Traveling Germany: 5 cities in 10 Days

Captain’s Log Day 117:

I’m usually a bit hesitant and unsure when I start writing these life updates as to what exactly I’m going to say or whether people will find my recollection of my recent exploits entertaining, fun and a worthy read or more of a self-centered, arrogant, look-at-me type of self promotion.  I didn’t hesitate today.

On Tuesday, September 10th at 4:30 AM, I got up and headed to the train.  I took the train just 15 minutes up the road to Hochst where I met up with a fellow Grasshopper heading for Cologne.  I was a bit unsure how long my trip was going to last.  I knew I had a friend in Cologne to see and a Vassar baseball guy in Braunschweig that had invited me to stay at his place for a few days and a weekend in Berlin had been organized, but there was no return ticket and I had no responsibilities until the 21st.  What lied after Berlin was mostly contingent on my bank account.  I got back last night, the 19th after a 5 city tour of some of Germany’s bigger cities and a stop in Copenhagen.  And it was a great experience.

Cologne:

The guy I was meeting in Cologne was one that I had met just once or twice, but who was great fun and who gave me a nickname about 3 hours after meeting me.  You may or may not remember my first post where I recounted Wallet Story 2.0, but “Aaaarrrrrri” (as I saved his number in my phone) was one of the guys that I drank with all day and is by all accounts always a fun guy to be around.  He was in Cologne as well.  He graciously picked me up at 8 AM after staying up until 3 AM watching Rafael Nadal capture the US Open.

Cologne’s big attraction, other than the perfume 4711 which was founded in the city in something like the 18th century, is its cathedral.  The Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) was completed in 1880, after construction started in 1248.  According to Wikipedia, it was the tallest building in the world from 1880 to 1884 and is still the largest Gothic church in Germany and tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world.  And it’s enormously impressive. Again, according to Wikipedia, the Cathedral was bombed 14 times in WWII, but the structure never fell.  Additionally, some of the great stained glass windows were removed from the building and preserved.  Just outside of the church is the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge, which has to be the largest collection of love locks in the world.  A quick google search said there’s about 40,000 love locks on the bridge, but its still amazingly impressive to see.

Cologne is known for its Kolsch beer.  The beer is lighter in texture than most other German beers and more closely resembles American beers.  It’s really the only type of beer you can get in Cologne, but there are 51 breweries in the city.  My stay in Cologne was highlighted by a tour of the Cathedral and a cool evening of light drinking.  The bar we were in had an old, stripped out Volkswagen van (not unlike The Whip), which served as our private drinking space for much of the night.

I jotted down a small note on my iPhone about each city as I trained/bused to the next one.  Here’s what I had to say about Cologne: “Cologne was cool.  The city felt more like a city than what I really expected.  The subway system works and is extensive.  The feeling on the streets is of a city–cars coming and going, people avoiding eye contact.  But, I’ve got a feeling that the city really knows how to party.  The Cathedral is inspiring.  It’s an amazing display of generations worth of artistry and commitment.  Taking a picture from a pew on the inside is nice and shows some of the grandiose nature of the cathedral, but the experience and awe of standing there is impossible to capture.”

Braunschweig:

My next stop was in Braunschweig.  Adam Gallari, Vassar Baseball grad ’07, is coaching the team there in an attempt to return that baseball club to the Bundesliga (top league in Germany).  He’s formed an agreement to stay there through the winter pending Visa issues with Germany, but will definitely be back early next spring.  He reached out to me earlier in the summer and suggested I come up to visit the city.  My one memory of Adam before this trip was a night that he returned to Vassar my freshman year.  He had just gotten a job or something and spent quite a bit of money on a refrigerator full of alcohol.  So I trusted that my visit to the city would be fun.

It rained quite a bit our first day and my train didn’t get in until about 6 pm.  I got off the train and was greeted with a hug and a cold beer.  Those of us from the states find persistent pleasure in consuming a beer walking down the street.  America’s open container law takes away a great thing-drinking a beer while walking down the street.  We got back to his apartment and began instantly telling Jon Martin stories and trading various types of local alcohols from our regions.  The different regions of Germany all drink slightly different stuff and it all required a taste.  We headed to an Irish pub where Gallari finds part-time employment, but is one of the better Irish pubs around.  We enjoyed a few pints and a great basket of chips.

It was a Wednesday night, and the town was pretty quiet, but we left the Irish pub and went wondering the city–German friend in tow.  Unable to find a bar seemingly safe enough to take a leak in, Gallari demanded that Bambi (the German friend and baseball player) pee on the street claiming “This is Europe. The whole thing’s a toilet if you’re drunk.”  Apparently, in Braunswheig near the red light district on a Wednesday, you cannot just pee on the side of a building.  After the other two zipped up, we were approached by two large police officers asking for identification.  I didn’t have my Passport on me and handed over my US ID.  They really didn’t know what to do with it thankfully.  I’ve overstayed my 90 tourist days in the European Union and am subject to deportation at any time.  I thought this was my time.  After some words were exchanged in German via cell phone, my ID in hand, the officer came back and returned our ID’s, spoke in more German and we were free to go.  Apparently it’s a 100 euro fine to pee on a bush.  But, the officers were in a good mood and waived the fine and let the American kid go without any real trouble.  Still, that put a damper on the evening.  One highlight was Braunschweig’s red light district.  Totally insane for an American.  There are girls behind half-doors yelling for attention, begging you to come in, and offering their services for cheap.

The next day, we toured Braunschweig and took in the various architecture’s of the city.  It’s an interesting place as it was completely flattened in WWII and architects were unsure as to how to rebuild the place.  There’s new buildings like the old town hall that rebuilt with the same facade, but with all new interior (the old town hall looks the same on the outside, but is a shopping mall inside).  There’s 1950’s style architecture with loud colors inspired by the pop art of the time and there’s traditional German timber framed housing.  One of the more interesting places was a church that had one wall left standing and a new church built up around that existing wall.  That evening was finished at a place called Dean’s and with some late night food–always a plus.

My note about Braunschweig: “Braunswheig was a city that thought itself bigger than it was.  I mean that in the nicest way imaginable.  All the good qualities of a big city–trams, buses, busy sidewalks and squares with markets–are in Braunschweig, but it doesn’t quite pull of the big city arrogance.  A night out with someone who’s lived there for four months results in a bump into two people he knows.  I’d definitely visit again, but it’s not a destination city.  It’s certainly livable and enjoyable.”

Berlin:

Arriving in a city the size of Berlin without a clue what you’re doing there and without a tour guide gives you a good idea of the type of city that it is.  You get a natural feel of the city.  It just seems more organic to walk around and see random stuff.  I like to figure things out as I go, and Berlin allowed me to do that on Day 1.  I didn’t have a destination or something that I wanted to see when I was there, other than the Berlin Wall, which I presumed would be pretty easy to find.  I found Checkpoint Charlie, where allied forces and Eastern European forces were allowed to pass through the Cold War.  Now, it’s a tourist trap with two “American soldiers” positioned there who seemed fake and out of place.  Maybe their real, but their look was more jovial than I expected soldiers to be.  I visited Museum Island, but on the way was stopped by a new Bugatti in a window. The prospect of waking up in a new Bugatti in Berlin was tempting and I was excited by where the night might take me.

The night was less eventful than depicted in Ace Hood’s music video for the song referenced above.  But, I did get to taste Berliner Weisse, which is frequently flavored with syrup.  The syrup is like what you put into a Snow Cone and the combination is not great.  It tastes like the random shit that comes in a big bowl in college, but with less alcohol.  I stayed in a hostel that was converted from an old brewery and was voted Germany’s best hostel in 2011. Free wifi and breakfast for 19 euro is unbeatable.

The next day we (Bernd, Sean, and Grit) toured around Berlin in a whirlwind, seeing what’s left of the Berlin Wall, the German equivalent of the White House, the Congressional building, the Berliner Tor, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial), the Sony Center, a clock that told time with water (an incredible feat of engineering) after taking in the sites from atop in Germany’s tallest building.  The tallest building was nothing like what’s in New York and the sphere 200 meters up reminded me on Knoxville’s Sun Sphere.  I was 4,580 miles from Knoxville and this stupid shining sphere reminded me of home.  Exhausted from the day’s activity, I fell asleep before we went out and decided to call it a night.

My notes on Berlin: “Berlin’s attractions are its recent history.  I’ve seen the images of the berlin wall and the image of 1990 at the Berliner Tor were important things for me to see in person.  The city is busy–Germany’s largest– but remains clean.  It’s new and nice and more livable than New York feels at time.  It’s a German city so there’s always a quiet place to grab a beer with some friends and we found one near the Central Train station.  It’s a great place to visit and something Germany should be proud of now in the 21st century.”

Also of note: I saw the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby over the ledge.

Hamburg:

The city is renown throughout Germany for it’s party atmosphere and everything I heard suggested that I needed to experience what Hamburg was about.  It’s known as the port to the world, at least to the German’s and the city has that feel of a place that sailors enjoyed in years past.  Surprisingly, the city also has some beautiful views and attractions other than partying.

I arrived in Hamburg by train and set out on foot to discover the city.  I’d been told that it was a great city and that it would be a fun place, but my only two destinations were the Reeperbahn (for partying) and Miniature Wonderworld (home to the world’s longest model train).  Obviously, Miniature Wonderworld was the daytime stop after stumbling across another once-was-the-tallest-building-in-the-world.  The steeple of St. Nicholas was completed in 1874 and was the highest in the world.  After some WWII leveling, it was rebuilt and is still incredibly tall when compared with it’s girth at bottom.  The rest of the St. Nicholas facility doesn’t make much sense surrounding such a tall steeple as it’s entirely flat and is probably best served as a skate park.  All-in-all, Miniature Wonderland is a cool place and I spent a good 20 minutes admiring the faux airport completed in 2011, but it’s not the reason to go to Hamburg.

I stayed in a hostel just off the Reeperbahn for 11 euro a night.  For you unfamiliar with the exchange, that’s about $14.3.  I got what I paid for– a show.  The first night was largely uneventful other than the fact that the three guys sleeping in close proximity to each other spoke none of the same languages.  The second night was quite entertaining.  He who shall now be referred to as “Naked Man” arrived around 6 PM.  Naked Man was not naked upon arrival.  He took a shower and I never saw him with clothes on again.  After his shower, Naked Man strutted around the hostel room while I was reading a book and a Hungarian dude ate dinner.  The Hungarian dude was none too pleased, while I managed to not avert my eyes from the pages of my great John Grisham novel.

After the Naked Man’s first expose, I knew I needed to hit the Reeperbahn until late-ish and find avoid as much interaction with him as possible.  Luckily, a ran into an epic German traveler (Chris Namenach) and a late-20s New York girl transplanted in Berlin.  The three of us stayed out until 5 AM, when it was simply time for bed.  Rest assured, Hamburg was still partying.  On this Monday, we left a bar full of people at 5 AM.  Naked Man was still naked and Sean had to be up in an hour to catch a train to Copenhagen.

Copenhagen

I missed my train.  Waking up at 9, I scrambled to my feet, left a shirt hanging in the bathroom and headed toward the central main station ready to see what my options were.  I located the information center and the nice lady informed me that I had 1 minute to catch the next train to Copenhagen.  She didn’t say how long it would take or the transfers I’d need to do and I didn’t have time for questions.  I ran to the train and managed to figure out that I had to push the button to open the door before the train set off.  I had my original ticket on my cell phone, but was unsure if that ticket would transfer.  It didn’t.  And not because I missed my original train, but because I failed to get the international ticket onto paper.  Apparently it’s an international rule that you need a piece of paper to travel between countries, despite the fact that I’m free to travel within either country with a similar ticket on my cell phone.  And this is why the world sucks.  The outdated bull**** law cost me 90 euro, but I was en route to Copenhagen.

I got there around 3:30 without eating a bite all day.  Those of you who know me pretty well, know that I live by a fairly strict eating cycle.  This perceived skipping of lunch was not greeted kindly by my stomach.  I managed to survive long enough to get my hands on a Fransk hot dog.  The Fransk hot dog is similar to a German hot dog/ sausage except its bun is more of a sheath to house the sausage than a piece of bread slices open.  I met up with Leigh Anne Baldwin and we went for a stroll down the world’s longest outdoor shopping street.  I’m not sure this shopping street was “the world’s longest” but it did have some nice shops.  We enjoyed a lovely Mexican dinner as well.  I’ve been in Germany/Europe for 4 months now and Mexican food is what I miss most.  I’ve got to be honest; I didn’t expect to miss Mexican food.
That evening we enjoyed quite a few drinks at what felt like an American bar.  In fact, it was called LA Bar and most everyone was speaking English.  Even the Germans that I met in Denmark preferred that I speak English rather than stumble through my awful drunken Deutsch.

Copenhagen was a smaller city than I imagined given its famous name.  It’s in Denmark, which is surprisingly small and watery.  The cool thing about Copenhagen was the fact that many of them rode bicycles.  Calling it a bicycle army seems an injustice unless I compare that army to those of the prodigious Roman empires.  Simply: there were more bicycles than I ever thought would populate any city.  The high price of gas contributes to the need for bicycles as does the city’s metro station that is admittedly lacking (they’re working on adding at least one stop currently).  Another cool thing about Copenhagen is Christiania.  The area reminded me somewhat of The Wire’s free drug zone known as Hamsterdam.  The idea of semi-legalizing the drug trade to reduce violent crime rate creates an interesting always-looking-over-the-shoulder feel.  Christiania has been around since at least the beginning of the 1990’s, but recently there has been some police involvement in the drugged out area.

In talking with one of the many marijuana vendors in an area known as The Green Light District, he made sure I realized that what he was doing was still illegal even in Christiania and that sometimes the police come in and seize everything.  In that event, the Russian guy who was eating Asian food and selling marijuana, hash and all other sorts of marijuana paraphernalia explained that he pulls up the corners of his blanket and heads for Christiania’s exit.  It’s a cool place covered in graffiti and smelling distinctly of weed.  If I was reminded of Beerfest during Wiesenmarkt, I was reminded of the end of the movie when in Christiania.

Recap:

All in all it was an unbelievable trip.  I did some things that I had never done before and experienced the rest of Germany my way.  I’m not going to say it was a life changing event because frankly that feels too cliche, but it was a great thing to go do and I’m happy I was able to do have those stories. 5 cities over the course of 10 days doesn’t give you an inclusive look at each city, but I’m not sure that 5 cities in 100 days does either.  The thing about trips like this is that by walking the streets, you get a feel for the people, businesses and culture.

As for today, it’s the Grasshoppers funGame, an equivalent of an Alumni Game.  There should be a large group of Grasshoppers assembled in an event that molds into a party either shortly after first pitch or just before last pitch.

-Sean Morash

Stat of the Day: Max Scherzer now has 20 wins.  Thank God.