I've got a few more good stories to blog about from my last few weeks in Berlin but am currently in Hour 40 of my journey home... a journey that was supposed to be only 26 hours long.
I left my apartment at 04:30h on 22 December to take a taxicab to the airport. My 07:35h flight to London-Heathrow was delayed one hour because of heavy fog in London... of course, we boarded on time and then waited in the plane for the extra hour. I was worried getting to Heathrow because that cut into my time to make my connection. I rushed through security and made my connection with about an hour to spare. Boarded the plane for an 11:35h departure and waited about an hour on-board for a spot to take off during some incredibly heavy fog. The fog was so heavy that it was difficult to see the end of the plane from the terminal!
At about 12:30 we finally started to push back from the gate and then all the power failed on the plane. Suddenly the plane was surrounded on the ground by an assortment of fire engines, police vehicles and ambulances/rescue trucks. One of our engines had caught fire and was being extinguished by ground crews. Despite being only 20 meters from the gate, we had to wait about 30 minutes before we were told to evacuate back to the terminal "for a few minutes" as a precaution while the mechanics checked out the engine. The captain explained that a "slight technical malfunction" had occurred and the power system failed, throwing sparks in the engine that ignited the jet fuel. Oh boy!
After another 45 minutes, we were allowed back on the plane in small groups to retrieve our hand luggage but advised to stick close because we could be getting a new plane soon. A couple hours later, we were told we had a new plane but it was at the opposite end of the terminal... so off we all headed, hoping for the 16:30 departure. After waiting another hour or two at that gate, we were told that due to "airport congestion" (and probably the still dense fog) our plane was rerouted to another gate... back on the original (and opposite) end of the terminal. Oh, and a new departure time of 17:50...
This time we actually boarded the plane for a one hour wait on-board for a slot to take-off. Finally, at about 19:00 we took off for Chicago... only 7.5 hours delayed from our original time.
Very bumpy flight but no one complained because we were all so fortunate to just be on our way. By the time we took off, I knew I would miss my 8:00 PM connecting flight home but figured there'd be others later in the night. We landed at 9:00 PM in Chicago (rather than the scheduled 2:00 PM). After a long wait through passport control and Customs, I got to speak with a customer service agent... who gave me the news that I wouldn't be flying any more that night! They gave me a hotel voucher and two meal vouchers at the Westin near the airport. I waited about 30 minutes in the very windy and snowy cold Chicago air for the hotel shuttle and finally got to my room at about 11:45 PM. The hotel restaurant was closed by then but my voucher was also good for room service... a turkey BLT and bottle of water filled up the $30 voucher.
This morning I started the day with another room service-delivered and British Airways vouchered pastries and fruit. I left for the airport at 8:00 AM for a 10:00 AM flight to St. Louis and then a transfer on to Nashville. While I waited in a seemingly never-ending line for the ticket counter, my flight's departure got pushed back to 10:40... which made for a very tight 25 minute window to make my connection. At 09:15, when I finally reached the ticket counter, the woman was very nice but didn't want me to even try for the 25 minute connection window. She told me my bags certainly wouldn't make it and if I missed, I'd have to wait until 9:00 PM for the next flight from St. Louis. I explained my "sob story" about the plane catching fire and the agent called someone who miraculously found a seat on a direct flight to Nashville. It was originally supposed to leave at 2:20 PM but they just announced our crew won't arrive until 2:45, which probably means a hopefully 3:00 PM departure. At this rate, I could care less so long as I'm out of an airport ASAP! I'm so tired of traveling and just want to be home. Ugh.
24 December 2007
23 November 2007
Drowning in an endless sea of schoolwork...
Since there's now only two weeks of school left (followed by two exam weeks), I'm starting to focus on my schoolwork and work on papers. One of my three term papers is already completed and handed in and a second will be finished this weekend. I've currently finished two of nine museum visit papers but have been to five more that I'll write this weekend also.
Today I went to all three of my architecture course sites. This morning started with the Olympia-Stadion (Olympic Stadium) where Germany (under Hitler's control) hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. This is a spectacular example of Hitler's vision for Nazi architecture to leave "beautiful" ruins that would outlast even his Thousand Year Reich. It had all the classical elements complete with heavy(-looking) and imposing stone façades. It was very interesting to note the many places that looked like they were missing a significant symbol... and then to find small markers with old photos during the Olympics showing the structure with the swastikas intact.
This was also a personally interesting site to visit because in a previous job I've held, I worked on preparing and listing a collection of prints about the 1936 Winter Olympics (also in Nazi Germany). While they weren't held in Berlin at the Olympia-Stadion, they had a very similar appearance of stone architecture. I couldn't help but recall those photo prints showing the Olympics all dressed up with swastikas and Nazi materials everywhere. Also, to see the location of the Fuhrer's Box in the stadium and just imagine him sitting there, watching the games that were supposed to prove Aryan superiority and then have Jesse Owens prove him wrong.
So, after the Olympia-Stadion tour, I went on a walking tour with a couple other people from my architecture class looking at some buildings in the Embassy Quarter near the Tiergarten. Finished up with a museum visit inside the Bauhaus Archiv which was all about art and architecture of the 20th century.
Now I need to write up two page papers on all of those, plus the other two sites I've been to already. And tomorrow I'm going to the Deutsche Historishe Museum and the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum to finish off all my museum visits. Hopefully I can finish all those papers this week (plus a paper on German history and culture related to my personal experiences). Then next week I'll only have a paper due on the Horseshoe Development in Berlin-Neukölln by Bruno Taut due.
Wish me luck!!
Today I went to all three of my architecture course sites. This morning started with the Olympia-Stadion (Olympic Stadium) where Germany (under Hitler's control) hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. This is a spectacular example of Hitler's vision for Nazi architecture to leave "beautiful" ruins that would outlast even his Thousand Year Reich. It had all the classical elements complete with heavy(-looking) and imposing stone façades. It was very interesting to note the many places that looked like they were missing a significant symbol... and then to find small markers with old photos during the Olympics showing the structure with the swastikas intact.
This was also a personally interesting site to visit because in a previous job I've held, I worked on preparing and listing a collection of prints about the 1936 Winter Olympics (also in Nazi Germany). While they weren't held in Berlin at the Olympia-Stadion, they had a very similar appearance of stone architecture. I couldn't help but recall those photo prints showing the Olympics all dressed up with swastikas and Nazi materials everywhere. Also, to see the location of the Fuhrer's Box in the stadium and just imagine him sitting there, watching the games that were supposed to prove Aryan superiority and then have Jesse Owens prove him wrong.
So, after the Olympia-Stadion tour, I went on a walking tour with a couple other people from my architecture class looking at some buildings in the Embassy Quarter near the Tiergarten. Finished up with a museum visit inside the Bauhaus Archiv which was all about art and architecture of the 20th century.
Now I need to write up two page papers on all of those, plus the other two sites I've been to already. And tomorrow I'm going to the Deutsche Historishe Museum and the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum to finish off all my museum visits. Hopefully I can finish all those papers this week (plus a paper on German history and culture related to my personal experiences). Then next week I'll only have a paper due on the Horseshoe Development in Berlin-Neukölln by Bruno Taut due.
Wish me luck!!
Dankegeben und der Hahnchenmann!
Yesterday was just another typical Thursday in Berlin. No holiday here. But, I managed to still have a fun Thanksgiving (That's be Dankegeben auf Deutsche). Six of us got together and put together a Thanksgiving feast complete with too much food and three roaster chickens. It was really funny when I went to the Chicken Man who parks on my street every Thursday to buy 3 whole chickens. It went something like this:
"Drei Hahnchen bitte. Komplete." | "Three chickens please. Whole/complete."
"Dreeeiii?!?" | "Threeeeee?!?"
"Ja, drei." | "Yes, three."
"Kompleeeete!?!?" | "Whoooooole?!?"
"Jaaaa..." | "Yesssss..."
"Whoa... okay." | "Whoa... okay."
"Drei Hahnchen bitte. Komplete." | "Three chickens please. Whole/complete."
"Dreeeiii?!?" | "Threeeeee?!?"
"Ja, drei." | "Yes, three."
"Kompleeeete!?!?" | "Whoooooole?!?"
"Jaaaa..." | "Yesssss..."
"Whoa... okay." | "Whoa... okay."
18 November 2007
Maastricht
Despite the Strike, I made it to Maastricht this weekend only about one hour later than I planned. I was to take the 08:51 ICE train to Düsseldorf and wanted to take the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof. I was at my S-Bahn station at 07:41 and heard an announcement saying the next train was coming at 08:31!! I freaked out momentarily before heading for the bus shelter to take buses towards the Hauptbahnhof. Instead of two fast S-Bahn trains, I took three different buses but made it to the Hauptbahnhof with about three minutes to spare. Fairly uneventful rest of the day was spent on five different trains... and only one was cancelled from Düsseldorf. That forced a rerouting but the Deutsche Bahn self-help terminals are easy to use and it only cost about one hours delay. Not toooooo bad considering this was the "worst strike ever".
Friday evening in Maastricht was spent touring a little of the town with Lea and dinner. Then I pretty much fell asleep at a bar and we went back to go to sleep. Saturday we started the day walking around the mines/caves in Kanne, Belgium. Kanne is very close (less than 4 kilometers) to Maastricht and Lea lived there last year for her first year at the University. The mines were closed to touring but the day was nice and I enjoyed walking around the hills. The mines are supposed to be famous because of a special stone there that was crucial during World War II... but Lea had no idea what the name of the stone was and I still don't.
That afternoon we went back into Maastricht and walked around the city-center. Maastricht was preparing for their Winterland festival and had some, uh, let's say highly politically-incorrect characters walking around. There is a tradition in Limburg (the region of Netherlands Maastricht is in) that Santa Claus is assisted by a small, dark-skinned elf who carries a bag with presents for the good children and space to stuff the bad children to carry them away. Because this tradition is so special, all the children in the town were dressed in the special costume of this helper. Some adults were even dressed as the helper, complete with black-face makeup! That was incredibly shocking to see considering the history of blackface in the States and I took several pictures--including of several blackface actors on the city's town hall!
While still shocked about the blackface, we moved away from the Winterland area and got some famous french fries of the area. I got mine with a warm peanut butter sauce that my language teacher recommended... they were incredible!! The best, thick-cut french fries covered with warm and slightly spicy peanut butter... mmmmm, that's making me hungry just thinking about it!
That evening Lea had a volleyball match and I stayed in her apartment to work on my essays that are starting to be due this week. I had to finish a lot of reading for a paper that is due this Wednesday and I got a lot finished (totally finished on today's train rides). After she returned, we had dinner before going over to her friend Julia's apartment. There, we had tea and talked about the European Union and the United States' role in it. Needless to say, this is what my paper is about and it was a great help to hear the opinions of two Germans taking advantage of the EU's lack of internal barriers to education in other countries.
Another very nice benefit of the EU was I never used my passport on my entire trip this weekend. I crossed from Germany to the Netherlands on Friday via train without any border control. On Saturday we drove from the Netherlands into Belgium and back without me even realizing we'd left the country (until I asked where we were). Sunday, I took a train from the Netherlands into Belgium, then another train into Germany without any controls. Made for a very seamless experience and just makes sense... which is one way to explain a lot of European integration thus far.
This morning was uneventful and I made my first train at 12 to Liège in Belgium. From there a transfer to an ICE to Köln and then the IC to Berlin-Südkreuz that I've already described... all around a great trip and wonderful break from my classes. My last day of regular classes is 5 December and I have many, many papers to write before then!
Friday evening in Maastricht was spent touring a little of the town with Lea and dinner. Then I pretty much fell asleep at a bar and we went back to go to sleep. Saturday we started the day walking around the mines/caves in Kanne, Belgium. Kanne is very close (less than 4 kilometers) to Maastricht and Lea lived there last year for her first year at the University. The mines were closed to touring but the day was nice and I enjoyed walking around the hills. The mines are supposed to be famous because of a special stone there that was crucial during World War II... but Lea had no idea what the name of the stone was and I still don't.
That afternoon we went back into Maastricht and walked around the city-center. Maastricht was preparing for their Winterland festival and had some, uh, let's say highly politically-incorrect characters walking around. There is a tradition in Limburg (the region of Netherlands Maastricht is in) that Santa Claus is assisted by a small, dark-skinned elf who carries a bag with presents for the good children and space to stuff the bad children to carry them away. Because this tradition is so special, all the children in the town were dressed in the special costume of this helper. Some adults were even dressed as the helper, complete with black-face makeup! That was incredibly shocking to see considering the history of blackface in the States and I took several pictures--including of several blackface actors on the city's town hall!
While still shocked about the blackface, we moved away from the Winterland area and got some famous french fries of the area. I got mine with a warm peanut butter sauce that my language teacher recommended... they were incredible!! The best, thick-cut french fries covered with warm and slightly spicy peanut butter... mmmmm, that's making me hungry just thinking about it!
That evening Lea had a volleyball match and I stayed in her apartment to work on my essays that are starting to be due this week. I had to finish a lot of reading for a paper that is due this Wednesday and I got a lot finished (totally finished on today's train rides). After she returned, we had dinner before going over to her friend Julia's apartment. There, we had tea and talked about the European Union and the United States' role in it. Needless to say, this is what my paper is about and it was a great help to hear the opinions of two Germans taking advantage of the EU's lack of internal barriers to education in other countries.
Another very nice benefit of the EU was I never used my passport on my entire trip this weekend. I crossed from Germany to the Netherlands on Friday via train without any border control. On Saturday we drove from the Netherlands into Belgium and back without me even realizing we'd left the country (until I asked where we were). Sunday, I took a train from the Netherlands into Belgium, then another train into Germany without any controls. Made for a very seamless experience and just makes sense... which is one way to explain a lot of European integration thus far.
This morning was uneventful and I made my first train at 12 to Liège in Belgium. From there a transfer to an ICE to Köln and then the IC to Berlin-Südkreuz that I've already described... all around a great trip and wonderful break from my classes. My last day of regular classes is 5 December and I have many, many papers to write before then!
Survival
Okay, I survived... and am finally back in my apartment. And wow is it colder in Berlin than Maastricht!!
Germenglisch?
It's very interesting to hear the significant differences between the German announcements and English announcements by the Deutsche Bahn conductors on the trains. The German announcements as we approach stations generally announce the station and tell what some of the major transfers are with their destination, train number and platform location. It always closes with a thanks for riding and wishes of good day/evening. The English ones are always "Laaadies and Gentlemen. We are in a few minutes arriving in Wolfsburg station. We taaaank you for riding Deutsche Bahn. Good bye."
There's a big difference between IC and ICE...
I'm writing this from my train returning to Berlin. I took a local regional train from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to Liége (Belgium), transfered to an ICE train to Köln (Germany) and am now on an IC train to Berlin-Südkreuz. Regional trains are basically commuter trains and there is not the option of reserved seats. They're fine for short distances of up to about an hour but otherwise they stop too frequently to take. The ICE trains are InterCityExpress and, like their name sounds like, are high-speed trains that travel up to 250 km/hour and only stop at (generally) major stations. Sometimes they stop at some random smaller stations that don't really make sense until you realize the federal states in Germany subsidize some of the costs and obviously want some benefit from that.
But I'm on an IC train. IC is simply InterCity. I took this because it is going directly to Berlin-Südkreuz which is a train station on my S-Bahn line in Berlin and easier to get home from than Berlin-Hauptbahnhof. Unfortunately, it stops about ever half hour (or less!) and doesn't have nearly the same amenities of an ICE train. On ICE trains, I prefer to reserve a window seat in the open saloon area that is much like an airplane--two seats on either side of a main aisle. I usually don't have anyone next to me and can read, listen to my iPod or just stare out the window in peace. This IC train doesn't have open saloon seating. For the last four hours I've been in a closed compartment with six other people and seats for just five. When I boarded in Köln, there were two others arriving and we all took our reserved seats. Two stops later, a family of three boarded and the little girl started screaming when the mother left to sit in another compartment. So the mother wound up staying.
Of course the little girl wasn't done acting spoiled and when her father won a game of Go Fish, she really started screaming and crying. That was lots of fun while I was reading my text for class. After a while, one of the other two passengers left the train and everyone at least had their own seat (don't worry, I didn't give up my reserved seat... the family had enough seats somewhere on the train). About forty minutes ago, the other passenger left and it's gotten a little quieter in here--I think the little girl is finally getting tired. I'm sure the father hopes so... he's been trying to nap for the whole ride and is not getting the chance!
Alright, I only have another 1,5 hours of this... at 20:04h this train is scheduled to arrive at Berlin-Südkreuz and I cannot wait to get back to my apartment... of course that's assuming the Deutsche Bahn's unions are all back to work and the S-Bahn is running to my home station.
But I'm on an IC train. IC is simply InterCity. I took this because it is going directly to Berlin-Südkreuz which is a train station on my S-Bahn line in Berlin and easier to get home from than Berlin-Hauptbahnhof. Unfortunately, it stops about ever half hour (or less!) and doesn't have nearly the same amenities of an ICE train. On ICE trains, I prefer to reserve a window seat in the open saloon area that is much like an airplane--two seats on either side of a main aisle. I usually don't have anyone next to me and can read, listen to my iPod or just stare out the window in peace. This IC train doesn't have open saloon seating. For the last four hours I've been in a closed compartment with six other people and seats for just five. When I boarded in Köln, there were two others arriving and we all took our reserved seats. Two stops later, a family of three boarded and the little girl started screaming when the mother left to sit in another compartment. So the mother wound up staying.
Of course the little girl wasn't done acting spoiled and when her father won a game of Go Fish, she really started screaming and crying. That was lots of fun while I was reading my text for class. After a while, one of the other two passengers left the train and everyone at least had their own seat (don't worry, I didn't give up my reserved seat... the family had enough seats somewhere on the train). About forty minutes ago, the other passenger left and it's gotten a little quieter in here--I think the little girl is finally getting tired. I'm sure the father hopes so... he's been trying to nap for the whole ride and is not getting the chance!
Alright, I only have another 1,5 hours of this... at 20:04h this train is scheduled to arrive at Berlin-Südkreuz and I cannot wait to get back to my apartment... of course that's assuming the Deutsche Bahn's unions are all back to work and the S-Bahn is running to my home station.
16 November 2007
Yet another Deutsche Bahn Strike...
This is going to be loads of fun... yet another strike on the national rail system. This one is supposed to be the worst one in modern German history because of how long it is going (Thursday at 02:00h until Saturady at 02:00h) and because of how many trains it affects. According to the Bloomberg News article, "About two-thirds of long-distance passenger trains nationwide and 50 percent of regional trains in western Germany were running as part of an emergency schedule. The railway was operating only 15 percent of regional traffic in eastern Germany." [Check out this map if you want a clear illustration of the division between East and West Germany--the new Federal States (East) have a higher proportion of union members resulting in significantly higher numbers of striking train operators.]
Not only does this mean that the S-Bahn is highly unreliable and has extremely restricted service, it also affects the regional/intercity trains... which I need to use to get to Maastricht tomorrow. I'm supposed to take five different trains beginning in Berlin-Südkreuz to get to Maastricht and the chances of me making all those trains on time is severely diminished now because of this strike. Hopefully this strike won't be extended and I can get back to Berlin on Sunday... wish me luck!
Not only does this mean that the S-Bahn is highly unreliable and has extremely restricted service, it also affects the regional/intercity trains... which I need to use to get to Maastricht tomorrow. I'm supposed to take five different trains beginning in Berlin-Südkreuz to get to Maastricht and the chances of me making all those trains on time is severely diminished now because of this strike. Hopefully this strike won't be extended and I can get back to Berlin on Sunday... wish me luck!
15 November 2007
Less than a month of school!?
Wow, I just realized, my last final exam in on 13 December and that is less than one month away. I feel like I've been here in Berlin for a while but I also feel like I should have a lot more time left. I got a call today from a background investigator for an internship I'm applying for next semester and an email from my new boss for another job I'll have... several reminders of my return to the "real world" of my home university. Then, of course, it's just one more semester before Graduation and the true "Real World" of needing to find a job... anyone?
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