To Beer, Or Not To Beer...Actually, Make That Two Beers

Today we visited two museums: the one at Checkpoint Charlie - mostly about the individuals who fled the east, their escape attempts and extraordinary stories of survival, and the Topographical Museum of Terror - basically the rise of Hitler, the Nazi apparatus, and the terror and persecution waged on those who were not ethnically pure (read: Aryan). I spent all day trying to understand the level of hatred, the capacity of one human being to hate another for no real reason other than someone told them to.  A man rose to power in a government of consent - the Germans let Hitler happen.  And almost overnight a diverse young democracy became subverted by a crazed fascist and his chosen minions. Paralyzing terror will make you go to any lengths to survive or protect your family. Think about what you would do for freedom and a better life.  Would you curl up in a speaker box or the trunk of a car for eight or nine hours while a "helper" was trying to get you across the bord...

Today we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial.  It's a well done exhibit highlighting the impetus for the wall, its history, its horrors, and the people's victory over it.  The Memorial includes a fine museum of personal stories, lots of multi-media from the time, heartbreaking pictures, and a walk through the strip of land (no man's land) between the East and West.  We stood there on the lovely green grass knowing that 31 years ago we would have been shot for being there.  It's a little sobering. So, you're walking along the street, and there's what's left of the wall. Yep.  that's where it was. A bronze tableau of the Burgtrasse - the only street in Berlin that is still divided by the wall. You can see a bit of the wall on the right, and the rebar still standing as it leads to the left. The view to the East-side wall. Looks like a pretty park today. This is the view from the museum - looking down...

On Saturday, we took the train from Munich to Berlin.  About four hours in a high-speed train with only four or five stops.  We had reserved seats and plenty of room for luggage.  It was clean, quiet, and comfortable...and the scenery was bucolic with just the beginnings of fall foliage peeking out amidst the forest. We settled in and found some lunch, then spent the rest of the afternoon planning our attack on the city.  There is so much history here.  So much to see.  So far to walk!  Berlin, unlike Prague or even Munich, really doesn't have an old city center of walkable streets and neighborhoods...it's really spread out.  The Brandenburg Gate is about a 40 minutes walk over to the Berlin Wall Memorial.  The Reichstag is a 30 minute walk to CheckPoint Charlie.  Planning is essential.  The good news is, once you're at a major site, there are lots of ancillary exhibits and sites to see in the same general area.  We're here f...

Was it crowded?  Yeah, but the whole place is so big, it really didn't feel that way...unless you were inside, next to the band and a bunch of sweaty lederhosen-clad twenty-somethings fucking up the words to Ein Prosit.  Solution? Head out to the bier garden...lots more space, and you can get smaller beers...not that I'd ever do that.  The trick is to go in the middle of the week in the middle of the day.  Wednesday was far less crowded than today at noon... Was it expensive?  Yeah, but it's Europe.  Everything's expensive. Was the beer good?  Yeah, I mean it was all lagers, but they were tasty.  We had a great craft beer run in Prague and will find good craft beer in Berlin, so we weren't too worried about coming up short on craft beer in Munich. Was the food good?  Hell yeah!  Schnitzel, Nurnberger sausages, sauerkraut, potatoes...I had a roasted chicken today that just might put my grandmother's chicken on notice. S...

So it turns out that a litre of beer (serving size in Oktoberfest tents) is almost 34 fluid ounces.  Yesterday, in about six hours, we drank 4.5 litres...I'll let you do the math. Somehow (surely alcohol had nothing to do with it) we got turned around and went out the wrong side of the festival grounds.  And instead of being a seven minute walk back to the apartment, it was about an hour and seven minutes.  It's funny today - although my head hurts when I laugh.  Joe and I were arguing about where we were and my inability to find our location on Google Maps.  We tried to call Uber, but I couldn't tell them where we were...having no idea myself.  I finally realized that we'd gone out the wrong side, and we simply had to go back in, cross the park, and go out the other side.  Joe insisted something else, but I'd taken off ahead of him towards the fest and only heard bits of yelling as I strode away. Once out the other side, things started lookin...

Sorry for the late post, our internet was not connecting properly. Yesterday we arrived and headed straight for the beer garden at the airport.  Even though it's at the airport omg that was good. We are crazy tired, and at this point almost anything would be good, but the food and the beer here was outstanding!  We got to our apartment and rested for a bit, and then set out to get Joe some authentic German clothes.  Found 'em...at a department store.  Like Dillards with a whole section devoted to Oktoberfest wear...gotta love it! On Wednesday, we headed over to the park.  We've been to Oktoberfests and to GABF, but this was a bit different...4 million people, 20+ tents, soooo much beer, and everyone dressed to the nines. I'm ready for Oktoberfest! The Queen of Bavaria First beer Yeah, what about it? Love the banners! So much fun!  I can't wait to go back tomorrow!  And...l...

We finally made it up to the castle.  And I do mean up.  We crossed the bridge to the castle side of the Vltava River and found a place for a quick bite to eat before going to the compound. As we followed the tourists to the street to go to the castle, my GPS was giving me completely different instructions.  We must have been in a no signal area.  We also were in a no signage zone, so I asked the hostess at the restaurant we just left.  She said this, "Go up this street.  Straight.  Straight up.  You come to square, turn right and go up.  Always up.  All the way up."  And, shit, she wasn't kidding. Love the manhole covers on this side of the river. View from almost the top.  You can see the spires of Our Lady Before Tyn just there on the left. Now Joe and I have been in Prague before, and we've been to the castle.  I kinda think we must have been on a bus because I sure as hell don't remember...