Update from Berlin

Well, I made it. I read recently that jet lag is less noticable as one ages. I must be getting younger, because it' getting to me a lot more after the 9 hour flight here than the 12 hour flight home from NZ did last year.

On arrival I took a cab to the hotel I'd reserved. Near the airport, and public trasportation. Right, except I flew into Tegel Apt, north west of Berlin, and the hotel was next to Schonefeld Apt, SE end of Berlin. Needless to say, a big fare. No tip, as he was not very knowledgable about Berlin. Hotel is nice, so that's some consolation.

Took a bus tour of Berlin to get oriented. Narrated in German, then English, then Italian. Not bad, but it was easy to get distracted and miss the transition to English. I did see the remnants of the Wall and Checkpoint Charlie among other interesting sites.

Walked around a while, and found a boat tour on the Spree river. Took that mainly to relax. The guide was really good, animated, witty, knowledgable, everything you could ask for. She even sang. Only problem was that she did the narration only in German. She did forwarn me, and I was OK with it.

Then took the train to Potsdam, site of the conference that split Germany up. Didn' find the location during my walk while there, but did eat a good meal at an outdoor restaurant. Very dull looking town, with the exception of one small, vibrant shopping area. On Friday (if zou see a z where a y should be, thez are interchanged on these kezboards, and that's not the only disconcerting thing).

I took a walking tour I'd found out about at the Brandenburg Gate the day before. Much better than the bus. There are at least two free tours, and I recomend them highly. Guides I spoke to were American, Irish (2) and Australian. All easier for me to understand than the Germans who narrate in English. And the one on my tour really knew his stuff. The girl from AU (competing tour company) and I had a nice time discussing my visit to her homeland. She was from Adelaide.

After the walking tour, I went up the Berlin version of the space needle, for lack of a better description. Good views of Berlin, but go up early in the day, to avoid the haze.

There was an open market near the train staion, , so I bought several good sandwiches,

more sweet rolls than
I should have, and several beers, and enjoyed people
watching.  There was entertainment as well.  A drum
and bugle corps, great one (aren't they all???)

Today was the day for the Berlin Marathon.  Before I
got to the area where I could see the runners, I did a
bit of walking through a park, and general
site-seeing.  Then watched the marathon for a while
from various vantage points. Saw some of the leaders
as they whizzed by.  They run faster while runnning a
marathon than I do when running 10 yards (as do nearly
all the marathoners).  Walked to the finish line and
watched herds of runners finish, amidst great applause
from the fans, and (saw these everywhere I stopped to
watch) groups of exhuberant drummers.

On a more sober note, I visited the Jewish Museum.  It
really made the holocast a personal thing.  The first
half, at least, was simply photos and letters of/from
victims.  It really is moving to read their personal
thoughts.  The design of the building really enhances
the experience, as well.  If here, make it a point to
see it.

That about covers the first three days here.  I leave
for Dresden on Tuesday, so that's probably where the
next update will come from.