After a very short night exacerbated by setting our clocks ahead an hour we docked at Warnermunde, Germany. Our shore tour was “Berlin on Your Own” where Carnival got us from the ship to the train for the three hour ride to a station outside of Berlin and gave us a map and the name of the station (yes a different one than we arrived at) to meet back at seven hours later for the three hour return ride. The train ride was fine as mom & I slept and listened to our iPods. Funny train story, just before arriving in Berlin we visited the facilities as it costs .5 Euros for public restrooms in the city and guess what happens when you flush? That’s right, the bottom of the drain opens up to the tracks below and a light mist of water flushes the remnants down the tube. Moral of the story, don’t walk along the train tracks in Germany!
Upon arriving outside of Berlin we get off the train and need to figure out how to buy a bus / train pass for the day with all signage in Deutsche. We finally had to go inside the terminal and buy our tickets from a manned booth where there was a single worker for a huge line of tourists…oh well forty minutes wasted and lesson learnt! I can say that the train – public transportation system in Berlin is fantastic, clean, well marked & efficient, what more can you ask for?
We started off by going to the Pergamon Museum which houses the famous Pergamon Alter from ancient Greece. The pictures don’t do the antiquities justice. The exhibits ranged from several hundred years BC to about 500 AD. There was a special Babylon exhibit on-site which we also toured featuring several mummies and other relics of that ancient culture. We were actually pretty lucky to see this exhibit as it was in Berlin from May to October of this year before moving on to another European museum. The pictures we were allowed to take were of Pergamon Altar, Assyrian Palace, The Ishtar Gate and several statues of Greek gods & goddesses. We left the Pergamon and walked next door to the Artes Museum which houses Europe’s most complete collection of Egyptian artifacts. The most impressive piece is the bust of Nefertiti from the 4th century.
We left the museum district just as the rain began to fall (as always our timing is impeccable)! We started our trek down the Unter den Linden towards the Brandenburg Tor (Gate) by stopping at a nice German Restaurant for lunch. We ate schnitzel, sausages, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and apple strudel for dessert. We spent the next few hours walking in the rain taking in the Brandenburg Tor and Reichstag. You can FEEL the history, eerie to say the least, the rain just added to the aura. We saved the Berlin Wall for last and it was well worth the trip to get there. They’re erecting a memorial and museum at the spot where the last standing piece of the wall still exists. I did my best to capture it in pictures but again the feeling you get of being in a place where so much history (good and bad) took place is nearly impossible.
Completely drenched, cold and spent we jumped on the uptown train to our station for the trip back to Warnermunde and our ship. I can speak for the both of us in saying that Berlin is one of those places you can’t see all of in one day and we’ll certainly try and make it back there some day.
A quick note on the song “A Place In the Rain” for today, well obviously it rained but Joe Jackson moved to Berlin for a year while he recorded the album “Rain” which your mom & I caught on tour (read past blog entry). The CD came with a bonus disc of Joe standing in front of several places in Berlin that influenced his writing, the last track entitled “A Place in the Rain” which was the last song he played in LA to end the tour, surreal for me if no other but that’s the story behind the story.
And I can’t retire without two quick Carnival notes, we got $200 stateroom credit back for our “trouble” at Heathrow posted earlier so “good on you” for that one. With half the ship going to Berlin on various tours and arriving back very late Carnival had “open seating” in the formal dining rooms while a German themed deck party was going on with an “oompa” (polka) band and local brewery fare. So with the fewest possible diners to feed they had the best food, not complaining as we got Filet Mignon while most of the rest of the passengers where eating sausages or sleeping…cheap…cheap…cheap! Off to bed and a fun day at sea tomorrow to rest up for four consecutive port days.
Musical vibe for the Chapter: Joe Jackson: “A Place In the Rain”
The Cure: “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”
Towel Fun: Heart
Upon arriving outside of Berlin we get off the train and need to figure out how to buy a bus / train pass for the day with all signage in Deutsche. We finally had to go inside the terminal and buy our tickets from a manned booth where there was a single worker for a huge line of tourists…oh well forty minutes wasted and lesson learnt! I can say that the train – public transportation system in Berlin is fantastic, clean, well marked & efficient, what more can you ask for?
We started off by going to the Pergamon Museum which houses the famous Pergamon Alter from ancient Greece. The pictures don’t do the antiquities justice. The exhibits ranged from several hundred years BC to about 500 AD. There was a special Babylon exhibit on-site which we also toured featuring several mummies and other relics of that ancient culture. We were actually pretty lucky to see this exhibit as it was in Berlin from May to October of this year before moving on to another European museum. The pictures we were allowed to take were of Pergamon Altar, Assyrian Palace, The Ishtar Gate and several statues of Greek gods & goddesses. We left the Pergamon and walked next door to the Artes Museum which houses Europe’s most complete collection of Egyptian artifacts. The most impressive piece is the bust of Nefertiti from the 4th century.
We left the museum district just as the rain began to fall (as always our timing is impeccable)! We started our trek down the Unter den Linden towards the Brandenburg Tor (Gate) by stopping at a nice German Restaurant for lunch. We ate schnitzel, sausages, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and apple strudel for dessert. We spent the next few hours walking in the rain taking in the Brandenburg Tor and Reichstag. You can FEEL the history, eerie to say the least, the rain just added to the aura. We saved the Berlin Wall for last and it was well worth the trip to get there. They’re erecting a memorial and museum at the spot where the last standing piece of the wall still exists. I did my best to capture it in pictures but again the feeling you get of being in a place where so much history (good and bad) took place is nearly impossible.
Completely drenched, cold and spent we jumped on the uptown train to our station for the trip back to Warnermunde and our ship. I can speak for the both of us in saying that Berlin is one of those places you can’t see all of in one day and we’ll certainly try and make it back there some day.
A quick note on the song “A Place In the Rain” for today, well obviously it rained but Joe Jackson moved to Berlin for a year while he recorded the album “Rain” which your mom & I caught on tour (read past blog entry). The CD came with a bonus disc of Joe standing in front of several places in Berlin that influenced his writing, the last track entitled “A Place in the Rain” which was the last song he played in LA to end the tour, surreal for me if no other but that’s the story behind the story.
And I can’t retire without two quick Carnival notes, we got $200 stateroom credit back for our “trouble” at Heathrow posted earlier so “good on you” for that one. With half the ship going to Berlin on various tours and arriving back very late Carnival had “open seating” in the formal dining rooms while a German themed deck party was going on with an “oompa” (polka) band and local brewery fare. So with the fewest possible diners to feed they had the best food, not complaining as we got Filet Mignon while most of the rest of the passengers where eating sausages or sleeping…cheap…cheap…cheap! Off to bed and a fun day at sea tomorrow to rest up for four consecutive port days.
Musical vibe for the Chapter: Joe Jackson: “A Place In the Rain”
The Cure: “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”
Towel Fun: Heart
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