Dresden and Radebeul

While my dad was in Berlin, in between being in Sweden and flying home, we decided to take a day trip to Dresden. Yet again we used the "Schones Wochenende" ticket, which got us both there and back for 35 euros on the regional trains. As we saw when we were on our way, most of the people going to Dresden were tourists taking a day trip from Berlin.


[Dad outside the Radebeul Ost train station, the adventure begins]

As we were reading the Lonely Planet guidebook entry about Dresden, they mentioned a suburb called "Radebeul" which was supposed to be know for its vineyards. Since we thought there wouldn't be that much to do in Dresden, we took a detour to see what Radebeul was like.


[Our rented bikes]

What first struck me about the town was how quiet it was. Not that I find Berlin particularly loud, but on a Saturday in Radebeul it was silent, not to mention the fact that all the stores closed at noon. We did manage to find a bike shop right by the train station where we rented two bikes for the day for 5 euros each. We planned to bike up to the vineyards and around Radebeul a bit.


[Vineyards]

We biked up the hill and went through a wonderful neighborhood with old houses and eventually got to a winery. Here they had a museum about the history of wine-making and the vineyard itself.


[Dad biking to the winery we found.]

The most interesting thing that I learned there was about how corks are made. They had a very interesting video about the whole process, which made it seem as if the cork should have been as valuable as the wine itself; a single cork could in the process of being made for 20 years or so. No wonder that so many corks these days are being made of synthetic material!


[The museum]

We were also tempted to sit at the cafe and have a bite to eat. But, they claimed they had no tables available inside (although there was no one there) and we did not want to sit outside when it started to rain. The prices also seemed higher than they needed to be at the vineyard, with a glass costing almost as much as a whole bottle in the museum shop. So we moved on.


[The staircase]

We walked up a very long staircase to the top of a ridge, which looked over the valley and Radebeul. We could see Dresden, and how the surrounding towns had melted together in the valley.


[Dad and I overlooking the valley]

Coming in on the train, we had also seen a very interesting building on the top of the ridge. Since we were there, we decided to check out exactly what it was. It turned out to be a restaurant and a wine/beer garden. We decided to take a little break with a great view of the valley. Dad had a wurst and a glass of wine to complete the vineyard experience.


[In the wine garden]

From there, we headed back down to the bike shop, turned in our bikes and decided it was time to move on to Dresden.


[Walking in to Dresden]

We got in to the main train station in Dresden and walked into the old part of town. But to get there, we had to walk through a new, developed walking street that had lots of stores and shops and contrasted sharply to quaint Radebeul. While in a bookstore, we saw a picture of what the street looked like about 10 years ago when it was still East Germany. Although it was by no means pretty today, it looked like a big improvement from the communist housing and concrete blocks.


[The Frauenkirche]

In the center of Dresden the atmosphere was very different, where they have tried to rebuild the old buildings as they were before World War II destruction.


[Mixture of old and new stones on the facade of the church]

There is no better example of this than the recently re-opened Frauenkirche. After WWII, it stood completely in ruins after the fire-bombing of Dresden. As the communists ruled East Germany, the church was somewhat rebuilt, but not completely. Since the fall of the wall, it has been completely re-done with a mix of original stones and new ones. Unfortunately, it was not open to the public when we passed by.


[Dad overlooking the Elbe]

From there we walked to the other side of the city, Neustadt, where we came across a wine festival. Apparently Rhineland-Westpfalz, the 'real' wine region of Germany, needed to show that it really had better, cheaper wine. The result was lots of local wineries setting up booths to promote their wines.


[The booths]

What Dad and I found particularly good was the free wine tasting that we came across. There was no limit to the amount of wine we could try, and we took advantage of that. We were even being served wine by the 'Wine Queen' of Rhineland-Westpfalz. We guessed that she won some sort of wine-related beauty pageant, but we weren't sure.


[Postcard of the Wine Queen and the Wine Queen herself]

After we finished our wine, it was time to head back to the train station to make sure that we caught the train going back to Berlin. It was very fun taking a day trip and getting out of the city. It is amazing how much you can see and how far you can go with a little weekend trip on a train.


[The train station in Neustadt Dresden; proof that Dad has been in Dresden... for 'research' on how Putin was in the KGB here during the DDR years]


[Dad and me, tasting wine. The obligatory self-portait of the blog]

The Countdown

This time next week I will in London, waiting to get on my flight to Dulles. I have one week left in Berlin and it is so hard to believe that after almost 7 months here, I have to pack everything up and say goodbye. More unbelievable is probably that after that I will be at home - for good, as best as I can describe it. I'll get back and have a month of vacation and then start my final year at UMBC, with a normal life, normal schedule, etc. We'll talk about that transition when I get to it though.

For now, I have to blog about my Dad's weekend visit where we went to Dresden and a Dresden suburb called Radebeul and my favorite things in Berlin. This weekend, I will be going to a beach rugby tournament in Bad Kostritz and I can't wait. I think it will be an excellent end to my time here in Germany.

Berlin Wandering

We did lots of silly and fun stuff too as we were walking around Berlin, looking at all the sights.

At the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), the largest department store in Europe that is also ridiculously posh and over-priced, we went around and took silly pictures.


[Comment on a tennis match at the Lacoste display]


[They had an entire fake tennis court... we wanted to play]


[Maribeth mannequin]


[A whole marshmallow piece of cake... talk about a stomachache in the making... it was out of our price range, so we didn't eat it]


[These headphones were a little too big... they didn't have any smaller sizes though...]

We also had more serious-minded (but by no means actually serious) adventures in the city. One was testing the rumor that I had heard about skipping the line at the Reischtag to get to the dome at the top. The line is usually always and hour to two hour wait, but I had heard if you made reservations at the restaurant that is on the roof terrace, you don't have to stand in line. But, no one is forcing you to go to the reservation...


[Look! No line! It worked!]


[We skipped a pretty big line and got to go strait to the top, and no one hunted us down and made us pay big bucks to eat at the restaurant. We felt pretty cool.]

From there, we went on a Spree River tour. We didn't really know which boat to take or what the deal was. But, we chose a little mom-and-pop operation, with a small boat where we could sit outside. Although it was really nice, the tour was completely in German. Although I could translate and had already told Maribeth most of the information, if you don't know German another tour would probably have been better. But, it still provided excellent views of the city.


[On the boat]

On other adventures, we found out that I really do live in the Eastern Bloc. Just as I told Maribeth how I felt we were in Moscow "or something" about two blocks from my apartment, we saw this:



I also explained to Maribeth the history of the cross-walk signals, called "Ampelmannchen" (or little stop-light men). Although the link gives more an explanation, the Ampelmann was the cross-walk signal in East Germany, and caused a lot of debate after reunification, since the Easterners wanted to keep their beloved Ampelmaennchen. Now its a cult thing.


[The "STOP" Ampelmann]


[Our own Ampelfrau]

I also had to introduce MB to "Berliner Currywurst" or real Berlin curried-sausage. Since it is a Berlin specialty, she at least had to try it. Since she doesn't really like meat, it wasn't her favorite, but it was still good.


[Currywurst and Pommes, bitte/ Curried sausage and fries, please.]

Falafel, the vegetarian response to the also famous Doner Kebab (originally a Turkish specialty that has been adopted to it's popularity here in Berlin and all over Germany), got a much better reception. Although not "typical German," I would say that both Doner and Falafel are "typical Berlin" and a must when you visit Berlin; they give you the multi-cultural element that is so important to Berlin.


[Maribeth enjoying her first Falafel, from DaDa Falafel, which is supposed to have the best in the city, but I'm still searching]

Those were some of the things that we did, and we had a blast. Since I only have a little bit of time left in Berlin, I'm going to be sharing my favorite things to do in the city and my favorite things about the city in coming posts, although this was a little preview!

Kulturelle Ehrfahrung

When Maribeth was here, it wasn't so much about seeing the sights as having a "kulturelle Ehrfahrung" or cultural experience. Part of this was going to the Grunewald (as you may have noticed, one of my favorite places in Berlin) and walking around the Krumme Lanke.


[Climbing on a branch over the Krumme Lanke]

Although it wasn't the best weather, it was pleasantly warm. When we first arrived at the lake, we arrived at what I hadn't realized was an FKK (nude) "beach." Maribeth's first impression then was a bunch of rather old Germans lying around naked, not far from the road and civilization. After we walked around the lake, we decided it was time to be German and have the full experience. So, we stripped down and relaxed on the FKK beach.


[Maribeth reading]

But, we aren't really Germans and couldn't do it all the way. Although, Maribeth swore she would have gone in naked if she had a towel to dry off with. But, it did feel somewhat freeing, as apparently it is supposed to.


[Schlatensee]

From there we went to the Fischerhutte on the Schlatensee lake. Another real cultural experience, this is a biergarten that is right on the lake and a break spot for the locals that live in the area.


[The biergarten]

Since the only thing we could get was tradition German food we went for a beer and a pretzel. Both were delicious, and I felt typical German but actually what Germans eat and drink in a biergarten.


[Huge basket of huge pretzels]


[Maribeth enjoying her beer and pretzel]


[Me doing the same]

Unfortunately, it started sprinkling on us as we were eating, and a full down-pour commenced as we were walking home. Otherwise, the Krumme Lanke and Fischerhutte are a great place to spend an afternoon.

Christopher Street Day

Christopher Street Day or CSD as the Germans call it, is the annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transexual celebration (aka Gay-Pride Parade) in Berlin. According to wikipedia, the name refers to riots between gays and the police on Christopher Street in New York City in June, 1969. The celebration has been held on the last Saturday of June every year to commemorate this event.


[The stage around the Siegesaule]

Although the weather was rainy, Maribeth and I made it out to the party at the end of the parade, by the Siegesaule (Victory Column) in the Tiergarten. And even though the weather was bad, everyone was in great spirits and having a great time.


[The Siegesaule, also the name of Berlin's LGBT Magazine]


[Some nice costumes]

The idea of celebration and pride was really very evident with everyone's attitudes. Partying, having a good time and acting without fear of being judged really showed the element of pride in the LGBT lifestyle. I also found it amazing that so many people were there: friends, family, and just people having fun.


[We made a friend... well really everyone was so friendly...]

We were sad that we didn't make it to the actual parade, but if the after party was only a little bit of the experience, it was great.

Schloss Charlottenburg

With only two weeks left here in Berlin, Maribeth's visit gave me a chance to go out and do things in the city that I might not have done on my own. One of which was visiting the Schloss Charlottenburg, named after Sofie Charlotte, the first Electress of Brandenburg. I had previously visited the castle when I was in Berlin a year and a half ago, but I thought it would be a nice place to take Maribeth.


[The front of the Schloss Charlottenburg and fountain.]

We started out by taking an audio tour of the old part of the castle, which had been remodeled after the castle of Sofie Charlotte's time. They had done a marvelous job with the restoration, but wouldn't allow pictures inside. Maribeth and I also agreed that it was one of the best audio tours, as far as audio tours go. It was informative, yet didn't go too far into detail to bore the listener.

After we took the tour, we went outside and it began pouring down rain. Since our next plan had been to walk around the gardens, we stopped for a coffee to wait for the downpour to stop.


[Maribeth and I escape the rain by taking a coffee at the 'Kleiner Orangerie' Cafe right next to the castle. We have one classy coffee per country.]


[Kleiner Orangerie Cafe]

Once the rain stopped, we continued on to the gardens.


[In full bloom]


[In the gardens, still cloudy]


[The lake with lily pads]

We learned that first the gardens were styled in the very rigid, planned French style while it was in fashion. As the English garden became more popular, they basically let the French gardens grow over until it was more forested, in the English style. Today, there is a combination of both which makes the park and gardens beautiful, even in bad weather.

We are the champions! (Almost)

[Note: Since so much happened while Maribeth was here, I plan one writing about them in episodes, in no particular order...]



[On the "Fan-Mile" in Berlin; a series of big screens, beer stands, etc that stretches from the Brandenburg Gate into the Tiergarten]

The semi-finals of the EM consisted of a game between Germany and Turkey, a pretty big deal for a city of 3 million, 130,000 of whom are of Turkish decent. Maribeth and I decided to go for the cultural experience and join the drunk, excited, potentially rowdy (we were none of the above) on the FanMile. We were joined by Paula and two of her friends.


[Maribeth and I trying to make our way through the crowd]

When we first tried to get on the FanMile, it was closed off by police, who were saying that it was full. Of course, their blocking off tactics didn't work too well since we were in the Tiergarten, a Central Park of Berlin. So as soon as they were distracted, there was a mad rush to jump through the bushes and go around them. So we sneaked past the police and got in anyway.


[Paula and I, Paula decked out in colors]

Once there, it was pretty crazy. First, since the German color are black, red and gold, I thought it would be OK for Maribeth to wear red. It wasn't. That was Turkey's color, and white and black were more acceptable. But, we stole a flag from Paula to make sure no one questioned our loyalty.


[Celebrations... and how far we were away from the screen]

As we worked our way through the crowd, we kept trying to find a good place to stand where we could see over the massive large Germans that always seemed to be in our way. Eventually we did find a place to stand, and remained standing there for over two hours.

Although the FanMile was an experience, in terms of actually watching the game it was pretty bad. We couldn't really see the screen, and I think I only saw one of five goals during the game. But, seeing the goals wasn't really necessary, since the craziness of the crowd afterward was much much more interesting.

The ups and downs of the game also made it fun to be on the FanMile, with Turkey scoring first, Germany then bringing the score to 2-1, and a goal for both Turkey and Germany in the last five minutes of the game.



[Tooooooooooooor!]

Since we were doing more for the experience than our die-hard loyalty to Germany (I actually thought it would have been fun if Turkey, the underdogs, had won), we decided to watch the final game (Germany v. Spain) in a bar. But, since Germany lost there weren't any fireworks or parties on the Ku'damm afterward...