[PRCo] Re: Shoulda, Coulda, would

[bob at dietrichsfam.com]

Maybe in a couple of years Fred.  We aren't travellers like you and Jack
May.  Right now I would be happy with a vacation to the Pocnocs.


> You're preaching to this choir again, John, with your comments about
> them borrowing money.
>
> Lets talk about vacations.   Maybe we can talk Bob Dietrich into
> taking his lovely bride to Germany this time?
>
> Berlin, in perhaps my singular opinion, is like London.   I've never
> run out of things to do there.  As the former capital of Germany,
> then the capital city of East Germany (DDR, now again what passes for
> the German capital (even though not all function have been moved from
> Bonn), it has always been a center for museums.   It's like
> Washington DC
>
> Museum Island (Museum Insel) is just filled with museums, some filled
> with some very ancient Greek ruins.
>
> http://elmericks.blogspot.com/2007/02/favorite-places-in-berlin-
> museum-insel.html
>
> Here are two more links to some of the fabulous sites in Berlin.
>
> http://www.berlin.world-guides.com/attractions.html
>
> http://wikitravel.org/en/Berlin
>
> And still I have have not found anything that mentions the fabulous
> Charlottenburg Palace.   Here it is ... it alone is probably worth
> half a day...
>
> http://www.aviewoncities.com/berlin/charlottenburg.htm
>
> And here is the Berlin Strassenbahnnetzplan (Berlin streetcar network
> map).   The lines in the west were abandoned in the 1960s.   What
> remains are the lines in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik.  The
> M-17 line is a rather picturesque north-south side-of-the-road
> operation way out in the eastern suburbs.  The two purple lines are
> independent trolley lines that connect with the S-Bahn in the
> suburbs.  Definitions you want?   S-Bahn is an abbreviation for
> Shnellbahn or fast railway and is analogous to commuter railroad
> lines.  When German Federal Railways was privatized, the S-Bahn
> operations became a ward of local commuter authorities ... same thing
> we have here with Metra or SEPTA or Caltrain.
>
> http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/bln/tram/berlin-tram-map.htm
>
> And here is a netzplan for the SBahn and UBahn lines in Berlin.  At
> the risk of being told I am patronizing anyone, U-Bahn =
> Untergrundbahn or underground railway.  During the period of the wall
> in Berlin, there were basically two U-Bahn systems.   In some cases,
> lines from the west went through former eastern stations with doors
> closed.   It was illegal to have a map of the complete subway if you
> were in the east.   And there I was with a friend, leaving the east
> one night, and he had a complete map hidden in his jockey shorts.  I
> went through immigration and I never said a word to him.   I didn't
> even know that fool existed.
>
> By the way, S-Bahn line S-7 runs from Potsdam to Berlin.   Useful
> because next I babble on about Potsdam.
>
> http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/bln/berlin-map.htm
>
> And if you run out of things to do in Berlin, heaven forbid, then go
> next door to the city of Potsdam and spend another two or three days.
>
> http://wikitravel.org/en/Potsdam
>
> Probably the most important place to visit is Sansouci (Without a
> Care) Palace.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci
>
> But there is a great old home, now a hotel, where Josef Stalin,
> Clement Atlee and Harry Truman came to divide up the spoils at the
> end of World War II.   You can stay in the Schlosshotel Cecilienhof
> yourself for the paltry sum of $211 a night. It's not really that
> expensive.  The second link, then scroll down to the second picture,
> has a nice picture of Prime Minister Clement Atlee, Harry Truman and
> Stalin at the hotel in Potsdam.
>
> http://catalogue.horse21.co.uk/germany+hotels/potsdam+hotels/relexa
> +schlosshotel+cecilienhof
>
> And here is a trolley bus map and photo gallery for Pottsdam ... the
> kind of stuff that was running when I was first there.
>
> http://www.berliner-verkehrsseiten.de/bus/Obus/OPicture/OBild-5/
> hauptteil_obild-5.html
>
> And here is a more contemporary netzplan or map of the trolley
> network in Pottsdam.  On the left side of the river, across from the
> train station in Pottsdam, is a rather acceptable Hotel Mercure (the
> middle range chain owned by Accor ... the same people that leave the
> lights on for you at Motel 5-and-7/8ths.  Right behind the Mercure
> was a dock where tour boats cruising the Spree River and the lakes
> around Potsdam and Berlin departed.  I had a fabulous morning cruise
> on a steam-powered lake boat about ten years ago.
>
> http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/pots/potsdam-map.htm
>
> http://www.aeragon.com/01/01-07.htmlOn Jun 12, 2008, at 1:16 PM, John
> Swindler wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Just about anything the feds propose should be put in terms of
>> borrowing money from China:  sending foreign aid to countries,
>> paying farmers not to plant, bailing out the greed of banks, home
>> builders and borrowers for subprime mortgages, etc.  And how many
>> million did it cost to notify us of the tax refund?
>>
>> Getting back to travel:  Somewhere I saw an interesting package for
>> October that included 2 nights Berlin, 2 nights Prague, 2 nights
>> Vienna, rail between cities and air for about $1200-$1400.  Might
>> have to wind up the gum band for the plane's propeller, but other
>> then that.  (:>)
>>
>> And Prague is like Antwerp - reminded me of red and cream PRC
>> streetcars from years ago.  (just to get back on list theme)
>> John
>>
>>> From: fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Shoulda,
>>> Coulda, would> Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:32:32 -0400> To:
>>> pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> > Probably not before the
>>> Phoenix LRT opening. Maybe I can find a way > to tie that in with
>>> Seattle's SLUT line. If I save enough coins to > spend $1000 on
>>> petrol, John.> > It is outrageous spending $1.70 in Europe for
>>> what I can get for > $1.00 here because we feel we have to borrow
>>> from other countries to > give a $600 tax refund that will be
>>> spent in Wal*Mart buying Chinese > merchandise. I'll let my
>>> European friends come here to visit me. > Example: A good friend,
>>> a manager for German rail, is stopping in > early next month on
>>> his way to ride the light rail in Portland, Oregon.> > On Jun 12,
>>> 2008, at 10:13 AM, John Swindler wrote:> > >> >> > That's why I
>>> knew you knew about the 2nd Class Port Authority Act, > > but that
>>> was also a long - long time ago. There were some good > > articles
>>> back then.> >> > The following wil!
>>  l stray from list topic, but might be useful for > > travelers. We
>> were recently looking at some cruise prices and saw > > deep
>> discounts for Alaska. And Trafalgar website was advertising > >
>> which tour groups were confirmed to operate, and which to call > >
>> Trafalgar - and this was for June tours.> >> > That $4 gas price
>> you have recently seen might be affecting the > > travel industry -
>> big time, and there might be some real bargains > > over next
>> several months. So even with the exchange rate, I'm > > expecting
>> another European travelogue from Fred before the end of > > year.
>> (:>)> >> > John> >> >>>
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