Grüße aus Deutschland

Hallo aus Berlin. Welcome to my first blog from east Germany. It’s been a very busy few days so i’ll give you all a brief catch up on my activities.

I left Slave Lake Thursday morning for a long and rainy drive to Edmonton. As if that drive isn’t mind numbing enough, throw in some rain and road construction and you have the recipe for “fun”. I was hoping to briefly meet up with a friend from Hamilton who had just flown into Edmonton that morning but because of weather etc, I just decided to head to the airport instead. Luckily (for me), she was delayed getting to town herself so it may not have worked out any way. Next time Ash….Next time!

In spite of wet weather, my flight was showing On Time and I had no delays. My flight to Toronto got off the ground right on time and was a relatively smooth flight with just a few minutes of bumps. Landing in Toronto was great, always happy to see the lights of Toronto! Although my flight to Berlin was also on time, I was dismayed to see that it was a Air Canada Rouge flight. It is an 8 hour flight from Toronto to Berlin and I can’t understand for the life of me why they make it a “Rouge” flight. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Rogue is Air Canada’s cheap ass little cousin who’s luxuries include air and perhaps a seat. I say perhaps because in true AC fashion, they had oversold the flight and were asking people to give up their seats! So there I was, flying overseas in a plane which was quite large yet somehow had no leg room and no TV. Yip, you heard me right, no TV on an international flight. They said (after we had already boarded) that we can download the AC app and use the entertainment system. It’s a bit late now AC, I didn’t have my ipad with me. I was going to have to just suck it up and try to sleep most of the flight, which I did surprisingly enough. I won’t dwell on it any longer as I made it here and all is good.

It was sunny and warm on my arrival at Tegal Airport here in Berlin.  I was happy to receive a new passport stamp, retrieve my bag and off I went on a lengthy cab ride to my hotel. After freshening up from the long flight, I strapped on shoes and wandered for  the remaining of the day. I walked along the canals for quite some time, watching the river tour boats go by. I ended up all the way to an area called Alexanderplatz Square. It was alive with different cafes, pubs and stores. I grabbed some Starbucks and sat for a while as Berlin walked by. It was a great evening but by this time I was dead tired so I headed back to my hotel and called it a night.

This morning I woke early, had a quick breakfast and caught a cab  over to Brandenburg Gate. Built in the 18th century by Prussian King Frederick William II, it is located on the original gate that led from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg. However now it stands as one of Berlins most notable most frequently visited monuments. From  there I joined a walking tour for the next 3 hours. Our first stop was the memorial of the murdered Jewish population. Consisting on hundred of cement blocks, all different in size, it is quite interesting design. According to our guide, the designer was asked what the blocks represented to which he answered “visit and draw your own conclusions’. From there we went visited what looked like just a small patch of grass however that particular spot was one of the most important places in Berlins history. We learned that 13 meters below that one little spot, sits the bunker where Adolf Hitler and his wife of one day Ava Braun both committed suicide. With the Americans, British and Russians all closing in on him, he wrote his will and left instructions on what to do with their bodies. He ordered that they be brought to the surface and burned. Those orders were carried out days later. There are a few stories/theories that it wasn’t actually his body and that he had fled to Argentina. Dental records showed the charred remains were indeed Adolf Hitler but than again, how accurate was DNA back then?? Draw your own conclusions from that! We then headed to a remnant of the Berlin Wall. Something I have always wanted to see. I was quite taken back on how thin it was and the fact that it wasn’t that tall. However, with the guarding in place, very few could get past it without getting shot. that being said, there were quite a few success stories of people fleeing from the walled East Berlin for a better life in West Berlin. This particular section was left as it was, decaying and covered in graffiti. I later visited another section which was covered in murals. From the wall, we stopped at a little cafe for a break and then on to Check Point Charlies. Many of you have heard of this place and once carried the reputation for being one of the dangerous spots in the world. It was one of the main gateways from East to West Berlin. There were often artillery there and well as people trying to escape.  After a few more stops and brief lessons on German history etc, we ended the tour at Humboldt University. Among its Alumni are 29 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Albert Einstein was a professor there until he fled to America in 1932.  The square in front of the main building was also the site of the Berlin Book burning.

After saying good bye to that group, I wandered some more, taking in some of the great architecture this city  has to offer. I then headed over to another section of wall known as East Side Gallery. Over a km long, this remnant of the wall has been beautifully covered in murals. Some of them quite well done. It was just overwhelming that after many years hearing of it, there it was……the Berlin Wall. With the days activities catching up on me, I had a little lunch by the canal and headed back to my hotel to upload my pics to Facebook. Feel free to check out my pics or add me by my name “Vince Hancock” or nickname “travelingnewf”. I also have my instagram page also named travelingnewf. Comments are always welcome.

I ended night 2 in Berlin by meeting my GAdventures group and guide in my hotel lobby at 6:30.  We met and mingled for a bit and then all headed out for a fine dinner at a restaurant close by.  There are actually 4 other people from Alberta and another couple from Victoria. It was nice to see. The rest of the group are Australians which always fun to be around.  We had a great dinner and called it a night. We will met in the morning for an introductory walk. I have already seen a lot of the mornings destinations but a second look will be great. With the afternoon to myself again, I may try take in a river cruise and a museum. Monday it’s off to Warsaw Poland. I fear I have bored you with my ramblings so I will end it here. Will pick up again from Poland in a couple days. Gute Nacht from Berlin.