The Wall Was Kind of Skinny, Eh? In the Background the (Former) Headquarters of Hitler's Luftwaffe

View of the Reichstag from the Holocaust Memorial

The Glass Dome of the Reichstag, Designed by Norman Foster, is No Doubt One of the Finesst Constructs of the Twentieth Century

The Central Core of the Dome Is Used to Light and Ventilate the Entire Building

In Berlin, This Halloween, the Ghosts of Nazis Past Abound

Well I guess what else would you expect.    We in the States are the children and grandchildren of the Greatest Generation.   .   Here in Berlin, their parents and grandparents were Nazis.      I mean, think about it,  what if your father was a Nazi?   I think you can see it in the faces of the the people here.    Of course the war has been over for a long time now, and in the years after the war, they've had to deal with the utter destruction of their city, and then with the great inhumanity of the wall.    Put it this way,   Berlin seems a much more serious city than Paris.

When I arrived here yesterday morning, I took the subway (U bahn) to the nice little hotel (The Art Hotel-great value, friendly and an excellent breakfast) where I'm staying, near the Zoo (Zoologischer Garten--Germans have long words for everything).   I needed to change money, so the desk clerk directed  me down the street to  just beyond a big church.    Well he didn't tell me it was a bombed out church.    The incoming bomb had sliced though the steeple and destroyed the nave, but the entry has been preserved and the new church built adjacent.   The architect of the new church, in the late 50's, found stained glass makers who rediscovered formulas  for cobalt blue and red that had been known in the middle ages, and used for the great windows of the Cathedral of Chartres.    The walls of the new church are made entirely of this glass.   It's magnificent.  

When I got back to the hotel I did yesterday's post, and then said even God took a day of rest, and called it a day for sightseeing, took a long nap, and an early dinner, at an Indian restaurant down the block, really good, really reasonable--it's kind of funny to hear Indians speak German.    Went back to the hotel, straight to bed, woke wide awake at midnight and could hear music from the street below.  So I thought I might as well get up and check it out.  Down I went, the bar next door was hopping with ghouls of all sort, including military uniforms.  That's when I started thinking about Nazis.   I mean they weren't Nazi uniforms (that's of course illegal here now), but it just gave me the feeling of the past.   I had the same feeling in Munich a few days ago at the Bier Halle of the Hofbrau Haus in Munich.  You just know there was the day when the place was packed with the party faithful, swilling bier and carrying on as if tomorrow were there's alone.      By the way,  Happy Election Day, get out there and vote!  (I did before decamping).   Cheers,    Paul

On Board German Railway's City Nite Line Sleeper "Perseus"

The first thing I did yesterday when I got to Paris, after checking in at the hotel,  was go the train station to enquire as to the status of tonight's train to Berlin.    The gentleman at the ticket office assured me that it would go, as the French do not go on greve  (strike)  on Saturdays.       He seemed quite sure, so I put the last night's troubles out of my mind, and proceeded to wander Paris for two great days. Sure enough, when I got to the station tonight they were announcing the soon to depart train to Berlin, much to my relief.  the only glitch tonight, they've had to substitute some of the equipment, and I'm in a lesser grade than booked, but still have a bed, and will get a 20 Euro refund in Berlin in the morning.   I have a very nice bunk mate from Hanover and we've been chatting.      There's a lively bar car and that's where I am now, enjoying a Beck's Bier.     The train consists of coaches going to Berlin, Munich (which split up in Mannheim) and one coach that will continue on all the way to Moscow.   We will spend an hour in Mannheim, again, this time not out in the cold, but because of the switch from daylight savings time.    I hope I sleep right through it!

I'll upload this in the morning when I get to the hotel in Berlin and then put pix from Munich and Paris on the blog.    Really looking forward to Berlin, never been there before.    Now it's time to say bonne nuit, gute schlaffe!

Bonjour de Paris!

A quick look at what I'm up to:   The Queen Mary 2's last westbound Atlantic crossing this year leaves Southampton on Nov 8.     Ever since I left her in Feb. of this year in Hong Kong, I have wanted back on.      Last year's Nov. crossing encountered the heaviest seas that she has ever plowed through, per the captain; you can see a video on you tube if you enter QM2 November.   Well, I enjoyed the few rough sea days that we encountered on our way to Hong Kong, but there were not enough of them!   Ergo!    My excellent travel agent,  Sue Clark Koenig of Luxury Cruise and Travel fixed me up for the passage across what I hope will be a good ride on the (hopefully fierce) No. Atlantic.   Although we don't wish for any near what Shelly Winters (poor thing) encountered!

Tickets home in hand- well not really, even Cunard has gone the E ticket route, I said to myself, I need to invent a quick trip around Europe, so that I have a place to come home to from.     I love traveling on trains, I love cities, and I even like planes, hence the current title of the blog.    I cashed in Mileage Plus points and booked a free ticket to Paris, immediately after  which the French started rioting over the age at which pension benefits kick in.  I called up United, they were completely flexible, I had my choice of anywhere from London to Madrid, with no fee due to "les greves", as the French call it-- the French love to strike (and riot)  since Louis XVI.    I chose Munich, after which I  said, but I really wanted to go to Paris.                                                               

                                                                                                                                                        So I booked an overnight sleeper on a German train to  Paris.     I thought, I'll  spend the whole day wandering around Munich, which is a lovely city- I've been there several times, but is more like Denver than than the grand  spectacle that Paris is, then take the sleeper on to Paris rather than staying in Munich     I know, it seems silly- Sue, I know, thought I'd flipped a lid, but I felt fine about it.   Well, things did get a bit complicated.        After a fun day running around Munich (more about that later) I boarded the Paris bound sleeper at 10:40 last night (Thurs), only to be told that the train would only be going as far as Mannheim, an hour short of the German- French border, arriving at 2:30 am.     From there, busses  would bring us into France, drop us off at Paris Disneyland, and that we would then take the suburban rail on into gay Paris.   Now that it's over it's fine, but last night was rough.    Fortunately there were really nice people that I hooked up with early on, one of whom had the best sense of humor.   We (5 bus loads in all), spent the next 8 hours getting to know each other       So they threw us off at Mannnheim, we all stood there waiting in front of the station, with no idea really when the busses would arrive, for an hour, before the they came.   Fortunately it was just above freezing and there was no rain or wind, otherwise it would have really been a drag!     Seven hours later we hit Disneyland, (I kept making jokes about wanting to see Blanche Neige  (Snow White), and actually the lady with the great sense of humor and her teenage kids decided to stay there, to check it out for a while.        Am now ready for bed, staying at the Ibis Hotel, Gare de L'Est, (nice and very reasonable), had some wine and a Croque Monsieur, and ready for bed-- I think I'll sleep well!   Cheers 

Denver Has Dramatic Skies, and the Paint Job is Done, So Let's Get Outta Here!

The Mary Awaits, Ready for an Evening Departure from Civitavecchia

Along the Tiber, a Carousel Glows in the Late Afternoon, Better Hurry Back to the Ship!

The Tiber, Pont Sant Angelo, and Hadrian's Tomb on a Late January Afternoon

Back Down on the Streets of Rome, Sunflowers for Sale in January!

Down We Go

The Great Dome's Shadow Looking Towards Vatican City, and the Papal Gardens

Now Back To Rome, Climbing the Steps Inside Michelangelo'a Great Dome