Returning home from Germany

Mary and I had our cell phone alarms set for 5 am, but much to our surprise, Peter was already awake and ready to get dressed. We ate a little in the hotel then put our pajamas in our bags then left the Adina Hotel to walk to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Peter finished his breakfast in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Once in the train station we bought a couple of pretzels for Peter to have with his hummus for breakfast. The train to the Berlin Flughofen (airport) was only a few minutes from arriving so we didn’t have long to wait. At first the train wasn’t crowded but as we neared the airport, more passengers boarded the light rail. One person appeared to be emotionally disturbed or under the influence of a drug became loud on the train but soon exited the car.

At the airport, we easily checked our three bags then moved to the first security where we got through quickly since we only had one small carry-on each and no unapproved items. We then went to the German exit point where we waited in a long time to present our passports. Once we were at the checkpoint we were approved quickly. When we got in the line only three of the fifteen or so windows were open. Some families were at the window for over 30 minutes. While we were in the line a group of passengers from some Eastern European country started cutting line. We knew that they were not from an EU country or they would have been in an expedited line. Some of the line cutters got through, but the ones who were seen by the agent received a severe scolding and sent to the rear of the line. We passed through this checkpoint in less than a minute once we were at the window.

After going into the next room, our passports and boarding passes were checked by an agent from the US then we walked toward the terminal gates, but had to pass through another passport check which took a very short time. When going through a checkpoint we would put Peter between us in case of a problem. At one of the checkpoints, photographic recognition was used but the camera clicked on Peter before he was fully in place. He was routed to a desk where a human verified the passport. However, Mary had already passed through with Peter’s passport. Peter and I communicated the issue to a German police officer, who got the passport from Mary and straightened things out quickly. At the terminal for our flight, we had a few minutes for a bathroom break and to eat some of the breakfast that we packed. A tall slim man of about 35 years with long hair had been in the lengthy security line with us. While at the gate he was approached by two Berlin police officers, airport security and a representative of Delta Airlines. The police told him that another passenger had reported that his behavior was suspicious and that he needed to have an additional security check and interview. Mary said that she believed that he had been talking to two young girls who were flying back to New York and may have said something that they believed to be inappropriate.

Although we were in group 6 for the flight from Berlin to New York, we boarded quickly, after yet another check of passports and boarding passes. While all of the checks may seem like overkill, we are certainly happy that measures are in place to assure passenger safety. Our assigned seats were in the center section of the Boeing 767-300 so Mary and I had aisle seats with Peter between us. As with the trip to Germany, Peter traveled really well watching the inflight entertainment and snacking on things that we brought for the flight. When the meal was served about 90 minutes into the flight, he even ate most of the chicken curry and rice which is pretty impressive for an eleven-year-old.

When we arrived at JFK Airport in New York around 1 pm, we saw that a flight to Cincinnati was leaving around 2 pm. Our scheduled flight didn’t leave until 6:30 meaning a 5 ½ hour wait in the airport. Mary went to the Delta Airlines desk and unsuccessfully attempted to get on the earlier flight. There was a series of checkpoints and security stops on the way, but we were surprised that we didn’t have to go through customs. Rechecking our bags was quick and easy. Peter has become very skilled at spotting our luggage at the airport. He usually has our bags before we even make it to the carousal.

We walked around the airport, got some food from airport restaurants then sat at the gate while doing some German lessons and reading some eBooks that we had checked out from the library. Peter fell asleep in the seats at our gate and slept hard for almost an hour. We woke him in time to board the flight.

The aircraft from New York to Cincinnati was smaller but we had plenty of legroom. There was no in-flight entertainment but the flight was supposed to take only 90 minutes. However, we were on the taxiway for nearly an hour before takeoff. The cabin appeared to be completely full, and the flight had little turbulence once in the air. Peter slept much of the way while Mary and I read eBooks.

When we arrived at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, we were met by Sarah picking Peter up. Sarah and Peter were very happy to see each other. Mark and Cindy were flying out of Cincinnati on Monday morning after a visit to a graduation in West Virginia. They met us at the airport and gave us a ride back to the Hilton where we left our car parked.

Although sleepy, I made the one hour drive from the airport back to the house where we went straight to bed, We would unpack and do laundry on Monday but it was after 11 pm and we had been up since 5 am in Germany which was 11 pm Eastern. We are too old for these 24 hour days!

We had a great time on this trip and having Peter with us made it very special. We wanted this to be his trip and to be something that he will remember about us after we are gone. We wanted him to experience another culture and have a broad perspective. We were very proud of him trying different foods that he had never tried in the US. He was willing to try everything and actually really liked several German food items. We were proud of his manners while traveling especially when he offered his seat on the train to an older person. Although we didn’t put a limit on things he could buy or money he could spend, he was very conservative with his requests and wanted to buy things for his family, especially his brother. He loved the pocket camera that we bought for him before the trip. He took well over 2000 pictures, mostly of himself making faces but a lot of sites that he wanted to remember. We are hopeful that we can have successful travel with his brother and cousins when they complete fifth grade.

Sachenhausen concentration camp

"Works makes you free"

We were up early to get the train to Sachenhausen concentration camp. Breakfast wasn’t started until 7:30 on Saturday at the Adina Hotel. While the breakfast buffet was good, the breakfast at Eden Hotel Wolff in Munich was better. Part of it is that we just like Bavarian food better than food from most other places in Germany.

Wall and barbed wire

After breakfast, we returned to the room to change clothes. Since the Sachenhausen concentration camp is a somber place, we felt that it would be inappropriate to go in shorts and t-shirts. We took a short subway trip to Friedrichstraße then changed to a train going to Oranienburg for 45 minutes. After leaving the Oranienburg station, we caught a bus for a short ride to the concentration camp. This camp housed prisoners who were Jewish, dissenters, work-shy, gypsies, disabled persons, homosexuals, and others considered undesirable by the Nazi government. The museum had chairs with straps where prisoners were beaten, sometimes to death, for infractions of the camp rules. There was a gallows where prisoners were hung while other prisoners were forced to watch as a lesson for conformity to the rules. Most of the barracks are no longer standing since materials for the structures were scavenged after the war. However, the infirmary, kitchen and laundry barracks remain standing.  There was a wall surrounding the camp with guard towers spaced along the wall.  Inside the wall were several layers of barbed wire.

Restored infirmary barracks

The medical care received by prisoners was less about preserving lives than allowing young German doctors to practice on the prisoners. Surgeries were sometimes unnecessarily performed so doctors could get experience. Inmates who died or were killed had their bodies dissected in the mortuary area for the education of the staff. Medical supplies were constantly in shortage for the needs of the prisoners.

Shoe test track surrounding the role call area

Near the area for the twice daily roll call, there was a shoe testing area. Prisoners would be required to wear shoes that we being developed for the German military. These shoes were seldom the correct size for the prisoners. They would be forced to walk many miles around the camp in the shoes so the leaders could assess the quality of the shoes and the durability of the shoes to hold up to a variety of terrain.

Execution trench

Although Sachenhausen wasn’t a death camp on the order of Auschwitz and some of the others, many prisoners were murdered here. Some were beaten to death, others hung and there was an execution trench just outside the barracks. Sometimes prisoners were shackled and shot, other times they would be placed in a device to measure height and a guard would be behind to shoot the prisoner at the base of the skull. There were mass burial areas adjacent to the execution trench for the bodies of those killed. The visit to the camp was a very sobering experience but we were glad that we could expose Peter to the history of the war. The camp continued to be used by the Soviets as Special Camp for Germans who had participated in the war, whether or not they had been convicted by a Soviet tribunal.

When we left the camp around noon, we saw that the next bus to the Oranienburg station would not arrive for 45 minutes, so we got lunch at a nearby café. Peter had a hot dog that was over a foot long on a large roll. Mary and I had Apfelschorle which is a blend of apple juice and sparkling water. Peter was very pleased with his meal. We have been very happy that he has been adventurous enough to try a variety of German food and has enjoyed many more than we expected.

Poppy blooming outside the Sachenhausen gate

As we waited for the bus, a group from an Italian tour group arrived. They were very loud and mostly rude. Many of them were smoking so we tried to stay upwind from them. Back at the train station in Oranienburg we quickly boarded the train for Fredrichstraße which took less than an hour. While we were on the train an older couple boarded and saw that all of the seats were taken. I gave my seat to the lady. When a man boarded using two canes, Peter offered the man his seat. The gentleman was appreciative but refused the seat. I was very proud of Peter for his concern.

At Fredrichstraße we went up to street level where we found an Aldi market on the lower level of one of the street buildings. Since we were leaving early tomorrow, we knew that the Adina Hotel breakfast would be unavailable. We bought rolls, cold cuts, cheese, hummus and pretzels for breakfast. We also bought several packages of Haribo items including gummy bears. Peter wanted to take them back as gifts. I got a large bottle of Apfelschole to sip this evening before bed as well as in the morning.

After taking a short subway back to Invalidenpark, we went to a small market and got Peter an ice cream to have up in the room before bed. We finished packing, showered and prepared for an early bedtime. Our flight to JFK boarded at 8:50 am and we knew that we would have multiple layers of security to navigate before we get to the gate.

While packing we had to screen Peter’s luggage. He had packed several glass drink bottles that we had from prior meals, as well as   a pair of Knipex channel lock type pliers he picked up someplace. Those items were not permitted in his luggage. We decided to check all of our bags except our backpacks since we would have 5 hours in JFK and there was nothing in the larger bags that was important or valuable. 

Reichstag Building

We decided to take the night tour on the Hop-on, Hop-off bus so we took a streetcar to the meeting point near Alexanderplatz.  Since we had a little time, we looked for someplace to get a small meal.  We decided on a KFC, Korean Fried Chicken.  We found the chicken to have a lot of fat and gristle, probably wing meat and not especially tasty.  None of us finished the meal.  

Not surprisingly knowing German precision, the bus left promptly at 6 pm.  Using the earbuds provided, we heard a narrative about each area of Berlin and many of the major buildings and historic locations.  We were back at the meeting spot by 7 pm then caught the streetcar back to Invalidenpark near the Adina Hotel.

After our baths, we went to sleep quickly and slept well.

Travel from Munich to Berlin

Peter and Oma on the ICE to Berlin

After waking at 5:30 we did a few language lessons then made our way to the breakfast area of the Eden Hotel Wolff where we had our usual excellent buffet breakfast for the last time this trip. We have come to enjoy the variety and quality of bread and fruit. We were proud of Peter’s willingness to try new things with an open mind, and he found the Bavarian breakfast to definitely to his liking. Although Bavaria is our favorite part of Germany, there are several things around Berlin that we wanted to see. Checking out of the hotel was quick since the travel agent had pre-paid for our room. The travel agency, to-europe.com, got much better rates on the rooms than we could ever have made on our own.

The Hauptbahnhof is a short walk from our hotel and we found our track quickly. Mary had upgraded us to an ICE train since it makes very few stops and travels at a much higher rate of speed. The other train going from Munich to Berlin (IC train) would take four hours, but the ICE made the trip in less than three hours. Using the information and tickets provided by the travel agent, we found our train car (wagon 28) quickly then got to seats 33, 34 and 36 and found that the seats were around a table with fold out leaves. We shared the table with a pleasant young German man in seat 35.

The three-hour train ride passed quickly since the seats were comfortable and we could get up and move through the train if needed. We made it to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof a little after 1 pm and walked the short distance to the Adina Hotel where we checked into our room on the 4th floor. The room was very nice with a small kitchen, washer and drier, a king sized bed in a separate room and a comfortable sofa bed in the sitting room.

Brandenburg Gate

After unpacking, we got directions to the nearest post office from the front desk at the Adina Hotel. It cost about $1.25 for each postcard stamp to send expedited to Peter’s parents, his grandfather and to the Ferrell boys. Mary had picked up a guide to the walking tour in Berlin and we made our way to the Brandenburg Gate. This 18th century gate is located on the site of the older city gate constructed around 1670 following the Thirty Years War.

Potsdamer Platz

Because of the many tall buildings in Berlin, Mary’s cell signal was very weak making navigation difficult. After several navigation errors we decided to purchase tickets on the “Hop-on, Hop-off” bus. The price for an unlimited two day pass was $118 euros including a night tour through Berlin at a day of our choosing. We laughed because the young man selling the passes said that he wanted to try to conserve paper but the receipt with all of our passes was about 12 feet long. After printing, he realized that he had failed to give us the 25% discount from the travel agent so he refunded our payment, printed a refund receipt then another 12 feet of receipt. We were issued earbuds that we could plug into jacks providing narration in any of fifteen languages. We took the bus by several locations but didn’t get off until we were at Potsdamer Platz where we decided to explore on our own.

From Potsdamer Platz, we followed the path of the Berlin Wall using cobblestone markers along the streets. When we came to the “Topography of Terror Center” we followed a remaining section of the Berlin Wall taking some snapshots and reading about the history of the wall beginning in 1961 and continuing to the fall in 1989. An interesting exhibit at the center dealt with what Germans knew about the Holocaust and the Nazi propaganda that was passed to German citizens in the 1930s and 40s. Since we were starting to get hungry, we walked back to Potsdamer Platz for dinner.

Peter at the Berlin Wall

The square got its name because it sits at the location where the road to the city of Potsdam passed through the city wall around Berlin. The open square was used for military drills and parades. Potsdamer Platz was completely destroyed during Allied bombing in World War II then was later divided by the Berlin Wall in 1961. The area experienced extensive redevelopment following German in reunification in the 1990s. The first traffic light in Europe was in Potsdamer Platz in 1924. The 100-year-old traffic light remains on display in Potsdamer Platz.

Peter with a currywurst

There were a lot of food stands at Potsdamer Platz offering sausages, beer, pastries and other choices. Mary found a place with crepes while Peter and I went to a stand with sausages and Frikadelle which are like a patty of meatloaf on a roll like a hamburger. All of the meats were cooking on a wood-fired grill and smelled delicious. Peter had currywurst with pommes (fries) which he liked a lot. I was really surprised that he liked the curry ketchup. He was also able to pump regular ketchup on his fries. I started to have one of the foot-long bratwursts on a brotchen (bun) but I opted for the Frikadelle which was really good. We ate at an outdoor table by the Warsteiner tap. I had a weißbier, Mary and Peter had lemonade.

Peter at Checkpoint Charlie

After we had eaten, we walked the short distance to Checkpoint Charlie, a major crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It was called Checkpoint Charlie because it was the third checkpoint opened by the Allies and used the NATO alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie) for the checkpoints. The checkpoint was the only border crossing officially authorized for use by military personnel and diplomats. The structure at Checkpoint Charlie has been used in many movies including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, “Octopussy”, and “Bridge of Spies”. We took several photos then went into a gift shop so Peter could purchase a snowglobe and a small piece of the Berlin Wall.

We caught a subway from Checkpoint Charlie to Invalidenpark near the Adina Hotel. We believe that Invalidenstrasse and the park were named because of the number of hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the area. We relaxed a bit in the room before deciding on our Saturday outing to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg, about 45 minutes from Berlin by light rail. We turned in with Peter on the roomy sofa bed and us in the separate bedroom. We all went to sleep quickly and slept well.