This trip to Berlin is one long delayed. In 1958, shortly after Louise and I were married in Orleans, France, I suggested we see Berlin before shipping back to the States. She wasn’t very keen on the idea of traveling the 100 miles through Russian occupied territory to reach the American Sector in Berlin so it went on the back burner. Louise had a valid concern. At the time no one knew what the Russians were up to and the memory of the 1948/49 blockade was still fresh. Later years produced the Berlin wall. To cut this short, we never made it to Berlin.
Now, some 57 years later, we were cruising the Prussian countryside in complete comfort and free of concern and on our way to fill in that hole of our early dream.
The Berlin Blockade, the Wall and Russian occupation were distant memories as we skirted the walls of retired Tempelhof Airport on the way to our hotel, situated in what was once East Berlin. The Raddison Blu Hotel practically sits in the shadow of one imposing hangover from the days of the occupation. A TV tower, once used to broadcast propaganda to the West, still stands tall as a reminder of those dark days. Today, because it is visible from a good part of the city, tourists use it as a directional landmark.
The Communist government built the tower right next to a church, as if to rub it in the noses of the Christian, and other faiths, that belief in their system trumped any of those that believed in a God. The tower now broadcasts all the messages that Communism once scorned…including those of the many faiths that now occupy Berlin.
There is a joke, not discovered until the tower was unveiled, that must have been played on the Communists by God himself. On sunny days, on the curvature of the silver observation ball, there is formed the distinct shape of a cross. It has been there since Day One and no one in the world of Communism could figure out how to stop it. Now no one wants to…or has to.
I would like to say the tower was our view from the Raddison Blu Hotel but I can’t. It’s located near the beginning of Unter Den Linden, the once famous Berlin street that leads to the Brandenburg Gate. It is a new, modern building because most everything in East Berlin is newly built or modernized. This hotel is not a recommendation of Rick Steve but that of one of his readers. Based on the amount of buses at the curb, It must be popular with tourists. Old world, charming and unique it is not, but that worked to our advantage.
The lobby was designed to impress and it does. Five glassed-in elevators zoom up and down visible to all. The lobby//lounge/bar area has an atrium ceiling that soars to the top floor.
We were startled to see a huge water tank, at least three stories tall, in the center of the lobby…and it was full of fish. The immediate reaction of any Californian is, “If we have an earthquake I’ll drown before I’m crushed to death.” Must not be a problem in Berlin.
It was here I was subjected to the major hotelier’s strategy of “Bump ’em up.” The desk clerk said, “I see you are here on one of our special offers. We would like to offer you an upgrade with a gorgeous view, gym privileges and spa discounts if you will take our breakfast package as well.” She quoted a figure that was well over our budget. I figured how bad could things be in a modern hotel so we declined.
“Just give us something comfortable with a nice view and we’ll be happy,” I said. “I’ll try,” was her reply. She substituted the gym package with a room that was completely on the other side of the building from the elevators. 1 minute and 30 seconds was the trek time, and that was dragging luggage. Our special view was that of busy office workers across an atrium. 8 AM was their call time and their desks were vacated at 5 PM. We had only one or two friendly waves.
We did have a balcony that gave us a view of a church steeple and a construction gantry. It was a stretch but there WAS a view.
The downward view was better. It overlooked row upon row of outside tables of the different restaurants below us. The benefit was, we could see when the crowd thinned and which restaurant could seat us without too long a wait. Now, that’s a positive, isn’t it?
We chose a small restaurant featuring German and Berlin food specialties. We ate outdoors but under the cover of a huge, glassed in atrium that kept the rain off but we were not completely weatherproofed.
A lovely fountain was cursing up and down to music and was idyllic until a wind came up, forcing us to hide under the blankets provided by the restaurant. A waiter sprinted to the shutoff valve and all was good again.
I chose the Curry Wurst (Berliners love this) while Louise went with the Wienerschnitzel. Best of all, we were seated so closely together that you couldn’t help overhearing neighboring conversations and soon becoming a part of them. Over several evenings we met travelers from Oregon, Scotland, Australia, and believe it or not, Bavaria.
We returned to the room and settled in. Very nice and comfortable with all conveniences. Surprisingly, the hotel didn’t offer CNN, just like in Leipzig. Had to make do with France Channel 24 in English. Same news though.
Did want to mention, this is the first hotel that offered washcloths and bar soap in the bathroom. One of the advantages of staying with a name brand hotel.
Before retiring I made a call that would set us up for the next several days. Karin Berning, a German citizen, was once an audio technician for AFN Frankfurt and still stays in touch with the group via the AFN Chat Group. She moved to Berlin some 30 years ago and volunteered to show us about her adopted city including the former facilities of AFN Berlin…and offer we couldn’t pass up.
Please join us for ONCE AROUND BERLIN on the next Blog.
Louise and Ray wish you Gute Nacht from Berlin.