Tuesday morning

Up early and out in the cold, crisp autumn day to explore.  I was delighted to see the sun hitting the tops of the high buildings, with a promise of a little warmth, or at least no water dripping on my head.  It was surprising how much more I saw of my neighborhood this morning as compared to last night in the rain.  Part of my plan for the day was influenced by my brother Clay, who served in the Army and was stationed in Berlin,  In addition to his Army gig, he also drove tour buses to the East side of Berlin on weekends.  A lot has changed in the years since the Wall came down, and I wanted to see if I could get any sense of what Clay saw, and where possible, follow his steps.

I started at Alexanderplatz, partly because it is a few blocks from my hostel. Clay said that he used to drive the tour bus there. I didn't see any sign of the old hotel he used to get struedel and ice cream at, but I bet it has changed a lot since then.  Everywhere I turned, there was something new to stare at and I was constantly changing directions as I saw an interesting street, or building, or any other thing.  It was too early for anything but coffee shops to be open.  I did not realize until talking with Clay that I was staying in an area that used to be behind the Wall. 

As I wrote this, I was sipping coffee in a café in the sunshine, watching Berliners commute to work, lots of them on their bicycles.  The bicycle lanes are lovely, and they even have their own traffic signals. I tried to order my coffee and pastry in German, but of course the counter person answered in English.

I've heard it said that Berlin has been the world's largest construction zone for years, and I believe it.  Lots of it everywhere.  But it is all very orderly, and everyone seems to proceed in a measured and orderly manner. The metro and bus systems are quite slick, and with bicycles, who needs a car?  S Bahn are sort of express metro/subway lines, and U Bahn are more local- they stop more frequently.  But they are all tied in together, so even I can get around with ease on my first day here and without signs in English,  All I need is a metro map, and then I know the end station of the line, so I  get on the train going the right way.

Back to my room for a bit, and then off to run a couple of errands.