IFLA Milan

We are back from attending the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) in Milan, Italy. The Lido hotel, where we stayed, was comparatively inexpensive and definitely worth the money even though it offered Internet access only via one relatively old computer (half an hour free per day).

From Holiday 2009

The machine had no DSL port for a memory stick, which meant that I had to send files to Joan from the conference site, so that she could send them on in her own email.

The IFLA conference site at first offered only 4 hours of Internet access for 10 €. It was possible to start and stop the access over the full period of the conference, but not convenient, especially for those who wanted to twitter. About mid-way through the conference the volume of protests grew so great that the organizers paid the (probably outrageous) fee to open it to everyone for free. Italy has the most limited Internet access of any western country I have visited recently. One McDonalds in Milan offered free Internet access, but you had to register with a passport or identity card number and then receive a PIN code on a mobile phone with an Italian sim card. Joan could not make it work with her German phone. Internet cafes also required registration with some official document and I had to let the conference center staff make a photo of my passport before I could pay my 10 € to get access, even though I was a registered delegate.

Milan of course has many lovely museums, such as the one in the Pinacoteca di Brera, which we visited on our last day. I particularly liked the Jesi collection of Italian works from 1910 to 1940. While Milan has impressive renaissance architecture, I found the "Liberty" style (essentially art nouveau) interesting (see photos).

From Holiday 2009

The modern architecture was worth noting as well.

From Holiday 2009

Nonetheless my overall impression of Milan has not changed from our previous visit. The streets are noisy and smelly with the roar and exhaust fumes from cars and motorcycles. Restaurant prices are markedly higher than in Berlin, with a coperto (cover charge) that is often 3 € per person. A beer that would cost 3.50 € in Berlin costs 8 € in Milan. The best deal for dinner can be found at restaurants offering a "happy hour" -- which in Milan means 10 € for a single drink and all the tapas that you want to eat. We never took advantage of this and misunderstood the deal until our last day or two, since we assumed that happy hour (they used the English phrase) meant the same as in the US: a time of cheap drinks. The public transit is also a good deal. A single ride on the Metro costs only 1 € and a 24 hour ticket costs only 3 €.

Hannover Holiday 4

Yesterday we took the train to Hildesheim. Our chief goal was the church of St. Michael, whose ceiling has splendid paintings (see photo).

From Holiday 2009

I spent some time trying to get more detailed photos with our compact Nikon. The best result (see below) came from putting the camera flat on a seat and taking lots of pictures until I finally had a particular figure (here St. Michael himself) in the frame.

From Holiday 2009

We also visited the Tourist Information center, which shares space with the library. The front part of the building has medieval carvings:

From Holiday 2009

(to be continued)

Hannover Holiday 3

I began writing this blog entry in the hotel parking lot because that was the only place I could get T-Mobile internet access at the Deutsches Haus Hotel in Braunschweig. The hotel has its own internet system, which seemed like a fairly bad deal from the information we could get from the relatively unhelpful staff. When we finally did purchase 24 hours of access, we were first told that it was one-time use only. Then the woman said we could log on and off, but only on one machine. In fact the system allows 24 hours of accumulated use over a 3 month period on multiple machines. If the woman at the desk had not been so unhelpful, I need not have spent my time in the parking lot.

On Monday we explored Braunschweig. The photo below is from a wooden statue of St. Blaise.

From Holiday 2009

Yesterday we used the Deutsche Bahn's Call-a-Bike system to rent two bicycles for the day. The system works easily. You register online, then phone with a mobile phone to get the code to unlock the bike of your choice, and you call again when you want to return it. Our bikes are in the picture below -- at a bike-stand in Wolfenbüttel.

From Holiday 2009

The weather report for the day said 30% chance of rain, mainly after 5.00 pm. We ran into rain at about 11.00 am in the most exposed part of our route. Happily it was not in an area where we had to consult the map regularly, or the map would have turned into a soggy mess. We both had rain gear with us too.

The town of Wolfenbüttel itself was bigger and prettier than expected. The photo shows were we ate lunch (under the awnings at the right).

From Holiday 2009

The Schloss (castle) was pretty too. It is now partly a museum, partly a school.

From Holiday 2009

The ride back took us through a number of suburbs of no great interest.

A note from back when we were in Hannover: we had some trouble with wasps whenever we sat out at cafes. Neither of us finds wasps very alarming, so we watched as they crawled on the edge of our beer or juice glasses. Then one poor wasp slipped and fell directly into my beer. He struggled but could not get out. I had no spoon to rescue him (and didn't want to risk putting my finger in his way). We called the waiter, who just replaced the beer (and brought covers for our glasses).

Hannover Holiday 2

Hannover has few medieval churches because of the bombing. The main damage seems to have taken place in a raid in 1943. As with the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche in Berlin, one of these has been left as a ruin and memorial to the war (see photo).

From Holiday 2009

The difference is, that the Berlin church has a living component. Joan and I went to a concert in the new section a week or so ago, and it also has an active congregation. The Hannover church remains as nothing more than a monument. It is an interesting monument, though. I especially liked the broken-window stained glass, which is apparently a special exhibit.

From Holiday 2009

Yesterday we visited the Niedersächsische Landesmuseum, which has a strong collection mixed in with a number of works that a museum in Berlin might well leave in storage. I particularly liked the works of Paula Modersohn-Becker, whom I had not encountered before. After the museum we saw the movie Salami Aleikum, which was pleasant and reasonably amusing. Not a great film, but worth seeing. We ended the day at an Indian restaurant in our usual quest for vegetables.

...

Hannover Holiday

Do people actually come to Hannover for a holiday? I think not, at least in general. The city has no obvious tourist attractions, though the Herrnhauser Gardens are nice enough (see photo).

From Holiday 2009

The old city seems to have been leveled during the second world war and what was rebuilt lacks architectural character. The city center seems to have become something of a ghetto for Russian, middle eastern, and Asian immigrants. Middle eastern grocery stores are easy to find, as are fast-food falafel shops. We would be delighted to eat at a good Turkish or Palestinian or Moroccan restaurant, or even a Russian one. These are all available in Berlin, but not, so far as we have found, in Hannover. The chief restaurant choices are either rather heavy and expensive German cuisine or Italian, though in fairness we have found one Indian and one Spanish restaurant that may be possibilities.

Hannover does have some interesting architecture, though. The Anzeiger Building (which now houses the Hannoverische Allgemeine Zeitung) dates from 1927/8 and appears to be art moderne. The architect ist Fritz Höger.

A more recent building of interest is the 2002 headquarters of the NORD/LB (Norddeutsche Landesbank). The architects were Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner (of whom we have never heard).

More information about the building (and more photos) are available on the company website. I confess some doubt about how energy-efficient such a completely glass-enclosed building can be, at least in summer, but the spaces look like fun.

Yesterday we also sent to the Sprengel Museum to see the special exhibit: "Marc, Macke und Delaunay. Die Schönheit einer zerbrechenden Welt (1910 – 1914)." The crowds were large and the museum planned to stay open until midnight for these last two days.