Bratwurst and Luftwaffe
8/6/20088:53:28 AM Link 1 comment | Add comment
We had just returned form our cruise to the Baltic Sea and I thought I would continue to share our experiences with you.
Today’s arrival into Warnemunde is an early one and the entire ship seems to be awake and excited about their visit to Berlin. It is sure to be an exciting and diverse city filled with history and I can’t wait. Carnival has chartered two trains to get all of the tours into the city of Berlin . . . . we are talking, maybe 2400 passengers or so. We elected to take the “Berlin, on our own” which puts us on train 2 in car number 28. Our departure is 7:30 AM.This was an easy process . . . . . . debark the ship . . . . . line up in your tour group . . . . . walk across the street to the train station . . . . . board your car and relax for the 3 hour train ride. I love train rides and watching the German countryside . . . to me . . . made this a very relaxing trip. Again I drift back to the war as all of the images flood my head. I’m sure this will go on all day while we tour Berlin. Most importantly . . . . . BE BACK at the station as instructed – or be left behind. Now this may be confusing for some because we arrived into Lichtenberg Station on the east side of the city . . . . . . and our departure is from Gesundbrunnen Station on the north side of the city. Maps and instructions are supplied.We are given about 7 hours to tour Berlin at our own pace, but first . . . we need to get to the city center. This is the part that makes vacations memorable. Without a plan, we left the train station and crossed the street to the subway. We then went down the stairs and walked to the city trains which ironically were right next to the train we just exited. But, we converted money, bought our ticket and went to the city. Upon entering Berlin, we decided that the best way to get around would be on one of the “hop on - hop off” busses. This turned out to be a wise choice. We made our way to places like the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie where one of the greatest games of “chicken” ever was played out in the early 60’s. Depending on the source of information . . . between 130 and 200 people were killed trying to cross the wall. I couldn’t help but wonder . . . . . . . wasn’t there a way to leave East Berlin . . . drive a distance east into the country . . . . swing around and cross over to the west . . . . and come back to West Berlin? I guess not, because I don’t hear of it.Now its lunch time and I have been thinking brats and beer for a while now. We found a restaurant . . . . family owned . . . off the tourist path. We entered and it was like visiting your local pub. They seemed to know what we were looking for and they delivered. Fist of all we ordered a beer (for our beer around the world tour) which we couldn’t pronounce. Then, unexpectedly . . . . they brought us a sample plate of meats and vegetables . . . . . . No Charge. Linda and I ordered the Bratwurst platter. It comes out in the skillet which it is cooked in. 8 . . . . YES . . . 8 brats on a bed of scalloped potatoes and sour kraut. The brats were 4 inches or so in length, about half the size of what we would have here. Excellent meal in a perfect atmosphere.Anyways . . . we found our way to the train station for the trip back to the ship arriving back to the Carnival Splendor at about 9:00 PM. The Germans came all out as there was a festive atmosphere around the ship. Beer gardens . . . . live radio broadcasting . . . party boats in the bay . . . . carnival at the port . . . . and visible evidence that Germans LOVE their beer.Once on board ship . . . the deck party had a 12 piece oomp pah band and the local brewery brought aboard some kegs of beer. Departure time was 11 PM so the local band and the beer girls had to disembark. That left us to sail away under a fireworks show that could have been mistaken for the Luftwaffe flying overhead.Good thing tomorrow is a sea day. Next stop – Helsinki.
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