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August 28, 2008 |
Seattle, WA
When I saw this bed I thought to myself: "Aw shit, not another European crap bed hard as a rock" Actually this was an extremely comfy bed. Much to my surprise.
My hotel was by a little square -- Olivaer Platz. There were cafes all around the square, and I had (sorry Munich!) the best beer in Germany here -- a place called Hellas Oder Dunkel -- which means literally "light or dark" I had the dunkel, and it was awesome -- very tasty. I also had the best meal here -- a cafe off on a side street where I had the best Weinerschnitzel mit kartoffelsalad und gerchensalad (pounded veal cutlet, fried, with potato and cucumber salad) Can't get more germanic than that!
Mercedes Benz Café – only in Germany – I passed the Mercedes dealership on the Ku’dam (short for Kurfurstendam stassse – the big retail street of Berlin) and all be if there wasn’t a café in the dealership, complete with sidewalk tables and everything! There's also a big Mercedes logo atop the Europa center, which is a big shopping area.
KaDeWe (“Kah-dey-vey”) – Berlin’s answer to Harrods, it is a huge store filled with everything. And when I say everything, I mean it. The coolest part is the 6th floor – this is the food hall. It’s way more extensive than Harrod’s by far. Think upscale supermarket but bigger and more of them. There’s an entire wing of the floor dedicated to being the “chicken” room. More chickens that you could count – all for sale. I mean, there were about 7 rows of whole chickens alone to pick from. All displayed immaculately, and then you could ask the butcher to carve out whatever you want. It wasn’t just the Chicken “wing” (har har!...) that was impressive, but there’s a beef section, candy section, boxed goods, honey station, tea/coffee area, asian area, an egg stand, a liquor bar, a beer hall and a whole room of fruit! Plus many more I don’t mention. Most of these areas I’d say were about the size of 1/3 a safeway. Just for that one product. And here’s the kicker – there’s a restaurant/bar for each area that, of course, specializes in that particular area’s cuisine. So this is not just a department store with food, KaDeWe is also a huge meet-and-greet-and-eat. I need to go back if I have time to grab something and people watch.
Here's some fun...I always like to watch local TV for a while. So here's a clip of German TV -- it's kinda funny -- almost Jerry Springer-esque, but nicer. The guy is funny, and the look on the woman at the end -- funny!
Click here to watch German TV (You need Windows Media Player -- most PCs should have this.)
Click here to ride the bus along the Kurfurstendamm -- public transport is awesome. The buses were NICE in Berlin. I think I always say this because Seattle has such poor options...
I got mistaken for a local already on the first day!! I was waiting to cross the street when an older lady looked right at me and asked me some sort of question. I responded with a shrug and big smile: “Ich sprechen gross kaffee mit teuer Suss-stoff” Which means literally “I speak big coffe with expensive artificial sweetner” No reaction. I got worried that I’d broken some sort of bad Berliner code (This scenario has proved itself useful to me many times over and works everywhere I go – an icebreaker phrase to prove my ineptness with the local language. People will always give you help and a smile afterwards!) Finally she looked back at me and laughed out loud. I said “sorry”, she said, still laughing “no problem” gave me a wave, and off she went. So in under 24 hours, I’ve been mistaken by a local as a German. I am indeed of mostly German hertitage, but usually Americans stand out like fire alarms in Europe, even seasoned travelers. So this has to be a compliment for sure!!! Geil!! (The Berliner’s equivalent to “awesome!”)
My first true sightseeing day I went all over the place -- highlights being the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the neighborhood of Prenzlauer berg, which used to be the heart of an unglamerous East Berlin and is now "gentified" into one of the hottest places in Berlin.
An interesting local phenomenon: "ostalgia". Basically it's people yearning for some of the old things of when East Germany was around -- like brands of soap, beer, East Berlin bands, etc. One of the most endearing symbols of these is the crosswalk symbols with a man wearing a top hat. When Berlin was reconstructed a lot of these got replaced, and apparently there was a huge commotion. People didn't want the newer crosswalk signs. I have to admit the little man is pretty funny, and I could see why you'd want to keep them. Not everything from the East or the past has to go!
Of course what visit to Berlin for a child of the 1980's like myself is complete without a visit to the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall. Not much is left -- about 300 feet. Everything else is completely gone. Of course it's startling, at least to me, that the wall has been down almost half as long as it was up already -- it came down 15 years ago. God, time flies...
After the wall I went to Potsdamer Platz -- this used to be the "no man's land" when the wall was up and has now been completely redeveloped with huge modern buildings full of theaters, shops and condos. I first visited there in the day, and it was a bit of a ghost town and not very inviting. I later visited at night and the place was buzzing, so definitely go there at night!
I also went to the Technology and aviation museum (Of course!) and here's one shot of that, plus then I walked all the way back to my hotel through the Shoneberg neighborhood, which is a really eclectic little place. Also, you gotta love europe -- never one to be sexually shy....makes me cringe to be so prudish in America...
So here's the Berlin party scoop:
The last night in Berlin I went to Potsdamer Platz at night and had a few drinks, I ran into this bartender from Australia of all places and struck-up a conversation with him. It got to be later (say 11 p.m.) and his crowd was dying down. I asked what he was up to the rest of the night, and he proceded to provide me with the name and directions to a techno-house party in a warehouse for that night only. Feeling my oats at this point, I said "Sure, let's go!!" He couldn't go immediately (probably thought I was weird or something, I do have that affect...) but un-daunted I followed those instructions.
I got off the subway at the designated stop and saw these 4 guys crossing the street. So, feeling even more oats, I yell out "Hey, can you help a stupid American?!" They all laughed uncontrollably, and yelled back, "ja, where the hell you going?!" in perfect English, which was funny because we were all pretty damn drunk, I must say. I told them "Poolah-TV" which is what the bartender told me to ask for, and one guy said "Awesome, that's where we are going, come with us!" and all of them motioned to follow -- so I did! Just 4 good guys -- we chatted a lot as we were walking, then nature called for one of them, and, as an act of international solidarity, I of course joined in and promptly urinated all over some bushes. You know, you have to keep-up good International relations... I knew this was going to be one hell of a night right then.
So to make a long story short, we arrived, I paid them a couple of rounds of beer, and we entered into this huge warehouse full of people, lights and a DJ that was ripping-it-up with hardcore techno. I danced all night long, dancing with many groups of people, and finally as the crowd was thinning a bit decided to go, and crap -- the sun was rising! Took a taxi back to my hotel, took a shower, and staggered to breakfast where Christian the Innkeeper had a great big smile: "Have a good night in Berlin!!" he asked, with a smirk I knew meant he is not a foreigner to these types of outings himself.
I could not have asked for a better Berlin story to tell....thank god I had a 6 hour train ride to sleep on, which I did, cause I got no sleep that night!
My actual travels to Germany -- ahhhhh, the upgrade......JPG)
Seat 1A: You can't even see the wing hardly!
More on flying first class -- I got upgraded!!. You know, I will gladly accept this ANY day over coach, but I would not pay for it other than perhaps a small-ish upgrade fee and miles (which is what I did) That seat, I swear, was harder than an armadillo. It may have reclined back quite far with lots of legroom, but man, I ended up with a backache of all things. I never really get that in coach. And we had perhaps the oldest 767 in the fleet. It was well maintained, but dated – the older style bins couldn’t carry a fly’s luggage if it tried, so it was a challenge to get everyone’s stuff on board. The service, however, was so very nice. And for once I had food on an airplane that a restaurant could serve. And I got a personal amenities kit full of stuff. That plus free booze and I got nothing major to complain about. The only bad part is knowing I’m stuck in steerage going home for sure. And that’s the longest flight. Yeah. 10 hours.
O’hare airport was, as usual “expected” – nothing new there. Brussels airport on the other hand is just a case in contradictions. When I tell you this place is massive, I mean it. The airport concourse is literally 1 mile long. And there’s two of them – 1 for international and one for domestic. Yet there was not a sole in the concourse when our flight arrived – not a single human. And I do know – I was the first off the airplane! The moving sidewalks were even turned off. This was not at some weird time – this was 8:30 AM local. Any airport I visit is always packed at this hour. Not BRU! A very nice airport, don’t get me wrong, but my god – I ran half a marathon I swear getting from the end of one, through passport control, back in through security again, and then to my Berlin flight. They called for boarding at the moment I wheezed my way up to the gate! I guess that’s perfect timing, but I like at least a little spare time! I have blisters impeding my journey now because I walked so far and wasn’t in the right shoes. I mean, I’d transfer in BRU again. It was really easy and straight-forward, but loooooong. Way more time is needed than 1 hour. Give me a break, scheduling guys!!
SN Brussels airlines was who I flew, via codeshare with American, from Brussels to Berlin. You know, this airline has been getting some nice press and good reviews in general. My experience now that I’ve flown them is that I perceive them as a well-run airline, but those BA-146 jets they fly – they gotta go. I was excited to fly this airplane for the first time, but the airplane is now not one of my “must avoids”. And SN Brussels’ airplanes on the ouside look GREAT, but those interiors – wow, I have not seen such an old and patched-up interior I think ever. It felt icky. I felt safe, but the inside was icky – reminded me of what I think an old Russian airliner might be like.
Berlin Germany -- March 2006
Berlin, Germany
Here's my report on Berlin, in random order. Berlin in one word: huge. Thank goodness I spent the time I did there or I just would not have had the time to go to all the places I did. Berlin reminds me of Moscow -- a huge, expansive urban "village" with dozens of towns and neighborhoods all within the same city. Berlin is an interesting city -- it is still very much trying to find it's identity, even though everyone knows about Berlin! It is now a symbol of modern Germany, still with lots of history, yet is so diverse there is no one thing that makes it "Berlin" if that makes any sense. Berlin, much like any country capital that has recently become one, is a reflection of the modern globalization that is the planet Earth. One thing for certain: this place likes to party! (more later below...) My hotel was very nice -- and CHEAP! 50 euro a night, and had a wonderful innkeeper -- Christian is a younger guy about my age. The few days I was there he had a bunch of business people in the rest of the rooms, and they had breakfast early. I got up around 8:30 and was the only person left for breakfast in the morning, so he sat down with me, had coffee, and we went over my day's itineraries, etc -- talked about miscellaneous things. He was so generous and cool. Definitely why you stay there, and I highly reccomend the place.
When I saw this bed I thought to myself: "Aw shit, not another European crap bed hard as a rock" Actually this was an extremely comfy bed. Much to my surprise.
My hotel was by a little square -- Olivaer Platz. There were cafes all around the square, and I had (sorry Munich!) the best beer in Germany here -- a place called Hellas Oder Dunkel -- which means literally "light or dark" I had the dunkel, and it was awesome -- very tasty. I also had the best meal here -- a cafe off on a side street where I had the best Weinerschnitzel mit kartoffelsalad und gerchensalad (pounded veal cutlet, fried, with potato and cucumber salad) Can't get more germanic than that!
Mercedes Benz Café – only in Germany – I passed the Mercedes dealership on the Ku’dam (short for Kurfurstendam stassse – the big retail street of Berlin) and all be if there wasn’t a café in the dealership, complete with sidewalk tables and everything! There's also a big Mercedes logo atop the Europa center, which is a big shopping area.
KaDeWe (“Kah-dey-vey”) – Berlin’s answer to Harrods, it is a huge store filled with everything. And when I say everything, I mean it. The coolest part is the 6th floor – this is the food hall. It’s way more extensive than Harrod’s by far. Think upscale supermarket but bigger and more of them. There’s an entire wing of the floor dedicated to being the “chicken” room. More chickens that you could count – all for sale. I mean, there were about 7 rows of whole chickens alone to pick from. All displayed immaculately, and then you could ask the butcher to carve out whatever you want. It wasn’t just the Chicken “wing” (har har!...) that was impressive, but there’s a beef section, candy section, boxed goods, honey station, tea/coffee area, asian area, an egg stand, a liquor bar, a beer hall and a whole room of fruit! Plus many more I don’t mention. Most of these areas I’d say were about the size of 1/3 a safeway. Just for that one product. And here’s the kicker – there’s a restaurant/bar for each area that, of course, specializes in that particular area’s cuisine. So this is not just a department store with food, KaDeWe is also a huge meet-and-greet-and-eat. I need to go back if I have time to grab something and people watch.
Here's some fun...I always like to watch local TV for a while. So here's a clip of German TV -- it's kinda funny -- almost Jerry Springer-esque, but nicer. The guy is funny, and the look on the woman at the end -- funny!
Click here to watch German TV (You need Windows Media Player -- most PCs should have this.)
Click here to ride the bus along the Kurfurstendamm -- public transport is awesome. The buses were NICE in Berlin. I think I always say this because Seattle has such poor options...
I got mistaken for a local already on the first day!! I was waiting to cross the street when an older lady looked right at me and asked me some sort of question. I responded with a shrug and big smile: “Ich sprechen gross kaffee mit teuer Suss-stoff” Which means literally “I speak big coffe with expensive artificial sweetner” No reaction. I got worried that I’d broken some sort of bad Berliner code (This scenario has proved itself useful to me many times over and works everywhere I go – an icebreaker phrase to prove my ineptness with the local language. People will always give you help and a smile afterwards!) Finally she looked back at me and laughed out loud. I said “sorry”, she said, still laughing “no problem” gave me a wave, and off she went. So in under 24 hours, I’ve been mistaken by a local as a German. I am indeed of mostly German hertitage, but usually Americans stand out like fire alarms in Europe, even seasoned travelers. So this has to be a compliment for sure!!! Geil!! (The Berliner’s equivalent to “awesome!”)
My first true sightseeing day I went all over the place -- highlights being the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the neighborhood of Prenzlauer berg, which used to be the heart of an unglamerous East Berlin and is now "gentified" into one of the hottest places in Berlin.
An interesting local phenomenon: "ostalgia". Basically it's people yearning for some of the old things of when East Germany was around -- like brands of soap, beer, East Berlin bands, etc. One of the most endearing symbols of these is the crosswalk symbols with a man wearing a top hat. When Berlin was reconstructed a lot of these got replaced, and apparently there was a huge commotion. People didn't want the newer crosswalk signs. I have to admit the little man is pretty funny, and I could see why you'd want to keep them. Not everything from the East or the past has to go!
Of course what visit to Berlin for a child of the 1980's like myself is complete without a visit to the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall. Not much is left -- about 300 feet. Everything else is completely gone. Of course it's startling, at least to me, that the wall has been down almost half as long as it was up already -- it came down 15 years ago. God, time flies...
After the wall I went to Potsdamer Platz -- this used to be the "no man's land" when the wall was up and has now been completely redeveloped with huge modern buildings full of theaters, shops and condos. I first visited there in the day, and it was a bit of a ghost town and not very inviting. I later visited at night and the place was buzzing, so definitely go there at night!
I also went to the Technology and aviation museum (Of course!) and here's one shot of that, plus then I walked all the way back to my hotel through the Shoneberg neighborhood, which is a really eclectic little place. Also, you gotta love europe -- never one to be sexually shy....makes me cringe to be so prudish in America...
So here's the Berlin party scoop:
The last night in Berlin I went to Potsdamer Platz at night and had a few drinks, I ran into this bartender from Australia of all places and struck-up a conversation with him. It got to be later (say 11 p.m.) and his crowd was dying down. I asked what he was up to the rest of the night, and he proceded to provide me with the name and directions to a techno-house party in a warehouse for that night only. Feeling my oats at this point, I said "Sure, let's go!!" He couldn't go immediately (probably thought I was weird or something, I do have that affect...) but un-daunted I followed those instructions.
I got off the subway at the designated stop and saw these 4 guys crossing the street. So, feeling even more oats, I yell out "Hey, can you help a stupid American?!" They all laughed uncontrollably, and yelled back, "ja, where the hell you going?!" in perfect English, which was funny because we were all pretty damn drunk, I must say. I told them "Poolah-TV" which is what the bartender told me to ask for, and one guy said "Awesome, that's where we are going, come with us!" and all of them motioned to follow -- so I did! Just 4 good guys -- we chatted a lot as we were walking, then nature called for one of them, and, as an act of international solidarity, I of course joined in and promptly urinated all over some bushes. You know, you have to keep-up good International relations... I knew this was going to be one hell of a night right then.
So to make a long story short, we arrived, I paid them a couple of rounds of beer, and we entered into this huge warehouse full of people, lights and a DJ that was ripping-it-up with hardcore techno. I danced all night long, dancing with many groups of people, and finally as the crowd was thinning a bit decided to go, and crap -- the sun was rising! Took a taxi back to my hotel, took a shower, and staggered to breakfast where Christian the Innkeeper had a great big smile: "Have a good night in Berlin!!" he asked, with a smirk I knew meant he is not a foreigner to these types of outings himself.
I could not have asked for a better Berlin story to tell....thank god I had a 6 hour train ride to sleep on, which I did, cause I got no sleep that night!
My actual travels to Germany -- ahhhhh, the upgrade.....
