Berlin, Germany.
So, after a long day, we woke up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus. Now, I know I’ve said we don’t like buses, but when the price is right, and the journey shorter than the train, I know- it surprised me too, exceptions must be made. So, on to our 8 hour bus ride. The bus was really comfortable and fairly empty. We had wifi, air-conditioning, reclining seats, and lunch! What more could you ask for?? Our walk from the station was again flat (yay!). Since we were only staying for a couple of nights, we opted for a hotel. Just across the street about one block down was a Durum place, which we may have frequented everyday we were there.
Javier, Alex, and the Jubulani.
Javier had contacted his friend, Birke before we arrived and we decided to meet up that evening. We met her at Alexanderplatz, and together with her and her eight-year-old son, Alex, we walked to her car and went to her home. The two, or I should say three of them chatted in Spanish, and I interjected here and there (in English) when I could. We hung out at her house, visited, and snacked while Javier played soccer with Alex. Alex
Birke & JandJ. #selfie
taught us a few key phrases in German, which I sadly have already forgotten, and was such a trooper when we were up late, not complaining, but just hanging in there. I would like to take a moment to say how impressed both Javier and I were with Alex. He was such a well-behaved child. Very helpful and obedient, friendly and charming. If I ever find myself with an 8-year-old son, I would hope him to be as well behaved and polite as Alex. Truly, a joy to be around. The four of us went to Peruvian food, where Javier was in heaven, and afterward Birke drove us to our hotel with Alex singing Jason Derulo and Snoop Dogg’s, “Wiggle.” Alex just started learning English, so he has yet to learn what the words in the song mean. It was hilarious. We were all laughing, including himself, and he just sang without restraint. Very cute.
The Berlin Wall
The next morning, Javier and I went for a free tour, woo-hoo! We learned about the history of Berlin, saw the important sights, took lots of pictures. We saw one of the few remaining Nazi buildings, as well as the former location of Hitler’s bunker, which you’ll be happy to know was filled in with sand and covered with a very unimportant parking lot. I think the only thing more appropriate would be if it
The Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin
were covered by a landfill, but I digress. We walked by “the wall,” which was surprisingly thinner than I had imagined. There was a location on the wall, where apparently, the story goes, a government person stuck on the east side threw a rope to a friend on the other side of the wall. The friend somehow secured the rope, and the man used his jacket as a sort of zipline to sail over the wall and onto the other side. They even have an art display showing this scene. We passed by checkpoint Charlie, where they have erected an American checkpoint for the tourists to take pictures. We walked by Fassbender & Rausch where they build chocolate monuments, and watched the Trabi’s race around the city leaving plumes of exhaust in their wake. Did you know that the Trabi is made of pressed cardboard and covered with a layer of plastic?
Good times in Berlin
On our last day, we met with Birke for one last hoorah. She took us to an old cathedral that was destroyed in the war, and right next door, they have built a new, modern cathedral using the glass from the old. Afterward, we had a delicious lunch at NENI, which overlooked the zoo and park. The three of us then went to the sony center to have lattes and dessert. After parting, Javier and I walked back to museum island to take some more pictures. By then it
Good music. Classical.
was already getting dark, so we decided to make our way home. On the way we passed by the Bode museum where there was an orchestra playing on its steps. We stood with the other bystanders and enjoyed the classical music accented by sounds of the metro train passing by. It was a lovely evening. The city was bright with lights, the weather was perfect, and the people out and about enjoying a drink at an outdoor cafe, or a walk along the river. Our time in Berlin was short, but memorable and a nice visit with old friends.
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On to Dresden.
Dresden
Now, we chose to go to Dresden because: 1. It was recommended by an acquaintance and 2. We needed some down time. We were looking for somewhere peaceful and safe where we could relax, tour without an agenda, and exercise. Well, we picked the right place.
Our bus ride to Dresden was uneventful, with the exception of our driver who wouldn’t let us get off one stop earlier, which caused us to have to backtrack to said location in order to get to our destination. Grrr… Our walk from the station was…well, it was uphill, and by the time we arrived we were tired, hot and hungry…a bad combination for this duo. We didn’t do much that night, just some dinner, grocery shopping and early to bed!
The Fürstenzug in Dresden and the moon
The rest of our days in Dresden kind of run together. We took a tour (not free) of the old town. It was very informative. I had no idea that the entire city, with the exception of two buildings, was completely decimated. So, everything was rebuilt after the war, with their cathedral only being completed in 2005! We only visited the old town a couple of times, once in the evening so that Javier could take
Opera in the tunnel
pictures of the buildings while lit up. That night, we happened to come upon a trio singing opera in one of the tunnels. There were really, really good and the crowd so thick it was virtually impossible to see them, but their sounds echoed off the walls and resonated throughout the tunnels. We (finally) found somewhere to cut Javier’s unruly hair. Please see before and after pictures 🙂 We found yet another
Mary at Suppenbar
durum place, which we also frequented almost daily, as well as a soup kitchen where we met Mary, who became our friend after seeing us several days in a row 🙂 Our place in Dresden was right next to a park and a block or so from a forest. We tried running through the park, but after inhaling gnats and, during an evening run, having a bat almost fly into my face, we decided to look for something else. We decided to check out the forest, which proved to be some of the best trails we have run. On our way to some falls, I came across a rather large, green, snake. It freaked me out. I was screaming, jumping up and down, and nearly climbed on Javier. Needless to say, I could go no further. No problem though, at this point, we had already been running for almost an hour, so it was about time to turn back. The next day, we took the bikes at our
Biking in Dresden.
place and rode the same path. We made it all the way to the waterfalls only to discover they were about 2 feet in height. What a letdown. Either way, the ride was great. Afterward, we took the bikes along the water for a few miles to see a little further outside of Dresden. Now, I have to explain these bikes. I’m sure it won’t be funny to you…I think it’s one of those, “had to be there” sort of things, but it caused everyone to stare, and had me giggling all day. Both bikes were girl bikes. The bigger of the two was a Dutch bike according to our host. As you can see in pictures, you had to sit very upright and the handlebars were very close together and angled in a way that your elbows didn’t splay out like with a normal bike. Instead, they were somewhat tucked in at your sides. Anyway, it made for an awkward ride, and Javier looked so funny, I would laugh every time I would look at him. It was the most ridiculous bike I had ever seen. All in all, it was a great day, and my butt hurt for three days after. One of the more interesting
Drink on the streets. why not?
things we discovered about Dresden is that the locals fill the streets to meet and greet every evening with drinks in hand. People don’t drink in restaurants or in bars, they just take it to the street! They sit on benches, on windowsills, curbs, or on the sidewalk and brown bag it, minus the brown bag. It was weird to see in the beginning, but everyone seems to do it, and they don’t get rowdy, or out of control. It was definitely a different way to spend the evening! All in all, Dresden was the break we needed to help us reset and gear up for Prague and the arrival of Annette!