Thursday, June 20, 2013

Museum Island and Other Thoughts

MUSEUM ISLAND
We learned that Hackasher Market was our favorite stop in the city.  It was close to Museum Island and also a popular cross stop for other trains.  We got off the S7 and followed the signs to the Museums.  I wondered if museum island was REALLY an island, and it is.  It is surrounded by the river on all sides.  It was obvious there was lots of construction going on, and that made things a little bit tricky sometimes.  But we always found where we needed to go.  The Pergamon museum was where we were supposed to meet CJ.  As we walked through the tall pillars I could see a group of kids off in the distance.  YEP, they were ours.  We chatted with CJ, well, he talked non-stop and I was so excited to hear all of his adventures and see some of the pictures on the camera.  He did a great job taking pictures and had over 700 of them…..YEAH!  We enjoyed the museum and then split from to group to go on a river cruise Monday evening.  We walked back by the Berliner Dom and found the entrance to the river cruise.  It was very hot in the afternoon, but had started to cool off.  I’m so glad we decided to buy the insulated water bottles, which really paid off.  Not only is “still” water hard to find, but ours stayed cold for the whole day.  We declined drinks from the bar on the cruise and enjoyed our water and some candy that we had bought with us.  The architecture was impressive.  I think my favorite part were the bridges.  Each one was unique and had a story.  There was only one bridge that survived the war intact.  It was so low that when going underneath it you had to watch your head.  There was one bridge that had a giant bust of the architect on it.  It was creepy as you floated underneath because the eyes just starred at you.  The tour guide explained all the major buildings and the old routine of passing from East to West Germany before the wall came down.  There was a kindergarten (grades 0-4) built for the children of the government employees that cost more than 250 million Euros to build.  The original class had 12 students in it and there were 24 full time teachers.  The native Berliners don’t like that building very much.  Of course now its enrollment is larger, but it is still only for the elite.  You could see rows of top-of-the-line toys and bikes lined up outside the doors to the coolest playground I’ve ever seen.  Not to bad for a government perk!

After the cruise we walked back to the station and headed back to the hotel.  We stopped for a walk down the shopping street and decided to get a bite to eat at one of the outdoor Italian restaurants.  It is a little strange, because you just sit down and wait for someone to take your order.  I really just wanted water to drink, but didn’t realize what he would bring.  He spoke very little English, but I can point really effectively at the menu.  He came back to the table with a very expensive looking bottle of Perrier water.  He served it into two crystal wine glasses and it tasted great.  My comment to David was, “enjoy this water….I have no idea how much it is costing usJ”  I ordered stuffed mushrooms in a white wine cream sauce and David had lasagna.  His had green noodles in it, and what I learned later is a béchamel sauce as well as a Bolognese sauce.  It was quite good and I may start making it that way at home.  My mushrooms were to die for, and I was wondering if it would be acceptable to pick up the dish and lick it clean…..I had plenty of bread left over to clean it pretty good, so I felt ok walking away without licking my dish.  We enjoyed the evening night life of Berlin on our walk back to the hotel.  

We were hot tired and sore, so a long shower (something forbidden here) felt great!  We crawled into a comfy bed and slept well.

WATER and POWER
When we first entered our room we couldn’t get the lights to turn on.  Then we discovered that you must insert your key card in a slot at the door and then all of the switches work.  When you leave your room, you take your key card with you…..and everything turns off.  How cool is that.  It was very hot and muggy the last few days and we were thrilled that we had air in our hotel.  We tried to turn on the air conditioner in our room, but couldn’t get it to work.  We called the front desk and they explained that if the windows are not closed then it won’t turn on.  We fiddled with the door and then ……..voila it was like magic.  As soon as it sensed that the door was closed tightly, then the air turned on.  Imagine if we took that much effort to save energy.
The water here is very expensive.  They pay to bring it into the house and for it to go into the sewer.  I haven’t seen a drinking fountain since we’ve been here.  Everyone drinks bottled water.  We pay about 1 € per bottle.  But back in Frankfurt we bought it bat the store for about 0.19 €. 
Many people here speak some English; some better than others.  You are fine in most touristy areas, but you can get into trouble at some restaurants, or shops that are off the beaten path.  Overall, our ability to communicate has been just fine.  I did order a Diet Coke the first time, even though CJ told me not to say that.  The very nice waiter reminded me that it is Coca-Cola LIGHT here.  Diet Coke is the slang for cocaine.  OOPS!  I guess that screams tourist. 


On the tours the guides speak pretty good English.  Sometimes we are the only ones in the group who need it, and sometimes the entire group needs its.  On the trains and in the train stations, they say everything important in German and then in English.  I have just learned how to ignore anything they don’t repeat, because it’s not urgent.  If we are standing at the platform and they start talking in German, and then everybody leaves and starts heading somewhere else, we have learned how to follow them……if you wait for the English, you may miss the train. 

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