The Great European Vacation - Part 1

I returned from one of the best vacations of my life late last week. In taking it I had the chance to fulfill a dream of mine, to see Europe. Truth be told I have a little confession to make. When I found out that I would be serving in Romania not all of my thoughts were altruistic. I would be finally traveling to Europe, and I knew that sooner or later I would have the chance to see parts of this continent I had always dreamed of. From December 21^st to January 3^rd I got to do just that. My travel partner was Kate Neidhamer a friend from Peace Corps who has really become like a second little sister to me.

December 21^st (12:00 am)

Yep that is right, I was going to maximize this trip! I left Oradea on a Maxi-Taxi (think 15 passenger van) and with my friend Kate already on board we got ready for a short 5 hour drive to Budapest. 2 hours of which were spent at the boarder. Just a little travel tip for all you would be adventurers, maxi-taxi’s are not the most comfortable places to sleep. Try the marble floor at the airport, it is much better; I did. After a quick three hour nap upon arriving at the airport using my backpack as a pillow, I was ready for more travel.

We arrived in Berlin about 5pm that evening and after a searching for our hostel for about 20 minutes and walking past our street multiple times we finally dumped our stuff on the bunks and headed out to eat. Just blocks away was a little Chinese takeout, never mind that it was staffed by Turks, it was great food! One of things I miss most about the US is the abundance and ease of getting different types of food. The food in Romania is good, but it starts to taste the same after a while. Therefore I was determined to get a wide range of tastes this trip.

With the night still young we headed over to West Berlin to an area known as the Sony Center; a modern mix of glass and steel in what is a very old area of the city. I think they did a good job of blending the two contrasting styles, and the area was bustling with Christmas cheer and celebration. I also got to try a German holiday drink called gluvine (sp). Gluvine is hot mulled wine and tastes a little like cider with a sour aftertaste. I am willing to try anything once, and this was one drink that I only had one helping of. Kate also pointed out a line of brick that cut straight through the center where the tram line was. I found out that this represented the Berlin wall. As a moment to the past this line wanders through the city where ever the wall used to be. As a symbol to the present, it also disappears straight into new buildings in some places showing that the tragedies of the past can be built upon for a new future.

December 22^nd

After waking up and admitting to liking George Bush which got me into a lengthy political debate on the outcome of the 2000 Presidential election with my fellow conversationalist pointing out that “George Bush lost because Fox News apologized”. Needless to say it was an interesting start to the day.

With my debate for the day out of the way it was off to see the sites. While I had seen some of the sites the day before this was my first chance to get out and really see what Berlin had to offer. We started by making our way to Parliament building, an impressive reconstruction of a bombed out shell left over from World War II. During the reconstruction the workers wrapped the building so it could all be unveiled at once. From Reichstag it was on to the Brandenburg Gate and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Both were amazing to see. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe however was an interactive experience and one that hit home with me. As you stood at the edge of the memorial it looked as if all the blocks were about the same size, but when you walked into it you found that the blocks actually rose far above your head. The whole thing was set up to show that what started as a small thing, grew and grew until the issue seemed so overwhelming finding your way out of it seemed even harder. If you are ever in Berlin be sure to take the time to visit this work of interactive art.

After wondering around the city a little bit we stopped in a café / bar / sushi restaurant run by Russians. It was just the second day of the trip and already the multiculturalism was starting to hit me. When we were saying goodbye we found that the bartender also knew Romanian. This resulted in an interesting conversation in Romanian, English, Russian and German. Talk about making your brain swim!

From the café it was on to the longest standing section of the Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie. It was a little strange to see these once solemn, and dangerous symbols turned into tourist attractions complete with actors posing as US soldiers from the cold war era.

The night was capped off by visiting a couple bars near our hostel. From a bar with album covers posted on the wall with 90’s music videos playing and large jack & cokes to a hookah bar it was a fun evening that reminded me a lot of home.

To see pictures of Berlin click here.

December 23 ^rd – 26^th

We caught a train in the morning that took us to Zerbst and Kate’s host family in East Germany. I have never spent a Christmas away from home, and to be honest I was not sure what to expect or how I feel about not being with my family for what to me is a very meaningful holiday. Christmas is a time to be with the ones we love, remembering the blessings of the year, celebration and remembrance of the gift we all received so long ago. For me it is a time of laughter, and good food, conversation and being together. I am happy to say that my time with the Spuhn’s was wonderful. They very quickly became like family, with all the joking and laughter I am so used to. It was also the BEST food of the trip, or so I like to believe. My body chose this most inopportune time to fall sick. I was so stopped up in the nose that I could barely taste the food. For those of you in Romania reading this, put it this way I was unable to smell Palinka, even with the bottle right under my nose.

The only thing that was missing from this stay was a white Christmas. It is so warm there, unseasonably so that I am beginning to think there may be something to this global warming thing…. Christmas day we had a little celebration and gift exchange, lit the candles in the room and on the tree and had a wonderful dinner of goose. For the first time in my life I had a true Christmas goose, raised on their farm along with the pig we were eating all weekend long. Before I knew it though it was time to go, and Kate and I were on to the next part of our trip…PRAUGE!

Stay tuned for the second part of the trip (it is taking me longer to get everything together than I thought)

To see pictures from Zerbst click here.