2004-05-18
the case of the invisible astronaut

10:21

The Brandenburg Tor (Brandenburg Gate). Stood for a divided Germany.

Poor Beth (and Dinesh) had been listening to me rave all week about how cool Beamer (Bob Curbeam) was and how nice it was seeing him again. I think that she put up with it only because of my promise that he was going to be at the Berlin air show and that we could hang out with him. Hmm. Now she is likely wondering about my so-called friend the astronaut.

So here is the full, complete, and unedited version. Saturday morning we caught the 6 a.m. train to Berlin. We arrived at the central station, called Zoologischer Garten, very tired, and disappointed that the weather which was supposed to be warm was, well, not. We had not brought warm clothes and so were freezing in the overcast, rainy, windy, 11-deg. morning.

After grabbing some tasty Danishes (including a mini-Berliner � excellent!) we joined a walking tour guided by a Scotsman with a sense of humor. We saw pretty much everything � Museum Island, the Synagogue, the Reichstag (Parliament), Brandenburg Tor, Checkpoint Charlie, Friedrichstrasse (main train station between East and West Berlin), Bebelplatz (famous book burning site), and Schlotzky�s, Berlin Wall, Humboldt University, East German Parliament, TV Tower, art district, Cathedrals, and site of Hitler�s bunker (now a carport).

Whew! They were some amazing sites. Of course, I took the typical tourist picture of my feet on either side of the Berlin Wall (location of it marked all around the city). It was interesting seeing the showcases of Soviet and Capitalism in their battle to show which was better. In the Capitalist corner, we have Dunkin� Donuts, Burger King, McDonalds, malls, TGI Friday�s, and some very drab buildings. In the Communist corner is a huge TV tower�which they had to contract out to a Western company (the Swiss) in order to finish. It�s going to be a close one, folks! Oh, and there was an old bombed out "church" next to the train station (built to glorify Kaiser Wilhelm II instead of God). It was left as is for two reasons: 1) to show the effects of war and 2) the Germans really didn�t like him, so were actually glad when the church was bombed.

We then went to the air show, and tried to find Beamer. Finally, after wandering through halls that resembled something straight from the IAF, we found someone who knew him, but told us that he left around 3ish. So much for that! We hung around, watched the French Air Force eight jets do some maneuvers. We left at 6 when it closed and headed back to the Zoo area. We went to the tourist office and found out that Beamer�s hotel was quite a ways away, but that Chris and Nicole (friends of ours staying with their friend, Scott, at his hotel in Bremen) were right around the corner. Turns out they were in the Intercontinental Berlin � a v. posh hotel. Beth and I contemplated sleeping on the bathroom floor as it was clean, huge, and heated. We had a couple of expensive drinks in the lounge while waiting, and then when they all showed up, we headed out to dinner at a local pub which featured a live band playing primarily American music - Sweet Home Alabama (seems to be quite popular in Europe), Pretty Woman, several Garth Brooks songs, among others.

I had tried to contact Beamer, and finally he called back but it was far too late to get together (around 11:30 p.m.). Beth got to talk to him, so she does know that someone whom I call Beamer does exist and was in Berlin. We went back to the Intercontinental and Beth called a hostel that was supposed to be right next to the Zoo train station, and they said that they had beds. Around 1 a.m., we showed up and the guy said that they didn�t have any! What! Turns out that there are three hostels with that name in Berlin and the phone number given is a 1-800 number used for all three. Beth had specifically asked about the Zoo station, but perhaps there was some miscommunication. The guy calls the next closest � they have beds � and assured us that it was a "maximum 15 minute train ride". Apparently, by "15 minutes", he really meant "nearly an hour", which is how long it took us to get to the right station; in former East Berlin, I might add. Now, while spending the night in former East Berlin had some historical interest for me, wandering through there at 2 a.m. was probably not the best idea. However, we did find the hostel okay, and a cheap 26� later (total), we had our beds.

We got up the next morning around 9 to sunny skies and a beautiful day. We headed back to take pictures at the Berlin Wall, walk through the Topography of Terror exhibit, and look through some tourist shops at Checkpoint Charlie (in one of which Beth heard a man exclaim incredulously, "what, you don�t accept American dollars?!" ah, my culturally-sensitive fellow countrymen; warms the heart, it does). Around 1 we decided to go back to the air show, and fortunately, ran into a guy who gave us a free pass. Yay! Beth sat and watched the airplanes while I made a circuit to try and find Beamer. I did � but on his way out. Boo! I didn�t even have time to go back and get her so that she could meet him. I am sure she is really skeptical about this "astronaut friend" of mine!!! He said to tell her that she now has to come to Houston.

We left around 5, went to the Tiergarten Park and saw the monument to the defeat of Napolean. It was riddled with bullet holes. Incredible. Beth hung out in the sun while I walked around. Then, back through the park, grab a dinner of curry sausage (with fries and a coke for only 3�), and on the train just before 8 p.m. We rolled into Bremen around 11, staggered home, and collapsed into bed not long after. Beth managed to get up at a decent hour, but I made into work just after 9 a.m. She and Dinesh went out with a coworker of hers last night, but I was just far too tired. Besides, the plan is to go see Troy tonight, and then Thursday through Sunday we are going to go to Scandinavia. I am not sure what the plan is, but I do hope that it involves some sleep. But then, what fun is that?

One final note: you may have noticed that I included Schlotzky�s Deli as a sight. Before I am deluged with e-mails, yes, I know that that is an American chain (started in Texas, nontheless), but there it was, smack dab in the middle of Berlin and it was where we stopped near the end of our tour for some food and � gasp! - free soda refills! I was only trying to see if you were paying attention. Good job!

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