Category Archives: Europe

Ka De We–Ice Cream at the top

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After meeting with Timothy Fadek, we went for lunch at the Chicken Shack, suggested to us by the people at the Institut. Fall-off-the-bone Hähnchen, you could order half or a whole, mit pommes oder salat. Sehr, sehr gute.


After lunch, we took the train down to Ka De We, and ate iceream on the top floor. By the time we got back down to street-level to see the bombed-out church, it was closed for the day. Bummer.


Waiting for the train, I saw my first public cigarette advertisement– they don’t have huge Marlboro ads like that in the U.S.

Ice Cream Adventure nommer zwei-hundert und neunzig

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Not really. But this group really does like ice cream. We went out last night for some, went to this place called “Alex” in Alexanderplatz, right next to where we started our Fat Tire bike tour the other day. It was kinda pricey, so the four of us split drei glasses of cool delight.


That was only the first adventure. We returned to the hotel, and then walked links to find a pub, we found Hausbar, gerade aus.


We stayed there a bit, then walked further on, turned around, and as we’re about to cross back into our block an M2 tram pulled up in front of us.


Of course, we got on it.


Ended up swinging in synch(the Germans probably engineered it that way, they think of everything..) on really tall swings. Taller than any I’d seen before. I jumped off, walked a bit further, and found a secret garden with trails begging company.


In the tours, they speak of the adventures to be had in Europe. When it actually happens, it’s better.


Back at the hotel, I saw the blue light soften through the lobby windows. Sun‘s up at four here.

Sonnabend, around Berlin(on foot this time)

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Six-hour bike trip yesterday, four-hour walking tour today. Think we’ve got a good chunk of Berlin in by now. My feet are beat, but we’re about to go out again. It doesn’t stop here. This is Berlin, get on it.


The “discover Berlin” tour started near a ‘Don’t kill Bambi’(or something like that..) store, at least, that’s where we got off the tram. We walked to Museum Island from there, where I decided I have to see the Purgemon museum and the German history museum before I leave.


We walked through the gates that once had Irene(or peace) on top, but she was replaced by Victoria(Victory!!).(Also the American Emabassy was here, and I think they were filming Spaceballs 3, unless people just usually walk around like that in those costumes hier..)


We went left(links) to the Holocaust memorial, and then walked atop the parking lot under which the huge bunker was where Hitler committed suicide by cyanide and gun with his new-bride/old mistress, the tour guide didn’t tell us this until we were on top of it. Apparently, his jawbone proves against conspiracies, but his ashes were scattered in the river so there’s nothing else to go by conveniently.


We walked to what was once the 3rd Reich Air Ministry, then the East German Government building, and today the ministry of finance. There is still a happy-socialism moral on the wall.


We ended at Checkpoint Charlie, now called Snackpoint Charlie, rightly so — It’s got a McDonald’s.


We went around the corner to a Turkish joint(Wir um die Ecke zu eine Turkish joint gegangen..), where I ate Doner im Brot(wo ich habe Doner in Brot esst..?) . I’m not quite sure what the meat was, but it was very good.


Von da, wir zu der Reichtag building gegangen, und denn nach Hause(..well, the hotel).

Berlin Wall zu Tempelhof Park, on a bike

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Yesterday morning began at 5:20a.m. for me, the sun was already up and I couldn’t stay in bed(though the beds where we’re staying really aren’t that bad).

It was this morning that it actually began to hit me that I was in Berlin. And then, that I would be here(hier) for two(zwei) more weeks. (And then, back again for Jack White June 26th…after traveling Europe for near 4 more weeks!)

By 11, we were in Alexanderplatz, where we began our tour with Fat Tire Bike Tour. Sam, our guide, told us a bit of the history of Alexanderplatz, about how it was the show-off square of East Berlin back in the day. The TV tower is the tallest building in Germany and its design is based off the Sputnik Satellite(which was much, much smaller).


Ironically, the Park Inn has the highest Casino in Europe now, but every single room was bugged by the Strasi at one point. Also in Alexanderplatz was the only place to get a travel visa, that is if you’d never ever said anything against the gov’t. But even if you did get the visa, the only direction you could go was East.


We biked to a different part of what’s left of the Berlin Wall, passing Cafe Moskau and Karl Marx Buchhandlung on the way.


We got a bit more history in us before walking along the Wall towards the O2 World(definitely wasn’t there when the Wall was built), but the wall was not the original artist’s work of 1990, it was repainted in 2009 — not by the same artists though, as they only offered the artists 1000 euros each to come back and repaint.


A lot of people were gathered around one particular painting, that of the famous fraternal kiss. “My God, help me to survive this deadly love.”

We stopped for lunch at this German place(can you believe the option of pizza was suggested?!) and I had Rye Spatzel Bauerschwein, aka rye noodles and pork. Sehr, sehr gut.

We went to Tempelhoff, which has been threatened with Condo-construction, and squatted on three times to save the park. On the eve of the what was to be the hugest protest ever to save it, the government declared “It’s a park!”, figuring once that many squatters got in there, how would they ever get them out?


Perhaps it was a tool to delay decision, but now that Berlin has had a taste of Tempelhoff, it’d be difficult to take away for condo-rising.

Wilkommen(..bienvenue..) Welcome!

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Well, I made it to Berlin. Most of the group was already at Tegel, waiting for my arrival. I had been planning on making the bus/tram trip to the hotel solo, but conveniently for me, their flight was delayed enough so they got there not too long before I did.

We took the A.B bus, got interrupted by lots of Polizei, along with a black van with a guy with a big gun poking out of the sun-roof outside Hotel Alden(you may recognize the name from the movie Unknown). Natürlich, we had to get off the bus and take pictures. 

In all the commotion, I think I left my jacket on the bus. Bummer, but now I have a solid excuse to get another one. Fresh memories.

 

 

We got back on the bus, took it to Alexanderplatz, and from there got the M4 to our hotel.

 

We dropped off our luggage — I didn’t bring much: a backpack, and a smaller backpack. We returned to Alexanderplatz, walked around the Friendship Fountain(where I bought my first genuine brotwurst from a guy with a propane tank on his back, cooked them in front, with an umbrella over his head– ja.), took some pictures, and got ice cream(Ich mochte gerne einkugel, bitte?) before heading into Saturn for some of us to get phones that actually work in Germany. Saturn was huge — five stories of technology to buy, including 3-D TVs!!


We went to see some of the remains of the Berlin Wall, where there’s a memorial of the people who were shot and killed trying to flee East Berlin into the West. 


The last stop of the day was Prater-Beirgarten, for beer and food(I had a brotwurst again, I’m in Deutschland, had to!). When we returned to the hotel in what used to be East Berlin, it was only about 8p.m.(20:00– 2p.m. back in East America), but I was sehr, sehr müde, also ich schlafen gegangen.


*Bitte, entschuldigung meine terrible German!

Von Frankfurt nach Berlin

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Well, all my dreams I filled my last flight with about the Frankfurt airport came true, except one, the best one: and that’s that I DID make my flight.


Of course(natürlich), this is after I run around the Frankfurt airport like a rat in a race, but a very American(redheaded, stylish) rat in a very German(maze-y) race.


Several tests to pass through successfully before reaching the destination, much like a fairytale.


First, I followed the signs to the Lufthansa Service Center, just like the pilot told anyone who didn’t have a boarding pass for Berlin to do.


My intuition told me to go left and up the stairs, but I didn’t listen. I listened to the pilot, and ended up in the Service Center, yes — but in a completely deserted part of the airport, probably miles away from where I needed to be.


I turned back, found a sign that said Berlin-Tegel A17 8:55.


Alright, so now I knew the gate.


And to never -not- listen to my intuition again.


A magical helper in a red jacket pointed me towards A. A man with Polezei on his vest checked my passport, asked me questions, and passed me through.


What followed stirred some smart-allec remarks in my head, in English though, so this German airport would have to pay real close attention to pick up on it.


They were just background noise though, my focus was hard and dead-set on swift-booting it to Gate A17.


I sisn’t even stop to pee till after I printed my boarding pass(didn’t need a Service Center afterall.. -_-) and went through security.


I made it to my gate at 8:20 — five minutes to pare before boarding started, I didn’t get water or food. I tried to get on the internet and couldn’t.


Didn’t even make it to Berlin without making an ass of myself(so called it). The pilot said “Morgen” to me as I walked on the plane, which anyone can tell means ‘morning’, even if you don’t have any German background. Context clues.


I knew it meant this, but the whole “morning”-concept threw me. I’m like, I’ve been awake for about 23 hours now, what do you mean ‘morning’?!?


Of course, all this was happening in my head, keeping in a proper response of “morgen” but managing a smile and turning right down the aisle of the plane.


The first stewardess I saw I said “Morgen” to and felt a little redeemed.


Then, when row 17 didn’t exist(because I was still caught on the elusive gate number, another stewardess showed me to my seat and I said “Danke”. Yay, German.


Very motivating to learn, but I’m so exhausted I should probably sleep this flight out…


And then they said we were landing soon. I didn’t sleep.