Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Foreign Dispatch
We just got back from our vacation in Berlin and Prague. It was, of course, amazing. Things got off to a less than propitious start when a tropical storm hit the east coast just as we were flying out through DC, but as it turned out there were no delays, and German customs was the single most efficient thing I've ever seen in my life. Five minutes, seriously. And still somehow mildly chilling.
We arrived on the day of the Berlin Marathon, which I do not necessarily recommend. There were some serious crowds and we saw people wearing their marathon shirts and medals every single day of the trip, including in Prague and the Munich airport. It's the laundry situation there that I am struggling to wrap my head around.
But Berlin has lots of great museums, solid restaurants, and an admirable grasp of its highly troubled history. I don't know that I've ever had a vacation that involved quite so much soul searching, and not just of the "should I really eat another schnitzel?" variety. We visited the site of the former Gestapo headquarters, which now features exhibits that thoroughly walk you through the question of what the hell happened. And we walked a good portion of the Berlin Wall's old route, which is now part museum, part art gallery, and all reminder of some pretty fucked up times for humanity. What can I say? We love to party.
Prague, for its part, took us a bit farther back in history, with its well-preserved Medieval streets and buildings, which were not overrated. We also found an enormous modern and contemporary art gallery, which I would seriously consider moving into, were it not for the language barrier and relative dearth of soft spots for sleeping.
There were, of course, all sorts of international incidents created, including a rather nasty business involving a just-opening cafe and an urgent bathroom need. But there will be time for all of that, as well as photos galore. Consider this a golden age of blogging.
