H-60 Potsdam L H 65 L 55 H H 63 L 52 M H 66 L 52
L-52 C H 100 L 77
Bear update: The Bear says Pirates Are Hiding On Hell’s Island Party. TR says, “We will have to clear out the Island despite the Mary Bear.” Moose say, “They ought to clear you out, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Clean Up The Pirates Party. We will serve Pirate Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? No! It got cloudy and rained.
Tucson 90/75 T-STORMS
We woke up at who knows what hour. We woke up to shouting and cheering at the QM2 tied up to the Hamburg Cruise Terminal in the dark. Then came the wake up call at 5:30AM. We proceeded to early breakfast on deck 7 in the King’s Court. Then we returned to our cabin. But at about 6:45 AM came the call for early self-disembarkation. I waited on deck 3 while Gary and Kenny joined me on the elevator. The line snaked towards the exit. Then all we did was to walk down two consecutive ramps into a parking lot. We showed the customs officer our passports and we were in the Hafen City Terminal. We ended up in a cafe where there was a pit stop and a postcard stand. While Gary returned to the cabin in the ship to get Kenny’s camera I purchased postcards and stamps. After that we went outside to the taxi stand. We got hold of a van-like taxi with windows that you could open. He took us to the airport in about half an hour. Practically as soon as we left the cruise terminal I took a photo of the Der Spiegel Building. I bet it was Axel-Springer Platz 1! Kenny chatted to the cab driver. We paid 30 euros including a tip to be let off in front of terminal 2. Kenny and Gary went downstairs to the Hertz counter while I waited on the ground level with the luggage. They went to pick up the car while I continued to sit with the luggage by the window. They said they were upgraded. But I haven’t seen it yet. I keep on glancing out the window at the cars driving past wondering where they are. I wonder why they do’t have any common sense to leave me here like this.
Finally they showed up with the Ford Mondeo, a mid-size wagon with a hatchback. It was an upgrade. The Hertz counter put $200.00 on Kenny’s card. We loaded up the car and headed for the A-24. There are all sorts of pit stops. We had lunch at one of them with a restaurant. It was early, about 10:30AM, but we’d had breakfast at an ungodly hour this morning and were starved to death. Gary bought a map of Potsdam. We’re running into tour buses and some crowding. There was even a putz frau that Gary tipped at a rest area. We crossed the border into the former East Germany and into Brandenburg. We saw lots of windmills. There was even a solar field. We saw the turn off for the town of Putlitz. I took photos. We stopped at Prignitz West, a Serways pit stop. Gary and I had to pay 70 cents each to go through a turnstile to go to the bathroom. Gary makes sure he knows how to use the windshield wipers. It’s getting cloudier and darker. And by the time we’re 70 km from Potsdam he’s turning on the windshield wipers from time to time. We actually ran into a “stall”. We’re backed up bumper to bumper. We stopped at a McDonalds. Then we got off 24 and onto 10 to go to Potsdam. It’s called the Berliner ring road. We have 39 km to Potsdam. We’re looking for the Potsdam Nord exit. We finally get off the road and try to find the Best Western Park Hotel Potsdam. It takes forever. It’s not marked. We have to call for directions on our new European cell phone which we got for that purpose. We finally get there. There’s no place to park except in a fire lane. They have an underground garage. My husband refuses to go there. He says he’ll never get out again. We finally check into rooms 103 and 102. We go to dinner. First we take a walk out to the Cecilianhof. We eat dinner at the Gasthausbrauerei at the Mereri near the lake. It was like a beer garten. After dinner we went online. They have a wired connection.
We were worried about German customs, BUT . . . We worried what German customs was going to be like at the Haafen City Cruise Terminal in Hamburg after enduring New York idiots in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The workers in the Southampton Cruise Terminal on Friday were more polite than the ones in New York. But the German workers somehow addressed us by name and escorted us through. True, they had collected our passports ahead of time, but this was an unexpected relief! Even the disembarking set up was far superior to anything I’ve so far seen. There were no escalators or stairs, only two ramps. Then you were outside and down on the ground level walking towards a cafe and the cab stand.
At least we’re on land for now . . .
Have you ever heard of a McDonalds that served English tea in porcelain cups? Germnay’s the place! I can’t believe it! And to think I was looking for my favorite strawberry lemonade and my free internet service that was the hallmark of every single McDonalds in the States this summer on the way to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Here in Deutschland they have two counters: one for McCafe that sells fancy pastries and cakes along with even fancier coffees and teas and the regular counter that serves burgers which don’t seem to resemble their American cousins exactly either. And free internet service? Forget it along with something Americans take for granted — free restrooms. They want to charge for both.
How can I explain it? I can only theorize that in the US companies including McDonalds are more competitive and have to offer more freebies to attract customer. In continental Europe such a level of competitiveness might be frowned upon. My friend in Austria calls it “Anglo-American conditions”.
How can I explain the hot tea? It’s July and the temperatures outside are only in the low sixties! And cit’s about to rain.
Dog/Cat Report: This was the email we got from Christine:
Dear Linda and Gary, I hope you are recieving this and the other email I sent about the kids-please let me know if you are recieving them. Hopefully your trip is wonderful I got the post cards in the mail and read them to Sabaka & Pulitz. They are both doing well. Sabaka loves his toys an I look forward as much as Sabaka for the packages in the mail LOL!!! Sabaka has become very comfortable with his pen-even to the point where he barks and growls at people on the other side of the cage. His appetitie is veracious! He is eating like a King-he eats four meals a day and finishes each meal. I have taken 4lbs off him. Our Kennel vet came for the quartley visit and we spoke about Sabaka’s diet and exercise. The vet felt he was a little overweight and thouht 4 smaller meals a day would be good along with veggies and some fruit-we have increased our walks since we spoke last. Sabaka is able to walk about a mile each outing in the park. This is his favorite time!!!! He runds in circles and is so happy-Pulitz just watches him like he some crazy dog. Pulitz also loves the park. When i put Pulitz in the car he knows we are going to the park and sits straigh up in his stroller, he has the best time on our outings-people want to pet him but i dont take any chances and dont unzipper the stroller. Pulitz is eating well also. He is finishing 3 cans a day and normally a small amount of the 4th can. I leave the dry out for Pulitz at all times so he can eat it when he wants. He hisses at strangers and things he’s not sure off!! Pulitz really loves watching the birds and his bed is right by my sliding glass window so he can see all day and night. My daughter goes with us when we walk. I tried the gentle leader a couple times but that really doesn’t do a whole lot with Sabaka I would like to use a chain collar with your permission-if not i will continue to use the collar and harness.Well signing for now and will email you soon. Enjoy your trip and have fun
Christine A. lewis
Parkview Kennel
E-MAIL — chrisalewis@yahoo.com
(412)277-0215
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Monday, July 16, ’12
H- 66 Weimar RAIN L H 63 L 61 RAIN H H 65 L 56 T-STORMS M H 68 L 56 RAIN
L-55 C H 103 L 76
Bear update: The Bear says The Pirates Are Out On The Lake In Front Of The Cecilianhof Party. TR says, “I must shoot them.” Moose say, “They’ll shoot you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Shooting Party. We will serve Shooting Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? No! It got cloudy and rained a little. It seems to do that all the time.
Tucson 92/73
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast at the restaurant in the lobby. We checked out of rooms 102 and 103 at 10:48AM. We stopped at McDonalds before getting out of Potsdam to buy orange juice. Then we got on A10 towards Munchen-Frankfurt We stopped at Shell to get diesel for the first time on the trip and had to pay to go to the bathroom again. We got back on the autobahn and ran into a stall for no reason. We finally got to lunch way late at a rest area with a Burger King. But we didn’t get the benefit of the burgers. We ended up with spaghetti because the burger line was too long. It reminds me of the PA Turnpike only worse. There you had to get in line for Roy Rogers. Nathans hot dogs was the quickie lunch. It’s better to get off at interstate stops to eat. But you need to have billboards to let you know what’s coming up when. We made another pit stop shortly after lunch. Then we stopped for ice cream at the Autobahnraststatte Teufelstal Nord and bought more Evian water. We also had to pay 70 cents each to go to the bathroom. I don’t know what you’d do wihtout pocket change here. In America nobody wants it. They just want plastic. We got back on the road and went through the first tunnel since the PA Turnpike. 21 kilometers from Weimar we saw the Thuringian Forest. Kenny also pointed out Soviet-style buildings. A ways back as we entered Thuringia they had a Goethe/Schiller sign along the road. We finally got of the road at Tar Mar, which the Bear just renamed. We went to the Leonardo, and it was a disaster. We checked out the room — Soviet style indeed! We ate dinner at the Falkenburg, some sort of historic restaurant and went to the Dorint. We’ve got rooms on the second floor. But we checked in very late. We have to revamp the rest of our triptik. It takes 6 hours to go 150 miles. That’s way too slow.
Pay to go to the bathroom? Why do you have to pay to go to the bathroom in Germany? Where did such a strange custom get started? My father says the Germans will charge you for anything possible. But Germans are supposed to like efficiency. So why are they so attached to a system that slows things down and makes it more inefficient? I wonder if it isn’t a system just to ensure that the toilet attendant has a job. There used to be bathroom attendants in the United States, too. I think the attendants could be educated to do something else — ditto the men in the gas station who insist on filling up your tank.
It’s way too chilly for the middle of July. Doesn’t it ever get warm around here? Why do you always have to wear long slacks and jackets? It reminds me of winter time in Tucson.
Why are the autobahns in Germany so crowded? New Jersey is crowded, but at least the traffic moves. NYC is more crowded, but at least the traffic moves. This reminds me of I-95. But at least there are other roads so you can get off the highway and don’t have to use it. This is ridiculous. I’m wondering if the pace of our German triptik is going to work. It’s based on American interstate conditions.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Tuesday, July 17, ’12
H-60 Weimar RAIN L H 71 L 58 H H 66 L 55 M H 69 L 56
L-56 C H 100 L 78
Bear update: The Bear says Goethe Was A Pirate Party. TR says, “He’s in the garden.” Moose say, “That’s when he wasn’t in Hamburg, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Pirates In Weimar Party. We will serve Weimar Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last?
Tucson 94/73 Gila Bend 104/82
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast in the restaurant in the lobby. We ventured down the street to a town square. That’s where Goethe’s townhouse was located. We went on the tour. Kenny had an audio guide. We bought a Goethe puppet in the shop museum along with lots of postcards and booklets. We stopped in a second shop in the square and paid to to to the bathroom. We ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe. What did we eat? Salads, minestrone soup, and pizza! What else? Germany seems to have turned into Italy. All I find everywhere is Italian food — that and McDonalds and Burger King. Then we ventured into the city park all the way across the Ilm River to the Goethe Gardenhaus. We snapped a photo of Kenny beside the Pushkin Monument. The Gardenhaus wasn’t open, but we took photos outside then wended our way back to the Dorint Hotel. We surprised the maid making up our room, though we had already been gone for three hours. It was just after 1:00PM. We didn’t leave again until after 1:30PM to walk down to the Klassik Stiftung Library, otherwise known as the Anna Amalia Library. We bought three tickets and were ready to pick up the audio tour when they objected to Gary’s backpack and my purse. Kenny continued with the tour. Gary and I went to the gift shop, then left to go to the City Schloss Museum. We took photos in the courtyard. Inside we ran into the same nonsense about bags and purses. So we went to the gift shop, signed the register, and noticed that people were parking cars in the courtyard where carriages once drove up, and then strolled back to our hotel. It was all up hill. Too bad we didn’t know about the place in front of the museum to park your car. We changed back into short sleeves and spent the rest of the afternoon in our hotel room until Kenny came back and complained about the library tour. They made him wear special shoes! Then we all dispersed. Kenny went out to look for antiques. We went to see the Scihller/Goethe statue in front of the theater. We went to dinner at the hotel restaurant and had Thuringian specialties. The price was terrible — 120 euros. It took forever, too. Then we had to buy bottled water, pack, and plan for the triptik.
Profit is Mord? There was a sign in Weimar near the Goethe’s Garden Haus and Park: “Profit is mord” or death. This was in the former East Germany. The East Germans were the ideological center of the Soviet Union. They invented first socialism and then Communism. The Soviet Union couldn’t exist without them. Now the former West Germany has taken over. Some of the laggards miss what was before 1990. On the autobahns they commemorate the era with a marker.
You Can Park Your Car Where They Drove Carriages Of Yore 7/17/12 We were visiting the Schloss Museum in Weimar, Germany this afternoon. When we were leaving, we were startled to see tourists — mostly Germans — driving up in their cars and parking them practically at the door to the museum. But when I thought twice about it, it makes sense. Hundreds of years ago this is where the nobility used to park their carriages. They drove them right up to the main door of the palace!
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Wednesday, July 18, ’12
H-77 Nuremberg L H 66 L 58 RAIN
L-63 C H 101 L 70
Bear update: The Bear says We Have Wrestled The Goethe Pirate And The Merry Bear To The Ground Party. TR says, “Many happy returns.” Moose say, “They got the better of you, Bear!” Lou says we will have Another Fight Party. We will serve Fighting Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last?
Tucson
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. This time they had a selection of cheeses. Some lady came around checking the honor bar. We paid up including the 2nd night and the internet, got the suitcases into the car rescued from the underground parking garage and parked in front of the hotel, paid for the Coke from the honor bar, and left. It was raining. The visibility wasn’t that good. We stopped at a rest area with a McDonalds and had to pay to use the bathrooms. Then we stopped at a very basic rest area with bathrooms only and continued on to Suhl, going through tunnel after tunnel including one that was 4 miles long. At least there aren’t a lot of trucks today on this route. We stopped for lunch at a McDonalds just off the highway. We had trouble finding room to park. Everything’s so artificially crowded! Even the restrooms are crammed. When you sit on the toilet the waste paper box for you know what presses against you. We ordered 3 Big Macs and one American fries along with 3 medium Cokes. They offered a big Texas burger and a chicken salad crispy or grilled. But they didn’t have quarter pounders or double quarter pounders. But instead of ketchup they had packets of tomato sauce that didn’t taste the same. The fries didn’t look or taste the same either. Then we got back on the road and immediately went through two more tunnels. We finally left Thuringia and entered Bayern or Bavaria. We started off on 4. We switched to 71. We ended up on 73. Now we’re on 73 all the way to Nurnberg. We stopped at an autohof off the autobahn where they had a Burger King next to a gas station to buy water. We ordered three sundaes. I waved a receipt at the lady behind the counter. It was hard to make her understand that I wanted a receipt. I’m going to have to write Quittung down on a piece of paper and thrust it at them from now on. We get back on the road, and it is more crowded 60 kilometers from Nurnberg. 100 km/hr is the same as 60 mph. That’s what we’re trying to do. We run into our first stall 44 kilometers from Nurnberg. All the traffic is being forced into one lane. There’s even a closed rest area, Fordheim Nord. We’re looking for 4R, the ring road. We stopped at Burger King. Here they have ketchup! We got back on the road. We’re supposed to be on a ring road. But we went the wrong way. We had to turn around and use the car navigation system to find the way to B4R. We’re moving at a snail’s pace in traffic at 4:00PM. We were making good time. We’re not any longer. Suddenly we pass the Dokumentation Center on the R. It’s a monumental building with a small label. There was a bus pulled up out front. We’re very close to the hotel. We suddenly came upon the Dokumentation Center. Then we found the hotel. We pulled up at 4:20PM. We had a scare about the steps being locked. We ate dinner at the bar which was costly and checked into room 126.
Gertrude wrote an email and said she was making reservations for lunch on Saturday for 5. What else can I say?
We’re going to have a contest among Mooseavinci, Potasso, and Devilissimo — Devilissimo should take up the cause of the Amazon and talk about Helen. The Goethe Pirate should claim to really be Helen in disguise.
Can you imagine a McDonalds without ketchup? Today we had lunch at a McDonalds at Zella-Mehlis on the way from Weimar to Nurnberg. It was for three adults for 16.27 euros. We all ordered Big Macs and American fries. They workers behind the counter remembered at the last minute to give us what looked like ketchup but turned out to be labeled “tomato sauce”. It didn’t taste like much anything resembling real ketchup. When we asked for ketchup they looked at us as if they didn’t understand the word. How could McDonalds serve “American fries” without it?
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Lusitania Plot Corrections:
1)Dora should be collecting her nickels for the trolley rides
2)When they drive to BMC they should be driving the Lincoln Highway, not Route 30. They should see the Amish in buggies driving down the road. Incorporate rural scenes with red barns and signs that say, “Drink milk”. Describe the Allegheny Mountains as they climb over them with the terrorist tailing them.
3)Fog when Dora peers out porthole wondering if can contact parents. Warm air meeting cold North Atlantic seawater and can’t even make out the waves out her porthole. The terrorist has put a sign over most of her porthole so no one can see in and she can barely find a crack for peering out.
4)When Dora’s locked inside her cabin she feels that she’s going crazy being so alone and so thwarted. It’s emphasized and underlined by the whistling wind outside her cabin door.
She can’t get any sleep listening to the howling wind, tossing and turning, and thinking about the saboteur. It sounds like a nightmare.
5)At another point listens for anyone on the deck. Silent except for vibrations of ship.
6)When Edward first meets Dora she wraps comforter around herself, not sheet. Europeans don’t use top sheets. She also notices that double beds are like two singles pushed together.
7)Guests at the Verandah Cafe must make sure to wear shawls and outer wraps. And don’t wear hats! Make sure to leave those in the cabin because of the wind. Dora sees folks with blankets on their legs and wrapped around themselves enjoying hot tea, coffee, and steaming chocolate. Don’t make it look like a Southern California cruise! You’ve got to emphasize the fog, the rain, the winds, and the whitecaps out at sea. Only in the fair weather do guests sit out on the deck in deck chairs with blankets thrown over their legs.
8)no washcloths
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Captive At The Berghof corrections:
1)Change description of Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street
2)Might mention Admiralty officer invited to Carinhall on the occasion of the Naval Treaty. Or mention there were other meetings that had already occurred. Goering could be talking to the navy officer in the background. Better yet say it already occurred and Hitler is using the event as an excuse to draw Edward in.
3)Helga mentions a French bed, no washcloths
Sunday, July 15, ’12
1)Amazon.com: dog toy Fidelity Checking $7.97
2)Hafen City cafe postcards and stamps 13 euros
3)cab ride to Hamburg Airport including tip 30 euros
4)car rental 200 euros shadow not charge Kenny
5)SSP Germany lunch and Potsdam map 26.28 euros
6)SSP Germany ice cream and 3 bottles of water 14 euros and 25 cents
7)bathroom tip 20 cents
8)Prignitz West Serways bathroom fee 70 cents
70 cents
9)McDonalds: 3 hot teas and 3 pastries 10.14
10)bathrooms at McDonalds 2 euro 50 cents
11)bathroom 50 cents
12)Best Western Park Hotel Potsdam rooms 103 and 102 euros 167
14)Gasthausbrauerei dinner 60 euros including tip
parking 4 euros
15)postcards 3 euros
16)water from vending machine 2 euros 20 pennies
17)2 Cokes 4 pounds 80 pennies
______________________________________
TOT: $337.27 euros = $410.96
Amazon $7.97
__________________________________
TOT: $418.93
Monday, July 16, ’12
1)McDonalds 3 orange juices 6.57 euros
2)Shell diesel 31.34 euros
3)6 water bottles 12.24
4)bathroom 1.50 euros
5)Raststatte Kockern West lunch 29.10 euros
bathroom at lunch 70 cents
70 cents
7)Autobahnraststatte Teufelstal Nord ice cream 7.20 euros
3 Evian waters 7.32 euros
bathroom 2.10 euros
8)Restaurant Falkenburg dinner 35 euros incl tip
parking 2 euros
9)Dorint Hotel Goethepark Weimar 1 night rooms 216 and 215 253 euros
_______________________________________
TOT: 388.77 euros = $473.41 dollars
Tuesday, July 17, ’12 Weimar
1)postage for postcards 5.25 euros
2)Goethewohnhaus admission for 3 25.50 euros
3)Goethewohnhaus postcards, Goethe puppet 74.35 euros
4)Die Eule Bookshop calendars and postcards 29.30 euros
2 magnets 5.90 euros
bathroom in park 50 cents
5)Pizzeria La Perla Weimar lunch 40 euros incl tip
6)Quittung 3 tickets for 2:00PM 27 euros
7)Quittung giftshop postcards and magnet 27 euros
8)Klassik Stiftung postcards 11.90
9)Schloss Museum postcards 7.20
10)Dorint restaurant dinner 127.50 euros
11)water from room service 27 euros
_______________________________
TOT: 408.4 euros = $501.32
Klassik Stiftung postcards Kenny 9.10 euros
Non-Trip Expense:
UPS Store Tucson UPS ground package Fidelity Savings $15.32
Tucson Electric payment Kenny $305.39
Cox Kenny $55.00
Wednesday, July 18, ’12 To Nurnberg
1)Coke from honor bar 2.90 euros
2)Dorint Hotel Goethepark Weimar settle up incl parking and internet 310.65
3)bathroom at rest area 1.50 euros
4)McDonalds Zella-Mehlis lunch 16.27 euros
5)Burger King sundaes 2.97
6)OMF Autohof Gewerbepark water 7.32
8)Hilton Hotel dinner 88 euros
tip 1.3 euros
__________________________________
TOT: $430.91 euros = $528.36
Thursday, July 19, ’12
1)Hilton Hotel Nuremberg room 126 426 euros
2)postage for postcards 3.25 euros