Mannheim in Germany

Visited Munich - the heartland of Hitler's movement. Stood outside a city centre that had been bombed almost to oblivion at the end of the war. however it was rebuilt in perfect minute  detail - albeit the materials were newer than the original...The most obvious place to see this is the join is in the  beautiful gothic cathedral at the town square centre where the grey blocks of stone have been replaced with smaller red bricks, and the gargoyles have been left off.....one does not waste time with gargoyles when they only end up being blown off again!

my impressions of Munich centre involve 2 opposites - huge towering buildings representative of power, control and perfect symmetry standing in silent cold solidarity above a city teeming with life, colour and naturalness.  Schools, markets, bicycles, people milling around enjoying the blast of summer heat.There was an amazingly relaxed atmosphere totally belying the formidable architecture around.....interesting.

we were sheltering in starbucks (of all places) having ended up there looking  for a loo.  while we sat there a young American came up  to us and announced that thousands have been killed by nerve gas in Syria and now thousands stand in danger of being bombed and mutilated.  After that he swung around and left....not sure of his motives  - however it was a  sobering thought in the midst of streets lined with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Prada.