Berlin - Germany 22, 23, 24 December 2001
Prague - Czech Republic 24, 25, 26, 27 December 2001
There is a Bear in there & There AND THERE and they are every where! As the bear is the symbol or mascot or something of Berlin every where you go there are bears! Not live Bears! like that would bite your arm off - (well at least mine - as I would just have to go over and pat one - if he was alive) But made out of any thing and every thing you can imagine, Paster, brass, copper, plastic - they all sit out - "walking like" in front of all the offices - hotels shops, pedestrian crossings - any where - it is a form of like art? Or good luck - I got conflicting reasons! The one that is in the Swissotel Lobby is made of CHOCOLATE! and we are talking like - solid Chocolate! and he is as big as a live Bear!! I tell ya this morning while I was sitting next to him (the bear - Not a Date) (having a chat ;) LOL - remember LOL means Laugh Out Loud) waiting for a taxi to the train station I like was almost forced to bite his EAR OFF!!! -- mmmm chocolate Bear!!!! LOL - I am in good sprits - sitting here on my train - have my mac playing a musical I saw l last night (IN GERMAN) ..... More on that later ..... So im happy, sitting, with a big grin and smile on my face ........ Just like the Cheshire Cat from the cartoon "Alice in Wonderland" HUGE SMILE :) a tear almost keeping into the corner of my year ( the song - playing - sad :( and I really am in "wonderland" what a great 3 days in Berlin! Truly Ruly Was Great. The Park Hyatt In Melbourne was nocked off as My Number #1 hotel in the world! The Swissotel in Berlin - was - words can not do it Justice. It opened on September 1 2001. So is brand New - the rooms are amazing - designed like nothing I have ever seen before, simple, modern, warm, practical - each had a espresso cappuccino machine, free internet on the TV, free movies, The Bathroom design would make any one of us in Property look (even thou we have seen a zillion bathrooms) and say "WOW" - I again got a million ideas! But the service in this place was - honestly - (remember ME speaking!) OUT OF THIS WORLD! Was booked on the internet - like every hotel I have stayed in is booked - sight un scene. & cheap! As they opened on Sept 1 and then Sept 11 happened (Belgium airline Sabina bankrupt - Swiss airline Swissair bankrupt) they want business and are trying to start something - I paid $92 US a nite! - and THEY FUCKEN WON ME! Every time one of the staff saw me, (rememeber my body language is like "Go Away" - LOL ) it was always "Hello Mr Schwan", "Mr Schwan, Good Morning", "How are you today Mr Schwan" "Can I help you with any thing Mr Schwan" - I cant explain - in my short 31 years on this planet I have never had service like it, not arse licking, genuine, careing, happy, loving care for another - and they (the staff) all of them were Smart Very Very Smart. I want to know who trained, hired them! Like get this, I call from a house phone in the foyer to Housekeeping - They answer in German! But when I am in my room - I call house keeping they answer in English! Wake up call - all in english, now you all may think that should be normal - not from my other european experiences, Boy they knew what they were doing, as on the second day during turn down, (im not there im at a show) they (house keeping) notice that I have turned the heater up! (I was a little cold after my trip out and about) and when they noticed that I had turned the heat up a little - they used their initative - went and got another feather doona fold in to a nice square - leave on bottom corner of bed, typed note (english) "Mr Schwan we noticed you may be a little colder - we have placed a extra doona for you should you require - good night, house keeping" - HONEST - my smiles cant express the feeling I have from my time in Berlin! And I tell you - no one - well to me - speaks english! not like Amsterdam, or Brussels. The conciege of the Swissotel - My God! My God! My God! - amazing!!!!!! A cappachino machine in every room? Have you heard of a thing? And Free! lavatza coffee! - free! Intenet Access free! They had a good old shoe shine service - like the great days before it all left - leave your shoes out by 3am! Polished and returned by 6am! I had the most amazing Dinner last nite - Room service! Rosmary Crustred Lamb Loin! - Oh Yum! I can still taste it! Can you believe they (reception) escorted me to the room on check in! I thought that went out in the year 1831. Showed me the room and amenities - (nice and quick) not over bearing! And yes I could Dial My Free call number - and was that! Free - no service charge at all! So I wont go on, but if you have not under stood yet ill make its easy "The Swissotel, Berlin was astonishing, astounding, inconceivable, beyond belief, surprising, remarkable, incredible, miraculous, mind-blowing!!!!!" And Now for
Schwan's Top 5 Hotels of The World ( sponsored by the Chocolate Bear )
1. Swissotel Berlin, Germany (100/100)
2. Park Hyatt Melbourne, Australia (96/100)
3. Bellagio, Las Vegas, United States (91/100)
4. Park Hyatt, Sydney, Australia (89/100)
5. Shangri La Island Hotel, Hong Kong (81/100)
The concierge got me A1 Prime seats to 2 Musicals, 1 "Falco meets Amaudas" (sung in German & English) and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (Sung in German) I was not sure if I would enjoy or cope at all - as they were in German! The first one Falco is interesting - did not cope too much - it is about a Pop star meeting Mozart Amaudas - his pop songs and Mzart blended together! They say Falco was like huge in the 80's! Never heard of him! some songs reminded me a little! Singing was good - set average! But the World Wide Premier of Disney's "Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame" or "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was Unreal! It was so nice to see on this trip another great Show! It was all sung in German! I am glad that I knew that story. And the launguage made it all so more sad and romantic from my perspective. Great Cast - Unreal Singing, and music was by 3 of my fav composers/lyrst, Stephen Schwartz, James lapine, and Alian Milkein - The set was incredable - very very clever, simple, and complex, the stage was divided into 12 squares that were the top of large Boxed Rectangles, and all 12 boxed Rectangles going up and down (some times all the way to the top) in order to change the set and scene - they then used projections - from the front onto the front of the boxes and sides! they had fly tower textured screens fly in and out for projections as well! I have not seen as complex a set since Jane Eyre last year. The projections were great! Some of the songs are so beautiful and more so as they are in another language - Disney's new theatre company really does do great stuff I have now seen them all - "The Lion King", "Aida", "Beauty & The Beast", and now "Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame", I can not stop playing the cd - OVER & OVER & OVER - ( I get repetative - Ask mum and dad - saw Evita in Sydney at age 6 or 7 (I think) and did not stop playing the tape for years! - I know every word, inflection, pronunciation on every song) I love Music! I get soooo very excited and happy when I have seen something good! I could honestly now quit my work - go on the dole - and tour every city in search of good theatre and music! (there are 2 more in Germany I am craving to see) - but I wont Quit! The last up date I said I my not come back! Joke! LOL I could Hear Di & Bill Jones "shudder" all the way from Qld when I typed! I was right! LOL she emailed me back and said NO WAY!! God love Her! As long as I get a good theatre fix each year (as I love it) ill be fine! I do love my work, I love my City Sydney, I love my home, I love the Company Di Jones R/E (best company I have ever worked at) I love the people I work with, I love my mates, I love my Girl Friends (you know who u are) I love my Mum and Dad, I love my family, I love my mac, and we all know I love my Katz (german) (Love ya "Spritzzy" (passed away Kat)) This trip alone was very important to me. I have never done a "alone" trip before - although I had arranged to be with someone for Europe, I am doing it myself, and I am so glad I did! There is snow every where I am on my way to Prague for Christmas day! I woke this morning to SNOW SNOW AND MORE SNOW! It is interesting to walk around the streets, your not trudging - but you are certainly being careful to watch you step, the snow when fresh seems fine, but then sort of melts into the shoe print then snow falls on top melts again into each other and freezes over and the whole side walk is a colleague of foots, foots and foots! - some paths have been cleared and they put sand stuff down to help both walking and navigation! You have to be careful not to slip over! I haven't yet! Touch wood - or chocolate bear! Berlin was so interesting and enjoyable! I did do the day tour yesterday, some of the buildings were very very pretty, and the history was very interesting. Berlin is going through and has since the Unification in 1990 a building spree, it is the busiest building site in the world at the moment, They are trying to get back to what it was or some sort - I can not even start to imagine what it would be like to have a wall down the centre of the city - its still there for a block near "check point Charlie" It really is a extraordinary city - many many things to do - even 3 full days I could not get to it all! - I did not find that I did not speak German hard. Tokyo was harder! But it is an interesting thing to sit in a taxi going some where and the driver speaks ZIP its like a blind date going bad when no one talks! I cant cope with it! Lol but I cant say any thing - as he wont say any thing as he knows I cant understand and visa versa! Very funny! All shops are closed on Sundays! Weird and I mean Every Thing Closed! I did find it hard to like look around and browse in between the city tour! Like I was so frozen by 9pm Saturday I walked past a Solarium Salon! Right in I Go! 18 mins of mmmmmmm SUN well fake sun! That thored me out! and I hope I get a little colour! I AM SOO WHITE! Like you rug up, gloves, scarfm leather jacket, jumper, and there's no sun any way! - Not that I have never really been a good person for the beach or sun! Maybe I'm getting better? But I do miss it. During my travels I was browsing and found a spectacles shop, and hey they had "Harry Potter" eye glasses! That's so funny, like Warner Brothers have marketed and branded "Harry Potter" eye where! lol - next will be the Eau de Cologne "Potter Pong" hehehehe - I literally stumbled onto the Sunday Flea Market yesterday - like the Paddington market - but honestly we have no idea what a true flea market is! To start it was like 1.5 Kilometres long! 2 rows! and was just incredible. Like any thing you could think, buttons, 2nd hand furniture, plates, silver, billions of like good old bric a brac, watches, keys, coats, furs, shoes, all 2nd hand, there was one stall that both Di Jones and I would go crazy! all old like antique gold fittings and fixtures like, door handles, letter box flaps, gates, candle holders for the front door, door nobs, large ornate stuff similar to the French era but would say from the old Germany or country houses - and cheap. For what you would pay to get it in Sydney and or if you could get it you could fly to Berlin for the weekend and an empty suit case and snap up some priceless stuff for a house reno. U would have to take some one that spoke German to help barter for you - and you Shut up!!! I was looking at watches and in one of the cases was a Rolex watch in the original case - seemed Real - the German couple next to me asked in German "how much - Rolex" and he said $3200.00 marcs, They said no and then I said in english "how much - Rolex" and he said $4800.00 ......... Yeah mate im stupid! The dollar Aussie to Berlin is good, Like we do well! $1.10Aus to $1.00Ger so things have been resonable. There were lots of things I did not get to do, as there are soooooo many museums and they were very crowded on Sunday - did not get to see the Andy Warhol retrospective - was going to do first thing Monday - but all musems are closed Monday! so did not get to to that!! Pity! Just got to the Czech border - and 4 Politze want all my ID - and visa and stuff! 3 people taken off the train - no visa! mmmmm but in kewl!! so far the Czech Rep looks very pretty, I know I will like it. MERRY CHRISTMAS, love tim xox
