The focus for the last two days has been following the volcano issue and trying to get us a flight home. Nerve racking.... The news reports yesterday were saying that they expected 50 to 60 percent of the flights to happen across Europe on Tuesday. According to our travel plans we were supposed to fly from Berlin to Frankfurt on Air Berlin on Tuesday and spend the night there at the Sheraton Center at the Frankfurt airport. Then in the morning of Wednesday 4/21 we were to take Delta flight 15 from Frankfurt to Atlanta. Well, they kept saying on the news that the flights in Germany were all going to be regional and no international flights were expected. So we were cautious about going to Frankfurt and getting stuck there. Sure enough, that is exactly what would have happened. The Air Berlin regional flight to Frankfurt went through, but Delta has now canceled tomorrow morning's flight into Atlanta. Had we gone into Frankfurt, we would now be stuck there with no apartment and no flight. We had spoken with Delta and they did not think the international flights were going to happen. So we decided to stay in Berlin and not get onto the Air Berlin flight.
That was Pat's call to stay in Berlin, and that was such a great decision!
Delta is making ticket changes with no fee due to the volcano issue, so we were able to change our Frankfurt to Atlanta ticket into a Berlin to Atlanta ticket. So we now have reservations for this Saturday, 4/24, from Berlin, through JFK, then to Atlanta. We would rather not be going through JFK, but that is the only choice when flying from Berlin. Delta does not fly Berlin to Atlanta non-stop. Hopefully by Saturday all flights will be caught up and back to normal.
In other news... Yesterday we did manage to get out of the apartment for a little while and we went back to the hub of Berlin. We strolled around the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag, the Jewish memorial, etc. All of theses sites are in the same area, and it is fascinating to just stroll around. We even sat on the steps of the Reichstag and rested and people watched.
Oh - Mark did a good deed yesterday. We had taken the new subway train from the Reichstag back to the Berlin Main Hauptbahnhof and we were making our way to the S Bahn trains. We walked by a couple about our age and Mark heard the man say "I don't know, I don't even know where the hell we are". We went back to them and offered to help them find their way. They were from Seattle, and he was using a 10 year old map from a library book. Well, the new HBF in Berlin was rebuilt and opened in 2006. So the map he was using did not even have the correct stations on it. It was no wonder he was confused. (We always make a point to go to a TI center and get updated maps anytime we go to a city.) We found out where they were going, and we were actually going in the same direction, but a little farther down the line. So we took them through the HBF (which is a very large, multi-floor facility) to the correct platform for the S Bahn train that we needed to catch. We got them off on the correct stop and wished them luck in finding their hotel. That made us feel pretty good to help them out like that. Perhaps we should give tours????
Today we pretty much did nothing but relax and try to get over the stress of the volcano situation. We did take a stroll to the laundromat and did some laundry. The owner of our apartment has offered to put us into an unbooked apartment for half price. That is such a fantastic offer that we took him up on it. So it looks like we will be changing apartments tomorrow, but we will be able to stay there until our flight on Saturday. Also, IF the person from Switzerland does not show up that is supposed to take the apartment we are currently in, then we can stay right where we are. That would be ideal.
It rained this evening here in Berlin for a short time, we hope that this is a good sign...something to clear away the ash. Conflicting reports of ash and dust clouds, so we wait to see what will happen. We miss our dogs terribly and can't wait to see them. Ric has been so good to them they are going to be spoiled when we get home. Next time they are going to have to come with us!
Jewish Memorial
Pat with the Brandenberg Tor and Reichstag behind her. The building on the right is the new US Embassy.
The brand new U55 subway that has 3 stops (Main Train Station or Hauptbahnoff, Reichstag, and Brandenburger Tor). This line was in construction when we were here two years ago. It really is handy and cuts down on walking)
The park next to our apartment.
View from our balcony at night. The picture does not really depict the beauty. It is such a beautiful view in person.
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