Brian, I feel that Berlin is your next travel destination. They all smoke. They apparently have no laws concerning when nor where one may consume alcohol (on the U-Bahn, in a park, on the street, 7am, in the Tiergarten, etc.). They all serve vegan options. They never actually pay for public transit. Perfect city!
Okay, but seriously. I think that they pay for the U and S bahn as well as the bus system off of the money of unwitting tourists who, at the airport, purchase 1, 2, 3, even 7 day passes for the public transit. The public transit that I have not seen anyone pay for. There are no turnstiles, even at downtown subway stations, so you just walk up and get on. And there is a rule that you may only ride the train for a maximum of 3 stops. Pshhaw. That is just silliness. On the plus side, the train does get you everywhere that you want to go. On the downside, that's 30 Euro I'll never see again.
So. Berlin. Kind of have to remind myself that it has only had 23 of unification to get its shit together, because otherwise I would be concerned about this capital of the strongest member of the Euro. no, really. It is comical to me when I'm reading a sign or taking a picture at, say, Hitler's bunker or the Jewish Memorial, and another unwitting tourist--American, Australian, English--asks me: "Hey, do you know what side we're on?" OMG look around! Have you been to West Berlin yet? Because night and day.
Something from Berlin that we really need to install in Grand Rapids is called Museumsinse. And, just in case your German is rusty--or you never took German-- that means Museum Island. So, allow me to explain: there's this island in the middle of town on the river spree. And it has museums on it. Best day ever, right? So that was fun.
Museumsinse also had the Berliner Dom on it, which is the Berlin Cathedral. But don't get too excited. While it is lovely, it is protestant. Hee. Jokes. This, friends, is the cathedral tower climb for grandparents. After achieving Notre Dame, St. Peter's and sundry others in the height of summer, strolling up this puppy in 65 degrees was absolute cake. Aiding in the ease was definitely the way it was constructed. You see, you go to the church and then you go up about 50 steps to the next level and look out from the Kaiser balcony. Then you go up about 50 steps and you look at the Cathedral museum, wherein you learn about the architecture and the physical construction of the original dome. Then you go up about 50 steps and you are at the base of the dome, interior, looking down at the cathedral. And all of this time, you are indoors, on normal, maybe even extra wide, stairs. With plenty of benches. Then you go up about 75 steps--finally a spiral staircase-- and presto change-o! you are on the roof! Pittance. But it was good and lovely and I am glad that I did it.
Even better than the Museum island and the cathedral was the Reichstag--the parliament house. Located just around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate (the giant famous Roman-style gate with the columns and the horse and chariot on top and that's where JFK gave the famous Ick Bin Ein Berliner speech), the Reichstag has a great and rich history that I learned about from the very top of the building. There is this dome at the top and now you can go into said dome. But luckily I did my research, because you have to apply in advance for a (free) ticket and then bring your letter of invitation along with your passport. and then you go into this dome that is made of glass and there is one ramp circling its way up and one circling its way down. What a great view of the city! Plus, Karen bonus points: I went at 9pm, so I got to see the views during the day and then waited a bit to see the sunset and then the views of the city all lit up for the night!
Checkpoint Charlie was cool, but the accompanying museum was...tiresome. The DDR museum (or GDR, as the German is Deutschland Democratic Republic, while the English is German Democratic Republic) was also way lame for the hype. I should have gone on the river cruise instead. The Zoo became a must for me when I learned that it has the most species of any zoo in the world! Disappointing bit: that is because of all of the birds. Jesus. Christ. There are a lot of birds at that zoo. The white wolves just had a liter(?) or 6 puppies, so that was amazing. And THEY HAD PENGUINS! And they were all just chilling, not doing much and then I walked up and I was like "Hey guys! I'm here!" and the woman standing next to me inched away as I continued "You know, you're wearing black and it's sunny, so if you're hot, it would be okay to get into the water now. I'm here and I think it would be cool." And then they did. Of course, Peter wouldn't think that these were actual penguins, as they were from South Africa, and therefore not upside down, but we bonded and I love them, so they are penguins.
I am, in general, a little weirded out by the lack of foot traffic and pedestrian presence in this city. When I was in the Tiergarten, there were long stretches--we're talking 10 minutes at a time--when I was literally the only person in these deep woods. We're talking Nick and Laura's cabin deep woods. And when I take the train back to the hostel at night, the walk is very lonely and creepy.
I have continued in my streak of gaining free things by shamelessly flirting and achieved free postcards and stamps, entry to a private gallery, and a free shot glass. Oh, and drinks, of course, which is no small feat when the currency is working against you.
I had the best vegan burrito--chocolate chilli-- and the best vegan hot dog--I am so glad that I actually tried it. My only complaint about the food is that, as I strolled the supermarket, it is really expensive for really shit produce. Palest strawberries ever and bananas are the equivalent of $1.99 a pound. Blech.
I couldn't bring myself to blog about this before...and frankly I am still so depressed. On the train from London to Cardiff, I was reading my Kindle and then the train jerked and I hit a bunch of buttons at once and then the screen went white. It is not supposed to do that. So I forced it to restart by holding the button for a minute. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. I charged it overnight and then tried to wake it in the morning. Nothing. I am so depressed. The worst is that, unlike Apple products, there is no store. I can't just walk into the store and have them fix it, so I'll have to wait until I get home. In a month.
UPDATE!
I forgot this bit, as I was multi-tasking by blogging and making new friends with a Scottish couple. Also incredibly disappointing: on the way to my hostel in Berlin, my bag felt funny, almost as though I was more dragging it than pulling it. So I checked to see if something was blocking the path of the wheel. And there was. The wheel was stuck in the wheel. Because it had split and so there is a core that it solid and still good, but the outer rubber has split down the middle and blocked the rim. So I dragged my bag. My bag that has seen 6 continents with me. My shoulder hurts...
Disappointing.
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