October 25th, 2007 - To Berlin

East to West Conversion

I got ready relatively early this morning, leaving Vaslav’s flat at around 7:15am for an 8:34am train to Berlin. I had to “hoof it” up a steep hill to catch the 124 bus, then transfer at the U-Bahn station for a subway to the main train station.



After arriving in the train station, I bought my ticket, got in line for a sandwich to bring along, and then headed to the platform. It was empty, but I was early for the 8:34am departure. But, something just didn’t feel right, with ten minutes to go there was no train. So, I headed back to the ticket window to find out that the train actually left at 8:16am and would leave from the "East Station" at 8:34am, as it had already lef the Main Train Station.



Reminding myself to “just chill” and “take things as they come” I headed the four U-Bahn stops to the East Station and walked the quarter mile to the main lobby. From there I found a nice Soviet Era wooden bench to park myself for the next two hours. After getting my Spanish books out and preparing to settle in for the long haul, the intercom system announced that the train to Berlin was now ready for departure. Thank God for inefficiency and train delays! Racing to the fifth platform, people gave me leeway and I literally jumped on just as the doors were closing. This was such a relief, as opposed to sucking down two hours of heavy second hand smoke in the East train terminal.

The ride from Prague to Berlin is very scenic and primarily follows the main water route. So there are barges to be seen and many blurry Bohemian country images go swishing by.



The Czech Republic is in a stage of rebuilding infrastructure after 40 plus years of relative neglect. New spanning bridges connect industrial towns.





Once on the German side of the border, the train passes through Dresden with its few remaining "period buildings" still standing on the banks of the river.



We arrive at my most favorite train station in the world, Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof. The newly constructed building is almost entirely constituted of steel and glass, giving an open and technological feel to the structure.



My architectural “love fest” was cut short by the rail strike reality check. The rail workers have developed an especially annoying form of strike. Instead of cutting service completely, the trains come with random frequency. So after standing on the platform for an hour, fully loaded with both packs, I asked one of the information people on the platform, “When the next train would arrive?” The smartass response was, “When it comes... you know there is a strike.” A typical "rank and file" response, so no worries, I’ll head to the main office.



I received the same answer here plus a bold face lie to the question, “Do any buses go to Friedrich Strasse from here?” She said, “Of course not.” Do you think it is a good union negotiation position to piss off tourists… they must. So, I walked downstairs to the tourist information center and asked the same bus question. Surprise, I received the truth, “Of course, simply take the 174 bus outside the front door.” This made me think, “I hope the rail workers lose one of their 9 weeks of annual vacation in the negotiations.” Haaa…

After finding the Hostel, I needed some food and a new start to the Berlin afternoon. So lunch was the Berlin favorite of currywurst and pommies, from a local vendor.





Despite the low-tech appearances of this fast food shop, you can’t just open the door of the fridge to grab a coke. The owner must first release the lock, using a remote control key fob. Pretty impressive…



Happily full and re-energized, I headed to the New Synagogue of Berlin, first constructed in 1866. It was heavily damaged by bombing in WW II and the front dome and vestibule have been reconstructed from the remains, reopening in the mid-1990’s. At one point this was the largest synagogue in Germany. Of course no photography was allowed inside, and I really don’t understand it here. The exhibit was only the artistic remains of the main hall that no longer exists.



After dinner, at the best Thai Food restaurant I’ve been to in a long while, I returned to the same street where the New Synagogue stands for a nocturnal peek at the street life and communications tower in the distance.