Advertisement
Published: June 27th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Venice - Section 1 of 5
5:30am the start of a new day.
It was Tuesday the 20th of June, and our destination was Berlin.
We started the day the usual way: get up, get ready, have brekkie and leave home at 6:35am.
We arrived at the Hauptbahnhof at 7:00am to catch our 7:15 train to Hannover.
Waiting on platform one, we stood our ground to get on first as it was a busy train due to World Cup fans going to Berlin. Our train arrived and not having reserved seats, we had no other option but to sit on the floor . Our first train - to Hannover was 1 hour and 20 minutes, not too bad.
Arriving at Hannover, the platform was chock-a-block. German clad fans were pilling onto the platform by the handful, which we later found out why - coz their 7:30am train had been delayed for 2 hours. That was the first time we had seen German transport running late, the usually very efficient PT system had suffered a passenger overload. Worrying that our train would also be delayed by 2 hours, we prepared ourselves for the
wait on the busy platform. But just then, our train, to Berlin pulled up to the platform and we, along with hundreds of other passengers scrambled to the nearest door to get on.
Once again being forced to sit on the floor, taking it in turns with other weary Germans, we arrived in Berlin at approx 10am .
Baggage lockers were our first priority when we arrived at the station. Eventually finding them and the 20 minute line to store our baggage, we stored our bags and began our explorations of Berlin .
Our first attraction was a pair of huge soccer boots that were a temporary art installation for the world cup. They were part of series of over sized objects. From there we walked a little further to find the Rathaus (Town Hall) , which was extremely busy due to the Berlin Adidas Fan Stadium being set up right in front of it.
From there we walked towards the Brandenburg Gate, on our way coming across the old path of the Berlin Wall. Here you can see Danni standing over it . We then headed to the Brandenburg Gate, which also had World
Cup activities set up around it, so our photo opportunities weren’t as good as they could have been . But is was still a magnificent site. As you can see, a giant soccer ball was there, and Rog was being super strong, holding it up for everyone .
During our own walking adventures of Berlin, we occasionally came across a tour group (in english) so we would listen in. This hotel , we don’t know why, but if you would like to stay there be prepared to pay 7700 euro per night. That’s something like AUD$14000 a night. Must be nice inside!
Continuing our walk, we made our way to the Berlin Wall, one part of it which is still standing . Again we came across the English speaking tour group and got an explanation about the wall and the way it was built. We then had a look around the permanent exhibition that has been set up - the permanent installation was on the grounds of the Gestapo head quarters and explained the history of the site (used for tortures and interrogations) it also explained various other aspects of the Nazi war machine.
From here
we headed down the road to Check Point Charlie . This was the check point where anyone crossing from one side of the wall to the other has to pass through to get checked et cetera. It is still manned today, for tourist purposes only. It still is in the same position and condition as the day it was still in use . In this photo you can see how the city has developed around it .
From here, we walked in the heat to the Jewish Museum, looks a little like Federation Square doesn’t it? Mmmm I wonder if the architect of Fed Sq had a holiday in Berlin just before he started his design work? We didn’t go into the museum, due to running out of time. So we headed back towards the city and came across this amazing church. It has been partly destroyed during WWII, and they never restored it , instead deciding to leave it in ruins they built a new church around it.
Nearing the end of the day, we headed back to the Hauptbahnhof via the city gardens.
Walking in the shade was a great relief as it
was so hot in the sun and we had walked so far we were exhausted. We walked through the peaceful gardens, then all of a sudden we came to an open section of grass. People were relaxing in the sun, which at first though seemed reasonable.
But as we got closer, we realised that all these people were men, and they were all naked. I’m talking butt naked - in the middle of Berlin! I was caught a little off guard, as I am not used to that scenery in Melbourne. I’m sure my face showed exactly my disbelief, but sorry, there are no photos to show it.
Walking on from here, keeping my view strictly to the left of me, we came across another giant art installation. This time it was an Audi TT . It was at the edge of the gardens, near the Tower of Freedom .
Taking some quick happy snaps and moving on we passed a man on his way to the fan fest, with a very supportive pet. He had a bird on his shoulder , as you can see on this right shoulder, and it had a German flag.
Finally
walking our last stretch we stumbled back to the Hauptbahnhof , very relieved , and collect our baggage and made our way to the bus, heading for Tegel Airport.
We arrived at the airport 2 hours and 20 minutes before our flight was scheduled to leave as we were so exhausted we couldn’t possibly walk around anymore. We checked in and found our way to the departure gate. We sat and waited.
And waited,
And waited,
And waited,
And waited some more. 2 hours and 20 minutes passed, and the number of passengers was increasing. By now our plane was delayed, and with no announcements, no explanation, and no air hostess lady at the gate, we were once again caught up in the very rare situation of German inefficiency. We waited, shuffled in our seats, and continued to wait.
Finally an hour and 15 minutes later, our flight came up on the board and the gate lady arrived. Within 2 seconds of her arriving at her desk, she was swamped with hundreds of impatient people, wanting to get on the plane. The unorderly line was finally sorted out and we eventually boarded the bus, which
took us to the plane parking section , and were allowed to scurry for the plane. People ran like school kids trying to secure the best seats.
We settled into our seats and waited for departure. Eventually leaving we were headed for Italy, scheduled to arrive in 1 hour and 30 minutes. On our accent, we managed to get some aerial shots of Berlin .
And we sat back and relaxed.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.167s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0264s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb