Imanuel and Brenda's Travel Blog

After the previous day’s sightseeing marathon, we didn’t get out of bed until after 9:00 am. We had planned on driving towards the border between Germany and the Czech Republic later that day and then stopping at a rest stop for the night but first there were a few more sights we wanted to see in Berlin. Checkout at the campsite was at 11:00 am so we asked if we could park at a small parking lot next to the registration office while we were in the city. Once again, we boarded the X34 express bus and headed for the city. We wanted to see the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, which is famed worldwide for its collection of rare artifacts. I looked at the map that we had purchased from the tourist information desk and determined that the Egyptian collection was part of the Museum of Pre and Early History, which is located in Charlottenburg Palace.

From the main station we took bus number 145, which would take us to a part of town we hadn’t been in before. We stepped off the bus at the indicated stop and before us stood an enormous open yard backed by the palace with its ornate black and gold fence. We had no idea that the palace was so large or so beautiful. We strolled towards the west end of the palace, where the museum is located, and took in the site. The weather was gorgeous and it was a perfect day for a walk. When we finally arrived at the wing that housed the museum, we must have walked half a mile but it didn’t matter. We were too busy admiring the architecture and the grandeur of the place. We passed through the gate into another smaller courtyard with two grand statues and a small café near the entrance to the museum.

Inside the museum, we admired the intricacy of some pieces from an ancient civilization that flourished in the island of Cyprus and which predated the Romans. There were also other rooms with artifacts from the early Bronze Age up to the beginning of the middle ages. Everything was so well preserved that it was a wonder that it so incredibly old. In a room dedicated to the Stone Age, a nice lady showed us how an ancient loom was used to make weaves using hemp. We were so enthralled by all the other exhibits that we almost forgot about the Egyptian exhibit that we came to see. Realizing that time was running out, we asked about the Egyptian Museum and were told that it was closed for repairs. There was another Egyptian exhibit but it was all the way across town and we would not make it before closing. We were disappointed about missing the Egyptian exhibition but the objects in the other exhibitions somewhat made up for it. We were able to film and photograph many of the objects and learned a lot about the pre and early history of Europe as well as the development of Western civilization.






We are reading a book about the history of Europe; however, our progress has been slow since we are usually either too tired or preoccupied with shores around the camper or navigation and planning to do much reading. We haven’t even watched the movies that we brought with us for the most part. Any trip to Europe requires the traveler to be fit enough to walk quite a bit. The historical town centers are fairly concentrated; however, over here, unlike most places in America where one drives everywhere, 1 km is considered a fairly short walk. When one is taking public transportation into the city center from the outskirts instead of just being dropped off in the town center by a tour bus (as most tourist are), walks of 2 km or more may be needed to get where you are going. That’s probably why you hardly see any overweight people in European cities even though they are not obsessed with diets as we are. In fact, we have noticed that we have lost some weight over here even with the required pastry fix every afternoon and even sometimes having dessert at night. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade this mode of travel for anything. Even with the long walks and the getting lost this is a great way to see Europe. (God knows I can use the exercise.)

We ran next door to the palace and were told that we still had time to see one of the exhibitions before closing time and that we could peek at the garden from the windows in the second floor. (Sorry but no pictures were allowed inside the palace.) The variety of the artwork that once adorned the palace was incredible as well as the grand décor of the rooms. We were amazed at how elaborate the place settings at the table were and the great number of different china sets that the royal family once owned. The tableware and the art must have been meant to showcase how cultured and well traveled the owners were as they were adorned with motifs from around the world including Chinese, Japanese and Indian inspired decorations. It was a shame that most of the rooms were devoid of furniture and that the pieces (except for the banquet table setting) were not being showcased in the manner in which they would have been used in the nineteenth century; however, even the rooms by themselves were grand with their solid wood floors, candelabra and intricate crown moldings. One room in particular, overlooking the fabulous garden from a series of large windows arranged in a semicircle, reminded us of the ballroom from Disney’s “The Beauty and the Beast”.

Berlin was so exciting that we almost had a hard time leaving. We wanted to take advantage once more of the free Internet at the Sony Center, so we went back there before going to pick up the car. We were tired and hungry so we started looking around for a place to have dinner. There must have been half a dozen cafes around the fountain at the center but we looked around a bit anyway to try to find the best place. In the basement there were several shops and some small restaurants including a sushi place and Falafel stand. I wanted to try the Falafel since I had read that Berlin was a great place for it but, as happens with many cafes and sandwich shops in Europe, you had to eat standing up on a tall table. We were tired and wanted to sit down while we ate.

We should have eaten at the Falafel and sat down around the fountain while we surfed the web, but instead we sat at a restaurant by the fountain since the prices seemed reasonable. This would prove to be the only bad meal of the trip so far (and one of the priciest). The place was a theme restaurant such as those that are common in the US. This one pretended to be Australian like Outback Steakhouse and it’s menu featured dishes including Kangaroo steaks and burgers and some Pan Asian dishes. The only difference between this restaurant and those back home is that, in the ones back home, the food is at least edible. Not that those places are much better. I am still amazed how on Sundays every theme or family restaurant back home is packed. I don’t understand why people are willing to pay $10 or more per plate for mediocre mass-produced food. I would gladly trade in half those restaurants for a few sandwich shops that make things from scratch, standing room only or not.

By the time we were ready to head back, we had to hurry to catch the express bus. We were also concerned that they would close the gate at the campsite for the night and that we would be trapped there until the morning. Brenda really wanted to take a shower before leaving since we didn’t know if we would find a rest stop with clean showers that night. I didn’t know if they would let us use the facilities since we had already checked out. Anyway, I doubted we would make it back in time since we arrived at the station as one express bus was leaving and had to wait for the next one. As it turned out, there were no screw-ups this time. We made it back in time and we were even able to take a quick shower before leaving.

Our escape from Berlin was aided by the fact that Viki finally seemed to be working. Well, she was working somewhat. She would give directions as long as we stayed on the route that had been downloaded from the computer. If we deviated at all, she would freak out again and would not be able to give directions anymore. This is exactly what happened when we took a wrong turn and went off-course. Luckily, after a quick U-turn, we were back in route and I was able to reset the route and we had directions from Berlin right to our campsite in Prague on an island of the Vltava River. In good time too, since I don’t think I could have found the place by myself while at the same time fending off the crazy Czech traffic.