Well I had planned to open this post with JFK's apparent mistake of saying "I am a Jelly Doughnut," but my research has shown that he actually said the statement correctly, just the papers translated it wrong. So now the post is ruined. :(
So the year after Mexico my Dad had decided to spend a couple of months flying out of Berlin for Pan American Airways. Normally he flew out of Fort Lauderdale, but since we were off for the summer he thought flying out of Berlin would give the rest of us an interesting vacation.
After my Dad had been flying a month and become situated in Berlin we headed over for a visit. Since my father was a Pan Am Pilot and we were flying Pan Am we were fortunate enough to have first class for the flight. However, before I get to the flight from New York to Berlin I should discuss New York's Kennedy Airport.
Growing up with a pilot of a major airline as a father meant that we traveled by airplane a lot. In fact if it was over 3 hours to drive we normally flew. The airfare was extremely cheap (free in coach and $50 for first class). We did have to fly standby, but if there were seats available then it was a great (and cheap) way to travel (still doing it today).
Standby travel means you leave on the first flight in the morning so that if you miss a flight or two, you can still make the connection. We left for the airport at 5:00am to catch the first flight from Miami to New York. We arrived in New York (JFK) by 9:00am, of course the first flight out to Berlin was not until 4:00pm so we had a long time to spend in Kennedy Airport.
Fortunately I had become an avid Sci-Fi Fantasy reader and had a couple of Piers Anthony Xanth series. Therefore, I spent most of the day in a airport restaurant reading a Xanth novel. I think I even took a nap during the wait.
Finally it was time to head to the gate and check in. We did make the first flight to Berlin and we were seated in First Class. We flew over on a Boeing 747 (the airplane with two levels). Back then, the upper level was first class but did not have a movie, only the lower level had a movie. Now being 14 and spending 8+ hours on an airplane after spending the entire day in the airport, being without a movie was going to be bad.
One last thing about the flight, my sister who was sitting next to me decided in the middle of the flight to become clumsy and she knocked her coke all over me. So needless to say it was not a great experience on the way over.
So we arrived in Berlin, my father was there to meet us and take us back to the hotel. We were exhausted from the trip and went right to sleep.
The next day we decided to go sight seeing. My Dad was getting ready for a flight, so my sister, Mom, and I went out. We stopped at a bakery and got something for breakfast and then our plan was to walk to a castle not that far from town (or so I thought). My Mom knew a small amount of German from college and studying again before we left. So she asked for directions from someone to the castle. The gentlemen replied in German that it was a couple of miles away. Now remember my disgust with Gravity from Mexico that walking forever was not always for me (then). So my Mom told my sister and I that it was just a couple of blocks more (she lied to us about the two miles still ahead).
Of course the castle was really neat. I bought a couple of postcards of armor from the gift shop, because every tourist castle has a gift shop.
We returned back later that evening after stopping at a museum or two. The next day we walked around more of the city (I was getting used to the walking now). The only thing I remember from that day is stopping by a major shopping area and having great German chocolate ice cream.
On the third day we took a bus tour in to Eastern Germany (which of course surrounded Berlin at the time). We went through "Check Point Charlie", through the wall, the mine field, and then in to East Germany.
They took us through some of the streets and the disparity of living conditions was pretty drastic. They took us to a bar/restaurant where we had a something to drink and then were quickly put back on the bus and brought back to Berlin. It was my first trip in to a communist country (but not my last).
A year or two later the Wall fell between East and West Berlin.
For our last adventure we decided to hop on a plane and head to Munich, Germany. This city is most famous for Octoberfest (which actually starts in September). Of course at 14 this was not something I knew much about.
I remember the following from Munich, eating at a McDonalds (I had to have a big mac), watching the famous city center clock tower at noon. It was very impressive. I also remember my Mom finding these chocolate covered porcupines. They were not real, the chocolate was made to look like a porcupine. I still remember stopping there a couple of times to get them for the day and a half that we were there.
That was the end of the trip to Germany. We headed back after Munich and there was no interesting stories from the trip home. This time I was not sick upon my return.
The next year, we headed to France for three weeks. That story to come, soon.