Berlin, Deutschland. Monday, 7th May 2018
The day appears to be clear, thank goodness! Getting ready to eat breakfast by 08:30, leave for an appointment by 09:00.
Left the hotel InterCity Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 09;20 and with directions from 'Information' at DB at the Hauptbahnhof, located the bus stop of M85, opposite the station. Travelled by a swanky, yellow coloured double-decker(nearly empty) through Potsdamer Platz and other chic areas, till Keiler Strasse. Found the Reichert Confisserie, the venue for the appointment. We were bang on time. A very pleasant interaction followed. Left the place at 10:45 and walked along the elegant Schlosstrasse. Entered a supermarket and purchased
Ritter Sport, Soup packets and soaps. Strolled farther down, enjoying this modern road with its houses and shops. Stopped for a while at Blume 20, a florist, where Urmila got herself photographed amidst flowers. Boarded M85 again and rode till Potsdamer Platz, this time on the upper deck. Alighted and started strolling in the direction of Reichstag(the German parliament building). Suddenly spotted the way to Fuhrerbunker (Hitler's bunker; a visit actually planned for tomorrow) and lost no time in paying a visit. It was a bit eerie, standing above the bunker, imagining the scene on 30th April, 73 years ago: the Russian army strengthening its stranglehold on the capital, closing in on Fuhrerbunker and the Nazi dictator committing suicide. Equally eerie was the visit to the memorial to the murdered
Jews of Europe, just 100 metres. away from the Fuhrerbunker. Halted for lunch (draught beer, chicken breast in mushroom sauce and ginger ale) at Bella Italiana Biergarten; and resumed the walk towards Reichstag. Passed the Brandenburger Tor which was swarming with tourists. The Reichstag is an impressive structure, as is its dome. Found out that one can visit the dome only by appointment; and spotting a long queue just to fix that appointment, abandoned the idea. It had become quite hot and we wanted to rest, so returned to Hotel InterCity by TXL bus, just as we had done the last evening. It was 14:45 when we entered our room. Rested.
Set off again at 18:45 for Kurfurstendam, supposedly the best shopping area of Berlin. Caught train no. S7 from the Hauptbahnhof to Charlottenburg, then walked along a broad,
clean road Lewisham Strasse; turned right onto Kurfurstendam. This road was quite broad with a tree-lined divider. The pavements on either side were broad too and at their edges, running along their lengths, stood the shops - all the well known brands were there. Many of the buildings had the typically European look to them and made for great viewing. Spotting a quiet area in a by-lane, we approached it and sat on one of the many benches, reviving memories of Prague and Bratislava. Then resumed the stroll in the opposite
direction (towards Zoological garden). Spotted an outlet of Subway on the opposite pavement; crossed the road and entered it. Just before that, I had spotted bus no. X10 bound for Zoological Garden. Immediately decided that this was a better way of returning to our hotel, rather than going back via Charlottenburg. At Subway we ordered Chicken Tarakiya roll; good! Exited, stood outside the joint and finished off the bottle of apple juice purchased at Spandau, yesterday. To dispose of the bottle, Urmila carried it into Subway and at the counter asked if she could throw it into their bin. The sales girl asked to see the bottle and pointing to a printed sign on it, explained that it was recyclable and the person returning it
would get Euro 0/25 as an incentive. Thus, not only did we dispose of the bottle responsibly but also were richer by 25 cents! This is an amazing system where the public is encouraged to recycle plastic. What was more amazing was the sales girl's honesty in informing Urmila that such a scheme was in operation. Just imagine a similar situation in India!
We duly caught an X10 and rode till Zoological garden. There we changed to rail and caught S7 back to the Hauptbahnhof. A plain clothes squad checked our tickets on the train, one of the rare occasions in Europe, when this happened. Walked back to the hotel and took the lift to the room. It was 21:00. "We got back at the right time," remarked Urmila.