Frankfurt→Berlin – 30 May 2024
Some items left over from yesterday:
I met a few interesting people while asking for directions:
- A couple from the San José area (the husband had a Stanford polo shirt) who were looking for the river. Why they wanted to go there, I don’t know, and I didn’t ask.
- Two younger women who didn’t know which direction the train station was. I told them, “If you aren’t sure, it’s not a problem.” They seemed very relieved. [One of the people I worked with at the University of Illinois would say “If you aren’t 100% sure, don’t tell me anything.” That seemed a bit harsh.]
- A couple who turned out to be from Valenica, Spain. They told me (in English) that they didn’t speak German. When I switched over to Spanish, they still were confused. It took them a few seconds to realize I was speaking Spanish, and everything went well from there.
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I didn’t see any election posters for the far-right AfD party. Perhaps I will see some in Berlin.
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At the moment, I seem to be all “museumed out”—I entered a museum yesterday, looked around, and decided, no, I really wasn’t interested in seeing another museum. At least not yet on this trip. So, I might be doing the flâneur (How’s that for a fancy-schmancy word?) thing a lot on this trip.
Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi Day)
Today was a public holiday; apparently it has something to do with the Eucharist. To show you how uninformed and ignorant I am, I thought Germany was a totally Protestant country (Martin Luther, don’t ya know) and why are there Catholic cathedrals in Germany? Then I realized that Pope Benedict XVI was from Germany, and “is the Pope Catholic?” as the old question goes. You couldn’t tell it was a public holiday as far as I could see.
Frankfurt to Berlin
In any event, the trains were running. I didn’t get too many pictures; the scenery was pretty much uniform all the way—lots of green pastures and forests dotted with small villages. I was sitting facing backwards from the direction of travel, which didn’t help in getting good pictures. I got a couple of graffiti pictures, but there was nothing that really stood out.
The train station in Berlin:
The Hotel
This is a very classy hotel in Berlin; my room is on the 7th (top) floor.
The Bible and the Teachings of Buddha were next to the safe.
There’s an office building across from the hotel. I will definitely keep the drapes closed.
The desk lamp is an LED strip.
I am so tempted to take this with me when I leave.
Hotel Stairs
When I needed to return to my room to get my backpack, I took the stairs. They have encouraging words at every floor, starting from the bottom on upwards:
The journey is the goal
It’s not getting easier; you’re getting better
Success is a staircase, not a door!
Next level: Happiness!
Typical Tourist
After having currywurst for lunch (see the “Food” section below) I went out for a walk, just as it started raining. I went down a street that had nothing much of interest, and when I got back to the train station, it finally stopped raining. I decided to do typical touristy stuff; I promise that tomorrow I will go to a random subway stop and explore the area.
Boats on the Spree river
Don’t know what this building is, but I liked it.
Side view of the Brandenburg gate from a few hundred meters away.
The repeated-a-million-times view of the Brandenburg gate.
Look! I was there!
This composition of the statue and the flags appealed to me.
There’s your daily dose of classical stuff.
Election
Climate protection instead of corporate profits!
Dare to do it, Europe
AfD now (this is the only sign I’ve seen from those far-right chuckleheads)
Only democracy creates freedom.
Invest in peace, not in weapons (The Left)
Advertisements / Signage
These were in the Frankfurt train station, for a grocery delivery service.
Eggs! We need eggs!
Pronounce it as Spanish “olé”; I think there’s a song with those lyrics.
I think this is a play on words with “champions”.
In Berlin:
Clever logo.
Food
I could only eat half of this pastry; saving the rest for later.
Most unhealthy meal ever. Currywurst and fries with mayo.