We are finally on our slow travel way through Europe for the next ten weeks, although we were off to a rocky start. We had planned to arrive in Berlin, stay two nights to get over the jet lag, then do a loop around the Balkans and the Northern countries, returning to Berlin a few days to a week before we have to head to Las Vegas, Nevada for an International Living Conference.
That was the plan, until Tropical Storm Debbie Downer came to town.
We were looking forward to our Tuesday night flight to Berlin on Norse Atlantic Air, especially since we had won a bid to upgrade to Premium Class for just $200 each. Just the two of us in the aisle, bigger seats, more leg room, and the seat backs recline farther. Perfect for an overnight flight!
Unfortunately, to get to JFK airport and our midnight flight, we first had to fly American Airlines from Knoxville to JFK, with the usual change of planes in Charlotte.
Even before we left our hotel in Knoxville, we were getting warnings on the AA app that flights may change due to weather. Just in case, we made a backup plan. We booked refundable tickets from Nashville direct to JFK, since Debbie was messing with Charlotte, but Nashville looked clear. Of course we would have to rent a car to drive to Nashville, since we had just sold our Honda and last link to our old life - except for a fully packed 10x25 storage space - but we would have just enough time.
All our worldly belongs, except for one suitcase and one carry-on each.
We went to TYS a little early, about 10:30am, and decided to check things out at the counter before picking up the rental car. While we were talking to the clerk, I got a notice proclaiming that our flight from Charlotte to JFK had just been cancelled.
We were about to go get the rental car and head west, but the clerk gave us an alternative. We could fly direct from Knoxville to LaGuardia departing at 4:25, arriving at 6:30pm. From there it would only be an 11-mile Uber ride to JFK, plenty of time to catch our flight to Berlin and luxuriate in our First Class seats.
Thinking we were all set, we dropped off our luggage, cancelled our Nashville flight and rental car, and headed to the Ruby Tuesday for our lunch and a 5-hour wait to board.
However, what we did not know was that there was another storm brewing, this one around the Great Lakes, heading for NYC.
By the time we finished lunch, our flight had already been delayed to 5:40pm. No problem, we could still make it. Then delayed to 6pm. Then 6:30. Then we were told La Guardia had shut down completely due to storms, so the flight would be delayed to 7:30pm.
At that point, we were screwed. We couldn't make it to La Guardia in time to deplane, get our bags, catch an Uber, and checkin for our flight. As it turns out, going to Nashville would not have helped either, since they had also cancelled the flight we had planned on using.
So after 9+ fruitless hours in the airport, we asked them to pull our bags from the plane and walked over to the Hilton to spend the night and check out our options for the next day. After dinner, we found that our much-delayed AA flight was eventually cancelled. However, JFK re-opened in time for our flight to Berlin to take off without us. Naturally, Norse Air would not refund our ticket price and we are still waiting to hear if AA will do so (NOTE:Just heard from AA, and they actually fully refunded our fare!). Fortunately, we do have trip interruption/cancellation insurance.
Pouring over Google Flights in our hotel room and trying various options from multiple airports, we found our best bet was to book a flight on Turkish Airlines from Atlanta to Berlin - with a layover in Istanbul, which meant we would actually fly over Berlin only to return later. Of course, this also meant renting a car at TYS and driving to ATL, about 3.5 hours away.
Oh well, we would at least have something to do until our 9:30pm flight.
One ray of sunshine, we sailed through TSA at ATL since we have TSA-PreCheck, and had plenty of time to enjoy one of our favorite things about travel, airport lounges. Our Priority Pass cards we got when we upgraded to AMEX Platinum came through, and we were able to relax in comfortable seats, pick up a free meal for dinner, and enjoy three free rum and cokes, which helped our moods tremendously.
Gotta love them lounges!
Our Turkish Air flight was long, but happily drama-free. One thing nice about the airline, their planes are relatively new, and they serve great meals with real silverware, no plastic. And they do something that I never understood why it isn't done on all flights - they board from the back of the plane forward, so you're not creeping down the aisle, waiting for people to stow their carry-ons.
Waiting in Istanbul Airport
We also were able to score another lounge and free meal during our 3 hour layover in Istanbul's huge airport, so when we finally arrive at our hotel in Berlin at 10:30pm local time Thursday (about 36 hours late), we did not need to look for a meal. All we did was cross the street to a convenience store to get some milk for our morning coffee and a couple bottles of water, peel off our sweaty two-days-old travel clothes and shower, then collapse in bed.
This bear welcomed us to the H10 Ku-damm Hotel. They were all over Berlin.
We woke early, feeling surprisingly normal. No serious aches or pains. Since we only had one full day before catching our train to Prague, we wasted no time getting out to explore the city.
More bears. Go figure.
We set out towards a large park that includes the Tiergarden and several sites of interest. The day was cool and comfortable, which felt great after two days of sweaty travel. Only fly in the ointment was we could not find any open breakfast restaurants on our path - just a less-than-satisfying McDonald's.
The park more than made up for it, with shady trails and ponds as we circled the zoo.
It was a lovely walk, and our path also took us to the Victory Column.
From there it was a short walk through another part of the park to get to the Reichstag Building and the Brandenburg Gate.
Reichstag
Brandenburg Gate
We enjoyed a nice lunch - and some nicer beer - just a few blocks down from the gate, and then made our way to the last three sites we wanted to make sure we saw before the day was up. The first two were pretty depressing: a memorial to the war dead, and some remains of the Berlin Wall.
War Memorial
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was particularly unsettling, as we walked down the line reading about the run-up to the rise of Hitler and Nazism. Targeting immigrants and homosexuals as destroying the culture, holding rallies and reporting larger crowds than were actually there, banning and then burning books that didn't promote the "right" ideas, bullying other politicians that didn't whole-heartedly back the cause - it all seemed uncomfortably familiar.
The last stop on our one-day walking tour was Checkpoint Charlie, the famed border-crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. We were surprised to find that the white guard house and sand bags are smack in the middle of a busy street.
Checkpoint Charlie, now separating a McDonalds and KFC
After that, a short Uber ride back to our hotel to clean up a bit and pack, with enough time to walk out to a nearby restaurant for a nice German meal - and of course some more beer.
Rolled pork with red cabbage and potato dumplings
So it was a much shorter introduction to Germany than we had planned, but we enjoyed our brief stay. We still have over two months in Europe before we head to Las Vegas for an International Living conference, and we have to start our journey back to the US from Berlin, so we will probably work our way down through Denmark into Germany at some point, and spent some more time in other parts of the country and the capital.
Next stop - we're off to the Berlin Main Train Station to go spend four nights in Prague!
All aboard for Prague!
Follow the story of Jim and Rita, who sold their home to travel for the next few years here in this blog, and on the podcast "Travels With Jim and Rita", available on all major podcast platforms.
