My flight is at 10:00 AM, but I want to get to the airport by about 8:00 or 8:15. I rise at 6:40, get downstairs for breakfast at about 7:10, and am surprised to see that there are several other people already there! Early risers on a Saturday morning! I have a quicker than usual breakfast, go back upstairs, and bring down my two items that I will leave at the hotel. The front desk clerk gives me my receipt, and I help him move my stuff to the locked storage room where they keep guest luggage. I then go back up, get my travel luggage, come down, check out, and walk over to the train station across the street.
I will take the Heathrow express train. There is also a regular subway train that goes to Heathrow, but it would take too much time this morning. I find the proper train and platform, and within 10 minutes or so we are on our way. The ride only takes 15 minutes to Terminals 1,2, and 3, and another 5 minutes to Terminal 4 (which is where I am going). Soon after exiting the train there are luggage carts, and I put my stuff on a cart and continue to the check-in counter. Where is KLM? Ahh, there it is, the counter with the very long line of people! Oh well, the line moves slowly but steadily, and by about 8:50 I am checking in and getting my boarding passes for my flights. I will fly first to Amsterdam and then from there to Berlin, arriving in Berlin at about 4:15 PM.
I vaguely remember when Heathrow was first opened, but its age is immediately apparent. It is much different than the international airports that have been built in the last 10 years or so. There simply is not enough space. The lines of people intrude out into the walking areas, and it can be quite confusing. It is definitely not like the wonderful airports in Hong Kong and Singapore! Anyway, I slowly find my way to my departure gate, gate 21. Hmm, no airline employees are there. The flight is supposed to leave at 10:00, but we do not board until 10:10. We finally push back about 10:30, and an hour later we are in Amsterdam. The actual flight time is only about 40 minutes, but even so the flight attendants serve a snack (orange juice and a small sandwich) and coffee. Very nice, and it certainly would not happen on such a short flight back in the states. I am seated in 21A, and next to me is a young Chinese man who is a doctor in England and going to Vienna for a meeting. I had been hoping to see some scenery from my window seat, but it is cloudy the entire trip.
We lose an hour crossing the channel, and so it is about 12:45 my the time I actually get off the plane. My flight to Berlin is in exactly two hours, which means I have about 90 minutes to waste. The Amsterdam airport is very spread out, apparently the result of several add-ons over the years. But I find my way, exchange some pounds for Euros, get a sandwich, and soon board my next flight. Now I am in 7F, and the seat next to me is empty. The flight time is just over an hour, and we again have the same snack as in the morning flight. Well, at least I am well fed! We arrive a little early, and by 4:10 I am in the terminal waiting for my luggage.
I have arrived at Tegel airport. It is the smaller of the two main Berlin airports, but it is much closer to where I am staying. When you exit the plane the jetway takes you to a waiting room where there is a luggage carousel for your flight only. I look out the window as the luggage is unloaded from the plane, and I can even see my suitcase on the top of the heap in the middle luggage cart. Soon my case arrives and I walk out into the main terminal.
When I last visited Berlin, in 1999, I found a room to rent on the internet in a private home. My host/landlady was H, originally from Philippines, who came here to Berlin as a student many years ago and settled down. We became friends and have stayed in touch ever since. She has an extra bedroom, which she regularly rents out on a short term basis to visitors, students, etc. She has space for me this week, so I will stay again with her. She meets me inside, and we walk out to the bus stop for the 10 minute ride to her place. Even though it is so close the bus fare reflects the fact that you are getting a ride to or from the airport, as the fare is 2.20E. Most other bus routes are about half this amount. Oh well, it is still quite cheap.
As it turns out H will also be hosting a medical student from Luxembourg starting tonight. He will be in Berlin for 2 months practicum at a local hospital. So, I will stay in the living room. OK, no problem. After getting to her place and resting a while, we take the U-Bahn (subway) to Zoo, the center of downtown, where we meet G as he gets off his train. He is a very nice young man, speaks good english (among other languages), together we take a bus back to H's place. H and G then work together in the kitchen and we have a nice dinner, similar to Chinese or Vietnamese hotpot, where we cook veggies and meat in a hot pot and eat with rice. Later we all take the U-Bahn back to Zoo where we meet some friends of H at the Irish Pub, a large pub in the basement level of a shopping area. Her lady friends are also from the Philippines, and they are there with their manfriends, who are both from Portugal. We have some nice conversation and a beer, but by midnight we leave, get on the U-Bahn, and come back home to H's place. We are all tired, and soon we are all asleep.
I sleep like a rock, and don't arise until almost 9:30. H is already up and has made some coffee. G is still in his room. H and I try to make pancakes. We have eggs, baking powder, flour, and regular milk. We mix'em, cook'em, and try'em. Well, they are really a bit thick and dense, but they are edible and reasonably pleasant with butter and jam. As we are finishing G arises and has the last of the batter. G will do his own thing today, and so H and I head out. I want to find a cable to connect my laptop to H's phone line, and H wants to find a battery for her camera.
We walk to the U-Bahn (about 2 blocks away) and I buy an all day subway and bus pass for 5.60E.We take the U-Bahn across town to a flea market. Just as we get there it starts snowing, and soon it is really coming down hard! Wow! It really is winter here! And then it suddenly stops snowing. But it is still quite cold, about 0C/32F and windy. At the flea market I find a cable that looks like it will work, but H does not find any batteries. She will have to wait until tomorrow. In Berlin almost all stores are closed on Sunday, even in the malls. Most restaurants are also closed, but some are open.
We leave the flea market and take the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz. When I was here in 1999 this area was nothing but a large construction sight, a forest of cranes. Now it is a very new and modern development with offices, shopping malls, movie theatres, restaurants, etc. We walk around for a while, and then get on bus 248 which takes us to XXX, near the XXX TV Tower. We are looking for a place to have lunch, but the choices are very limited and we don't see anything we like. We walk down the street, past the XXX Museum, and then board bus 100, which takes us thru the government area and back to Zoo, where we transfer to bus 145 and come back home. We have a nice (late) lunch of leftovers from last night.
We then head out again, taking bus 145 to the S-bahn (the surface train), which we then ride completely around most of the city. The train we are on, however, stops a couple stops short of a complete loop, and all passengers must get off. It is now dark, but at least I was able to see most of the city. Instead of waiting for the next train, we go down to the street and take another bus 145 back home.
It is now dinner time, and H makes a stir fry with pork, veggies, fennel, etc., which we have with noodles. While she is in the kitchen I try out the cable for the computer. No, it does not do what we want. As we are finishing our meal G comes back, and he also joins us. We share some wine and conversation, but it is getting late. H must arise at 6:30 AM tomorrow for work, and G also must get up early for his first day of practicum. First, however, we telephone C, a friend of H, who lives in Barcelona and also rents out some rooms to visitors. I speak with C, and we agree that I will stay at her place when I get to Barcelona on Friday. Her place is in the Barrio Gothic, and from looking at my map it should be a great location. Then it is lights out as we all hit the sack.
Back to Home Page
To Site Map/Table of Contents
Go to XXXXX