Rügen - Germany's largest island!!

Rügen (Ruegen in English) is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea, measuring an area of 926 sq.m (double the size of our Pondicherry) with a population of 73,000 (one-tenth of Pondi's 808,000). Rügen is located in one of the most popular holiday and recreation areas within Germany and has more tourists per resident than any other location in Germany. It was a dilemma whether to spend the entire weekend or a day at Rügen, but due to team's majority decision ( mine & Arasu were on the minority side), we went for a day (First mistake of the trip, there are so much to enjoy at Rugen, one day is the least)!
Left our home (awesome Hamburg) at 636AM on 25-July-2009 to reach Sassnitz. Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, home of the famous largest chalk cliffs of Germany, the so called Königsstuhl ("king's chair" in English). These cliffs are up to 161 m high above the Baltic Sea. The undisturbed beech forests behind the cliffs are part of the national park, consisting of only 30 sq km, the smallest national park of Germany. Again we did a good planning (me and Pradeep) and it was worthy. The travel time to Sassnitz was 4h30mins and we were there at 1100AM. Caught a bus to Königsstuhl and got down exactly middle of the forest, I trusted on the DB plan (DB is the German's national carrier and its site gives plan and timing for anyplace in German), we saw the driver and all the co-passengers giving a bad look, but we got down, it was drizzling too (Second mistake of the trip - believing DB timetable)!! No one was there in the vicinity and there was an old forest checkpoint, where there was a lady guard, sorry she was a lady Hitler to say, I had never seen a rude lady in German like that, she must have wondered what these 5 Indians doing in the middle of the forest!! She guided (not even one word in English) to walk 2kms from there to reach Königsstuhl! Rain started heavily and there is no cover to run, I thought a wrong day to come Ruegen; nowhere a Bus came and the lady Hitler said : get into this bus and reach Königsstuhl; the bus travel was 10mins, rain was pouring down!! Spoke with a co-passenger (English speaker), and they suggested to walk a distance to reach Victoria view point and then walk down 450 steps to reach the bottom of the cliff, the Baltic sea shore. We were singing "rain rain go away...come again another day..." and walked up towards the Victoria view point.

It was a beautiful view of Baltic sea, we can see the complete horizon, rain at few places and drizzle at few places over the sea, wondered how it would have been if it was a bright sunny day!!! Took the wooden steps and touched the Baltic sea shore, a beach which is 90% transparent, without a wave and of complete marbles, no sand, strange isn’t it!! The beauty of White Cliffs from there was magnificent, enjoyed the view with umbrella in the hand and it was a different experience. Came back to Königsstuhl bus stop and took Route # 20 to Sellin, it was a 1h30mins drive crossing Prora and Binz. All were dossing, I didn’t, I was thinking why the weather is playing spoilsport, there was no enthuse among the guys, all dropping and shrugging, and wondered whether this trip will become a flop (Third mistake of the trip - worry towards a flop)!!
A common rule through out Germany: don’t take granted that the weather is bad or good, it may flip-flop at anytime, we too faced the same! Got down at Sellin, sun started peeking out of the clouds, there was a sudden hope in air... walked across the Wilhelmstrasse (Brigade road of Ruegen), magnificent buildings, posh bungalows, unique restaurants, souvenir shops (Arasu clicked this snap when I was checking how the cow boy cap fits me, thanks to him, it was perfect). The Wilhelmstrasse leads to a 40 meter high cliff where there is a steep staircase or an elevator to the promenade or pier to the South Beach. The sea and the bridge, a magnificent view, with the Sun started smiling together with us, the trip came alive!
The pier (sea bridge) is of 394 meters, longest pier on the island of Ruegen. The beach was beautiful, perfectly arranged matrix of Strandkörbe (roofed wicker beach chairs which are a very common German tool on beaches), a funfair with kids drives, shops selling sausages, hotdogs, a perfect location for German summer vacation. We walked to the end of the pier and enjoyed the walk; it was amazing to stand 0.3Kms from the shore of the sea on a wooden bridge! Our plan was to catch the return train from Bergen, the capital of Rügen at 725PM, for that we should leave Sellin at 550PM, again a bus drive of 1hr. There was an advertisement for 10mins RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) Safari, a drive propelled by Yamaha engines (2 x 250 hp) with a Maximum speed of 100 kmph on the cold Baltic Sea! No one was that daring to take it, except Arasu. He was damn crazy to enjoy it and by that one group left the pier towards the sea (below snap is taken at that time). On seeing the stunts the pilot did over the sea, our little hopes of taking the ride faded, really... but Arasu was so adamant, he decided to take it alone, the whole team had a dilemma and finally with dual thoughts, we accepted. We went and spoke with Kathy (the lady who was organising the trip), she was a native English speaker and I was happy that she spoke real good UK English; she said we have to wait 30mins. I casually started discussion and came to know that the team lives in Sassnitz and leaves for the day to Sassnitz at 6-630, sudden change in plan, asked her why cant we join with you back home and catch the train from Sassnitz at 705PM. She was reluctant and said will discuss with Alex and get back. Alex is the pilot and when he got back a team to shore after an awesome show, told OK and we were ready for a drive not for 10mins, it was for 20mins from Sellin to Sassnitz, the same distance was traveled by bus for 1h30mins. We decided to meet at 615PM and started playing in beach. The water was shallow, transparent, and clean, a superb weather added glamour to the evening and we enjoyed in the sand cliff at the beach! Reached back Kathy and the team, they were also ready for closing the day, Kathy distributed a pair of wind-jacket and life-jacket to all of us and we were thrilled to start the drive. Introduced with Celicia from Canada and she was so helpful. All set and done, a crowd of 100+ Germans swayed their hands from pier saying tchüsse (bye in German), I told Arasu "it seems this is our last bye and so many have come to see that!!". We were standing behind Alex, having a good view of his navigator, controls and especially the speedometer. He pulled the throttle and we zoomed into the Baltic sea, speed was 30, slowly he increased the speed, it was 50 and I can see that the water is moving faster than 50kmph, was confused, but dint think much, enjoyed the drive: bright sun shining on you, a 10meters inflated boat raising its nose now and then a meter high over the big waves of Baltic sea, and often the water spilling on my sun glasses. The drive was more than 20mins and Alex did some stunts on the way like: lifting the boat nose, raising to the left and then at once to the right, 270 degree turns, it was an awesome experience, thrilling but real fun!! Once reached Sassnitz, I enquired his speed, he said 50 KNOTS, a sudden rush in my thoughts-how did I calculate a speed over water in KMPH, really stupid, may be the thrill made me to think idiotic! Made a rough calculation (50*1.8=90), it was 90Kmph, over water! Rushed back Sassnitz bahnhof to catch the train back home, a thrilling experience at Rügen, will never erode from our mind!
Most of us would have read "The 3 Mistakes of my Life" novel by Chetan Bhagat. He dint end the story with an appreciation for the mistakes or decisions. But our trip was different, even though we did three mistakes (see above) but it ended in a very happy thrilling note, we appreciate it...

BERLIN - "Ich bin ein Berliner"

A dream comes true, a trip to Berlin-Germany's largest city, the capital of Germany. It needed a meticulous planning to tour this wonderful city (useful site: http://www.visitberlin.de/), as we saw the volume of places to cover and the travel time (4hrs) from Hamburg, we decided to stay a night and spend a complete weekend on the trip.

DAY I: 04-o7-2009, Saturday

We left Hamburg on Saturday morning and reached Berlin via Schwerin by 1030AM. It’s always wise to plan a trip itinerary and go with few queries to the info center, we did the same. We got a city map and the more important train network map (S and U bahn). The Hauptbahnhof (central station) itself is a tourist destination. The S-Bahn platform is in the fifth floor of the station and getting to your platform for the desired train itself needs a skill and it was fun too. We covered few places by foot (as they are near to Hauptbahnhof and weather was good): Haus der Kulturen der Welt (The pregnant Oyster), Schloss Bellevue (A Palace Fit for a President), and Siegessäule (Wings and Weapons).
The pregnant Oyster is a beautiful building with curved and suspended roof, an architectural wonder; open on both sides, it appears to float in mid-air without support!! The Schloss Bellevue is the official residence of the federal president in Berlin.

The Siegessäule, with its golden statue of Victory, is one of the most imposing landmarks in the city, and reflects the city's history in remarkable fashion. There is a small museum depicting entire Europe and a stairway to a viewing platform on the column, it offered a wonderful panoramic view of the city.

Then we took an S Bahn to reach the outskirts of Berlin, the Olympic Stadium. The same stadium hosted the 2006 final match of FIFA World Cup between France and Italy. I never thought in 2006 while watching the finals that one day I will visit this place!! But the happiness didn’t sustain for long as we saw the below poster and couldn’t believe our bad luck, anyways, the outside view itself was majestic; I visualized how it would have been jam-packed on that FINALS game!!!

On the way back, I spotted this ---> instruction on an "automatic toilet", it was indeed craziness, read and enjoy (click the photo to maximize)...

We took a U Bahn and reached a station called kaiserdamm and visited the place which 99% of the Berlin tourist never visit!! It is called Funkturm (Berlin's Eiffel Tower). The Funkturm's steel structure, which is based on that of the Paris Eiffel Tower, was built in 1924, and the tower was first operated in 1926. It is 150m tall and gives a panoramic view of the city at a height of 126m. Due to maintenance, we were not allowed to go up and we dint bother too, as we were expecting to see Berlin from a height of 203m, read on from where it is from :)

Each one of us were tired and exhausted, reached back to the center of the city, Potsdamer Platz, where the City hostel was waiting for us!! It was a wonderful place to stay and was soothing. No idea, how the rain God came to know that we were sheltered, there was a hailstorm for 1.5hrs and it gave a perfect time for us to relax. Sort of worry started, how to execute the evening plan and the clouds paved way and Sun welcomed us to see Berlin! We roamed Potsdamer Platz sometime and saw the city life of Berlin. Continued our roam towards the Parliament house - The Reichstag, it is the seat of the German Bundestag or federal government. There is a big glass dome on top of the Reichstag; the dome has a 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The main hall of the parliament below can also be seen from the cupola, and natural light from above radiates down to the parliament floor. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight which might bedazzle those below. General public is allowed inside the Reichstag after a vigil security check and only to the visit the dome, it’s a normal seen that one need to wait in a long queue to enter the Reichstag for a minimum period of 1-2hrs. As we are always lucky, the rain helped us and there was less crowd and we stood in queue only for 30mins and reached the dome very soon. We saw the sun set while waiting in queue and the beautiful dusk from the top of Reichstag. Started climbing the dome over a sloping ramp with an audio guide in English, it was too good, once you climb up, an automated message will tell exactly the history of the city landscape in front of view. The finishing remark of the audio tour is the best, it goes like this "The transparency of the glass symbolises the transparency of the German Democratic State", indeed it was transparent!!!
The dome depicted that the places around 360 degree from the Reichstag has its own history, it was amazing. We spend enough time in the dome reading the history and viewing the second world war devastation snaps and were one among the few to leave the dome at 0000Hrs (closing time of the dome). The day went off well with few ups and downs in the schedule as it always happens in a trip. I love that mode of rescheduling the plan with a limited time frame in mind, the challenge is unique and I love to face and beat it!!!!

DAY II: 05-07-2009, Sunday

Checked out City hostel at 900AM and went direct to Sony Center, the latest addition to Berlin's modern infrastructure. Got interested to see a 3D German movie in IMAX 3D Screen and booked the ticket for 1130 show, spend 2 hrs roaming the Brandenburger Tor (TOR is Gate in German), Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Place of Remembrance), Unter den Linden (Berlin's Most Beautiful Avenue).
The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's only remaining city gate, is the true symbol of the city. The sandstone construction, built from 1788-91, has 12 Doric columns and is based on the propylaeum of the Acropolis in Athens. On both sides, six Doric columns support the 11 meter-deep transverse beam, dividing the gate into five passageways. The Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (means the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), situated in Berlins city centre, the memorial was built recently in 2000 near the Reichstag and the Brandenburger Tor. The design envisages a Field of Stelae, 2,711 concrete blocks of different heights, structured in a grid pattern and covering nearly 19,000 sq.m of gently sloping ground.
The Unter den Linden, Berlin's magnificent boulevard, the centerpiece of the Old Berlin, leads to all the famous places there: US Embassy, Kennedy museum, Madame Tussauds (wax museum in Berlin) etc.
Rushed back to the IMAX for the movie and it was a different experience, after My Dear Kuttichathan (1983 Tamil 3D movie) this was my 3D movie, 26years to break the gap, that too in Berlin, life is beautiful isn’t it??
Reached Alexanderplatz, the most famous square in Berlin. Alexanderplatz is a must see place, the most important places of interest are in a distance of few meters: Fernsehturm, Berliner Rathaus, Berliner Dom.
The Fernsehturm, lies in the center of Alexanderplatz. We need to buy the ticket to go up the tower and the waiting time to get into was 2Hrs , we decided to go around Alexanderplatz.
By foot reached Berliner Dom, a beautiful church partly destroyed in WWII and reconstructed. Couldn’t go inside for a short tour as we needed to be there on time at Fernsehturm.
The Fernsehturm (TV tower) is the highest building in the city, and one of Berlin's biggest attractions. Its total height is 368 meters, with a viewing platform at a height of 203 mts. 203 mts travel in lift took just 34 secs (6m/s), and the view from there was awesome.

It was 430PM and there was a dilemma whether to go to East side of the Berlin wall, place name: East Side Gallery, portraying Graffiti Art on the Berlin Wall. I was the one compelled everyone and finally we reached the gallery, it was beautiful graffiti work on the Berlin wall and saw the east side checkpoint. Rushed back Hauptbahnhof to catch the 530PM train and we were 15mins early, a wonderful trip came to an end. I was pretty satisfied with the trip, and was recounting the famous quote - "Ich bin ein Berliner" ("I am a Berliner") from John F. Kennedy on a June 26, 1963 speech, I was there on July 04, 2009 ( after 46 yrs and 8 days) !!!