Danube Cycling: Day 1

Day 1-  Arrive Berlin

Our flight from Boston was pretty uneventful.  After a few hours’ sleep and a short layover in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam (Toby and Mary-  we were going to try out our new credit card with chip and PIN in the train ticket machine, but we didn’t have enough time J), we arrived in Berlin fairly refreshed.  Phillip’s sister, Katherina, met us at the gate and we were back at their house in less than 30 minutes.  Iwona and Lothar, Phillip’s parents, were as excited about us coming as we were to be there, and although our German wasn’t perfect, they were very happy with our ability to sprechen und verstehen.  Lothar was concerned about his English, because he hadn’t used it much recently, but he did very well, and Iwona was able to understand quite a bit.  Of course, when all else failed, Katherina was there with impeccable English.

After lunch, we were getting ready to leave the house when Jeri found herself accidentally locked in our bedroom.  The key was in the door, but she could not turn it (according to Iwona, the last time it was locked was 20 years ago).  We tried everything including WD-40, but it would not turn.  Finally, we resorted to a latter and a lot of laughter.  We were worried that we might have to use the ladder for our entire visit, but Iwona and Lothar assured us that it would be fixed by the time we returned.

Our first planned activity was a boat trip along the Spree River, one of many that run through Berlin.  Berlin has more bridges (1200!) than Venice. 

While on board, we enjoyed the sun (and lack of rain) with a special Berlin drink, a Berlin Kindl Weisse, beer with flavored syrup (looked like green beer on St Patty’s Day).  Wasn’t bad, but I think Jeri and I both felt that one was enough.

 Along the river we passed several of the major sights in Berlin, including Museum Island, home to the Bode Museum, the Pergamon Museum, and several other art and history collections,   

the Hauptbanhoff (main train station)    

The Reichstag and Chancellory,   

the TV tower (Fernsehturm), the tallest structure in Berlin at 1200’

the Berliner Dom (Cathedral)

and the “schwangere Auster” or pregnant oyster as it is affectionately known in Berlin (really the Congress Hall  donated to Berlin by the US.

The river is lined by people relaxing in the sun that was very unexpected today.

From the boat, we drove to the Jewish museum passing by the Victory Column, a 200’ column erected in the middle of the Tiergarten (a huge park, similar to Central Park in NYC) to commemorate Prussian victories over Denmark, Austria, and France in the late 1800’s.

The Jewish Museum chronicles the history of the Jews in and around Berlin from around 300 AD through the golden age in the late 1800’s, the 1^st World War, the Holocaust, and present day.  There is an entire special area devoted to the Holocaust with a tower of silence that one can enter and get an eerie feeling of loneliness.

We left the museum at closing time, 8PM, and it was still light outside.  Because we are so far north, the days this time of year are particularly long with sunrise at around 5 and sunset well after 9.  We decided to pass on a fancy dinner that Iwona and Lothar had planned, since we were now really starting to fade, so instead, we ate at a great Italian restaurant near their house.  The evening was very pleasant, allowing us to eat outside on their terrace.  

Our only problem, was the mosquito population, which has increased dramatically with the persistent rain in Berlin (although it was forecast for today, we had only sun!).

We returned to our hosts’ house and were pleasantly surprised to be able to get into our room without the aid of a ladder.  Off to bed and another day of sightseeing.  We did a lot our first half day here!