A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to see Berlin and then travel down the Elbe River to Prague. We spent 4 days in Berlin and 4 days in Prague with a leisurely riverboat cruise that stopped at Wittenberg (Martin Luther’s home), Dresden (completely destroyed at the end of WWII) and several other lesser-known cities. Living in a post-communism country and with the uproar in the States about immigration, we viewed this trip differently than our Italy trip. Instead of just going to see sights, we had time and interest to actually try to understand the changes that had occurred in these post-communism countries as they moved to capitalism and democracy.

Arriving in Berlin a couple of days before we were to meet Carol’s mother, we had planned on exploring the city on our terms that is without a schedule. Well, it is a good thing we did not schedule anything. Arriving at 4pm at the airport, it took us 2 ½ hours to find our hotel. The directions from the bus stop or train stop were less than informative and so we just started asking people until we got directions we could follow. Packing light is key to traveling stupidly.

We had been unable to book a room at the hotel where the tour originated, as there was no availability. So our first free day was dedicated to finding the hotel where the tour was to start so our move would be less confusing. Being lost without luggage is preferable to being lost with luggage. Actually, we had expected to only spend an hour or so finding the hotel, but as we were looking at the confirmations we had brought, Carol asked, “Where is the tour hotel confirmation and directions?” “I thought you had that information” Criss replied. After frantic checking of all of the travel information we brought, we realized we did not have the hotel name. But, we had an idea of the name and equipped with incomplete and inaccurate information we headed down stairs to the concierge to search the web for hotels that sounded like Berlin-something or something-Berlin.

We collected our list of hotels and traveled around town in search of a hotel that responded positively when we asked about the Elbe River Cruise. “Adults should not travel un-chaperoned” said the eyes of one confused counter attendant. Four hours later and with good knowledge of how the public transportation system worked, we still had no idea where we were to meet Carol’s mother. But the time difference between here and the US was on our side and we still had about 6 hours before we had to call Carol’s dad to ask where we were supposed to be. We really did not want to face the embarrassment of that phone call.

After exhausting our list of possible hotels, we stopped in an internet café and got the phone number of the river cruise line in Germany. A stroke of genius! Armed with the number, we found we could not figure out if the number was local or long-distance, so back to our hotel to ask for more help. After a long phone call, the concierge handed us a piece of paper with the name Melia on it and said it was about 6 blocks away. Feeling much better, we had our late lunch and easily strolled down to the hotel without a problem. Having located the hotel, Criss was ready to head off to do other things, but Carol insisted on going in and checking out the place. Being greeted inside, we explained we would be checking in tomorrow with the tour and the counter staff got a solemn look and informed us our tour group was not at this hotel.

Criss checked his calendar, do we have the dates right? Are we going to have to call Albuquerque? What about calling Carol’s sisters? No that would be worse. Ok, back to the counter and explain that the tour group office said this was the hotel, could they check it again. No, this is not the correct hotel; the group had been moved due to an overbooking problem. After a few more questions, we were given the name of the new hotel and directions for getting there. Never forget, in post-communism countries, your questions will only be answered literally. Related information is not provided without prompting.

The new hotel was about 2 blocks from our current hotel and we confirmed with it before deciding we had found our next hotel. Yes, a 5 star Raddison, upgraded by the travel company for the inconvenience, but we must confess a bit over-rated or under-utilized by Peace Corp Volunteers.

We had seen a lot of Berlin and we had mastered the public transportation system and we were ready to explore something of Berlin besides hotels, but our feet were too sore. As for post-communism observations and comparisons. That will have to wait for the next entry.