Bamberg

The old town centre of Bamberg is an UNESCO world heritage site .. that's right - the entire town. Thus it is quite the tourist attraction, and there are quite a number of interesting buildings to be seen. Apart from old houses, there are really three major highlights: old churches, the older town hall and Little Venice.


The old town is built between two major canals, and Little Venice, is the highly decorated, and spruced up section of the old fishing village. With the recent floods accross Europe, I cannot help but wonder at the rationality of living right next to the water, but I suppose it is easier to control the flow of water on a canal than on a river.



While Little Venice is built next to the canal, the older town hall (Rathaus) is built in the middle of the canal. Apart from the unusual architecture of having a building in the middle of the canal, the Rathaus is also highly decorated with paintings on the outside and a number of statues adorning the building and the bridges connecting the Rathaus to the dry land.


I am not sure how religious the people of Bamberg really are, but most likely, the answer is not very. They must have been at one point, because there are so many religious symbols, such as the statue above outside the Rathaus. There are also a number of churches.



Churches, and for that matter, all religious buildings have always facinated me. Especially old ones. They are highly decorated and offer visitors a free art gallery. And apart from wondering at the extent people went to, to raise money and build these buildings, I can also marvel at some of the incredible inconsitencies thrown by the contents in the churches. Take the statue of Zeus, hurling lightning down to the earth while a sleeping Jesus lies below comforted by angels. A mixture of the unholy and holy in almost perfect harmony - I wonder what the religious conservatives of today would think. This is from the St Michael's Benedictine Monastery (founded around 1050, not sure when the work was created and installed).



St Michael has a number of beautiful artwork installations, including the entire roof painted with medicinal plants. The lighting makes it quite spectacular, even without any fancy stained glass windows.


The Imperial Cathedral (Dom) is slightly older, and more well known, particularly for having a papal tomb. While it is certainly majestic, it seems a lot colder and impersonal, and I found St Michael a lot more interesting.

Bamberg is certainly an interesting town to visit and walk around. However, it is not a place which draws you to see it again and again. It does however seem to host a fair share of rock concerts, including Nightwish in their new tour (after I leave Germany :( ). In a city of churches, it is somewhat ironic.

Way of Darkness II Festival

Germany is well known for hard rock and heavy metal bands, and the vast number of fans of the genre. The chance to attend a heavy metal festival, just a short train ride away in Bamberg was hard to resist, although due to various reasons, I only managed to attend Saturday, and even then, not for the whole 13 odd hours. I did return to Bamberg on Sunday, and I will have a separate post on that later.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself. Yes, it was louder than any concert I have ever been to. Yes, it was a bit weird to be one of the few non Caucasian people in the hall (I did spot two Chinese guys). But this is also Germany - it was the most organised music event I have been to: sets were changed within the allocated 20 minutes, bands stuck to their time limits, sound and lighting were fantastic, refreshment stalls were quick and efficient, and even the merchandise stalls were efficient. Even language was not an issue; primarily because it was an international event featuring bands from a number of different European countries.

Heavy metal music is actually quite fascinating. Despite the colourful names of the songs, there is not much in the sense of lyrics ... it is usually someone screaming into the microphone. And it seems that much the screaming effects are done at the mixing desk, not by the singer himself (well all the screaming frontmen were men), as a number of the frontmen chose to use a separate microphone to talk to the crowd. In fact, I am not too sure what the purpose of the frontman is really ... after all, anyone can scream (and have it distorted accordingly). It is also quite easy to see why heavy metal attracts labels such as satanic: just look at the names of the song: anything and everything on the "wrong" side of morality: illicit sex, drugs, disease, violence and hell. But above all, it is about the show. The show featured many things that I have never seen on stage. Metal music, above all, is about non conformance. And this is what makes it so fascinating.

So with that, a run through the bands that I saw.

Morning Beloveth (Ireland)
I only caught the last part of the act, so can't really say much.

A.O.K. (Germany)
Of all the acts I saw, A.O.K. was the embodiment of non conformance. The performance was, I think, the most fun I have ever seen a band have on stage. It started with a food fight ... started with a song called baguette ... where the one of the lead singers (there are two frontmen) bashes a baguette on his head, while the other throws baguettes into the crowd. And off course the crowd throws the baguettes back. But the food fight carried on, including wieners, lettuce and corn flakes. The food fight between parts of the crowd and the band was hilarious to watch ... esp since the band actually just carried on playing.

It did not stop at the food fight either ... first the front men mooned the crowd, and eventually ended up prancing naked on the stage, head banging during the last part of their show. If nothing else, A.O.K embodied what is different about heavy metal.

Exrementory Grindfuckers (Germany)
They were not as impressive as A.O.K, and coming in after them must have been difficult. There was one highlight though: a duet, in English (a love song to boot) with a female singer (I presume from a band that played earlier). The lyrics were quite funny actually ... although I can't remember the details.

Rompeprop (Netherlands)
This was the first foreign band, and it featured the biggest moshpit I have seen - in size and number of participants. The hall was fairly large, and the mosh pit took a significant portion of the audience space.

Delirium Tremens (Germany)
While A.O.K's show was about celebrating chaos, this band had the most interesting and impressive stage show. It started off with the frontman emerging wearing what can be best described as medieval armour ... his entire body seemed to be covered with studded clothing ... and massive studs at that. And slowly the show evolved ... two pigs heads appeared, carried by two men wearing hangman’s hoods. After removing himself from the armour, the frontman briefly joined the moshpit, grunting and screaming from the middle of the moshpit, before moving back to the stage to perform some fire breathing. Quite impressive really.

Tyr (Denmark)
Tyr was the replacement band, for the more interestingly named Prostitute Disfigurement. They were by far the most mainstream band of the evening ... playing music much closer to the likes of Metallica and the like i.e. more heavy rock than heavy metal. Musically, it was the performance I enjoyed listening to the most.

Fleshcrawl (Germany)
One of the main bands of the festival, it embodied all the screaming and heavy riffs and drumbeats. In fact listening to them, I was wondering what the border was between noise and music ... and for the first minutes of their set, I think it was more noise than music. But they are really impressive musicians, and I think part of the problem, from my view anyway, was the screaming. Unlike the previous bands, Fleshcrawl did not have any on stage antics. And the music was actually quite impressive, especially when the frontman shut up :)

Dismember(Sweden)
They were the main band of the day, playing a 80 minute set. Unfortunately, to catch the last train out of Bamberg, I had to leave sometime in the middle, so when the band took a break in their set (after 40 odd minutes), I decided to leave. Simply put, they were a better version of Fleshcrawl and Tyr put together. Their music was brilliant, especially when their songs required solos, and their songs were more than just screaming. In fact, I even recognised a few :). It was easy to see why they were the headline act, and I wish I could have seen more of them. But the next train out of Bamberg was at 5am the next morning, a whole 2 and bit hours after the last act was scheduled to finish.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself, and I would consider going to another metal festival ... but only if it is organised by Germans :p

Banking Crisis

No, this post is not about the credit crunch. On that front, I am not surprised. After all, how many emails have you received offering low cost mortgages and low interest credit cards? Just like viagra and penis enlargement, some people must be taking up these offers.

For the past month, I have had no access to my savings or current accounts through the Internet portal at Standard Bank (SA Bank account). At first, it was because of scheduled downtime, but it did not appear, long after the downtime was over. And, despite emails to the Internet banking team, nothing seemed to be resolved. Anyway, after 4 weeks, I got an email from the email support unit saying that I had to go to a local branch to get it resolved ... and the email acknowledged that was going to be difficult seeing that I was on a different continent.

So, I loaded up my Skype account, got myself to one of my regular net cafès (luckily the weather was good, so I could sit outside ... I did not know, how long I had to rant at the operator) and got on the phone. Predictably, the customer service, at first could not help ... since it was a Saturday noon, despite advertising support number that operates until 4pm. Eventually, after about 20 minutes (bow down to Skype ... it still costs less than 5 minutes of a cell phone call in either South Africa or Germany), I found out that my savings and current accounts (not my credit or notice deposit accounts) were closed due to FICA reasons; so I was directed to the FICA helpdesk.

The FICA helpdesk could not work out what went wrong either. They mentioned that someone at the Musgrave branch in SA loaded a FICA related notice on the 17th of July, but I was already in Berlin, a full 6 days after I went to the Musgrave branch to buy foreign exchange and put a change of address notice (complete with the relevant FICA documentation). It is also about three weeks before I noticed problems my account. It was also distressing that I was not notified at all about this, considering the amount of money I have in the accounts. However, the FICA rep could not help me on a Saturday, but did promise me to get it sorted out first thing Monday morning.

Which she did - Monday morning, it seems it is all sorted out, and I can access my accounts again. The main downside to all this - I have to fork out about R2 000 (approx 200 €) more in flights and accommodation costs for my conference travels this month (ACM DRM in Washington DC and Virtual Goods in Koblenz). I still have no idea what went wrong, and why my accounts were suspended. It is at times like this, that I really miss 20Twenty.

And to really put the situation in crisis mode - I had no access to my German bank account either, and with sorting out the visa, I had all of 5€ in total on Friday night. My Deutsche Bank account provides me with two cards: a savings card and a current card. But these accounts are different, and not linked. Furthermore, the current card expires ... as it happened on Friday. So, since I had no money in my savings account (which has since been resolved) and my access to my current account disabled, and no open bank offices over the weekend, I was in a really financial distress. Luckily, I had some US dollars on me, and I got on a bus to Nuremberg (they don't check to see if you have a ticket on the bus), changed my dollars to Euros, and managed to ride out the weekend (quite well too ... see my other posts this week).

So in summary ... it is possible to live life without bank accounts, as long as you have cash in hand. US dollars seem like the best bet, but I saw that the forex office also buys and sells Krugerrands. I think, above everything else, that could be the best cash equivalent of them all.

German Red Tape

Most people hate bureaucracy; and it is probably the worst problem about democratic systems. As much as oversight and process is good, it is at times mind numbingly idiotic. And Germans, it seems, are particularly fastidious about their red tape.

It all started back in Cape Town, even before I left. I am scheduled to be in Germany for 4 and a half months, but they could not issue me with a visa for that long (or for that two visas). Instead, I had to get a 90 day visa, and then upgrade it in Germany.

And that is where the fun started. I could not update in Berlin, partly because I was lazy and did not look up the details in time (and the offices only open 3 days a week for 4 hours at a time), and partly because I did not have the relevant documentation. You see, to get the visa update I needed, I needed to be a registered resident of Berlin ... which is rather convoluted since you have to have a lease agreement to be get such a registration. So, I left things for Erlangen.

At Erlangen, I discovered that the Cape Town Embassy had actually processed the wrong type of visa for me, and I could not update my visa easily. I had two options: either get a work permit (which I don't need as a short term scientific assistant at a research institute) from the wonderfully named Aliens Office, or get the visa issued, fly outside to a non Schengen country and then re-enter.

The personnel department decided to first try the Aliens Office, who did process the request very fast (took 2 weeks instead of the usual 8) and I finally managed to get the visa sorted this morning. After having my photo retaken because the ones I had (taken in Berlin) did not meet the specifications ... strange as the photo is actually shrunk in the final visa.

But here is the really fun part ... since my flight leaves the day after I finish my internship, I have to go get another extension (for the two days) closer to the time. I do not need extra documentation, but that is how it must be done. Since I might be in Barcelona at the time, I am wondering if I should just change my flights instead.

Radiohead's New Distribution Strategy

After the conclusion of their previous contract, Radiohead has decided to go independent, and record and distribute their new album, In Rainbows, themselves. In fact, they are releasing the album on the 10^th of October. (See http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46015-new-radiohead-album-aaaaaaahhh)

It is their distribution strategy that is most interesting. There have been many bands that have done the independent recording route off course. They have a "box set" with the double CD, vynils, artwork photographs etc. for 40 pounds. Expensive, but you do get a lot I suppose. But it is their digital strategy that is impressive: download on MP3 (no DRM protection), with downloaders paying what they wish.

It is, as correctly pointed out by Questionable Content, not a new strategy. Webcomic authors are not the only ones to make out a living of mass patronage; but certainly one of the most noticeable. The idea is off course that people who really appreciate your work will pay something, presumably reflecting how much it meant to them. It is also a risky strategy, as there are also a number of stingy freeloaders out there, who don't like sharing bandwidth on bit torrent, let alone volunteer to pay for music!

Is this going to be a new successful direction for recording artists? I don't think so. Yes, big name bands like Radiohead can afford to do this. But can a start up band make a living out of donations from fans? The problem with this approach is, that the artist needs a reputation first - to draw the crowd. Only then, can they consider giving it away. The function of the reviled record label is really to take a gamble on a new band, finance their new album, promote and distribute their album; and hope that they become big.

Radiohead (and the Creative Commons mix push by the Beastie Boys a few years ago) are great efforts at "freeing music" but these guys have relatively little to loose.

Human Rights

Nuremberg is also known for its role in shaping the declaration of human rights, and it is a fitting place too. The scene of the Nuremberg trials, the first International Trial for war crimes. The court room for the trial, Room 600, is still used, and is accessible via a guided tour during the weekend. The tour includes a detailed presentation on the proceedings of the trial and the various issues involved.



In the old town, a street is dedicated as the Way of Human Rights, where the articles of the declaration of human rights are engraved in different languages, representing the various oppressed nations (an oak tree represents all the other cultures not explicitly listed). But looking at human civilisation, has there ever been a culture that has not been oppressed at one time in their history by another culture?

Going back to the Nuremberg Trial, What I found interesting were the arguments used by the chief prosecutor (who was from the US) on why the trial was important for the future of mankind. He presented arguments on why the world needs prevent future genocides, and on the treatment of prisoners, against slavery etc. The idea of a humane war is downright stupid in my opinion, but what is clear in many respects is that the world has not really learnt from WW 2, or what the Nuremberg Trial was supposed to teach the world. Not only have we allowed genocide to happen again, and carry on happening and wars haven't stopped. In fact, it can be argued that, in modern wars, more civilians die than actual soldiers.

Time and time again, human rights are raised as something to be cherished. But deep down, do we really care?

The Nazi Rally Grounds

Nazi Germany is famous for its parades and rallies, unrivalled in the modern world, even by North Korea, and possibly unrivalled even if we go back to the past. While rallies took place all over Germany, but it was at Nuremberg that the biggest rallies took place. And, at Nuremberg, the Nazi government built purposeful rally grounds, that were truly impressive in scale and grandeur. It was after all the official city for Nazi rallies from 1933.

I will give details of individual areas of the grounds in the remainder of the post, but first an observation. In my Lonely Planet guidebook, in the information booths around the ground and in the documentation centre - a museum exploring the history of the grounds - the rally grounds are given as proof of the Nazi's Megalomania. Maybe. But great buildings from our past such as the Egyptian pyramids; also built with slave labour (large parts of the Nazi economy was driven by concentration camp prisoners); or the Roman Colosseum - the scene of bloody battles all for entertainment; or the pyramids of the Mayans which were often the scene of human sacrifices; are hardly treated in the same manner. This does not mean that I am condoning Nazism, but will it mean that in 2000 years time we will be voting the Zeppelin fields as one of the wonders of the 2nd Millennium?


Designed to reassemble to Colosseum, and to hold 50 000 people, the Congress Hall was never completed. It was still usable though.


Inside the Congress Hall.


The Rally grounds were built on former recreation grounds, and after the war, the area was largely turned back into a recreation area.


Many memorials or museums related to the Nazi years have a high degree of symbolism. The Documentation centre for example, built in a part of the Congress Hall has a glass corridor running diagonally through it, until the centre of the hall: symbolising a stake through the building. The museum has one of the best accounts of the rise and fall of Nazism I have seen in Germany.


The Great Road, used to 2 Km long, 60 m wide, running through the middle of the rally grounds. Now, largely a parking lot.


This lake, was once the building site of the German Stadium; never completed (actually, never really got started, as the war started close to the start of construction). It was designed to hold 400 000 people!!!


The lake is toxic ... ironic I think.



The Luitpold Arena, first a park dedicated to the fallen soldiers of WW 1, then the parade grounds for the SS and then back to a park. The original memorial is being refurbished, but some remnants of the parade grounds still exist.




The Zeppelin Field - the only fully completed part of rally grounds, and possibly the most impressive. On the one side, a massive grandstand for the dignitaries and the podium for Hitler to deliver his speech. On the other part, an area of about 12 football (soccer) fields and the surrounding stands to hold the common people attending the rally. What was impressive is what didn't survive - the stadium of light. The entire area was surrounded by spotlights that created a light pillar around the stadium, and together with massive fire bowls, it must have been a spectacular sight.


View from the podium

Traffic Chaos

The Erlangen Arcaden, opened on Tuesday. It is a newly refurbished shopping mall, at the corners of possibly the busiest streets (ok, that does not necessarily mean much) of Erlangen. While last week had minor inconviniences, Monday and Tuesday this week, it was a nightmare on the roads. Traffic in all directions, and not much movement. I think it took cars about 10 minutes to cross the streets! And it seemed that everyone in Erlangen was at the Arcaden

Nuremberg Altdstadt

At the end of WW 2, Nuremberg was more or less flattened. When it was rebuilt, unlike some cities which chose to built anew, the core centre of old Nuremberg was rebuilt like it used to be, mostly from the original stone. And Nuremberg is an old city - about a 1000 years old, and used to be the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.





The old town centre, is the centre of Nuremberg, surrounded by a wall and a moat (although the moat has no water and serves as gardens/walking paths. Inside the Altstadt, one very much gets the idea of what what old European cities must have been like, although, every now and then there is a new building (almost inevitably built of glass). With a river, largely pedestrian traffic (many roads are closed to cars), numerous cafes and shops, it sometimes even feels a bit detached from the real world.




It is a beautiful area, and in many respects almost unlike a city. People still live here, and most businesses are service businesses; but one almost gets the feeling that it is an area intended for relaxation.


Once the imperial stables, at the north end of the city, now serves as a youth hostel. Still, the guests can claim they lived in a castle ...


View from one of the castle gardens. The castle was off course built on the highest ground (in Old Nuremberg at least).


The castle (from the entrance side)


Old restored houses (near the castle)



The Schöner Brunnen, quite literally the beautiful fountain, on the market square. The market square holds the famous Christmas market, which should start the week before I leave. The golden ring apparently grants wishes if you turn it three times.


The Tugendbrunnen (Fountain of virtues). Apparently was not as controversial as ...



Ehekarussell Brunnen (Marriage Roundabout), which features 6 interpretations of marriage (first love, quarrel, death do us part etc). Quite impressive really.


Until sometime in the 19th centruy, this house over the river served as the executioner's home. There is a small museum and some interesting details on crime and punishment. The building, under refurbishment, is an old depot, now a student dorm. In fact students at the Nuremberg campus of the Erlangen-Nuremberg university have some really funky dorms.


It is quite impressive how the old and the new has been integrated. Nuremberg has a relatively small underground rail network, and there is only station actually inside the Altdtstadt. This station is one of the two on the edge, and is integrated as part of the "moat".

The DB Museum

Deutsche Bahn, the German national rail operator, have their museum, one of the oldest in Germany, in Nuremberg. For the most part it is a collection of impressive engines tracking the history of rail travel (mostly in Germany).


The old royal carriages ... difficult to get the photos right (although to be honest, I didn't try very hard)


The train that started off the fast rail travel in Europe



The Nazis were in the forefront of both the advances in railway technology and the abuse of rail travel. The museum has a small, but significant display about it; although to be honest, it does not compare to the Technology Museum in Berlin.


Some interesting aspects of railways are on display.



A model of a machine designed to lay/service tracks. It is quite an impressive machine really.


There is also a small museum on communication. The BMW for the postmen ...





The highlight of the museum - a really impressive model railway system. Apparently covers 500m worth of tracks, and has numerous trains. And a really impressive control station too.