Brunansky's Blog

The train ride from Amsterdam to Berlin took approximtely five hours. I crossed through so much beautiful country along the route. The train had WiFi which was helpful. I sat in the food car for the majority of the trip. The headphones provided a noise free ride. The music playing in the headphones provided the soundtrack. I was able to sip on hot coffee and cold water while the hills, trees and towns just outside the window slid by.

The time on the train felt brief. Five hour ground travel is not unfamiliar to me. It takes approximately five to five and one half hours to drive from Phoenix, Arizona to both San Diego and Anaheim, California. These are drives I’ve done almost my entire life, literally. However, on a train, with zero responsibility for arrival, the time seemed to slip past me without notice.

The train arrived promptly in Berlin around 3pm. It was on time without any issue. I deboarded the train at Berlin Hbf (aka Berlin Central Station). This particular station had the look and feel of a multi story mall, more than a train station. It was incredibly clean and well organized. The rumors of German efficiency appeared to be true.

Thankfully, once more, the WiFi was excellent. I put the hotel address into Google maps. The hotel was less than a block away from the train station. The walk was simple and quick. Once inside the hotel, I checked in with the front desk attendant. She went over the basics of the hotel with regard to ammenities, the bar and such.

After a brief discussion with the front desk attendant, I collected my things and took the elevator upto my room. There were two things I noticed immediately as I approached the elevator. One, the vending machine beside me sold beer. I have never seen a vending machine that sells beer before in my travels. This was a first. Second, the elevator had only a single button. Regardless of direction, the button alerted the elevator it was needed. Then, within the elevator space, you chose up or down. Once more, German efficiency for the win.

Once inside my room, I was able to put my things away in a neat and orderly fashion. I took a minute to look out at the city of Berlin from my window. It was a remarkable feeling of achievement. The longer I was here, in Europe, the more accomplished I felt. Eventually, I undressed, showered and changed for dinner.  Once showered and dressed, I made my way to the elevator and back down to the main lobby before heading out to eat.

Berlin is peppered with uniquely designed modern architecture. In fact, one such building was the location for dinner that first night. The building was a commercial building. This means that companies rented floors and office spaces to conduct their business. However, on the first floor, the space was converted into a modern food court.

It was more elegant than what one might find in an American Mall food court. There were zero fast food restaurants inside. It was all bistro like restaurants. It maintained a classy, high end, modern comfort that matched the quality of the food being served to hungry Berliners and travelers.

I walked the floor looking over the menu. It didn’t take long to realize that I would need to utilize Google Translate. I learned to speak German when I was in college. The degree I was studying for required a basic comprehension of a few European languages. German was one such language. However, it has been over twenty years since I was in college. Words appeared familiar but I was without understanding or comprehension. There was that feeling of, “I should know this but I can’t for the life of me remember.”

Once more the WiFi worked brilliantly. Google Translate saved the day or at least my first meal in Berlin. I went with what felt like the safest choice. There was a high end burger stand that had  everything necessary for dinner. The only risk I took was with the sauce. I didn’t bother to translate the sauce. What is life without a splash of whimsy or risk?

The meal consisted of a burger with fries, a water and a beer. The meal was incredibly tasty. It reminded me of the gourmet burger shops I frequented in my twenties. I was delighted with my choice and their ability to cook a burger so delicously.

After dinner, there were a few items that would be needed for the evening, and the next day or two. Once more Google Maps was utilized. It located a grocery store a short walk from the restaurant. Now, full of delicous food, I walked to the grocery store to purchase a few things to help get me through the evening.

The grocery store was the first location in Germany where I saw an attractive woman that stopped me in my tracks. I walked through the doors of the grocery store and that was where I saw her.

She was taller than your average woman. She had a slender yet athletic build. She was tan with long dark hair that was pulled up. She was bent over some items looking for something specific. I looked at her, then looked once more to verify I saw what I thought I saw. Yes, that is a badge on her person. This stunning creature is a cop? Remarkably so, yes.

Thankfully, as I discovered, European cops do not carry the same disposition as American cops. My sudden stop, glance, and glance again did not appear suspicious. In fact, her smile hinted that she found my blatant “whoa, that’s a good looking lady” expression and reaction somehow charming.

We talked for a bit while shopping. I could not pass up this opportunity to flirt with a German cop who looked that good. And so, we talked. Her English was better than my German. My German didn’t really exist at all. She was able to answer some questions, help me with some things, and even give me the occasional smile.

Eventually the time arrived for me to make my way back to the hotel. The evening had arrived and I had a very long day ahead of me. The day would be spent on a bicycle touring much of Berlin. I thanked her for her time, conversation and company then left.

Once back to the hotel, I enjoyed a beer or two. I then called the night complete. It didn’t take long to fall asleep. The German television show in the background provided a suprisingly comfortable distraction until my eyes finally closed.

The next morning arrived without delay. I hit the shower once more and then dressed for a very active day. The front desk attendant went over the guidelines and rules for daily bicycle rentals. I paid all the necessary fees and deposit and then left to collect my ride.

I stood looking at the bicycle for a moment. It was a standard, nondescript, vehicle. It had a basic color scheme of dark tones, matched with the hotels insignia. This identified it as a rental and not my property. There was the function of multiple speeds to make certain routes easier to pedal. In all, it was a standard bicycle that one might find at any store.

It has been many years since I rode a bike of any sort. The stationary bikes at the gym do not count. They are balanced and secured in place for exercise only. A real bicycle has not been in my life since I was probably in High School. Now, in my forties, I hoped the saying was true. That riding this rental bike would in fact be “just like riding a bicycle. You don’t forget how.”

I threw my leg over the frame, and adjusted my position towards the first destination. Then, with a breath and a “Here goes!” attitude, my feet hit the pedals and I was off on an adventure.

The morning was spent cycling through different parts of Berlin. The route took me to the Victory Column, Brandenburg Gate, Check Point Charlie, the Berlin Wall and several other Pre WW1, WW1 and WW2 monuments. Germany, Berlin in particular from what I saw, is a country literally filled with a history of various wars.

After the morning of cycling, observing, appreciating and documentating this historical tour, I made my way back to the hotel. It was time to drop off the rental bicycle. Seated near lobby bar, I enjoyed a beer, obviously. I then plotted the route to a beer garden I became aware of during my research of Europe.

The beer garden was a ten or so minute walk from the hotel. There was an understanding that this particular spot is very popular with the locals. This would be a fantastic opportunity to sit, eat, drink and mingle with Berliner’s. That is precisely what I did once I arrived.

The Beer Garden is stationed upon a lake within the middle of Tiergarten. This is a very large park in the middle of downtown Berlin. It’s quite beautiful. The beer garden inside Tiergarten had the same modern gourmet bistro aestetics the food court had just the day before.

There were several stations for one to visit. You had one station to order beer. There was one to order a salad or pizza. There was one to order, what one cute Fräulein told me was, “a very traditional Bavarian meal.” It was bratwurst with potatoes, mixed veggies and a large pretzel. This was washed down with a stein of German lager which drank as smooth as water. There was also a basket full of large pretzels to choose from as you walked.

She and I spoke periodically throughout my meal. And, once more, I was able to get a smile and some blushing to occur. If nothing else, a few German women were left to believe that American men still have a sense of charm about them.

The meal was so good, beer so tasty, and the people so pleasant, I ended up staying there for lunch and dinner. In fact, I was back to the beer lady frequently enough that she asked me, in a very German way, how many beers I wanted at once so I wasn’t walking back and forth all the time. German efficiency even at the beer gardens. It’s a beautiful thing. The afternoon of sightseeing was gone. This beer garden with its cute Fräulein’s, delicous food, and large beers swept me up. I found great enjoyment there for several hours.

Once the evening arrived, I eventually left and made my way back to the hotel. There, I sat at the bar with fellow travelers, and relaxed over drinks. This time was spent in reflection. It was an incredibly surreal experience touring the Berlin Wall Memorial. I was able to walk through what I would call “dead mans alley” but what is known as the “death strip.”

The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 and deconstructed in 1989, was more than a single wall. There was a wall, and then a gap, and then another wall. The gap between walls was basically the kill zone for Communist Germans to shoot at people trying to escape East Germany to West Germany. As Eastern Europeans made their way through this spread of land, they might also blow up from hidden mines in the ground. It was a treachorous space of land. It took the lives of far too many people looking for a life of freedom, post World War II.

For me, to walk through this area that was active during my youth was surreal. I remember the television news special of then President Ronald Reagan saying, “Tear down this wall!” This was followed by the Berlin Wall being torn apart and the Cold War officially beginning to conclude. Of course, had the Polish not begun the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” movement in the early 1980’s it’s difficult to say when the conclusion of the Cold War would have begun. But, more on Poland in the next blog entry.

Back to Berlin…

To be in a place, that at one point in my life was completely forbidden, was beyond words. To walk through this field where people were being shot at, bombed, or chased with nothing but the sound of people talking and laughing beside me was unlike anything I have felt in my life.

Here I was, standing in a now grassy field, looking around at a place that was littered with death and the possibility of death once before in my life. Now, people are smiling and taking photos. They talk and laugh about things in life as if this place was never so dangerous. The feelings all came to the surface when I saw the abandoned tower.

Its official title was the “German Democratic Republic Guard Tower.” Here, in this tower, overlooking the “death strip” we would see East German guards armed with rifles. They had orders to kill on sight anyone attempting to escape. It’s now a rusted old relic that has been vandalized by spray paint. It sits behind a fence. It is now being guarded from vandals who would damage it. A significant change of status, we can all agree. It was a bone chilling moment. To Look upon this structure with an understanding that Germans were ordered to kill other Germans simply for wanting to be free was harrowing.

Once the beers were drank, and the quiet moment of reflection completed, I made my way to the elevator and up to my floor. The evening had concluded. It was time to sleep. The morning would soon arrive and with it the next train ride. This time the train would be taking me into Eastern Europe proper. The next stop, Warsaw, Poland. And here, in Warsaw, is where I would spend the rest of my holiday.

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