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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