n. This was the start of my date with the German train system. My train, scheduled for 8:39, was cancelled. I was scheduled on a second train, taking the “Regional Express” (aka slow train) at 9:13 to Düsseldorf, and then the “ICE” or “InterCity Express” (fast train) from there to Berlin. Of course, this first train was the subject of car switching, and reconfiguration after reconfiguration, causing a 45 minute delay in our departure from Aachen. At this point, I knew that I likely would not make my next train on time, but I knew I would be closer to Berlin, so I went. We stopped 6 times on the tracks, and that did me in. I arrived 20 minutes after my train left for Berlin. After standing in a long lineup at customer service (the second of the day), I was put on a new train to Berlin, at 12:55. The ticket agent confirmed I'd be at a window seat with a table, (saloon style, I think, is the name) however, when the train arrived, my reservation wasn't at one of those seats. My reservation also was not noted on the seat like it should be, and someone was sitting there. Rather than complain, I found another free seat on the not-so-busy train. Happily in a seat, we departed for Berlin. This train ride was fast, and all was going well until some town in the middle of nowhere. We coupled with two other trains (making a MASSIVE train going to Berlin, at least a kilometre long) and then continued as if nothing happened. We made it one town further, and things just went from bad to worse (I would've had 1 hour in Berlin instead of 4) some crazy terrorists held up a Kindergarten (this is all derived from German, the English announcement said “a police investigation will be delaying the train”) and the Kindergarten was next to the track, so the police blocked the track, and we waited at a station. For an extra hour. Luckily, the bar was open for free drinks of anything alcohol free. I indulged without hesitation, considering the cost of my ticket! Finally, we were on our way, with no further delays.
The train is interesting, with a stop every ten or fifteen minutes in West Germany (I use the term for description, because the country is still very much in two distinct halves), but as soon as you reach Hannover, the driver floors it, and you do 250 kilometres per hour, non-stop to the Berlin-Spandau train station. There is literally nothing but forest and open land between the two. You just go. So I met Mariana in Berlin, where the train company handed out more drinks. She was excited to see me, as I was to see her, but we had to run to make the last train for the coast.
Once on the train, we had three hours to kill, so we had a great discussion, catching up, and speaking of art and music festivals to see in Germany. She knows ALL of them, of course. We also discussed many many things about Germany, as well as Canada. When we arrived in Usedom, her father, Hans, met us at the train station. It has also been five years since I've seen him. Her mother, Erika, had supper ready when we reached their house, and both Mariana and I were exploring the house when we arrived.
Mariana hadn't been home in about a year, and in that time, her parents had almost completely remodelled the house. New kitchen, new stairs, new furniture, new entertainment system, most of the house was new, so she was exploring/giving me a tour. She was proud to say that her family had finally evolved from modest East-German era furnishings to ultra-modern “American Standard” appliances and furnishings. I was quite impressed, as it looked like a brand-new house. We all stayed up quite late chatting that night.
Thursday morning, after a long sleep, Mariana and her mom left for the dentist's office, and her father took me to Peenemünde, the home of Rocketry. A short drive from their house in Zinnowitz, the remnants of this formerly vast military base was a great, and very informative museum. The area was a military base right up until 1996, at which point the unified German military closed it down. In its heyda
y, before the largest single-target bombing raid in British history, there were up to 15 000 engineers, scientists, and POWs building the first long range rockets, with the hope of striking London (which they did, with minimal accuracy). As I toured the vast museum, I learnt that this project is believed to be the only weapons project in history where more people died making it (estimated at 20-30 000) than were killed by it (very few). So, after a 3 hour tour, I came out much more informed about the German rocket program. Oh, and Werner von Braun, the guy who ran the American Rocket program (including Apollo) pretty much until his death in 1977, ran the show here during the war.
Afterwards, we went for dinner at a nice little restaurant somewhere on the Island. After this adventure, I returned to see Mariana and her mother again. We spoke for a while, and then Mariana suggested going for a walk to the beach, to see the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). It was quite windy (apparently an 8 or 9 on the Beaufort scale, a Hurricane is 12), and it became windier since that report, so probably 10. We watched massive wave action, and had sand blow in our faces, and then walked out onto the pier in the looming darkness, only to have a huge wave crash over it and soak us! Then we went for a tour of the city, and had supper at a local Pizzeria that Mariana missed dearly. We stayed for quite a while there, and then came home after 10 pm, and then spoke with her father about the German military. Every time I meet someone, the question I am asked is either “Have you completed your military service,” or “When you go back, how long must you serve in the military,” it usually takes a few attempts to get the message across that no, I do not have to be in the military if I don't want to. It's how things work in many countries now. I leave that part out, however.
On Friday, we had a very slow start, and around noon,
Mariana and I went on an exploration of the beach and town. We took pictures at the beach, and then went to look for souvenirs of Usedom. Afterwards, we returned to her house, where her mother had prepared a traditional German meal for special occasions. It was quite good, and I think I overate. Then, we went to a presentation about the town's plans to re-develop a Communist Era community centre (Hans is the Deputy Town Chair or something like that. Like a deputy mayor, but in a small town). There, I met a girl who went to India with Rotary last year, apparently the students there speak English. I would have expected Hindi. Hans was her outbound counselor, and referred her to Mariana for many questions, so they knew each other, and we all hung out for the evening. The girl wrote for the local paper, in a bi-weekly youth section, and asked Mariana and I some questions about our experience knowing each other for an article of hers.
Saturday morning, I went with Hans and Mariana to Poland. Part of Usedom is Polish, because for whatever reason, Stalin decided that the capital city of the island should become Polish, for economic reasons. The only connection to the rest of Poland from Usedom is by ferry, and it all seems quite silly. Regardless, things were quite cheap in Poland, but the quality was high, so I bought a couple Christmas presents for home (yes, I'm already thinking Christmas. I need to send the box home in a month and a half). I spent about 15 euros, and the quality of the products would have warranted a $50 price tag at the very least at home. After the trip to Poland, we returned to Zinnowitz and prepared for a night out. Mariana's friends from some high school group were having a reunion, and it was on the mainland, about a 15 minute drive from her house. We played games and chatted and ate food (this was a very eccentric bunch, by the way), and I learned that in the eastern part of Germany, having kids when you're young is common and socially acceptable, and that the institution of marriage is very different, they do nothing other than go down to the town hall with two friends and sign some paperwork. No celebration at all, and it makes for a completely different atmosphere. So, six years out of high school, a few of her friends were married, and several had children. At about 3 in the morning, I couldn't stay awake any longer, and went to sleep. I'm told the others were up until 7.
Sunday morning, we returned to Zinnowitz to say goodbye, and have one last meal. I boarded my train at 13:09, and off I went to Berlin. I arrived in Berlin at 4 o'clock, and my next train wasn't until 00:28, or 12:28 at night. So, I put my bags in a baggage storage place, and wandered around Berlin. I intended to go to Postdamer Platz, but I got a little lost. I looked at a map when I returned to Aachen, and it turns out I was a couple blocks south of my target. I had a nice supper, and saw some of the sights of Berlin (I was too cheap to go up the big tower), so I headed back towards the train station at around 8 pm.
On the way back, I found out that the Bundestag was open until 10 pm, even though it was Sunday, so I jumped at the op
portunity, and waited in line for half an hour before going up to the glass dome on top. I took a few pictures and read up on the history of the German Government since around 1890. Most of the period when Germany was split up was omitted, due to the fact that the Bundestag was not in use, except to host a few conferences. There was some law that said that no legislative powers could meet in Berlin or something like that, because of the fact that it was in the middle of East Germany. After 2 hours at the Bundestag (I figured Rotary will rush us through in the spring), I went to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) and sat on a bench and read magazines while waiting for my train. The trip back was uneventful, thankfully, and I arrived in Aachen safely, and slept for a while!
No comments:
Post a Comment