Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Germany 2013 - Berlin day 3
June 5, 2013
Today we took the subway out to Charlottenburg Palace. The palace was built in 1699 by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of King Friedrich I. We didn't go into the palace itself but spent time in the gardens and wooded park. It was a nice way to pass a couple of hours, although I haven't seen yet a palace garden and park that can compare to Schonbrunn in Vienna for me.
We hopped back on the subway and went to find KaDeWe, supposedly the largest department store in Europe (or Germany?). Anyway, the place is huge. This one store is as large as some shopping malls I've been to. We spent most of our time on the 6th floor, which has a huge assortment or food items from Germany and all over the world. They also have fresh foods that you eat there in little bar-like areas. We looked at a couple of things on the other floors but had serious sticker-shock from the prices. We went back to the hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and had dinner at the hotel.
Later in the evening, we all went out for gelato and took a few last pictures, then headed back to our room to pack. We managed to acquire a large number of souvenirs on this trip, so it's a good thing we arrived with one completely empty carry-on and another empty bag to boot.
Tomorrow we make the long flight back home again- after we head out for some breakfast and one last pretzel stop!
Today we took the subway out to Charlottenburg Palace. The palace was built in 1699 by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of King Friedrich I. We didn't go into the palace itself but spent time in the gardens and wooded park. It was a nice way to pass a couple of hours, although I haven't seen yet a palace garden and park that can compare to Schonbrunn in Vienna for me.
We hopped back on the subway and went to find KaDeWe, supposedly the largest department store in Europe (or Germany?). Anyway, the place is huge. This one store is as large as some shopping malls I've been to. We spent most of our time on the 6th floor, which has a huge assortment or food items from Germany and all over the world. They also have fresh foods that you eat there in little bar-like areas. We looked at a couple of things on the other floors but had serious sticker-shock from the prices. We went back to the hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and had dinner at the hotel.
Later in the evening, we all went out for gelato and took a few last pictures, then headed back to our room to pack. We managed to acquire a large number of souvenirs on this trip, so it's a good thing we arrived with one completely empty carry-on and another empty bag to boot.
Tomorrow we make the long flight back home again- after we head out for some breakfast and one last pretzel stop!
Germany 2013 - floods
Remember all that rain I mentioned? It has caused massive flooding in parts of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The day we drove to Berlin, the authorities were evacuating some parts of Dresden and the news yesterday showed flooding in Prague. There are cities along the Danube that we remember well from our trip in 2009 that are having terrible problems with flooding, Passau and Melk, and we heard that even Vienna may have flooding. The sun has been shining in Berlin for the last 2 days and the good news today was that the rivers seem to be starting to go down. We hope so because the people in those towns along the rivers have really been suffering due to all the rain.
Germany 2013 - Berlin
June 5, 2013
We arrived in Berlin 2 days ago, and have been discovering the city mostly on foot.
Our hotel is in the historic city center which was actually in East Berlin when the Wall was still in place. We're lucky to have a small balcony with French doors so we can step out and look to our left for a clear view of the Brandenburg Gate which is just a couple of blocks away. Beyond the Gate and through the Tiergarden is the Siegessaule Monument which we climbed (285 spiral stairs) for a 360 degree view of Berlin. Then we walked past the outskirts of the Zoo and many, many shops and finally ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe. Large sodas with ice, free refills, and a California Burger....aaaahhhh!
We decided to catch the elevated train back to our hotel instead of walking the 3 miles, which was a little adventure of its own - just because we don't normally use mass transit at home. So we found an S-Bahn station and asked a nice young lady about getting to a stop near our hotel, she basically said to get on any of the trains on the left side of the platform and we'd come close, then have to walk a bit. We went upstairs to find a ticket machine and had a little trouble until a friendly man helped us change the instruction screen to English. We then managed to buy a ticket and get on the right train and actually made it back to our hotel!
We arrived in Berlin 2 days ago, and have been discovering the city mostly on foot.
Our hotel is in the historic city center which was actually in East Berlin when the Wall was still in place. We're lucky to have a small balcony with French doors so we can step out and look to our left for a clear view of the Brandenburg Gate which is just a couple of blocks away. Beyond the Gate and through the Tiergarden is the Siegessaule Monument which we climbed (285 spiral stairs) for a 360 degree view of Berlin. Then we walked past the outskirts of the Zoo and many, many shops and finally ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe. Large sodas with ice, free refills, and a California Burger....aaaahhhh!
We decided to catch the elevated train back to our hotel instead of walking the 3 miles, which was a little adventure of its own - just because we don't normally use mass transit at home. So we found an S-Bahn station and asked a nice young lady about getting to a stop near our hotel, she basically said to get on any of the trains on the left side of the platform and we'd come close, then have to walk a bit. We went upstairs to find a ticket machine and had a little trouble until a friendly man helped us change the instruction screen to English. We then managed to buy a ticket and get on the right train and actually made it back to our hotel!
Germany 2013 - Berlin day 2
On our second day, we walked to Checkpoint Charlie which was one of the three checkpoint stations through which people could travel between West and East Berlin during the Cold War. Not too much to see here, it's basically a kiosk in the middle of a busy street with a small exhibit on the street corner. We walked from there to the Topography of Terror which details the role of the SS and Gestapo in the years leading up to and during WWII. Part of the original Wall is still standing here. It's a good exhibit, but a lot of reading.
Next was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Above ground, there is a field of blocks of differing sizes with paths running between them, somewhat similar to a maze, though you can see quite a ways down each row. I read somewhere that the idea was to recall the disappearance of the Jewish race from Germany as you see people in the monument field appear and disappear between the columns. Below ground, you first go through a security checkpoint just like an airport scanner with 4-5 security officers, except you go through in small controlled groups. Then you enter the building and there are many, many exhibits with excerpts from letters and smuggled notes that describe the lives and deaths of Jewish families. There are photo collages of entire extended families accompanied by details of where and how they died and also the few who managed to survive. There is a room where the names and brief biographies of the dead are read - it would take 6years, 7months and 27days to read them all in this way. It was a moving experience though Mike says he thought the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, DC was actually better in some ways (I haven't been there), and our friends have been to the one in Israel which they say is really something to see.
By now, we were in need of something other than a somber monument, so we took a short sightseeing trip on a multi-seat bike. These bikes have a seat and handlebars for the guide and seats for 4-6 other people situated around a circular frame. You all have to pedal but the guide is the one who steers. We took off through one side of the Brandenburg Gate and out into traffic(!), with car and bikes whizzing by us. We passed several sites we had already seen, but we saw the former site of Hitler's bunker and the first ever signal light in Europe, and we rode along the line of the Wall in many places. Basically it was just a fun thing to do and helped lighten the mood quite a bit, though we were ready for a cool drink when we finished. Oh yeah, have I mentioned it's finally warm here?
Monday, June 3, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
More rain and.....flooding!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
You know all those times I mentioned it was a rainy day? Well there has been so much rain that localized flooding is occurring! We tried to visit some nearby small towns today but some of the roads were closed and we kept having to try a different route. We finally gave up and took the autobahn to Wurzburg. We toured the Residenz there and saw some beautiful ceiling frescoes by Tiepolo, then walked out into the garden. There are some nice features in the garden but it was rainy and windy again, so we headed back to Rothenburg.
We really like Rothenburg and spent the whole day yesterday just staying in the town, shopping and exploring. There are some very nice Christmas shops here and lots of bakeries. :-) Mike is still having at least one pretzel a day - notice I said "at least". The pretzels we have in the U.S. will really pale in comparison to the ones we've eaten here.
Our hotel is so nice and the staff are wonderful. Our waiter at breakfast has our freshly squeezed orange juice and Mike's soda ready when we come downstairs and brings us a huge basket of different kinds of breads and rolls, along with the hotel's homemade jams, to enjoy while our hot items are freshly prepared. The dining room has a huge wooden pillar inscribed with the year 1568 - awesome! The reception ladies have been so helpful with suggestions and so pleasant, I just can't say enough good things about the staff here.
Because the weather has been so bad, we really couldn't go out and enjoy the surrounding little towns like we wanted to, so we're changing plans and heading to Berlin a day early. Not that it isn't raining in Berlin - it is - but it happens to be about 10-15 degrees warmer there and the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday is rain-free!!! So we're going to do a 5-6 hour drive tomorrow with a stop in Wittenberg. The prospect of seeing a little sun and not wearing so many layers of clothing is pretty appealing!
You know all those times I mentioned it was a rainy day? Well there has been so much rain that localized flooding is occurring! We tried to visit some nearby small towns today but some of the roads were closed and we kept having to try a different route. We finally gave up and took the autobahn to Wurzburg. We toured the Residenz there and saw some beautiful ceiling frescoes by Tiepolo, then walked out into the garden. There are some nice features in the garden but it was rainy and windy again, so we headed back to Rothenburg.
We really like Rothenburg and spent the whole day yesterday just staying in the town, shopping and exploring. There are some very nice Christmas shops here and lots of bakeries. :-) Mike is still having at least one pretzel a day - notice I said "at least". The pretzels we have in the U.S. will really pale in comparison to the ones we've eaten here.
Our hotel is so nice and the staff are wonderful. Our waiter at breakfast has our freshly squeezed orange juice and Mike's soda ready when we come downstairs and brings us a huge basket of different kinds of breads and rolls, along with the hotel's homemade jams, to enjoy while our hot items are freshly prepared. The dining room has a huge wooden pillar inscribed with the year 1568 - awesome! The reception ladies have been so helpful with suggestions and so pleasant, I just can't say enough good things about the staff here.
Because the weather has been so bad, we really couldn't go out and enjoy the surrounding little towns like we wanted to, so we're changing plans and heading to Berlin a day early. Not that it isn't raining in Berlin - it is - but it happens to be about 10-15 degrees warmer there and the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday is rain-free!!! So we're going to do a 5-6 hour drive tomorrow with a stop in Wittenberg. The prospect of seeing a little sun and not wearing so many layers of clothing is pretty appealing!
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