A Rememory of Berlin

People go on vacation for lots of reasons.  To get away, take a break, see something new, etc - but mostly for the romance of it all.  And I'm not talking specifically of Capital "R"  Vacation Romance, like in Before Sunrise (not that any of us would turn it down if it came our way, I'm sure) - but the romance of adventure, and change, and seeing things of great beauty that we may never get a chance to see again in our lives.  the romance that if we just change our location and daily routine, endless possibilities suddenly open up to us.

I took a trip to Prague this fall with a brief stopover in Berlin and Istanbul.  The German part of my vacation was . . . stressful, to put it best.  I was supposed to meet my friend Dave in a bus station outside of Berlin.  After waiting for about an hour and a half I paid a Euro to use the internet and found a Facebook message from him saying that he couldn't make it.  Sorry!  Have fun in Berlin!  The only reason I was traveling to Berlin was to meet Dave.  Otherwise I would have stayed in Prague.  Dave was also in charge of making all the arrangements in Berlin because he lived in Germany, been there several times before, and knew about those kind of things.  Including how to get me from my bus station into the city.  I debated getting on the next bus back to Prague (in four hours) but instead, decided since I was so close, why not try to figure it out myself, huh?  It would be an adventure!  Ah, the romance of it all!

Finding a train into Berlin, a cheap hotel, the internet, and a money exchange was . . . well, not romantic.  Difficult, in fact.  I wandered around the streets surrounding the Bradenburg Gate for hours seeking information (FYI - the information station by the Gate is useless).  Finally, I squared everything away just in time to shower, grab a bite to eat, and make my show at The Berliner Ensemble.  I was exhausted.  I slammed an espresso in the theatre lobby just so I wouldn't pass out during the second act.  Tres Romantic!

The show was inspiring.  And the theatre was a landmark to one of my theatre idols.  I left the theatre in a trance, it was dark now, and I wandered up and down the streets around the river in an artistic haze, looking into every cafe window, and admiring the way the lights reflected off the river.  I finally had the opportunity and desire to really look at Berlin.  I picked a cafe terrace along the river and to sit and have a glass of wine. I jotted down ideas in my little notebook and poured over my travel guides, deciding how I would spend the half day I had tomorrow.  And I just stared at the river, and thought about the play.  I was, well, I was wrapped up in the romance of the city, and the art, and the travel.  Part of me wished that I had someone with me to share the pure romance of it all, but the other part of me understood that that longing added to the romance of the whole thing.  I've never been to Paris, but I assume that what I felt that night in Berlin was the same romance that I hear permeates the air there.

The rest of my time in Germany was lovely.  I'm glad I went.  And as much as I would have liked to see Dave, and avoided the stressful hours he caused me, I never would have had that moment if we'd met up.  Or if I'd taken the bus back to Prague.  So, here's to the moments we travel for.  The perfect moments of romance.