DAY 5 - DAY OF RELAXATION IN MARZAHN
Today was to be a day of relaxation with genealogy talk, viewing of photos and creation of the header for my blog. Breakfast was with Uschi and Gerhard and consisted of the traditional breakfast fare.
Uschi left for work and Gerhard and I went for a walk near the apartments where many stores and markets are. The intent was to get air mail postcard stamps, go to a bank so I could exchange some dollars for Euro and go to the cellular phone store. The point of that was that I had carried my Blackberry here, not to make calls back to the US (too costly), but because I have e-mail and Internet access on my Blackberry which would be at no cost with my Alltel plan. I had also brought my laptop but found that both Gerhard and Uschi have dial-up service that costs them a hefty fee when they use the Internet and I had hoped to connect in a wireless fashion somehow in the apartment. While there were many available wireless access networks here in this vicinity, all were password protected and Uschi and Gerhard had no idea who they belonged to. I thought I could solve the problem with the Blackberry for some basic e-mail back home but I had absolutely no connection on my phone. I had specifically asked my provider, Alltel, before my trip and was assured that there would be no problem having a connection in Berlin. That was incorrect.
First stop of the morning was at the Bank where we were informed that the small branches did not exchange dollars for Euro. We would have to head into Berlin proper to Alexanderplatz to a larger bank. Gerhard seemed to think that would be fine and we could see Alexanderplatz as well.
Off on the S-Bahn we went to Alexanderplatz which is a huge area in Berlin. We found a bank and I exchanged $200 for 130 Euro. Yep, our exchange rate is not very good. We took a walk around the Alex Mall, which is 3 levels, to see some of the shops and then Gerhard decided we would need to have "dinner". There was a huge food court on the 3rd floor where I had fish and chips. After this Gerhard thought we should walk to the huge television tower in Berlin where we could take an elevator to the top to view all of Berlin. However, after a lengthy walk to the area, we saw the line-up a block long and we were not inclined to wait. Back on the S-Bahn we went to the apartment in Marzahn.
Once back we stopped at the post office to get postcard stamps and then to the cellular store. Here they sold the exact model of my Blackberry and the associate was most helpful. He assured me that I should have no connection problems here in Berlin as many American tourists are in Berlin with American cell phones and Blackberry instruments. However, my particular instrument would not cooperate and this was just another instance in my long experience with Alltel.
We then headed back to our apartments and I took my laptop to Gerhard's where we proceeded to create a header for my blog. We took a break at 5 pm for coffee, tea and cake. Cakes are bought daily for the afternoon break as are the bread and broetchen.
Following this we watched more video and CD journals of Gerhard's various travels through Germany and Poland and then had supper with Uschi and Harald in their apartment which consisted of pumpkin soup, breads, cheeses, sausage and fruit custard.
After more visiting and viewing of photos of Uschi and Harald, it was back to my apartment for some reading and bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment