. We decided for a Serbian dish: grilled meat of every kindwith boiled vegetables.

From there we continued to the Gallery of Frescos, a small museum that housed several church frescos. 

Unfortunately, two mueums were closed for restauration: the museum for Serbian history and the Museum of the Serbian Church. So we just passed  by and moved on to the next. In the ethnographic Museum, we saw several national costumes from the region and the attire for different occassions.

The National Gallery that had been closed for the lack of funds for 10 years had re-opened so we enjoyed the paintings of Paja Jovanovic.

Nikola Tesla Museum

The most interesting museum was the tiny museum in honor of Nikola Tesla, engineer, inventor and Serbian. He experimented a lot with electricity and developed the system of two-phase alternating current.

Nikola Tesla

Last stop on our sightseeing tour was the splendid Sveti Sava - the biggest Orthodox church in the world. Unfortunately, the interior is still under construction and featured a lot of concrete.

In the evening, we took a bus from the bus terminal to Novi Sad.

Skiing in Garmisch

Taking a day off in the week and heading for the Alps - my brother and me went to Garmisch for a day of skiing. At our arrival just before 9 am, the sun had not yet touched the valley ground. We got our tickets and headed up to the top.

9 o'clock - valley

After some rounds to get acquainted with the ski resort and to warm up the muscles, we made our way to the highest point of the resort: Osterfelderkopf (2050 m). From there we had a fantastic view on the mountains and the city in the valley.

10 o'clock - view from Osterfelderkopf

Next we wanted to try the famous Kandahar - one of the most demanding ski runs in the alpine skiing racing circuit. Unfortunately, the upper part was closed for training. So we did the lower part. As it had rained the night before, it was really icy. Nonetheless, we managed it several times.

Then we moved on to Hausberg where we did several runs before and after lunch and were speeding down the hill. Victor cracked a 113 km/h. We lunched at Drehmöser 9 and enjoyed a view on the mountain. As there is still a US army facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, there were a lot of Americans.

view from lunch table

In the afternoon, we could finally ski the upper Kandahar run that was really good. We did again all the runs from the morning before we finished our skiing day at 4 pm.

Eisenach & Wartburg

After Christmas we went to visit my grandma who lives in Eisenach, a town in Thuringia.

The first afternoon, we spent on main shopping street - Karlstraße - offering all the goods you need: clothes, food, perfumes, coffee, flowers, decoration, ...

Friday morning, we drove and walked uphill to the castle named Wartburg that was founded on the border of the territories of Louis the Springer who founded the castle in 1068.

As the territories were enlarged, the Wartburg became its centre and siege of the Landgraves of Thuringia. It also developed as a centre of political, social and cultural life. In 1207, the Minstrel's Contest (Sängerkrieg) took place there and famous minstrels like Walter von der Vogelweide und Wolfram von Eschenbach competed against each other. In the 19th century, Richard Wagner used this event for his opera Tannhäuser.

Another famous person is St. Elisabeth of Hungary who lived there from 1211 to 1228. When she arrived, she was 4 years old and was raised to marry Ludwig IV of Thuringia. At the age of 14, the marriage took place and in the following years she gave birth to three children. After her husband died in the crusade, she left to live in Marburg. Elisabeth was known for her kindness and charitable work. She founded a lot of hospitals and always took care of the poor. It is said that over 100 wonders took place around her and within four years after her death she was proclaimed saint by the Pope.

After the mid 15th century the importance of the Wartburg declined which made it a perfect hiding place for Martin Luther. In 1517, Martin Luther criticized the Roman Catholic Church with 95 thesis that he hang on the castle church of Wittenberg. Later he was declared outlaw. Frederick the Wise - Elector of Saxony - was a supporter of him and offered him the safety of the castle. Martin Luther used his 10 months there to translate the Bible into German and by this unifying the German people with a common language and liberating it from Latin spoken masses.

The next event of historic importance was the first Wartburg Festival in 1817. More than 450 students of newly founded fraternities celebrated the victory over Napoleon in 1813. They also wanted to end conservatism and to have a united Germany as there were about three hundred scattered states at that time. The colors of the German flag were used there derived from the uniform of the Lützow Free Corps - black from the uniform, red from facings and gold from buttons - who fought against Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig.

Today, the Wartburg is UNESCO World Heritage Site that receives visitors from all over the world.

New Palace Schleissheim

Just some kilometers away from my home, there are the palaces of Schleissheim. 

I went with one of my visitors to see the New Palace. Construction of it was started at the beginning of the 18th century, but then the Elector Prince ran out of money and stayed some time in exile in Paris. When he returned the work continued, but of the huge outlined plans - only the major wing was realized. 

The interior was decorated by German and Italian artists.

Sala terrena

Grand hall

The palace already became a public building in the 19th century featuring a lot of paintings and so it continues today.

Grand gallery

The Elector princes of the House of Wittelsbach lived in the palace and so several of the apartments are still furbished in the original looks.

Empress' Bedroom

On the premises, there is more to see the next time I go there: the Old Palace, the Lustheim Palace and the Court Garden that is still featuring a baroque style.

So if you would like to see these palaces with me, just come and visit me.

AIESEC Alumni International Meeting Moscow

At the end of the week, I attended the AIESEC Alumni International Meeting. For four days we have had the chance to get to know Russia, several companies and many active and former AIESECers. Germany was represented by 9 delegates.

On Thursday, it started with several lectures on the Russian economy followed by a panel discussion. In the evening, we joined the 64th International Congress for dinner, Alumni Hall of Fame and Russian Night. After awarding several alumni for their work, the cultural programme with dances, music and culinary stalls started.

Also the next day was orchestrated by the Russian alumni and we went to the Skolkovo School of Management. There we could participate in two workshop rounds by the partners of the International Congress - I joined the Legacy of Sochi (PwC) and Industry and Government Relations (Sun InBev). In between, Evgeniya introduced several Russian alumni and their businesses.

The weekend was dedicated to the progress of the international organisation - the international board prepared several lectures and worshops on alumni programmes, membership and communication. In the evening, we got ready for the gala dinner that took place at Afiamall. The dinner hall was towered by big matroschkas who witnessed together with us the handover of the UBS awards to the best AIESEC countries.

On the last day, we had a sleep in - finally! Then Michaela from AIESEC International gave a speech on the alumni strategy. The closing was very emotional and we thanked the organising committee for a unforgettable event.

I had to leave early as my flight was scheduled for departure in the afternoon - to get to Domodedovo I had to take the metro and then the AeroExpress. I missed the one I wanted to catch seeing just the taillights. Nonetheless, I made it in time to check-in, had a fast lane through security and then nearly missed the flight as my gate was hidden behind a long queue of passengers on the way to Vienna. 

Moscow IV: Cosmos

Another important topic for Russia is the space or better cosmos. The Soviet Republic was the first country to send a dog and then a man in the space.

In Moscow, these events together with a lot of others are remembered in the Cosmonautics Museum that is below the Monument "To the Conquerors of Space". The monument was built after the launch of Sputnik.

To the Conquerors of Space

The museum features exhibits, replicas and photos from all the space missions, training centers and satellites.

Soyuz capsule

inside MIR

Still today Russia's space programme is important internationally. Especially after the NASA abandoned their shuttle programme and now the space flights from Baikonur (Kazakhstan) supply the international space station ISS.

Moscow III: Tsaritsyno

Tsaritsyno is a palace built by Catherine the Great in a park in Kolomenskoye that she bought from Prince Kantemir - a gambler - in late 18th century. She changed the name to Tsaritsyno meaning Empress' village.

Singing fountain in the park

In the park, there nicely arranged flowerbeds, fountains, statues and several buildings besides the big palace.

One is the Church of our Lady - that looks normal from outside, but is richly decorated on the inside.

Church of our Lady

interior

The palace was not finished during her lifetime as she had problems with the architects and ran out of money.  The ensemble of buildings was made of red brick and white was used a decorative colour. 

patterned bridge

After more than 200 years, the palace and surroundings were woken up from their sleep by the mayor of Moscow who released funds to complete the inside. Now the interior is decorated nicely, parts are given to different exhibitions and a tourist structure is established.

palace

stairway

golden ballroom

Only service and English speaking staff & signs are lacking. Nowhere at the cashiers desk it was saying that you have to pay a photo license. Then 15 min into the palace you stand in a beautiful golden ballroom and you get your camera out. Before you are able to make more than two photos the attendants harrass you for the license. So from now on you try to make some sneak pictures with your iPhone camera. 

At another museum I even unpacked my big camera in front of the cashier to get hold of my purse. But she did not ask whether I need a license, so when I was told by her colleague I had to go back and get one. I got quite furious that day. 

Court yard to Khlebny Dom (kitchen house)

After the palace I went through the park where a lot of squirrels were running about.

Saying goodbye to the park