11.16.09 – The Hague and Berlin

While my traveling buddies got a head start on the weekend of touring, I had a mandatory Saturday Dutch Art History class field trip to The Hague. To avoid traveling on Saturday, I bunked in at the house of Bubbe’s dear friend Harriet Goldstein’s granddaughter and family, Sasha and Yaniv Goldstein-Sabba. Friday night basically entailed getting to know Sasha and Yaniv, and 17 month old daughter Dahlia, enjoying a kosher meat dinner at the shul and going to bed early in the biggest and most comfortable bed that I had slept-in in the past four months.

Saturday morning Yaniv and I went to shul, but I left a little early, around 11:40, to meet the class outside of the parliament. In 2 groups we toured the Parliament, art museum, highlights being the Godfinch, Girl with the Pearl Earring, and other Vermeers and Rembrandts, and the art museum with the Hague panoramic painting. It was particularly nice because Matt was in town from Florence for the weekend to see Kelly…and me….so he joined our Dutch Art History excursion. By 5 PM I scampered back to the Goldstein-Sabba’s, grabbed my stuff, thanked them profusely, and hustled it to the Den Hague Centraal. After a 6:15 train direct to Utrecht Central, where I indulged in a smoked Turkey sandwich given to me by Sasha, I boarded my 7:29 city night line train ending in Moscow….But I would be getting out at 5 AM in Berlin, where my friends, Josh, Mike, Eli already put in 2 nights and 1 day of amazing adventures.

Something notably unique about my Shabbat with Sasha especially is that I could pick her brain about Europe versus the USA. In Laposata’s Euro Dream class we have been bashing Europe for its many problems: high taxes, too many regulations, low fertility rates, poor innovation, weak R and D, socialism, homogeneity, inefficient work and business community etc. However, Sasha, a northeast American stated she loves living in the Europe much more than the USA, hence she is raising a family in The Hague, because a) the benefits of social programs make life much less stressful through means of job security, children benefits, nearly free education, old age subsidies and programs, and free health care b) she feels the direct benefit of her taxes and c) standard of living is much more protected. I said to her though that “isn’t the standard of living lower” and she responded “how so?” And I gave the example that we use in class that is that Laposata can’t get syrup because it isn’t indigenous to the Netherlands; therefore he is stuck with molasses like stuff. She retorted that the big difference between Europe and the USA is that the USA is a consumer nation, valued on materialism and “keeping up with the Jones’”; whereas Europe’s people have far fewer things, but take more vacations. The question still stands, where to live, Europe or the USA? I shared this story with Kelly and her response was surprisingly an aggressive and fervent, “Americans want the free choice” which is true. But does fewer social programs provide more choice?...Where do Americans’ taxes go? I have private healthcare, go to expensive private school and operate my own IRA. Besides the defense of my freedoms how are my taxes helping me? All stuff to consider….fascinating!


One theory I have developed though is that Europe’s declining fertility rate is because a combination of a) they have a post industrial economy mainly based on services and b)consume much less. These disincentives Europeans from having kids because kids consume a lot, especially money. Additionally, women are having children much later in their lives because they are more educated and work. So Berlin…..

My overnight train, by far my favorite mode of travel, was awesome as usual. From the time I got on at 7:29 PM until 10:20 PM I had the 6 bed couchette all to myself. I specifically asked for the top bed, my favorite!

I arrived in Berlin HBF (central station) at 5:15 AM. The central station boasts incredible, and modern architecture, a vast variety of shops and food places, and brilliant efficiency with all its inter and intra city transport systems. But considering it to be 5 AM, I plopped myself in McDonald’s to read my book for a few hours. As the sun rose I decided I would venture to find the hostel the guys were in, the same hostel I would be in the next night, called the Generator. Once there at 8:30 AM, the group was was waking up and eventually we had the free breakfast (it was really free for me on Sunday morning). The group in Berlin consisted of the usual crew of Josh, Eli and Mike, plus Evan and Joel, also Muhlenberg guys, and Brent, a guy from outside of Dallas, studying in Barcelona, that Josh and Mike met during their travels and invited along to Berlin. Joel and Evan left before we even got the touring started because they had Monday class.

The day started with a subway trip into the city and then some strolling to our first destination. As we walked along the main road all the guys were explaining to me the significance of all the sites, monuments and buildings that we passed. They really got a lot out of the walking tour. They showed me the Jewish holocaust memorial, the main church, Brandenburg Gate, PariserPlatz etc. More on this later. Our first destination was the Reichstag, the parliament dome-shaped building. After a much anticipated ‘que’ we got to the top for an incredible panoramic view. A great way to start the day.

Once back down we walked on the outskirts of the Tiergarten, the center city’s main park, to the subway at Potstdamer Platz, which we would take to the Olympic Stadium and complex. The Olympic Complex dated back to the early 1900’s, with its first structure being erected before WWI. But once receiving the Olympic bid in 1931, for the ’36 games, Hitler in ’33 began to build massive structures in preparation. And it was on these very grounds that Jesse Owens won his many medals. Here we not only relished at the living history in front of our eyes, or the mini soccer goals in the urinals that incentivized us to aim at a target, thus scoring a goal upon urinating, but also relished at our healthy, warm and cheap lunch. Joking aside, Olympic stadium, although an extremely long (40 min) subway ride out of the center city, was definitely enjoyable.

After U-ing it back into the city and walking around the Mitte neighborhood, specifically the TV tower and Alexanderplatz, we settled in for some dinner at the Block House. Great dinner, great variety and great service! To close the night we mozzied over to Belushi’s bar and hostel for some drinks and a night of real American football. Oh, how I missed my sports! It was a long day, but a fulfilling one. That night, even though I was booked for a different room, the receptionist let me bunk in with the guys in their 6 person private.

The Generator hostel gets the following review: “gigantic….retro…clearly a place for crazy fun. Hotel feeling rooms. Clean beds, sheets and facilities. Safe. Fairly decent breaky. 30 min subway from center city. Does the trick for a night or two”

Monday morning, we breakied it, checked out and went to the Hbf to drop off Eli, Josh and Mike, who were heading back to Maastricht early, and my baggage in a locker. From Hbf Brent and I continued to the main square to pick up our city walking tour. Prior to the tour, because we had about 45 minutes to kill, we went to the Museum of the Kennedy’s, a museum highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of the Kennedy family to the world, and browsed through some souvenir shops.

The tour, expected to be about 4.5 hours, was guided by a real Berlin historian, ironically from England, named Mick. Unfortunately for my own edification, but fortunately for my feet, I only stayed for the first 3 hours because I had a train to catch. Mick started us around PariserPlatz, the Brandenburg gate and main street area. He summed up the first few centuries of German history in the first hour and then continued to the 3rd Reich and post WWII. He was knowledgeable on all of the information, especially the holistic outlook of the Holocaust. His conveyance of perspective on all sensitive matters was respectful and poignant. From the center area we strolled to the Parliament, Jewish memorial and Hitler’s bunker area. That basically concluded the WWII material. From the bunker we went on to Post-War Germany, Soviet regimes and the before, during and after the formation of the Wall. We saw part of the Wall, analyzed a map of the split city and viewed a series of Travants, old Eastern German cars. It around then that I had to roll out- of course I thanked him – and tipped him too. When they say “free walking tour” they really mean “tips please” and deservingly so.

To close I must note that I often do not narrate about my return journeys, especially the trains, but this one encompassed a triumphant moment. Because I took the train to the wrong station in Cologne, Colgone-Messe and not Hbf, I had to take an S-bahn to transfer. Realizing that I could still make my 7:44 PM train to Liege, and then to Maastricht, I dashed out of the S-bahn once in the Hbf, winding between people down one set of stairs, and skipping steps while sliding by more people up. There was no time for even putting my heals down on the ground. A complete sprint with subtle jukes between aimlessly wandering pedestrian travelers. As I reached the top of the platform I saw my train’s doors starting to close. Instinctively, I lunged forward, forearm first, and with my elbow and hand yanked the door open to the dismay of the wagon’s electric mechanics and the servicemen walking behind me along the platform. In one fell swoop, I pulled the door, which was 6 inches from closing shut, open enough to squeeze through, all my stuff and dinner still intact. With a pulsating heart, I grabbed a seat victoriously! I made it back to Maastricht by 10 PM. Another great weekend.