Berlin to Prague

For my final day in Berlin, I decided to enjoy a more leisurely pace and ditched my original plans to join a walking tour, which would have lasted four or more hours.  Instead, I made my way to the Brandenburg Gate (or Brandenburger Tor) after doing some research online about its history.  Constructed in the 1700s, it’s seen everything from the procession of Kaisers to the torchlight marches of the Nazis.  The area was still mostly fenced off as they were still in the process of taking down all the structures from Obama’s speech on Wednesday, which was disappointing and caused all the busloads of tourists to be crammed into one small walkway.  So that was fun.  In spite of all of that, I managed to still get some good shots of the gate, which is truly monumental. 

 

 

 

 

I continued on to the Reichstag (German capitol building) and the neighboring Tiergarten, which is a bit like New York City’s Central Park—a massive natural oasis in the midst of a bustling city.

 In the small part of the Tiergarten I explored, there was a monument dedicated to those who had been shot and killed trying to cross from East Berlin into the West, and another  for the 500,000 Romas (“Gypsies”) who were murdered by Hitler’s government.  Ironically, as I was trying to read the descriptive panels of this display, at least 5 or 6 Gypsy children pestered me, one after the other, to donate money.  After I said no to the first one (I had already gotten duped into giving money at another location the day before), I still felt a little guilty (children!  With sad faces!) even knowing it was a scam.  But after the third and fourth kid interrupted me, I started waving them away snappily, somewhat like I did with the mosquitoes the other night—“Stop bothering me, kids!  I’m trying to read about your people’s genocide!”  It’s probably inappropriate to make a joke about something like that, but I can’t help it—it was funny.

 

From the Tiergarten, I walked to Potzdamer Platz, which has its own rich history (I think Berlin has more momentous history from the past 100 years per square foot that almost any city in the world).  As Bill explained to me the night before and I read online, that area was a hugely popular part of the city, famed for its restaurants, shopping, hotels, and nightlife.  But when the Soviets erected the wall in 1961, it became a no-man’s land—literally, the ‘dead zone’ between the walls of East and West Berlin.  Buildings were abandoned and/or destroyed, and what had once been full of lights, life, and gaiety became a grim void.  However, in the last 25 years or so, it’s re-emerged as a ‘happening’ area with a large Sony center (which houses a history of film museum, IMAX movie theater, etc.), shopping mall, and restaurants. 

 

I thought this would be a good place to have lunch and entered a restaurant where I saw everyone lining up at a food counter where you put in your order and had fresh salads, pasta, or pizza made right in front of you and then handed over the counter.  What I *didn’t* see was that you were supposed to stop at the little station in front and pay for a chip to hand to the food people.  So I stood in line for about 20 minutes, salivating as I watched everyone ahead of me receive and carry away plates of deliciousness, and then it was finally my turn.  When I got to the front and started to give my order, silverware and napkin already in hand, the server interrupted me and asked for my chip.  Actually, he said something I didn’t understand at all, and when I apologized and said I didn’t speak German, the woman next to me explained what I was supposed to give him and where I should have gotten it.  Oh.  I went over to that line and waited again, and just as it was about to be my turn, there was some issue with the machine and the man there waved me over to the other line.  At which point, I set my napkin and silverware on the counter and walked out with a mixture of pique and embarrassment.  Stupid American, stupid restaurant.  Fortunately, the mall had about 40 places to eat, and I ended up with some yummy Thai food.

I spent the latter part of the afternoon running some errands with Andrea in preparation for Emma’s birthday party today and tried not to get too envious of how pretty their neighborhood is and how easy it is to walk to shops with whatever it is you might need, no need to ever get in your car.  After supper, Bill and Andrea took me to their favorite Biergarten by the Wansee River, which was full of Germans relaxing in the evening light and clearly savoring good beer and good friends.  This was an experience I was more than happy to participate in, as you can see.  I’m not much of a beer drinker usually, but I’m going to miss that good German beer, and really just the whole culture and ambience they’ve built around it.

 

 

 

Now I am on the train from Berlin to Prague (about a 5 hours journey, which is why I have time to write such a long entry).  I am sad to leave Berlin and the Robertsons, who were the best hosts you could ever hope for, but I’m looking forward to seeing Prague and meeting up with my brother Peter.  The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, is that my ankle has gotten even redder, more painful, and swollen.  I fear a trip to the doctor is in order, although that's the last thing I want to have to spend my first night in Prague doing (or make my poor brother do after he's just flown in).  Guess I'll just have to wait and see...

 

(a few hours later)

Turns out my hotel was able to call a doctor to come examine my ankle and treat me right here in our room!  The added bonus is that I have travel insurance, so the cost will be covered.  Definitely a blessing for which I am deeply grateful.  My kind doctor, Sonia, examined me with murmurs of "Poor baby" and then gave me two injections in my posterior and a pack of antibiotics.  Apparently, I'm not only having an extreme allergic reaction, but there's also infection from the bite.  I'm icing it for a bit before Peter and I head out to dinner and, with all the meds, hope to be out and about tomorrow with a few breaks to elevate and ice.  I guess it all depends on whether I still have an elephant foot in the morning. 

 

 

 

In the meantime, I am happy to relax in our beautiful room here and enjoy the views.