After a hotel breakfast, our guide (William) took us on a short walk through our neighborhood. Becoming street-smart in a strange place, understanding its nature, and how to read beyond its map, is much of what a guide brings to the travel experience. William's Berlin is based on watching it evolve from before the wall came down, through migration into the areas just outside of downtown, to the enormously dispersed expanse it has become.
Pat and I then went on a three-hour cruise on the Stree, a river/canal system which crosses downtown. Listening to a narration describing the origin of the buildings on either side of the boat, the changes to East and West Germany became clearer to us. There are conversions of older governmental architecture which previously housed soldiers, bureaucrats, and essential resources. Interspersed are artistic colonies which must have helped nurture the freedom which seized the days. Finally, modern skyscrapers cater to new visitors eager to claim the atmosphere.
Joining up with our group in the late afternoon, William led us into an area south east of downtown where an influx of what he described as the third largest Turkish population in the world settled once the wall came down. Kebabs appeared, and graffiti flourished, and the pace of life slowed. It became a bit easier to navigate those in bikes, consisting more of locals then tourist-rentals and food distributors.
Finding a restaurant/bar which was opening, and had enough outside seats to accommodate our group, we stopped for a spritzer and conversation. Sharing our backgrounds, and comparing our travel histories, is required to enrich our time together for the next three weeks. William will navigate our return by train to the hotel, and some will go out to dinner around 7pm. As for Pat and I, it's been an exhausting day after too little sleep last night. We'll return to the hotel to try to reclaim some quiet time, and to contemplate what our first day together has brought.
No comments:
Post a Comment