I ended up going to bed really late last night, as in 2 am, finishing up a blog post. For some reason, I woke up at 7:30 or so this morning and felt very refreshed, like I'd slept a lot longer than I actually had. Thank you adrenals. I promise I will be treating you better...soon.
I got up and decided to start the day out by exploring our hotel a little bit and stretched. Turns out you do have to buy the big white bath towels for 2 euros.
But being the weirdo that I am, I made do and decided to use my knit dress (that needed washing anyway!) to dry off with, because who wants to waste 2 euro to buy a boring towel when you could use said money to buy something useful, such as chocolate?
I was late to get to breakfast, and was surprised to find that George had paid extra for the buffet they serve and so I got to eat a really snazzy breakfast. A typical breakfast buffet here in Germany is just a collection of a few of my favorite things: cucumbers and tomatoes, meat, cheese, butter, five kinds of bread, nutella, jam, yogurts, tea, fresh fruit, etc. No fruit loops or fake stuff in sight. The only cereal they had was cornflakes and puffed wheat,
making this breakfast a far cry from the typical hotel fare in the U.S.
The Pangea People Hotel and Hostel has each floor named for a continent and each room named for a city in a country in that continent. Makes it very easy to remember what floor and room you have, that's for sure! We are on the Africa floor and we are in the room called Welkom, South Africa.
We started out our day in the Karlsplatz train station, after getting there on foot. From what I have seen thus far of Berlin, if definitely has the German feel to it and a stunning historical pedigree to boot, but also has the polished and glamorous feel of a big city. It is more spread out like an American cities are, partly due to the fact that it was bombed like crazy during WWII and was rebuilt later with more modern buildings and layouts.
The slang term for the subway here is the S. Bahn. It is a clean, functional, and reliable way to get about in Berlin.
I have developed a fondness for train stations that began when I went on my Europe trip to England a few years ago. They are such exciting, bustling places. Here, as in most stations in Europe, in addition to the actual transport provided, they also sell lovely bunches of flowers, magazines, fresh fruit and prepared meals and snacks.
We walked over to the Brandenburg Gate, in all its glory against the bright blue sky.
The area in front of and behind the gate had been all but taken over by a shop and prep grounds for a big Soccer tournament happening on Saturday.
Have I mentioned how big soccer (*ahem* futbol) is here? It's HUGE.
Ellert has filled me in on the players and happenings in the realm of soccer. He is a big fan of he game himself, and hopes one day to play professionally.
He also told me about the great players Schweinsteiger, Messe, and Ronaldo. We have a running joke between Embla, Ellert and I about Messi. He is a famous soccer player from Barcelona.
Apparently, he is also my future husband.
Allow me to explain.
As I alluded to, Ellert is a huge fan of Futbol, and of Messi in particular, and he talks of his soccer conquests constantly.
While we were walking on the way to the train station this morning and I saw this gigantic ad with a soccer player's (handsome) face, and in pure sarcasm, I jokingly asked:
"Ellert, is that a picture of my future husband, Messi?"
*laughing* Yes! That's him!"
Apparently, we are an *item* now. ;)
At the store there, Arnheidur and Rachel went in together to buy him a jersey that's the same style that Messi wears.
I couldn't resist playing along:
"Me? Oh, I'm not helping pay for it, remember my end of the deal? My part is to marry the guy to get him in the family. All I have to do now is meet him and tell him the news. Piece of cake."
Ellert, with mischievous grin: "But wait....I thought that the other day when we were playing "would you rather" you said you didn't want to marry someone famous?"
"Eh, nevermind that."
Embla: "You should write "will you marry me?" on a card and hand it to him!"
But the ironic thing is? He is supposed to be here in Berlin tomorrow (Friday) to sign autographs and such and so we may actually get to see the guy.
;P
Moving along....
We went to the Reichstag Museum, a huge observation dome and exhibit on top of the building itself.
We were able to acquire a wheelchair for Aunt Rach, as it was a LOT of walking. I was the designated pusher of said wheelchair and I really enjoyed it. It requires more thought and maneuvering than if you were simply walking around by yourself, and you feel very helpful.
We had tea and cake for a snack afterwards in a cafe on top of the Reichstag, with a panoramic view of the city.
We also spent several hours in the Tiergarten, Berlin's world famous park. Once used as a hunting ground for the kings of old, it's now a lovely forest, with winding gravel pathways, hundreds of acres of lush trees, flowers, grassy fields, and streams. It's a break from the hectic concrete jungle and is the perfect place to relax.
Relaxing, as in: racing the kids the top of this super cool piece of playground equipment:
And playing soccer with Ellert in a nearby field for quite a while. We switched off being goalie, and played with the free soccer ball he had been given after he bought he Messi jersey.
Before dinner, we walked to the Victory Column, and then paid 3€ to walk up what felt like fifty gazillion stairs to the top. It was similar to the Eiffel Tower, as far as vantage point from the top, but much less touristy and with such a fantastic view of the city and Tiergarten.
I decided to call home as we walked back through the Tiergarten to find a place to eat dinner. As usual, it was such a blessing to hear the voices of some of my favorite people, though we be thousands of miles apart (you know who you are.) ;)
We ate dinner at a neat little restaurant called Marrakesh grill near the train station that we would later ride home on. It was good to refuel after a long day of trekking and even better to hop the S. Bahn back to the hotel and relax.
Tried out the "common room" here tonight. I was too distracted to be able to write there, though. The German kids were talking loudly and crunching chips in the next room, and while the room I was in had only one person to disturb the peace, he was doing a mighty fine job of it. He was listening to music on his iPhone turned all the way up. After a while, it went silent, and then suddenly, a song came on saying:
"Hey you. Look me in my eyes,
hey you...."
No thank you. I'd rather write a blog post.
Next was:
"We don't need no education..."
Obviously, you do. You don't understand grammar. See ya, Sonny.
Goodnight y'all! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment