Berlin

After arriving at my hotel, I showered and jumped on the Internet. Rapidly found Holger on #oe and we made plans to head to the train station to meet Koen. We arrived at the train station and found his express from the Netherlands was canceled. A phone call and we found he would not arrive for a few more hours. Then we called Graeme and Rodrigo to find they were on the way to the hotel from the airport and would meet us a Holger's office in a while.

Holger took me on a short tour of Berlin. The Central train station is brand new, built roughly where the former Berlin wall stood. We walked toward the Brandenburg Gate crossing the site of the Berlin Wall several times. There is a line in the roads marking the site of the wall in places. We passed the River Spree on the way to the Reichstag. Then on to the gate. As you can see, no more wall and the tourists


After this we walked back to the office, passing the American Embassy. Of course they blocked of the road in front of the embassy and had a fence with "No photgraphs" signs. I need to go back and take a picture, when I have my passport on me ... They also ask that you walk your bicycle past the embassy.

Walking their bicycles past the embassy must be really annoying to the locals. There are bicycles all over. Several times we have almost been hit by cyclists on the sidewalks. Generally, they announce they are coming in German. Since only Holger speaks German, the warnings are lost on the rest of us.

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant. Graeme and I could both understand the menu. By now, I was near collapse from lack of sleep and a couple of beers. Holger and Harald explained how to get back to the Hotel via subway and also commented the street cars would be better. But the subway was easier. After looking at the large map with streetcars in the subway, I exited the subway after a stop and rode the street car back the hotel.

This mornings German lesson: Balzac is German for Starbucks.

Now it is time to shower and head for OEDEM 2007.