Saturday we hired a car, a little Cheverlot Kalos, rattles a bit but seems to go reasonably well. Would not buy one as the driving position is terrible.
We were looking at about 150-180E for 2 days from the likes of Hertz, Avis etc. But a little local knowledge saw us being offered this car (only 6000ks on the clock) for 70E even better we could have it for 2.5 days for that. Now that's service. If your ever in Berlin look up CARO in the local yellow pages.
Trip down was good. about 140ks on the Autobahn. For those not aquanted with said roads. They sometime do not have speed limits. They have a recommendation of 130. So you get these crazy dudes tail gating at 180kph. Then you get the idiot who pulls out at 120 into the path of a car doing 200. Yikes.
While I was doing a measly 150kph I was passed like I was going backwards, probably somewhere around the 250kph mark.
Well we finally got to the town we were headed for. Then we momentarily were unsure of where to go. I've got "links" going off in the back seat. Links = Left. Not sure if the spelling is correct.
By the time we got to the right street it's been blocked off (The reason for this was a sodding great big hole in the road).
At this point I think Tante Rosie had had enough and was almost at the point of wialing.
We're trying to work out what to do when I spot a van turning round at the blockage....... quick thinking and I following him..... sees us get to Uncle Rudi's house safe and sound.
Lunch was typical German food, 2 pork steaks, bacon and then cheese on top. Was great but I'm still not hungry 18 hours later.
Then the real mini epic journey began. Given a very nice hand drawn map for how to get to the Autobahn. Except we don't quite follow it.
Final corner....... Bea says "Road swings to the left, halfway round turn right towards Berlin"
Road appears, Bea says "We don't want that one there must be a turning on our left in a minute"
Notice the change from Right to Left...........
10 minute sceninc tour of Weissenfel. Try again. Finally on the right track.
An hour later (and this time it's not Bea making the mistake) Turn off here, take the 169. Sean moves off, Bea says "Stay on this road". Road on the right (signed 169) goes to where we want to go. Road straight ahead goes back onto the bloody Autobahn!!!!!! Guess where we end up......
We get off 20k's later, that's the first exit! Then try and find out why to where we want to go...... no road signs half the time and then the are these block roads, I'm sure we went through the same town twice. Sure felt like it.
Oh what's worse than a back seat driver?
A back seat driver who does not know where they are and only speaks German.
I get the rabble of German between Bea and Tante Rose and then "Links"
We finally got to Hoptgarten in deepest darkest Germany. Not far from Colditz.
Great place, nice cousins.
The bloke (I'll change this later to his real name) restored vintage motorcycles for a living. Been doing it for 25 years (I'll put some photo's up later). Apart from one of two things, like spark plugs, this man can hand build you a 1929 vintage motorcycle. Yes I do mean everything, wheel hubs, speedo housing, brake hubs, the whole rear assembly and things like petrol tanks. I've seen his workshop, in Oz it would have been shut down years ago. He has every type of metal work machine I've ever heard of and then a couple more for good measure. He does something like 10,000k's a year on a 1929 vintage bike!!!!!!
30 June 2008
29 June 2008
Tempelhof Airport.
24 years ago we got shown this magnificent airport, the check in desks were all there, the baggage carousels were all there, all in perfect working order we even got down to the pan and into the hangars. Trouble is no passengers. The whole thing was maintained in the hope of reunification and then it would open as a show case airport the envy of the world.
Well it opened, but not in the way they had hoped for. We saw it yesterday, it’s a beautiful piece of architecture, the the check in desks were all there, the baggage carousels were all there, all in perfect working order. Trouble is no passengers. Or rather there were a few.
Again a rather sad ending to what at the time, during the cold war, was a picture of hope for the future. They are currently planning on closing it. As the city grows and the relative wealth goes up they will wonder why they closed it. Just look at City airport in London.
I’m hoping to get a tour organized next week.
Well it opened, but not in the way they had hoped for. We saw it yesterday, it’s a beautiful piece of architecture, the the check in desks were all there, the baggage carousels were all there, all in perfect working order. Trouble is no passengers. Or rather there were a few.
Again a rather sad ending to what at the time, during the cold war, was a picture of hope for the future. They are currently planning on closing it. As the city grows and the relative wealth goes up they will wonder why they closed it. Just look at City airport in London.
I’m hoping to get a tour organized next week.
Olympic Stadium
Since 1984 they have held the Olympics in Berlin again. To achieve the desired outcome they redesign the whole stadium, BUT, they reused 98% of the original stones and basically kept the outside looking the same. Inside is a very different picture, seriously they thought about the lay out and what was needed, they have an indoor warm-up track that’s 100m long and about 6 lanes wide.
The swimming pool is the same as for the 1936 Olympics. It’s an impressive area and feat. To get a Executive Box for the football matched was 900E a day plus food, plus entrance. Sky boxes were something like 50,000E a year and that’s only for the Soccer matches. You’d have to like you Soccer a lot for that sort of money.
The swimming pool is the same as for the 1936 Olympics. It’s an impressive area and feat. To get a Executive Box for the football matched was 900E a day plus food, plus entrance. Sky boxes were something like 50,000E a year and that’s only for the Soccer matches. You’d have to like you Soccer a lot for that sort of money.
28 June 2008
Zoo to Home Photo's
The reconciliation center, on it's right is the blue church
Inside the blue church this is magnificent
Ths handsome fella can be yours for just $24000
The last time I was here, this road was as empty, minues the people as this. There is apparently some soccer competion on, Yuck! Anyway when we driven down here we drove past the Soviet War memorial, which the vehicle was not allowed to stop at. Wheels stop, guns get drawn the whole nine yards.
Inside the blue church this is magnificent
Ths handsome fella can be yours for just $24000
The last time I was here, this road was as empty, minues the people as this. There is apparently some soccer competion on, Yuck! Anyway when we driven down here we drove past the Soviet War memorial, which the vehicle was not allowed to stop at. Wheels stop, guns get drawn the whole nine yards.
The Soviet Was memorial, this place was guarded by Soviet soldiers, who were in turn guarded by the West German police. Apparently somebody had at one time walked up to one of the sodliers and shot him. Nowadays the guards are gone.
There are two tanks, either side of the memorial, apparently their dead crews are sealed inside.
Somebody is holding a soccer competion so the whole place is a circus.
Brandenburg gate from the site of the wall.
Reichstag again from the site of the wall, the walkk is marked by a line of double cobble stones
They call this the washing machine
There are two tanks, either side of the memorial, apparently their dead crews are sealed inside.
Somebody is holding a soccer competion so the whole place is a circus.
Brandenburg gate from the site of the wall.
Reichstag again from the site of the wall, the walkk is marked by a line of double cobble stones
They call this the washing machine
Again the Reichstag only this time from just within East Berlin, I remember looking out of the building at the corner of the wall at this point.
By the time I'd finished this walk I was a very tired puppy.
By the time I'd finished this walk I was a very tired puppy.
Gatow to Home
I decided that I’d take a bus donwn to the far side of the station and take another back up past the main gate. So walk out to the bus stop, where while reading the map I was bundled out by 20 screaming 6 year olds and their teachers.
Now the next bus is not for 25 minutes, but I think Teachers must no what their doing, one must be due shortly. So I decide to change my mind and wait rather than walk to the next stop. Nope they don’t know anymore than me.
Except that there is one bus that goes past the entrance of the museum and for some reason misses out the stop I’m at…. If I’d walked to the next stop I’d have got a but 15 minutes earlier, with no screaming kids!.
So drove past the main gate, changed to some official loking place so decided to stay on the bus to Spandau. Quick walk around here, could not find anybody doing ballet so train to Zoo.
Zoo is where I first arrived in Berlin, cannot remember much of it. Across the road is the blue church and the reconciliation centre (some photo’s from inside later)
Walk from their to Brandenburg gate, past the Soviet war memorial and on past the Reichstag. I’m going to describe that with the photo’s as there is a story to tell in pictures.
Now the next bus is not for 25 minutes, but I think Teachers must no what their doing, one must be due shortly. So I decide to change my mind and wait rather than walk to the next stop. Nope they don’t know anymore than me.
Except that there is one bus that goes past the entrance of the museum and for some reason misses out the stop I’m at…. If I’d walked to the next stop I’d have got a but 15 minutes earlier, with no screaming kids!.
So drove past the main gate, changed to some official loking place so decided to stay on the bus to Spandau. Quick walk around here, could not find anybody doing ballet so train to Zoo.
Zoo is where I first arrived in Berlin, cannot remember much of it. Across the road is the blue church and the reconciliation centre (some photo’s from inside later)
Walk from their to Brandenburg gate, past the Soviet war memorial and on past the Reichstag. I’m going to describe that with the photo’s as there is a story to tell in pictures.
Gatow
Yesterday at Gatow I was a little disappointed. I had hoped that the Luftwaffe museum would be entered via the original main gate of the station and that the barracks would be part of it.
Getting over this little bit of disappointment and getting on with looking at something like 100 aircraft, parked in various states of repair, from well preserved to down right rotten. It was a good exhibition of what aircraft the Germans have used in the 50 years of the Luftwaffe.
Did they really use Harriers? Cos there was one there.
I’ve come as close to a Hind (Not you John and Amanda) as I ever want to. These are seriously ugly machines and would have cause a certain amount of intimidation when you saw one armed and coming towards you.
Some lovely aircraft, from a Grunau Baby II, we have flying examples in Oz, Me109, Tornado’s, Phantoms, the list goes on.
I decided that I would take a picture of the Tower, now for some reason the exhibition in the bottom was closed. As I was walking up to the building a fat German lady started shouting. Apparently at me, when I finally stopped a few more words were shouted and nothing further when I walked away. So I did what anybody else would have done. I waited until she was about 500m away (she’s on a bike) and walked back over.
But no she was keeping an eye on me….. cycles back over and continues shouting at me in German from about 5m away. Joy oh Joy I’m being shouted at by a fat German lady, “I don’t speak German”. Torrent of German words. Some of which were I think Not Good.
Anyway by that time I’d got my pictures. Now there were other people about walking up to the building (with cameras) and taking a look, but nothing was said to them.
Very strange.
While entering one of the exhibitions a cherry (may have been a bird full of cherries) burst in the tree above me. I have this wonderful trail of cherry (I’m choosing to think it was a burst cherry) from my baseball cap, down the front of my shirt part of my camera and my jeans!
Getting over this little bit of disappointment and getting on with looking at something like 100 aircraft, parked in various states of repair, from well preserved to down right rotten. It was a good exhibition of what aircraft the Germans have used in the 50 years of the Luftwaffe.
Did they really use Harriers? Cos there was one there.
I’ve come as close to a Hind (Not you John and Amanda) as I ever want to. These are seriously ugly machines and would have cause a certain amount of intimidation when you saw one armed and coming towards you.
Some lovely aircraft, from a Grunau Baby II, we have flying examples in Oz, Me109, Tornado’s, Phantoms, the list goes on.
I decided that I would take a picture of the Tower, now for some reason the exhibition in the bottom was closed. As I was walking up to the building a fat German lady started shouting. Apparently at me, when I finally stopped a few more words were shouted and nothing further when I walked away. So I did what anybody else would have done. I waited until she was about 500m away (she’s on a bike) and walked back over.
But no she was keeping an eye on me….. cycles back over and continues shouting at me in German from about 5m away. Joy oh Joy I’m being shouted at by a fat German lady, “I don’t speak German”. Torrent of German words. Some of which were I think Not Good.
Anyway by that time I’d got my pictures. Now there were other people about walking up to the building (with cameras) and taking a look, but nothing was said to them.
Very strange.
While entering one of the exhibitions a cherry (may have been a bird full of cherries) burst in the tree above me. I have this wonderful trail of cherry (I’m choosing to think it was a burst cherry) from my baseball cap, down the front of my shirt part of my camera and my jeans!
27 June 2008
Walking Tour Photo's
Bea's Grand Mother Flat (deceased).
Third floor.
Heading towards the local church
Some of the Graffiti, very clear some of it, but enoughs enough
The Fallen Soldier memorial, one view with another below
The Holocaust memorial
Third floor.
Heading towards the local church
Some of the Graffiti, very clear some of it, but enoughs enough
The Fallen Soldier memorial, one view with another below
Outside, not as busy now as it was back in 1984
The Russian Embassy
The Holocaust memorial
Some soviet inspired block of flats, hence my view of East Berlin being bleak.
One of the last remain sections of wall, not the full death zone thing I was hoping for
Me at the end of a very long day, by this point I" had not sat down for 7 hours and had walked for about 4 hours of that.
Check in again tomorrow, I might have convinced Bea to blog again.
Send her some emails to encourage her.
Berlin Walking Tour.
Today was surreal; I’m deep inside what used to be East Berlin. The last time I was in Berlin was 24 years ago, starting to sound like I’ve been around a while, and at that time I was 18, and more than a little naive. Some say I’ve never grown up! J
In 1984 the wall was still up, check point Charlie was huge, and the cold war was still going on. To me the cold war never really ended, it just petered out. The reason for this is that I was living in Australia when the cold war ended.
So back to staying in deep East Berlin….. a little surreal. We visited Tante Rose last night and a few rellies turned up. One as young at 26 and Bea’s cousin and her husband. They had no need to learn English so Bea was made to translate all night.
I’ve now had some of the propaganda refuted, ours not theirs.
Life was not as bad over here as we were made to believe, that said to get hold of a Trabant there was a 12 year waiting list, that’s right 12 years. Yes things were more difficult under the communist regime just not as bad, in terms of clothing, food, accommodation, jobs etc that I was lead to believe. I’m not condoning communism just that the our propaganda machine was a little over zealous perhaps?
So today I went on a 4 hour walking tour of Berlin, I got to see:
Hitler’s bunker, now a car park!
Checkpoint Charlie, now there was a disappointment, I thought that they’d kept to checkpoint as it was when I was here, nope they took it back to the 60’s
Holocaust memorial, now that was really moving. Not quite sure why, see photo’s later.
Brandenburg gate. Now this was seriously strange, last time here this was behind the wall in the death zone. Now there are buildings right up to it, the new American Embassy officially opens on the 4th July. How quaint!
The place where the socialist students burnt the non Arian books. Now there is an empty rooms full of empty books there, there is a window into the subterranean areas.
A “Ghost Station” where the Soviets used to make sure the western trains where not allowed to stop. Guards marched up and down to make sure. I travel through these 24 years ago. Today I walked through a fully functioning underground station that was a Ghost Station in 1984, chances are I traveled through it then.
The War Memorial was also at bit weird, again 24 years ago it was a soviet controlled and it was a memorial to the fallen soviet soldiers. It was their eternal flame.
Now it’s still a site to fallen soldiers just been expanded to everybody affected by war.
Again see the photo’s. When I was here last, there were two soldiers outside, who were at attention and holding a rifle out in front of them balanced on one, yes 1, hand. When they got tired, as you would imagine they would, their right foot would come across to a small button on the ground and ring a bell for 5 seconds. 5 seconds later the other soldier would do the same. 5 seconds after that the rifle got thrown in the caught in the other hand, steadied and held. These guys were not allowed to move anything else other than their eyes.
I still remember their eyes following the officers who were dressed in RAF uniform.
Today it is very different!
The last thing that was almost more than I could cope with was the East Berlin TV tower. The list goes up at 6 m/s and gets to the top of a 204m tower in 40 seconds. It’s fast enough to make your ears pop.
At the top, it struck me that here I am in East Berlin, thinking back 24 years ago. If you’d said then I’d climb this bloody great big tower 24 years in the future I’d have bet you everything I owned that it wouldn’t happen.
A few of final thoughts, I am totally blown away with the changes that have occurred in this city. Yesterday I indicated that I thought that there was a subtle neglect. In the centre of town this is far from true. There a large number of old building under going renovation, most of it bullet damage and general climate repair, like soot build up. In the area we are staying it’s not unusual to see people opening their first beer of the day at 8:00 am. Unemployment of East Berliners is running at 14 - 18%, we are staying in a rough part of town.
What else can I say, this city is an amazing set of contrasts. It has stirred me to my very core and challenged my understanding of what I thought had gone on in East Berlin.
Any questions please raise them, I’ve got a whole 5 days to get them answered.
In 1984 the wall was still up, check point Charlie was huge, and the cold war was still going on. To me the cold war never really ended, it just petered out. The reason for this is that I was living in Australia when the cold war ended.
So back to staying in deep East Berlin….. a little surreal. We visited Tante Rose last night and a few rellies turned up. One as young at 26 and Bea’s cousin and her husband. They had no need to learn English so Bea was made to translate all night.
I’ve now had some of the propaganda refuted, ours not theirs.
Life was not as bad over here as we were made to believe, that said to get hold of a Trabant there was a 12 year waiting list, that’s right 12 years. Yes things were more difficult under the communist regime just not as bad, in terms of clothing, food, accommodation, jobs etc that I was lead to believe. I’m not condoning communism just that the our propaganda machine was a little over zealous perhaps?
So today I went on a 4 hour walking tour of Berlin, I got to see:
Hitler’s bunker, now a car park!
Checkpoint Charlie, now there was a disappointment, I thought that they’d kept to checkpoint as it was when I was here, nope they took it back to the 60’s
Holocaust memorial, now that was really moving. Not quite sure why, see photo’s later.
Brandenburg gate. Now this was seriously strange, last time here this was behind the wall in the death zone. Now there are buildings right up to it, the new American Embassy officially opens on the 4th July. How quaint!
The place where the socialist students burnt the non Arian books. Now there is an empty rooms full of empty books there, there is a window into the subterranean areas.
A “Ghost Station” where the Soviets used to make sure the western trains where not allowed to stop. Guards marched up and down to make sure. I travel through these 24 years ago. Today I walked through a fully functioning underground station that was a Ghost Station in 1984, chances are I traveled through it then.
The War Memorial was also at bit weird, again 24 years ago it was a soviet controlled and it was a memorial to the fallen soviet soldiers. It was their eternal flame.
Now it’s still a site to fallen soldiers just been expanded to everybody affected by war.
Again see the photo’s. When I was here last, there were two soldiers outside, who were at attention and holding a rifle out in front of them balanced on one, yes 1, hand. When they got tired, as you would imagine they would, their right foot would come across to a small button on the ground and ring a bell for 5 seconds. 5 seconds later the other soldier would do the same. 5 seconds after that the rifle got thrown in the caught in the other hand, steadied and held. These guys were not allowed to move anything else other than their eyes.
I still remember their eyes following the officers who were dressed in RAF uniform.
Today it is very different!
The last thing that was almost more than I could cope with was the East Berlin TV tower. The list goes up at 6 m/s and gets to the top of a 204m tower in 40 seconds. It’s fast enough to make your ears pop.
At the top, it struck me that here I am in East Berlin, thinking back 24 years ago. If you’d said then I’d climb this bloody great big tower 24 years in the future I’d have bet you everything I owned that it wouldn’t happen.
A few of final thoughts, I am totally blown away with the changes that have occurred in this city. Yesterday I indicated that I thought that there was a subtle neglect. In the centre of town this is far from true. There a large number of old building under going renovation, most of it bullet damage and general climate repair, like soot build up. In the area we are staying it’s not unusual to see people opening their first beer of the day at 8:00 am. Unemployment of East Berliners is running at 14 - 18%, we are staying in a rough part of town.
What else can I say, this city is an amazing set of contrasts. It has stirred me to my very core and challenged my understanding of what I thought had gone on in East Berlin.
Any questions please raise them, I’ve got a whole 5 days to get them answered.
26 June 2008
Berlin (I am a donut)
Let's try this again. Finally arrived in Berlin. Internet access is 8E per hour or 15E per day..... good job somebodies got an unsecured wireless lan around here :-)
Bea's Aunt was at the airport to meet us. Does not speak a word of English, nor I German.
So we resort to speaking slowly and loudly.......
Trip to the hotel was interesting, twice we were on the wrong side of the road going past on coming cars trying to turn again us. I almost crossed myself twice. Since discussed, with a relative, (what's the son of a cousin called) driving here you have to have at least one near death experience on the road per day otherwise you have not lived!
We for a walk this morning, Bea says nothing will be open, she was wrong the bars are still open and there is a free topless bar near here as well. Not that I have gone into either of them.
My impressions of Berlin, subtle neglect. Graffiti everywhere, things not a tidy nor well kept as they should be.
Paris airport is a nightmare, flight at 10:50, we left at 11:10. We thought we'd get to the airport, breeze through security and go sit in the lounge. Yhea right, the French want you to queue for no apparent reason.
So, queue to get on the escalator, do that again.
Get to terminal, where are the check in desks, big queue for Eazy Jet (or so we think).
No desks, but there is a BA Business/First and Gold members, we get to check in.
We then go right how do we get through, yes you've guessed it, that queue for Eazy Jet, isn't a queue for Eazy Jet, it's the queue for passport control (You take you luggage and baggage through passport control).
Queue up at the gate, get through security screening, queue up for boarding. NB we did not sit down from the time we arrived to the time we boarded in 2.5 hours. We only just got on the flight in time.
I'll now see what I can do about some pictures and a hire car.
Bea's Aunt was at the airport to meet us. Does not speak a word of English, nor I German.
So we resort to speaking slowly and loudly.......
Trip to the hotel was interesting, twice we were on the wrong side of the road going past on coming cars trying to turn again us. I almost crossed myself twice. Since discussed, with a relative, (what's the son of a cousin called) driving here you have to have at least one near death experience on the road per day otherwise you have not lived!
We for a walk this morning, Bea says nothing will be open, she was wrong the bars are still open and there is a free topless bar near here as well. Not that I have gone into either of them.
My impressions of Berlin, subtle neglect. Graffiti everywhere, things not a tidy nor well kept as they should be.
Paris airport is a nightmare, flight at 10:50, we left at 11:10. We thought we'd get to the airport, breeze through security and go sit in the lounge. Yhea right, the French want you to queue for no apparent reason.
So, queue to get on the escalator, do that again.
Get to terminal, where are the check in desks, big queue for Eazy Jet (or so we think).
No desks, but there is a BA Business/First and Gold members, we get to check in.
We then go right how do we get through, yes you've guessed it, that queue for Eazy Jet, isn't a queue for Eazy Jet, it's the queue for passport control (You take you luggage and baggage through passport control).
Queue up at the gate, get through security screening, queue up for boarding. NB we did not sit down from the time we arrived to the time we boarded in 2.5 hours. We only just got on the flight in time.
I'll now see what I can do about some pictures and a hire car.
