Manners and Etiquette: Knigge Part 2

I promised in a post from last month that I would come back and write more about Knigge, focusing on travel. As it turns out, my flights to and from Newark, NJ (USA) to visit my kids in Pennsylvania weren't as bad as expected. However, looking through Silke Schneider-Flaig's book about German Knigge and reflecting on my own experiences did give me a few ideas.

So here we are for Part 2. Some of these are from the Knigge book, and some are my own pleas tips.

At the Check-In & Security

• Arrive early enough to cut down on your own stress. Know that at every major airport in the world, traffic to the terminals is thick and chaotic, so plan more time than you think you need.


• Do not blame other passengers or airline personnel for your misfortunes or bad planning. You will have much better luck getting assistance if you are calm and reasonable.


• Have your passport or i.d. at hand (take it out while you are waiting in line) rather than approaching the counter and then starting to dig for it.


• While waiting in line to approach the nudie scanners at security, remove everything you can (watch, belt, bracelets) and put it all in a jacket pocket or pocket of your carry-on. Have your tablet or laptop ready to be placed separately in a bin, as well as your "freedom bag" (the 1-quart Ziplock bag containing your dangerous liquids and gels).


• Watch the travelers in front of you. If they are required to remove their shoes and place them in a bin, be ready to remove yours.

At the Gate

• Before they call for boarding, put the items you will need during the flight (for me those are my noise-canceling headphones and MP3 player, a book, a notebook, a pen, reading glasses, hand lotion and lip balm because it's dry as buggers up there) into a smaller bag you have packed in your carry-on for this purpose.


• Everyone boarding the plane will be taking off together at the same time. So pushing, shoving, and trying to sneak in before your section is called is foolishness. 

In the Airplane

• Get to your seat, stow your carry-on in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you, and sit down. Get out of people's way and do not block the aisle.
  This is easy as pie if you have done what I mentioned in the section above, because you have the most important items in your little bag - which you will need to put under the seat in front of you for take-off! You can live without everything else until the plane reaches cruising altitude.


• Silke Schneider-Flaig recommends to help older folks and parents traveling alone, but I would change that to offer your help. Don't just step in and grab their stuff to toss in an overhead bin. ASK if they would like your help.


• Do not put your seat back unless you are actually trying to sleep. When you fail at sleeping, put your seat back upright again. Honestly, folks, that extra inch of recline will not help you and will be a torture to the person behind you.


• Put your seat back upright during meals! If the person in front of you doesn't do so, ask him or her politely rather than seething in silence.


• If you expect assistance and cooperation in the event of an emergency, pay attention to the safety video or flight attendants going through procedures, or at least shut up long enough for the rest of us to listen. It's a matter of respect in my view, and it doesn't matter that I've heard this spiel 86 times already.


• For the love of all that is  holy, wear socks! Do not display your bare feet to others, and do not rest your foot on the arm rest of the poor soul in front of you.


• Take cues from the person next to you as to whether s/he wants to chat or not. Just because you're excited to start your vacation doesn't mean the business traveler next to you wants to chit-chat.


• On most international flights these days the planes are equipped with touchscreen displays on the back of the seat in front of each traveler. Thanks, airplane designers; that was a great idea. They never work as well as our mobile phone and tablet touchscreens, and this leads to people banging their fingers on the displays. To see what this feels like, strap a book to your upper back or neck and have someone bang on it repeatedly with her finger.
  DO NOT BANG ON THE TOUCHSCREEN! It's a touchscreen, not a bangscreen.

Honestly, everything regarding Knigge for travelers boils down to keeping calm and not causing problems for those around you. For this you need a healthy dose of self-awareness as well as acknowledgement of people around you.

One final tidbit of advice: WASH YOUR HANDS whenever you have the chance. On my flight home last month I saw the 10-year-old kid across the aisle from me sneeze a goober into his hand, and since he was too proud to ask his mom for a tissue, he wiped in on his seatbelt that was dangling into the aisle. As fate would have it, his dad wanted to switch seats with him for landing. They did, and the goober ended up on Dad's hand. At least it stayed in the family. 

One of the many morals of that story is that you never know what filth has been on the things in the plane you have to touch. The cleaning crew does their best in a very short amount of time, but they cannot possibly disinfect everything you will have to touch. It really isn't that much of a mystery why people commonly get sick with a cold or the flu after flying...

What etiquette tips do you have for international flights??

A Question for US-Americans

I have a question connected to U.S. immigration, visas, etc. I’m asking this publicly because I’m really hoping for some answers. 

What is America so afraid of? 

I mean the government (and I don’t mean just the current administration) and many of the people (“I need a gun for protection” & “immigrants are going to steal our jobs”). Immigration officers are required to assume applicants are trying to sneak in and stay illegally to screw the U.S., and the legal immigration process can take years. Visitors to the US are treated as criminals at immigration, finger-printed, interrogated (even shouted at), and I can only imagine what it’s like for a person/family who isn’t white or wears a head scarf to go through that process.

Is it just the fear of terrorism, or is there something more? I was in WI on 9/11, and I was at the Shanksville Memorial a week ago. The horror of that day and the following weeks was hard to live through and it’s still hard to fathom now. 

Terrorism – foreign and domestic – happens all over the world, and it’s awful every time. But when I have flown as a foreigner to Scotland (Lockerbie), England (Westminster 2017), Germany (Berlin 2016), and Vienna (1985) I have not met with this suspicion and fear. There are armed military guards all around in all airports I’ve seen; they’re watching over us and we’re used to that. M and I had to go through a maze of regulations and piles of paperwork in order to get married in Scotland, having to prove that we would not stay and be a burden on their social system. But upon arrival we were welcomed, not greeted with paranoia, suspicion and fear.

Tower of Voices monument
Shanksville, PA USA

A friend of mine was recently denied a visa to spend 3 months on a study abroad program in the U.S. – because he is from Syria. Had he been from Saudi Arabia, like the 9/11 terrorist pilots, he might have been granted a visa for his study program. Saudi Arabia isn’t on the travel ban (EO 13769).

The sweet Schwiegertochter (daughter-in-law) of a friend of mine is facing trouble with immigration because of this general fear and suspicion. She just wants to stay, work, and live in the U.S., and contribute to her household, pay taxes, and be able to visit her family overseas. But she’s stuck in limbo while immigration officials try to figure out how evil she really is, what she’s lying about, and how she is trying to screw the U.S.. I know they can’t just look at a person and say, “Well, she looks nice & friendly, I’m sure this one is ok.” There is paperwork, there are interviews, there are documents to produce. Of course each country needs a vetting process.

I had to do all of that, too, when I immigrated to Germany. But not once was I met with a sense of suspicion or fear. I went to the necessary offices, found out what I needed to produce, brought in the mounds of paperwork, had my photo and fingerprints taken, and received my residency permit a few weeks later. Three years after that I went to the local foreigner’s office again, applied for and received my permanent residency permit. Again, no suspicion, no paranoia, no fear. Just a speck of time and some more paperwork.

Tourists entering Europe do not get finger-printed and photographed. When I enter the U.S., even I as a citizen get my mug shot taken in connection to my customs form, though I’m spared the finger-printing. When I entered the U.S. (as a U.S. citizen!!) two weeks ago, I was questioned about why I was gone ("I live in Germany"), why I live in Germany ("because I love it there"), how long I will be staying ("1 week"), where I will be staying ("Pennsylvania") and why I was visiting ("to see my kids"). When I return to Germany, they ask me nothing. When I was living in the U.S. and visiting Germany, they also rarely asked me any questions. 

America, I'm just not feelin' the love.

So that's my question: What is America so terribly afraid of, that visitors and immigrants are treated with such suspicion when they approach the U.S. whether for tourist travel, business trips, visiting family, or with the intent to immigrate, when other countries (though surely not all) manage to welcome people?


Gone are these days, I guess. (Shameless plug for a song and group I really like.)


P.S. Apparently Blogger often has issues with comments. Feel free to email me instead (click on the postcard image in the upper left on a laptop screen; don't know how it works if you're using a tablet or smartphone) and let me know whether I can publish your response!
amiimschwabenland@gmail.com 

Eagle Island - Mull

In the months leading up to our week on the Isle of Mull, we joined the Facebook group "Scotland from the Roadside." Members there post beautiful photos from all over Scotland - scenery, wildlife, crowded or early morning city streets, mountains, waterfalls, and birds of prey. The folks and their photos have been an inspiration to us, and we had visions of capturing wild birds with our DSLR cameras and fancy lenses.

posted with permission

Photos like the above are what I had in mind - a Seeadler (White-tailed eagle) having just caught his dinner! This is not one of our photos, however. Ryan Wemyss is a talented photographer who frequently posts photos of beautiful Rotmilane (Red kites) and Seeadler - the latter from Mull!

Or how about this one? Again a Seeadler soaring majestically in uncertain skies...

posted with permission

Here's my first attempt. It's not an eagle, but a Mäusebussard (common buzzard).

Nailed it!

Uhm, so...yeah. Not quite what I had in mind. Undeterred, we set out as often as we could, content with buzzards but hoping we'd see eagles. Mull is called "Eagle Island," after all!

To give you an idea of the wing span of these Greifvögel (birds of prey), we include this photo from inside Glengorm's Nature Center (next to the coffee shop). The Seeadler's wingspan is longer than mine and longer than M is tall! And when you compare the size of the Seeadler and the Mäusebussard, it's hard to imagine mixing up the two when you see them - but when they're soaring in the sky it's hard to judge how large they are.

I also picked up some new books and a laminated pamphlet in the bookshop in Tobermory to take on our walks to help us identify the birds we hoped to see.

We ventured out to Glengorm's nature hide on Loch Mingary, a sea loch in the north of Mull. Not long after we got settled, M noticed a large bird fly into the trees. I grabbed my binoculars and he set up the tripod. Sure enough, two white-tailed eagles were sitting together on the same branch! They were at such a distance that we weren't sure at first they were eagles, but when they flew off - about an hour later - it was clear.

I was rather pleased that we were able to see eagles on our own rather than on a tour with a local and/or wildlife expert pointing them out to us. We did book an outing with Mull Eagle Watch, which we enjoyed. We were actually further from the birds than on Loch Mingary, so I won't include the photos we have. We did learn quite a bit from the ranger, Meryl, and we were glad to have the opportunity to visit their hide as well. She had a good scope, so we were able to see the two eagles, Hope and Star, clearly.

But seriously, how do we get photos like Ryan's?? We could retire, move to the island, and spend every day on the coastline of Loch Na Keal, where some of the eagles hunt. Not realistic. We could buy wellies and wetsuits and try to get closer to the birds when we see them at Loch Mingary, but we do not want to disturb them! So also no. We could spend €13,000 on a more powerful lens, but I wouldn't be able to lift it, and if I fell with it into a bog I'd be lost forever.

I eventually found the answer. I contacted Ryan to ask what camera equipment he uses (and to get his permission to use a photo or two for this post). It's not all that different from ours. I also found out from the Facebook group that we can book a boat tour ("Oh no, not again") with Martin Keivers of Mull Charters. He knows where the eagles spend some of their time, and it is possible, if the tour is timed right, that we might see the eagles hunting for fish rather than just sitting in trees. Sounds good!

I really, really don't like boats. Next to airplanes, they're my least favorite method of transportation. I like my feet on firm and solid ground. Even a bog will do if it must, but water or air, no thank you! If you want to fully explore the beauty of the Scottish islands, however, you need to get your ass on a boat. I've been to Iona, Staffa, and Lunga on two different trips and survived. So, next year we'll do this. To see the eagles more closely and to get the photos that I have in my mind.

On our last day on the island we returned to the hide on Loch Mingary. Skipping to the third of our nearly three hours there (we are very patient when we know what we want), I spied a suspicious lump out near the coast. Here:

That is basically what I saw with my naked eye, but my binoculars helped. There was clearly a large bird, and as another flew in we were able to see that there were actually four there! I don't think adult eagles hang out together, so we guessed they were a family.

No kidding, one by one three of them flew from the coast, pretty much right over the hide. I was breathless. The first two were clearly - by now we're such experts... - juveniles. We'd learned from Meryl that juvenile white-tailed eagles don't have white tails (and juvenile golden eagles DO!).

juvenile White-tailed eagle

Then one of the adults flew overhead as well, and circled a few times. This is what I meant in an earlier post when I said that Scotland and its wildlife will reward those who are patient. You can't expect to spend 10 minutes in a hide and expect to see the beauty and wonder of this place.

adult White-tailed eagle

If he looks a bit shabby, it's most likely because he's in the Mauser
(molting)

I am so lucky that M has always been interested in photography and that his interest in Greifvögel has grown with mine. We have been to Mull six times including last year and have photographed many bits of the northern part, but we were never even slightly interested in birds of prey until this year. Yet he is willing to tromp through forests, bogs, and rivers carrying his fully-laden camera backpack and tripod just in case we'll see an eagle, a Turmfalke (kestrel), or even buzzards.

Our photos may not yet be at the quality of Ryan's, but we're not dissatisified with our efforts, especially since we saw them alone without help from a wildlife expert. And M is looking forward to a boat trip next year to get even closer to these beautiful birds. I know I'll enjoy it as well, once I get over the whole "being on a boat in the ocean" thing.

Random Thoughts about Scotland

We recently returned from our 6th trip together to Scotland, and I really wasn't sure where I wanted to start with blog posts. I've written quite a lot about our travels to Scotland and the Isle of Mull, after all, and some of what we do and experience there is not new. Then I came across this post from fellow expat travel blogger, Camila, who lives in Scotland but traveled recently to Germany! She collected her random observations about her time in Germany, and I thought that would be a good way to start about our trip. Thanks for the idea, Camila!

Standing Stones at Glengorm, Isle of Mull

So here we go with my random observations, thoughts, and lessons learned from our most recent trip to Scotland!

• Scotland is beautiful, scenic, majestic and mysterious, regardless of the weather.


• The Scots - at least the ones we encountered - are friendly, helpful, sincere, warm, and hardy.


• The Scots are also well aware of how special their land is.


• During two weeks in west Scotland, one learns to appreciate patches of blue sky.


• Snickers make for great hiking snacks. Carrot sticks do not. On Monday I ate a Snickers mid-walk and felt a burst of energy. On Tuesday during a longer walk I'd brought carrot sticks, thinking that was a healthier option. I ate those mid-walk and just felt sad.


• One can never be fully confident that the toilet one has just used will flush effectively. In one particular incident in a pub in Tobermory, I exited the stall having tried three times and said to the woman waiting, "I'm sorry, it doesn't seem to be flushing." She said - in what sounded to me like a local accent - "Oh, don't worry about it, Luv." I guess one gets used to this?


• The wildlife on Mull is fabulous and - occasionally - cooperative. We finally saw our first wild otters! They were just swimming and diving, so our photos aren't impressive, but we saw them! Then there were sea eagles, buzzards, Kestrels, and a seal. No haggis, though...


• I wanted some nice photos of us and of me, but I have two looks or styles in Scotland: Windswept & Red-faced and Drowned Rat. So we returned with no nice photos of us or me.


• Scotland will reward you - if you are patient. We often set out in sketchy weather or walked into a downpour, but it seemed when we showed Mother Nature we were undaunted, she begrudgingly showed her best side.

• Tea is just not as satisfying to me, especially in the morning, as a good cup of coffee.


• I am very glad M is willing to do all the driving in Scotland!


• Single-track roads are somehow better than two-lane roads when we're driving on the "wrong" side.


• My Meindl hiking boots are the hammer! (When something is really, really great, in German one says it is "der Hammer".) I walked across boggy fields, up hills, along muddy paths, and even through a small river, and my feet stayed dry the entire time! The river was deeper than the top of my boots, and still only my ankle got a little wet. They are also very comfortable and feel great on long hikes.


• There is more to Scotland than Outlander! Apparently tour groups are bussed around the country stopping at filming locations like this one in East Linton, which is 5 foot-minutes from our relatives' home:

Preston Mill, East Linton

• The ideal photographs I had pictured in my mind's eye before our trip did not include solid gray clouds, which is what we had much of the time we were out hiking.

Kilchurn Castle

• Highland coos can be assholes. Near the end of one of our walks we were ambling down a road dodging poo pies. Then we came to the pooing coos. They were just standing there eating as usual, but they had a calf with them. He was standing closest to the road, and his mum and aunties with their big horns faced and watched us. We paused, they stared. We took a few steps back, they stopped chewing and kept staring. One moved slightly so she was clearly facing us head-on. We fled from the road up the hill and through the soggy bracken, giving wide berth to the stupid toddler. We've heard they are docile, except when they feel their offspring is threatened - understandably. And since we were planning to turn one of their former relatives into Gulasch that very evening, we decided to take the high road and let them have their space.

These are actually not the beasts we encountered on the walk.
I took this from the safety of our car.

• Pub meals are delicious! We had steak pie, wild game pie, various burgers, tomato soup, neeps and tatties! We didn't try haggis this time, but I'm determined to order it on our next trip.


• Not sure which would be more complicated to travel with - small children, or dogs. We are glad we have neither. (Sorry if that makes us sound like jerks.) None of the children being carried around in Kraxen looked or sounded happy to be there. In one pub there were two Springers at a table near us, which the servers had to keep stepping over and around. Before we left one of the servers crouched down to pet them, which was really sweet...except for the "scratch-and-sniff" effect. Good my lord, they were ripe...


• The Scots have a clever sense of humor.

Outside a pub in Linlithgow.
Can you read the fine print?

• One week on the Isle of Mull isn't really enough. We're already talking about returning next year for two weeks. Update: We've booked two weeks on Mull for 2019.

Tobermory in the evening

Admittedly we do like to travel to familiar places, which is why we keep returning to Mull and Glengorm. We have enjoyed other areas of Scotland - parts of the highlands, Glencoe, Edinburgh, the Trossachs, Loch Ness, the Jacobite steam train to Mallaig - but somehow we always end up saying to each other, "Well, it wasn't Mull, but it was very nice." So I think we'll keep returning until we have seen all we want to see and walked all the walks we can on the island. So far we've got the north fairly well covered, and after a few more walks there we'll explore central Mull a bit more.

Is there a place you keep returning to for holidays, or do you prefer to seek out new and unfamiliar places?

Any random thoughts on Scotland?

Packing for Scotland

I've been absent for a while for (once again) no good reason, though I have been substitute teaching an Integrationskurs for the last week. It's actually an Alphabetisierungskurs, which means the students started the course not being able to read or write, at least not with our alphabet. This class has advanced to the A1 niveau, and they are a fun and interesting group!

Next week we'll be leaving on another trip to Scotland - our sixth together in 12 years. We'll be staying on the Isle of Mull for a week at Glengorm Castle in one of their self-catering flats, followed by three days at a B&B near Tyndrum where we stayed last year with the kids, and finally a few days near Edinburgh. This time M and I are going alone, and we're hoping to avoid the rental car problems we had last year - which I never ended up writing about. Hm.

Since the plan for this weekend is packing for Scotland, I thought I'd write a quick blog post about that! I know people who prefer to vacation at beaches and hotels with big pools where it is warm and sunny, but  - especially after a hot and dry summer like we've just had - we bundle up and head for cooler, wetter climes.

We each have our own packing list, and I'm mainly going to cover mine. M takes care of all the technical and electronic stuff, charging cords, batteries, etc., though I am in charge of my own camera batteries and memory cards.

So then, what do I pack for a trip to wet and windy Scotland? This is a start:

Most important for us are the hiking gear and photography equipment. We are by no means serious hikers, in part because we lack the fitness for it, but we love to go for long walks looking for pretty views and interesting wildlife. The wildlife on Mull has been doing its honest best to elude us, though this year we're hoping to be able to at least observe, if not photograph, some of the island's birds of prey.

Hiking Gear

I pack my hiking boots, a backpack designed for hiking, and a rain jacket that folds up and stuffs into its own pocket, making for easy storage. That's what the lobster is sitting on - more on him later. Shown in the photo are two of my four pairs of hiking pants. I have one for when it might be wet, one for when it's fairly wet, and one for when it's really, really wet. The Wisconsin shirt is one of only two t-shirts I'll bring; I rarely need short-sleeves and pack mainly long-sleeve or 3/4-length sleeve shirts. I bought the green Craghopper fleece last year, and it's super cuddly! Of course I am packing my Poldi the Steinkauz (owl) shirt.

We also have the all-important OS (Ordinance Survey) maps and a compass, though I should admit that we usually rely on M's GPS thingy to guide us during the actual hikes. It handles the rain better.

The Olympus binoculars are important for spotting wildlife as it runs, slithers, or swims to places we are not, and for identifying large birds. We'll be bringing two flashlights because we're planning to do the Whisky Cave walk, which unsurprisingly involves a cave.

We don't go anywhere without Avon's Skin-so-Soft® to fend off the midges (affectionately referred to by locals as "those fecking demons" and other colorful pet names), and this year we're also bringing Smidge® at the advice of the good people in the Scotland from the Roadside Facebook group. There's also a mosquito face net, though I've never needed it before.

We'll each have a Swiss Army knife, because who would go hiking without one? Same with the Snickers! 

Last but certainly not least: our mini-pharmacy: Band-aids, blister pads, adhesive tape, gauze, Fenistil for bug bites, Bepanthen for cuts and scratches, and Ibuprofen, Imodium, and cold medicine - not all of which is pictured.

Photography Equipment

I'm bringing my new camera, which is M's "old" Canon EOS 70D. We decided he should probably have a new camera to better capture the birds of prey in flight (we have high hopes), and the 70D can do things my 40D cannot. I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with it.

My lens of choice is the EF-S 18-135mm, not that I know what any of that means.

I'll have the monopod, while M will haul a tripod on his backpack. 

We'll have extra batteries and memory cards, and M will have several different lenses so that he can be in the middle of switching them when the Steinadler (golden eagle) flies overhead.

Self-Catering Needs

Center front you see the all-important knife sharpener. We cannot stand dull knives, but we seem to be alone in this. We bring a knife sharpener everywhere we travel - I even bring one when I travel to my parents' house. This little one isn't M's favorite, but it works in a pinch, and his whetstones would be too cumbersome to pack.

We also bring one good kitchen knife - again, I never travel without it when I know I will be doing some cooking. M made a sheath for it before my last trip to Wisconsin, with a warning mainly to protect the airport security guys rummaging through my suitcase.

We pack our vegetable peeler because I don't like using anything else, and mini packets of spices for the recipes we're bringing - lamb stew and Gulasch. We buy the lamb and beef from Glengorm and the vegetables from their gardens - it doesn't get more local than that!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I always pack a kitchen cloth as well, because usually it's a washcloth that is provided for doing dishes and wiping the counters, and I prefer the ones we use at home. I probably sound a little looney.

Miscellaneous

I bring two or three books and buy more while traveling. For Scotland I always bring a book about Scottish history, and for Mull I bring the little book about walks to take on the island, which I picked up a few years ago. 

I like to keep a journal to record the fun, funny, and frustrating moments and basically what we did each day.

There are other things on our packing list, but what I've pictured and mentioned above are the most important. Ha! I just realized I didn't think to put my tablet, keyboard, or smart phone in the picture. I will surely bring the tablet for checking emails occasionally and the mobile phone for summoning island rescue if one of us runs into very bad luck, but M will have his laptop, and if there's any posting of pictures being done, I'll use that. 

What do I buy??

What kinds of things do I buy when we go to Mull and other parts of Scotland? I'm not much for shopping, really, but I love the little shops in Tobermory. This is what I bought last year (two of the books were gifts from the kids):

The Craghopper fleece, Jacobs Cream Crackers (we both go mad for these!), books, books, and more books, a Mull calendar to hold us through the next year, something showing Mull - last year two slate coasters - a Mull heather scented candle, a bar of Mull soap, and a mini bottle of Tobermory whisky. Island Wife was written by a woman who lived and ran a B&B on Mull with her husband for a number of years, and the History of Glengorm was published last year and written by the mother of Tom Nelson, who has owned and run the Glengorm estate since he took over from his parents.

Why the lobster?

The lobster has become somewhat of a mascot for us, due to a book we're both reading which was written by a clinical psychologist from Canada who has been making quite some waves during the last year or so. Funnily enough, I bought this little finger puppet on our trip to New Hampshire & Maine as a souvenir quite a few years ago. He's been living in my "teaching props" bag since then, but lately he hangs out in our living room.

Scotland, here we come!

North Mull, view from Glengorm Castle

a burn on Mull

Loch Na Keal, Isle of Mull

Four Days in Berlin

Once a year I take the exchange students from my hometown, who are spending 5 1/2 months in Esslingen, to Berlin for four days. When I did the exchange back in 1986, the dear lady who is now my Schwiegermutter was the chaperone - and she chaperoned the trip for something like 30 years! She has happily passed the responsibility to me, and as a result I keep becoming more familiar with the nation's capital. And it's growing on me! This year my co-chaperone was Sophie, who lived with my kids and me in Wisconsin for eight weeks in 2008.

We have a full plan and start each day at 9:00, after coffee and breakfast at the hotel. I build in some free time for the kids during the day and/or evening, partly because I need some as well, and we do a lot of walking. But let me start from the beginning.

Day 1

We fly into Tegel, and near Gate 1 I find the BerlinWelcomeCard booth and buy a 72-hour ticket for each of us. This covers all transportation for exactly 72 hours from the time you punch the card at your first use. Quite a few museums and activities provide discounts when you show them your card, and it pays for itself rather quickly.

The 72-hour ticket for zones A&B costs €28,90 (2018). A Tagesticket for zones A&B costs €7,00, and we would have had to buy four of them per person for Monday through Thursday - so €28,00 per person. With the BerlinWelcomeCard we got discounts usually around 25% for things like our bike tour, several museums, the Berliner Dom, and the Berlin Underworld tour. For us, the WelcomeCard is the better deal, not only because we didn't have the hassle each morning of having to buy 5 Tagestickets.

From Tegel we get Bus 109 - which departs every ten minutes - into the city. Our hotel is on Bleibtreustraße, which is conveniently one of the stops for Bus 109. This works well for arrival and departure - as long as we get on the right bus. More on that later.

We've stayed for three years in a row at Kurfürst Hotel Pension and I have been happy there every time. It's modest and there is no air conditioning, but it is a great location - just off the Ku'Damm and not far from the Uhlandstraße Endstation of the U1 line.

After checking in we go together to the next street where there are two Supermärkte, and we buy snacks for when we're in our rooms and drinks for the road.

This year we then went straight to the U-Bahn and navigated our way to the Brandenburger Tor, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Reichstag, and in search of ice cream.

The memorial to the Sinti and Roma murdered during the Holocaust is also near the Reichstag.

After sight-seeing we walked toward Friedrichstraße where there are plenty of places to eat as well as Dussmann, which is a bookstore galore open until 23:00.

My challenge - given to me by my daughter after the year I ate at Italian restaurants nearly every dinner - is to never eat the same cuisine twice while in Berlin. Sophie and I started at a Persian restaurant called Shan's Bistro across the street from the Gendarmenmarkt. Our meals were delicious!

(This is the part where I don't tell you the kids ate at McDonald's their first night in Berlin.)

We were tired and sweaty enough to return to the hotel by 10:00 for refreshing showers and sleep.

Day 2

On Tuesday we headed toward the Nikolaiviertel to see what I call "the pretty part of Berlin" and wait for our bike tour to start at 10:24. This is the second year I've done this with kids, and it was a highlight! You can see so much more on a bike than on foot, and with a guide who is either a native of Berlin or a Berlin enthusiast, you can learn a whole lot you wouldn't otherwise know. There are dozens of bike tour companies, and I randomly selected this one last year. I have no reason to try anyone else because the students and I have liked the tours and the guides. It's a 3-hour tour and costs €16 for adults and €13 for students with the BerlinWelcomeCard.

After the bike tour I took them to Alexanderplatz and gave them free time for lunch. Sophie, one of the students, and I ate at Vapiano, an Italian restaurant where they cook your meal while you watch. These restaurants get mixed reviews, but I like them. I don't know how many are in Berlin, but I've eaten at three different Vapianos!

We didn't go up the Fernsehturm this year or last because it's quite expensive, and I have found an alternative for a "view from above" that is much more reasonable. The students this year found an even better one, which somehow I've been missing - climbing up the dome of the Berliner Dom! We go into this cathedral every year, and once the entrance fee is paid, you already have access to the cupola. The students said it was worth the climb, and it became even more so when I discovered the Französischer Dom on the Gendarmenmarkt was closed for renovations.

From there we walked toward the Humboldt Universität and found the book burning memorial on Bebelsplatz.

We then walked to Gendarmenmarkt and found the fancy chocolate shop, Fassbender & Rausch. Don't miss this stop, if only to see the chocolate sculptures of Berlin's Sehenswürdigkeiten.

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
made of chocolate and cookies

The one problem I have in Berlin is coming up with things to keep the students occupied in the evenings. Attractions and many stores tend to close by 18:00 (6:00 p.m.), and the crazies start coming out by 21:30. Sophie had the idea to go to Potsdamerplatz and set them loose in the Berlin Mall, which is open until 21:00. That allowed them time to get something to eat and do a little shopping, while Sophie and I explored and then had ice cream for dinner.

Day 3

This day started with a dash to the Gesundbrunnen U-/S-Bahn station, where we located Berliner Unterwelten and bought tickets for the first English tour of a WWII bunker at 11:00. You can't book these tours online or by phone; on the day you want the tour you have to show up and stand in line. Get there around 10:00 and you'll have your pick of the tours. During the 45-minute wait for the start, we went to the nearby Kaufland for a snack and drinks. 

TIP: It's always better to buy water at a Supermarkt rather than at tourist stores and stands - a small one costs €0,89 rather than €2,50. If you only see packages of 6 bottles, know that in Germany you may unwrap the package and take one bottle instead of all six. An even better idea is to buy one bottle on your first day and fill it up in your hotel sink each morning. The tap water in Germany is fine to drink and you use less plastic!

The tour ("Dunkle Welten") was very interesting and I took lots of notes, but we were not allowed to take pictures. They rotate their tours each day, so look ahead for the day you plan to go in order to see what they'll have available. I suspect they are all interesting!

After the 90-minute tour we walked to Bernauerstraße to stroll along a stretch where the Berliner Mauer was, and to stop in the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, which is a small museum. This museum does not charge admission, and there is a platform one can climb up to look over a replica of the wall, death strip, and guard tower. Visitors can also see videos of eye witnesses talking about when the wall was first built as well as explanations of escape attempts.

The stone slabs show where tunnels had been dug
for people trying to escape from East to West.
(This view is looking from the point of the wall into the former East.)

We then took the S-Bahn to Hackischer Markt, where I treated them to lunch at Barcomi's Deli. Which cuisine is this? American! But good American, not fast food. Here they could order things they haven't seen in their 4+ months in Germany: Reuben sandwich, egg/tuna/chicken salad, grilled cheese, bagels & cream cheese, apple pie, pecan pie, devil's food cake, brownies, muffins, cheesecake... I have made it a tradition to eat here each time I come to Berlin.

German teachers love this kind of street art.
It's a list of adjective opposites - a great vocabulary exercise
in the first Hinterhof on the way to Barcomi's.

Cynthia Barcomi's baked treats

They had more free time to explore the Hackische Höfe - exclusive and quaint boutiques and shops in a maze of Hinterhöfe or courtyards - and the Hackischer Markt. Apparently the most interesting thing the boys saw was a man walking casually toward where they were sitting and peeing on a grassy spot. One boy's shock and awe as he told me the story revealed his small-midwestern-town sensitivities. Life in the big city, lads... ;-)

We made the obligatory stop at Checkpoint Charlie and I took the kids' photo with the "soldiers" standing there holding the American flag. (Our bike tour guide last year told us they are strippers by night, and the way one of them was behaving, I can believe it.) I don't want to be sassy, though, because they gave us a student discount on the photos (€1 each instead of €3).

From there we went to one of the top highlights of the trip - an escape room! This is a fun activity to add into a trip that is mostly about learning. I'd signed us up weeks in advance for the latest time slot of the Illuminati room. The group got locked into a room arranged like a chapel, and we had 60 minutes to search for clues that would finally solve the mystery and unlock the door. Amazingly we succeeded - with 30 seconds to spare! We worked well as a team and had a great time. Obviously we couldn't take photos, nor will I reveal any of the secrets. But if I get everyone's permission, I'll post our "We did it!" photo.

Permission granted! Escape Room WIN!!

Day 4

On our last morning we usually go The Story of Berlin museum and cold war bunker, which is very close to our hotel. This year I gave the students the choice between that and the Topography of Terror, which is an open-air museum at the former site of the Gestapo headquarters, and they chose the latter. This museum is free of charge, and although they said it was interesting and worth a visit, they didn't need more than an hour. It's very heavy - descriptions of arrests, interrogations, torture, beatings... But inside there is also a section about resistance against the regime, mentioning groups such as die Weiße Rose (the White Rose).

We took the S-Bahn back to the Ku'Damm and got out at Wittenbergplatz. I pointed them toward the KaDeWe (largest department store in mainland Europe) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche, the bombed-out church left after WWII as a reminder of the devastation of war. They had time to explore at will until our meeting time back at the hotel, and Sophie and I went in search of the memorial at Breitscheidplatz where a terrorist drove a semi into the Christmas market in 2016, killing 12 people.

The symbolism of the golden crack or tear in the pavement is worth a read. (See here for an article in German.)

Although we had checked out in the morning, the receptionist allowed us to store our suitcases behind the desk until we needed to catch our bus. We collected our bags and walked the short distance to our bus stop. When the bus arrived we hopped on, but after about 4 stops I realized I didn't recognize anything we were passing. WRONG BUS! (Many buses stop at Bleibtreustraße, and I didn't bother to double-check the number. Oops!) A woman sitting next to Sophie told her where we could get off and then get a connection to the right bus, and when we got off and were a little discombobulated despite her help, another woman rescued us and showed us where to go. There really are friendly and helpful people all over - even in the big city.

We made it back to Tegel in plenty of time because I always plan in extra time for mistakes and detours. Why we landed in Zürich and took a bus to Stuttgart in the middle of the night rather than landing in Stuttgart at 19:25 as was our travel plan is fodder for another blog post.

Thus endeth this year's Berlinreise!

P.S. A tip for teachers: I have a box of 100 question cards for the U.S. Citizenship test, which my daughter gave me for Christmas this year. I brought those along and always had a handful in my backpack. During waiting times and on the S-Bahn or U-Bahn, I took the cards out and quizzed the kids to pass the time. They enjoyed the challenge! Once on the U-Bahn I noticed a couple leaning over to have a look at each question, so I made a point of turning it so they could see clearly, too. They were from Portugal and also enjoyed the activity! They even knew an answer or two that stumped the students.

What's in Your Carry-on?

I would rather not have my last blog post before flying to the States be a downer, so as I was throwing stuff in a pile to pack in my carry-on, I thought I'd write a quick one about packing.

When traveling to the U.S. I am a sloppy packer. I pack lightly and throw in the clothes I think I can't do without. Everything is so cheap in the U.S. (at least it is where I shop) that it's a good chance to stock up on the basics - jeans, t-shirts, tank tops, even socks, knickers, and BHs. Therefore I don't worry about clothes.

The carry-on items are more important because what's in there might keep me sane during the flight. Here's what I'm packin', in order of importance to me.

Passport & Passport Holder

The passport is the most important item in all of a travler's luggage, because without it, you go nowhere. I've been using the same ADAC passport holder for more than a decade - it has lots of pockets, slots, and zippered compartments, and I can usually find things quickly.

Noise-cancelling Headphones

...and an extra battery. The passport is technically most important, but these have preserved my sanity on more than one flight, and I would never fly more than 2 hours without them. They are my best friends in flight.

MP3 Player

Yeah, I still use one of those. I think everyone else uses their Smartphone, but why load music onto my phone when I have a tiny little device already loaded with everything I might want to listen to which doesn't suck the battery of my smartphone?

Two Books

Normally I have one in English and one in German, wait to determine which language my seatmate speaks, and pull out the one in the other language. This time I'm throwing caution to the wind and taking two mini books in German - perfect travel size! They are Der Junge im gestreiften Pyjama and Der Vorleser.

Reading Glasses

These are critical by now if I want to read, write, or even watch a movie. The screen is too close to my face for me to be able to watch anything in focus without them.

Smartphone

In case I get stranded in Zürich or need to look up a word while reading. In Wisconsin I'll also use it to check my step count on the FitBit app.

Tablet & Keyboard

I'll check my emails and Facebook on that while I'm stateside, and since I cannot type emails with my thumbs, I'll have the small travel keyboard for keeping contact with M and his mum back home.

Small Camera

I feel more talented with my bigger camera, but this one is better for traveling. I don't take photos with my Smartphone. We purposely chose a Smartphone with a less-than-great camera because I never planned on taking pictures with it.

Chargers

For the various devices I have packed.

a Change of Clothes

In case my suitcase gets waylayed, lost, or re-routed to Madagascar. Or in case my seat neighbor spills coffee or beer on me.

Euros & Dollars

For obvious reasons. A credit card too, of course.

Calendar

Just as I use a real camera instead of my Smartphone, I also use an old-school calendar instead of an electronic one. My mom started me on these Social Capers calendars during my college years, and although she has since converted enthusiastically to a Google calendar, I can't give up my Social Capers. Go ahead and call me daft, I don't care. In one glance I can see my whole week. I don't see the words "+2 more" on a day because the box is too small for all my plans. I see everything. Every day.

Chocolate

In this case leftover Lindt Osterhasis for my kids.

Wisconsin Driver's License

It actually doesn't matter if I have this because I can use my German Führerschein, but it's just easier for cashiers who have to check my age when I buy wine.

My Tax Return

Why mail it from Germany for €0,90 when I can mail it from Wisconsin for whatever a U.S. stamp costs these days? Expats get an automatic 2-month extension on the April 15th date (but I must include a letter explaining that). The U.S. is one of two countries in the world - Eritrea being the other one - that make their citizens file/pay taxes on their income regardless of whether they live in the country or not.

Other Accessories

Kleenex

2 granola bars

Band-aids

Hairbrush

That's about it. Packing for Scotland is much more complicated because we bring all-weather hiking gear, stay in a self-catering cottage or flat where we do most of our own cooking, and spend most of our time on an island where shopping is...limited.

What do you pack in your carry-on

for a trip back to the homeland?