Time to get back... what did we forget to share?
* During our third trek through Vienna, we went to Café Landtmann upon which my parents had stumbled during our joint first pass through the city. It was strange yet again to see how well Christine fits in with the European lifestyle (minus the smoking)... elegantly dressed, enjoying her coffee and some form of dessert (usually cake), and staring into the void content to just be. Funny how that classy lady ended up with a European who looks more like a trapped ape when in Europe than a local.
* Berlin weather was cold enough that my old age ailments started acting up again... some back ache or something, and the like. And, once again, Christine and I looked like Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall II... Nothing serious, of course, just enough to joke about as I'd let go a random moan whenever I pulled the wrong muscle.
* Talking about cold weather, a water pipe broke near Ushi's on the coldest day of the year... this meant no central heating for about 12 hours. Yipee!
* Enough whining. The weather was definitely bearable with the right preparation, and walking outside was most pleasant. Yesterday, we toured the Turkish part of town, and then moved onto some other about-to-bloom neighborhoods (where, of course, we stopped at yet another cafe... good thing Berlin stores welcome pets or Christine would have to leave me waiting outside). We finished with a quick detour to see the B-flat Jazz club, where Christine used to swing away six years ago... swing nights are over, as the whole neighborhoood is no longer a well-kept secret of the few young souls... suffice to say, there is a Starbucks there now.
And today, we started off with my young bride rubbing BenGay on me, and then we went to do some shopping for our family (yes, yes, ladies, we did buy lots of good chocolate). We got done early enough to spend some time at the Pergamon museum. What a place! Christine would rave about it, and even though I've seen enough museums in my life to be fairly jaded by the novelty of seeing old stuff, her positive attitude got me curious. It was indeed quite impressive. Unlike most museums, the Pergamon's collection is displayed in its reconstructed setting: huge halls where a Babylonian palace gate and road was reconstructed, along with half a Hellenistic temple. The only downsides of the presentation was the lack of clarity about what is original and what is not, and the relative lack of signs in any language other than German. That said, the audio guide was excellent, and the museum is under reconstruction which hopefully will address its shortcomings. Wonderful experience... good thing I listened to my wife.
And now I'd better go pack. And shave first so that the edgy immigration officials won't think of me as a terrorist given my birthplace (Lebanon). Nyah, that's easy to handle now that I have a green card; the more real concern is whether I'll be quarantined as an exotic animal. Better go pack some peanuts...
Posted by Toli at January 28, 2004 11:48 AM