Continued from Part 1.
Berlin - Construction seems to be everywhere. I clearly do think some of it is still repairing WWII damage. Some of it is just the industrious Germans making infrastructure improvements. Beautiful Dresden was obliterated toward the end of WWII. Tons of construction in Dresden as well.
Dresden - I spend two nights in Dresden, and I easily could have spent three or four nights there. When I arrived by train in Dresden, it was my plan to buy a Dresden Welcome Card which would include transportation and I was planning to take a taxi to my hotel. The woman at the Tourist Office indicated my hotel was a short walk. This probably was true if you knew where exactly you were walking to. My walk was a very long and tiring walk after a two-hour train delay, circling around so many plazas and squares until I found the building and entrance of my hotel.
I probably would agree that once I was at my hotel in Old Town that I did not need a transportation. I could walk to everything. I did buy a two-day Dresden Museum Card which costs 22 Euros. This does not cover the Historic Green Vault, but it was helpful and convenient. Also, I splurged at my hotel...I was offered a timed ticket for the Historic Green Vault (HGV) and I decided to just go ahead and buy it. I think it cost 17 Euros, and I did not want to chance that I would not be able to get into the HGV.
- German Bathrooms. I am so impressed with how clean and sanitary German public restrooms are. Sometimes they cost a Euro, such as at train stations; sometimes they cost 50 cents; and sometimes their expense is included with the cost of admission to a museum or gallery. Either way, I gladly will pay a nominal amount for clean facilities. I wish they would bring pay-toilets back in the USA; we could learn something from the Germans.
As a side and humorous note, I did read before I left for Germany that every bathroom would have a toilet brush. It is there, not for the janitor or custodian, but for you, the user, to use if necessary. In other words, leave the stall very clean for the next person. How polite!
- Photographing in Museums -- Some museums in Berlin charge 3 euros for a photography pass. I highly recommend that you pay it. It is for non-commercial photography; i.e., your smartphone camera. For me, it is so well worth it. It is a way for me to recreate my vacation many times over after I leave the country. At each museum, I would suggest asking whether photography is permitted. In most instances, it is permitted without flash and it is free. Just ask. As I recall, it is not permitted in the Historic Green Vault in Dresden; I need to check my camera to refresh my memory.
Photography is permitted at the German History Museum, but it is currently not permitted at their Special Exhibit on "Saving as a German Virtue." Photography is permitted on the Reichstag Tour, but videotaping is not.
SIM Card for My iPhone -- it was very easy to get a SIM card for my iPhone. Make sure you have your passport and driver's license. The cost for data only was very reasonable; i.e., 9.99 Euros at a T-Mobile store on Unter den Linden Street. I will try to post the exact address, but it was across the street from the Ampel (Green/Red Man) Store on Unter den Linden.
Meat -- I have observed that the Germans really know and respect their meat products. They were cooked beautifully and presented well with potatoes. But, I would look to French chefs for preparation of vegetables. An interesting observation. On the topic of vegetables, I think they have a love affair with asparagus, particularly white asparagus. They were on every, every menu; i.e., "spargel."
To be continued...