Thing one was a nasty sinus infection. I get them every now and then thanks to my horrible seasonal (four seasons) allergies. They get backed up, and I get all snotty and congested for ten days. This was no exception.

Thing two was having to herd cats (i.e., teenagers) around the city for three days. I’d pretty much gotten used to them by that point, but it was still a pain in the ass. Next time, I want to go back sans anyone under the age of 35.

That being said, I like Berlin. It’s a nice, clean, efficient big city. If I were going to live in a big city in Germany, Berlin is the one I’d choose out of the five-ish I visited.

We did touristy stuff (Reichstag, TV Tower, Museum Island, etc.) the first two days.

The two highlights of that sort of thing were the DDR Museum and the Stasi Museum. I’ve got a serious case of Cold War Nostalgitis, so these fed right into that.

The DDR Museum is a really cool, hands-on museum about life in the East, pre-wallfall. It’s a good place to spend a couple of hours. It’s right near Museum Island, and a good break from all that high-toned crap (Nefertiti? Feh. Give me a Trabbi any day).

The Stasi Museum was my most favoritest stop of the whole trip. It’s a museum dedicated to the East German secret Police, the Stasi, and is housed in their old headquarters. It’s full of exhibits on 80s spy gear (the east germans were pretty advanced), symbols of the love between the Stasi and the KGB (latch-hooked rug of the Kremlin, anyone?), and included a truck that was one of the Stasi’s snatch-n-grab wagons and an example of the sort of cell in which they kept political prisoners, which were, of course, the only kind housed in Stasi prisons. Our guide was a senior citizen who had lived through that era, and it was amazing to listen to her stories. Definitely a highlight.

More in the next post on trains, planes and hotels.

The Hotel Mercure was über-swanky. Upscale modern accomodations are always welcome. The teenagers were in awe. We were merely pleased.

Snow. Cold. Rain.

Bus tour of the city included a stop at the super cool Volkswagen facility where they put the glass on their high-dollar Phaeton sedan (which is no longer available in the US because no one here wanted to pay $70k for a VW, no matter how swank).

Also toured all the historical stuff. The Zwinger museum has a nice collection of arms and armor. Dresden’s old buildings are impressive, even the fake ones that aren’t really 500 years old (rather they are rebuilt versions that the Allies bombed the shit out of in WWII — sorry about that).

München Hauptbahnhof is BIG and cool. Excellent wurst and pommes. Lots of Germans wear the Jack Wolfskin products. Sorta like the German The North Face (in ubiquity). Lots of Germans passing through on their way south to the Alps to go skiing.

I like traveling by train. It’s convenient and a good way to see the countryside.

Went on a private bus ride through the countryside to Neuschwanstein, largest castle built by the Mad King Ludwig. Really steep-ass hike up to the castle, which is gorgeous… from the outside. Inside is a whizzingly-short and lame welfare Disney-esque tour. My advice: make the trip, but skip the tour. Just use you imagination about what it’s like inside. You’ll have better memories.

The orginal Hoffbraü House. Beer is good. Hotel Apollo is older, but nice. BIG rooms for a German hotel. Bathrooms still very small.

German breakfasts are good: hard rolls with salami and cheese, yogurt, coffee, apfelsaft, fruit. More on German food in a standalone post, I suspect.

Germans who drive do so in small, often diesel-powered cars. Lots of VW Golfs, quite a few Opels, a number of BMWs (including MINIs) and Mercedeses. I’m loving the Mercedes A-Class, which we don’t have in the U.S. More on cars in a standalone post.

Doesn’t yet feel very non-American yet (other than the speaking German all the time). I am haunted by American music of the 1980s.

1. wring neck,
2. assault with a broken beer bottle, or
3. throw in front of (ubiquitous) speeding U Bahn Train.

I did:

1. call one (or more) “asshole” (sometimes repeatedly and with feeling),
2. call one (or several) “dumbass” or “stupid-ass” (when dumbass started sound repetitive),
3. swear off of leading stupid-ass asshole teenagers through Europe.

The rest of them weren’t half bad, though.

More to follow as I sleep and become less jetlagged.

Great city. I could totally live there… from May to September. Not so sure about the other seven months (known colloquially in Mpls as “winter”).

Next week, I’ll be in Germany. The Wife and I are escorting a gaggle of high school students on a four-city tour of Deutschland. Should be fun. I’ve never been to Europe, so I’m looking forward to it.

Some Mpls pics are already in the Flickr queue up there at the top of the page. Photos from Germany will join it next week.

I’ll be incommunicado until the 24th. Those of you who need to be able to reach me already know how.

Yes, I’m preparing to leave the good ol’ U.S. of A. and go to Germany. I’ll be gone all next week. Here’s hoping my housesitter doesn’t wreck the joint.

No posts until I get back, and then maybe some photos and stories to tell.

I’m looking forward to getting into the new office and getting to work on Monday. It’s going to be a big challenge to get my part of the operation whipped into shape, but it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to getting back into the news bidness. I’ve missed it.

I’ve learned so much new stuff the last three days that I fear my noggin will esplode with it all.

Actually, I just have a backache from the too-soft mattress in my hotel room. Otherwise, I’m doing great. I’m going to miss all the great people I’ve met and worked with in the last few days when I return home to my full-time assignment.

Ate lunch at a great place called Pizza Lucé. If you go, get “The Bear.” It’s fearsome good.

After work, one of my new colleagues (dare I say “friend”? I think so) drove me all over Minneapolis. I saw the statue of Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat in the air. I saw First Avenue, where Prince got his start. I saw the wreckage of the I-35 bridge collapse. I saw all sorts of stuff.

I finally went to a Trader Joe’s. I went BACK to the Mall of America to pick up some Legos for The Boy at LegoWorld (or whatever it’s called). I went back to the Apple Store to get a World Traveler Adapter kit for charging my Apple goodies on my upcoming jaunt to Germany.

I am now relaxing at the hotel and getting my stuff ready for a half-day of work tomorrow and then seven hours of traveling to get home (a two-hour flight, a three-hour layover, and another two-hour flight). I will be sleeping most of Friday.

Probably no post tomorrow night, but I’ll catch up on Friday, since I’ll more or less have the day off.

Finally got to IKEA today. I love it nearly as much as I thought I would. I’ve never been to one. I hope to go to one again soon. I ate the swedish meatballs. Excellent. So was the macaroni and cheese.

Bought a few things, including a tinkertoy-like building set for The Boy’s birthday next week.

Finally got to the Mall of America, too. I needed to go by the Apple Store to have my iPhone checked out. It was showing some display flakiness. They replaced it quickly, and I’ve already restored all my info on it. LOVE the iPhone.

Also got to briefly fondle a MacBook Air. Astonishing construction. WAY more solid than my MacBook. Still underpowered and overpriced for my wants (needs?), though.

MOA also has a Legoland. They were near to closing, so I just got to browse. The Boy and I will be having SO much fun with Lego soon.

Looking forward to going to Germany. Just 15 days away!

Tired now. Must sleep before tomorrow, another full day of training and meeting people.