World Neighbor Does Deutschland

My friends and I hopped on the ferry from Denmark to Germany. We were going to stay for a few nights in East Berlin and we were excited about getting into town to down our first stein of beer. As soon as we got into the city we saw some police cars and a big crowd gathering. We ran into a big “techno-parade” with loud blaring techno and people dressed in lively costumes prancing about. We finally found our way around the spectacle and saw our first glimpse of the Berlin Wall along the river.

We made our way to our hostel in East Berlin in a seedier part of town. It was the right price and we heard that it was a diamond in the rough. When we arrived night was falling and we cautiously made our way inside what appeared to be an abandoned building. Once we got through the courtyard however, we were pleasantly surprised by the reception area. We was a number of backpackers hanging out playing cards, guitars and talking. We scored a room with a toilet and went to settle in. We hunkered down for the night to get ready for our next long day.

(Lovely view from our hotel room)

The next day we headed out to the Brandenburg gate and off to some shopping and eating. I ignorantly order a wiener schnitzel expecting a sausage and instead got a thin slice of veal. I laughed and ordered another weiss beer to wash it down. Just then my married friends decided to have a little lover’s quarrel. He went off to pout and she was just mad and wanted to keep touring. Being the third wheel at this point was not all that much fun. I played the “Three’s Company” routine on them and ran out after him to let him know that she wanted to make up. Once he came back in I put my arms around them, shoved a beer in their faces and shouted “Prost!”. Some other folks in the restaurant followed suit and my friends started to laugh…crisis averted! You have to love a country that serves beer at McDonalds!