Traveling Berlin

This past April, I got the opportunity to travel to Berlin, Germany. It was amazing, wonderful, fun, until our flight out to Heathrow was canceled due to an Icelandic volcano ash cloud. After that, it was six days of anxiety not knowing when or if we'd get out anytime soon. But let us concentrate on the best parts because Berlin really is a beautiful city. It's so clean!

We rented a car at the airport (Tegel), a BMW no less! The car was equipped with navigation that was easy to switch to English so as not to tax my two semesters of German. We drove from the airport easily to the Holiday Inn Express on Stresemannstrasse. It was near all the good spots like Alexanderplatz, the Galleria, Potsdamerplatz, etc. The hotel was reasonably priced, very clean and modern, and it included a huge German breakfast daily. There is parking available at the hotel, too.

Recommendation: Park your car at the hotel and use it only for driving out of town. There is virtually no parking to be found downtown, and Berlin has excellent public transportation via bus, U-bahn, and S-Bahn. It's also handicap accessible, even the buses (which are made by Mercedes!). All you have to do is explain to the bus driver you are 'behindered' and need the ramp in the back/side entry. No problem.

Our first night there, we were just exhausted so we walked down the street to an Italian restaurant (Diomira). It was barely two blocks down so walking was the best alternative. The food was good, and the service, even better. The interior had a cozy, candlelit vibe going on. It was styled like a European cafe with large picture windows to look out onto the street.

Note about food in Germany: It's very fresh! They use fresh ingredients, and their meats are not like ours which are corn-fed, fattening, and full of steroids/antibiotics and stuff. They use farm fresh, farm-raised, grass-eating beef. Less fat, and tastier. Their breads are so good!

The next day we (my best friend and I) drove around Berlin, getting a feel for the city. The views were fantastic. However, we were slightly delayed in getting started as we made a key mistake in thinking we could exchange money once we got to the hotel. Some hotels do this, but the Holiday Inn Express does not. We should have done this at the airport before picking up our car, but live and learn, right?

The hotel advised us to find one of their many banks and exchange it there. We found a bank. My friend, who speaks no Deutch at all, made me go in. Through my limited abilities (and a cheat sheet in hand), I found out that one must have an account at the bank to exchange money. The gentleman sent me down the street a few blocks to an actual international money exchange office. Yay! Once this task was complete, we were off an running.

I should point out that the dollar to Euro exchange rate really stinks right now. You get about 60% of your dollar back in Euros.

Our trip around the city led us out onto the Autobahn (Wheee!) to Potsdam. Potsdam is gorgeous and just a short drive away. The palaces at Sanssouci (for the German Queen) are spectacular! You can drive through, ride through on horse and carriage, or walk through (which is quite a walk). The only word to describe it is beautiful.

We had lunch at a little diner in Potsdam where my friend tried the Donor (a Turkish dish made with thin strips of pork), and I had the Schnitzel.

The third day, we set off for Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Oranienberg, Germany. It's huge, cold, and desolate. Walking through there, knowing how many Jewish people lost their lives in such a place, was heartbreaking. The horror of seeing the morgue and the underground room where bodies were kept piled one atop the other until they could be stripped of anything valuable or usable was sickening. I collected stones off the ground as I walked around as reminders that I had been there. We spent around three hours investigating the entire area. One of the most famous Nazi phrases was worked into the iron of the gate; Arbeit Macht Frei. It means 'Work will make you free". This is part of the psychological propaganda instilled into the prisoners by the S.S. The only truth to that phrase was that, indeed, work will make them free..by working them to death. Then they are free of Nazi party. Did I mention how biting cold it was there? The funny thing was, I wouldn't complain about it. All I could think was how many people had suffered that cold wearing only thin, woolen striped pajamas. How could I complain when I could freely walk away at any time?

Right outside the walls is the quaint town of Oranienberg. Driving through it, you'd never know the Holocaust had a firm foot-hold in this charming village of colorful homes and cobblestone streets.

We really needed a pick-me-up after that experience and we headed off to a tax-free mall. If it hadn't been so cold, it would have been perfect. (It was an outdoor mall) As it was, it was nice. I was able to do a little souvenir shopping, and discovered the nicest, cleanest public restroom I'd ever seen! In some respects, we Americans can learn a lot from our European counterparts.

We discovered an Italian restaurant on the way back to the hotel called Valencio's. It was actually owned by two German-speaking Italians. Good thing I could communicate and order food in German! My Italian is practically non-existent. I had to rely on my knowledge of Spanish (being a Texas native and all).

We had the best Bruschetta I've ever tasted. It was far different than the Bruschetta you get when ordering in Texas. I loved it. Real crusty Italian bread topped with fresh cut tomatoes and onions, drizzled with real virgin olive oil right in front of you. Fantastico!

This appetizer was followed by our own individual fire-roasted pizzas. I ordered mushroom. Very, very bueno.

That night, we found our way back into downtown Berlin to a real chocolatier; Fassbender & Rausch. I can't even being to describe how wonderful it smelled inside this place. Chocolate everywhere! Of course, this meant purchasing more goodies to take home to friends and family.

We were due to fly out to Heathrow, London, England the next day. As we waited in line to get our boarding passes, our flight was canceled. An ash cloud had traveled miles and miles south of Iceland, clogging the airspace and making flying too dangerous. They re-booked us for the next day, and we tried not to be down about it. It would cut out one of three days would have in London. I had tickets for us to see the musical, Chicago, the next night, so I hoped we'd make it in time. Hope faded as one day delayed turned into two, turned into six total. We had booked ourselves into the Mercure near the airport so we could be ready to go at a moment's notice.

As the news continued to show a never-ending ash cloud over our airspace, we started to feel panicked. We hadn't planned on such a delay, and calls had to be made to airlines, hotels, and credit card companies to make arrangements for the extra stay. Those six days ended up costing us more than the entire trip. We did have travel insurance, and got some of our loss back, but in all, it tainted what had been such a great experience. My best advice to anyone traveling, first time or otherwise, get travel insurance, and plan for the unplanned! One extra fun adventure came from the delay. We ventured off to the Pergamon Museum. This life-size museum takes you back to glory days of Rome. It's amazing to walk through and see the sculptures, colonnades, and various other architecture. It's a can't miss place to be if in Berlin, right along with Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall (what's left of it).

I'd still visit Berlin again. There's still more of Germany I'd like to see (such as Wiesbaden where I was born), and I'm hoping that Icelandic volcano stays sleeping the next time I venture across the pond.