In Spain the metro is very clean and air conditioned--a big plus! However, the stations are quite far apart, so you have to walk much further to get to your station or to get back home after being somewhere. The cars and stations are surprisingly clean and efficient. Maybe they hire lots of government workers to keep them that way. When we got there we had to walk really far from a big train station dragging our suitcases down really uneven stone and cobble streets and sidewalks which was very hot and difficult. We were surprised to find that the biggest museum complex in Madrid did not have a very nearby metro station. Besides the train, we saw tons of very small cars: smart cars, lots of Peugots, a good number of Audis, and a few other compact cars. However the most common form of transportation after the metro was by motorcycle. They were everywhere and were parked on every street.
There were also police everywhere. We couldn't figure out if they were expecting a riot or what because the whole time we were there they were standing around in groups on street corners, there were stacks of baracades ready to be put up along many streets, and sometimes they would be grouped around black Mercedes SUVs, just standing around looking serious. We never saw anything happening, but they were prepared! On our last day we actually saw them getting out the baracades and closing streets off while they put the riot grills and cages on all their SUV headlights, windshields, and windows. Like I said, prepared.
As we were leaving Madrid on our favorite carrier, Iberia Express, they played weird music in the cabin during takeoff and landing. At one point Hannah and I exchanged an incredulous look. Were we hearing what we thought we were? A very strange, almost English, lounge-act version of "Wonder Wall." So weird.
In Berlin, everybody, EVERYBODY, rides bikes. They are everywhere. And cars--especially BMWs and Mercedes. Ben said that Berliners love their cars, and people who really can't afford them feel like they must have those two brands especially. They are status symbols that are very important for Germans, according to him. Ben was really great because although he is not a tour guide, he would find the answers to any questions we had if he didn't know them. Often by reading Wikipedia while driving. For example, we wanted to buy some German-made Christmas ornaments, and he found us a shop that was open in the summer and took us there. He wasn't available to us all the time, of course, but when it could coincide with something Bart was doing or he had some waiting time between driving, he would find out things for us or take us all to eat or make airport runs or errands like that. We loved it when he could take us somewhere because it was WAY better than the metro. When Ben is driving movie stars and crews around, and us, he will drive right up onto the sidewalk in places, or double park anywhere, and just wait. Apparently as long as there is someone in the car, you don't get a parking ticket in Berlin. When we were shopping at the little Christmas store, which is in the former GDR, he double parked on a busy street and just waited. Similarly, he took us and part of the crew to get some dinner and waited for us while we ate--double parked the whole time! No wonder traffic is such a nightmare. Nobody thought anything about it. Just business as usual.
The subway in Germany is dirty, hot, and almost impossible to navigate. Bart's crew, who have been there a long time, said that they get lost or take the wrong train all the time. Even Ben said it doesn't make sense. The trains were built for separate cities and have been retro-fitted to connect and work together. But not very well. The maps and diagrams are not very clear and don't show the end destination, so it is easy to get on the wrong train or head in the wrong direction. Every time we had to take the train somewhere, it took forever, was very complicated with lots of changes, and hot. By the time we got to where we were going, we were hot, tired, and cranky, every single time.
There is also a very visible difference between West Berlin and the former GDR. In the GDR the buildings are bleaker, cramped, and defaced. The whole feeling is sad and a little afraid, or maybe cowed. We asked Ben about this and he told us a little bit about his experiences. He was 16 when the wall came down, 40 now, and remembers it well. As a 16 year-old, he and his friends were excited because the beer was so much cheaper. The legal drinking age in Germany is 16, but they can't drive until 18.
However, now his cultural experience is much different. He said that his ex, and mother of his 10 year-old daughter, is from the GDR, and that is why they couldn't make it work. The differences, memories, experiences were too great an obstacle. He said, "The wall will always be there." I suggested maybe it would be different in another generation, and he said maybe in 10, maybe never.
We were talking with him about how the Germans have many rules. In each museum, we were told different specific rules by guards that sounded quite put out with us. In one we couldn't have our sweaters around our necks or tied to our purses, they had to be tied around our waists. In another it didn't matter, and in another we had to leave them at the coat check. In one a guard told me my purse had to hang in front of me, not to the side or behind. We were told where to stand, sit, and walk. At the Dome a man wouldn't let us in to hear the service and told us to go to the tourist entrance, where they sent us back to the door the man was guarding. He wasn't happy, but he let us in.
Ben said that Germans have a lot of cultural guilt and lack of self-worth. He said in jobs like that where they can have a little bit of power or control, they feel like they have to do things just so and want others to follow the rules--however minor or inconsequential.
After our busy and exciting day on Thursday, we all went to eat, and then Ben took us to the train station where we said a fond farewell to Ben, Bart, John, and Berlin.
This is rather long, so I'm going to continue this tale of transportation in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment