Berlin

I arrived at Berlin’s Tegel Airport this morning to lovely cool dry weather.  The Air Berlin flight was about 30 minutes early.

The seven-hour overnight flight passed very quickly.  Business Class was only half full (about 15 passengers) and the extra roomy seats that extended to almost full length made sleeping quite comfortable.  Cocktails and dinner were elegantly served on table clothes and fine china; too bad the food itself was only passable.  Continental breakfast was served shortly before landing.

Tegel Airport is slowly being phased out as the new Willy Brandt Airport nears completion (although the opening date keeps being pushed back every few months).  But the service was friendly and helpful and I was quickly carted off to a taxi for the short ride to the Berlin Palace Hotel.  If you are familiar with Berlin, the hotel is right next to the Europa Center in the heart of what used to be West Berlin.  Although the area is still hopping with shoppers and tourists, the Kurfurstendamm is no longer the real heart of the city now that what used to be East Berlin has been restored and rebuilt.  But everything a tourist could require is right at hand, including the famed Berlin Zoo, just across the street from the hotel entrance.  I was upgraded to the private “Club” floor when I checked in and had immediate access to the room.  I am surrounded by all the luxury I could wish for.

Since I had slept on the plane I was ready to hit the streets after a quick unpacking and shower.

With my “Berlin Pass” I have unlimited use of the city’s transport system:  subways, trains, buses, trams.  I begin at the historic heart of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate, at the head of the beautifully restored Unter den Linden boulevard.  From there it is a short walk to the Reichstag, which unfortunately requires advance reservations for a tour of the new glass dome, so I will return on another day.  

After a typical Berlin lunch (Bratwurst with Potato Salad) in a leafy outdoor garden, I visit the nearby “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.”  The monument entails a large square city block covered with 2711 massive concrete blocks; underground is a memorial to individuals and families slaughtered throughout Europe (diaries, oral histories, etc).  There was a great deal of controversy surrounding the building of the monument in 2003, since it was discovered that the company constructing the blocks was descended from the company that supplied Zirkon gas to the Nazi extermination camps. 

By mid afternoon I am ready to head back to the hotel for some rest (jet lag gets you no matter how well you sleep on the plane). 

More from Berlin tomorrow--including pictures.