Wednesday in Berlin

Amsterdam to Berlin was not a good option because of the lack of low fare airlines. There is one such airline but it only operated a late afternoon flight which would do us no good. So we were forced to train it over to Berlin which necessitated a 5 hour ride. The trains were nice; it was relaxing and it allowed us to catch up on some Zzzzz's. And one leg included the famous German ICE train which at one point was running over 180 miles per hour!

Upon arrival we took the S-Bahn elevated train to the stop closest our hotel and upon arrival learned that the hotel had experienced a fire the previous weekend and many rooms were destroyed. But they called us a taxi and moved us to the much more expensive Crowne Plaza and only charged us their cheaper rate. So we could complain about that.

Northern Germany in winter, especially this far east in the time zone, means it gets dark around 4pm. So we had to move quickly but we only got to experience the Victory Column, Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate before it got pitch black. Like London, we purchased a Day Ticket (Tageskarte) for the local transit system which goes literally everywhere. The largest department store on the European continent is in Berlin....Ka De We....and stopped there before they closed to buy a couple items. My friend had a mission and that was to experience a real German meal. We both had Wiener Schniztels (Breaded Veal Cutlets, Vienna Style) which is actually Austrian, not German. But they were delicious. We both agreed the German girls were the best of the 3 cities; beautiful. And we couldn't get enough of the skinny jeans tucked into tall black boots look seen everywhere. We just don't get enough of that look here in Florida!

Tuesday in Amsterdam

We were out of our London hotel by 5am and on the tube heading to London Heathrow Airport. This is the largest of London's 5 airports and the easiest to get to. Our fare over to Amsterdam was an incredible £5.00 although with taxes it was still around $45. But cheap nonetheless. This was a first flight ever for me on an airline called "bmi". (formerly British Midland). In less than an hour we were on the ground at Amsterdam.

My friend really liked Amsterdam. He commented that London was too much like the U.S. and the girls were uglier. I don't know; I saw plenty of hot girls walking around London. But it's true that the signs are in English, the people are speaking English, the buildings are very modern. It could be an American city. But he immediately got into the foreignness of the Netherlands. The buildings are very old and they have a certain look to them. No high rises. Bicycles everywhere, even on this 40-degree day. The signs are in Dutch and that's what is being spoken, even though everyone speaks English quite well too. Definitely Amsterdam is a great city! The only thing wrong this day was that there was a very light drizzle; the only rain of the trip. But it was so light that one hardly got wet. But it was cold too.

Lunch was in an Arab kabob-joint on the main drag, the Damrak. Very good. For dinner I had to have some pancakes and a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the Red Light District was quite unique. When we went in the owner was sitting at a table smoking hashish from his water pipe. He took our order, prepared all the food himself and while we dined he was back smoking his hash. But I can't complain. My chocolate covered pancakes....the size of the entire plate...were awesome!

OK, what did we do in Amsterdam. Well, we visited the Sex Museum. This is 3 floors of photographs and props having to do with sex over the past century. Quite interesting. And no visit to AMS would be complete without a visit to the famous Red Light District. For those of you who haven't been there, let me describe it. It's an area of Amsterdam spread over 10 blocks or so of girls for sale. Or should I say rent? Each has their own tiny little studio apartment with a glass doorway they stand in, trying to get customers. Of course there is a red light above each doorway. If the curtains are closed, business is being transacted. If they're open, check her out. There are all shapes and sizes and colors available. Something for everyone. There is no nudity but they are dressed in sexy attire; some more than others. Plenty of high heels and tall boots. I did inquire and the going rate is €50 for a suck or a fuck. No purchases were made though; this was "window shopping" only trip.

Then it was on to the Live Sex Show at Casa Rosa. This is another Amsterdam institution and for €50 including 3 drinks, my friend got to witness it for himself. (I had been 3 times previous!) The show consists of 8 separate "skits" and then when they being to repeat themselves again, it's time to leave. Some of the skits that come to mind:
1. White girl with white guy
2. Black girl with black guy
3. Girl with banana - with 3 guys pulled from audience getting to remove it!
4. Girl with lit cigar - don't ask!
5. Guy pulled from audience with dildo strapped to his head. Guy was from China or Mongolia or somewhere that he had a problem understanding what he was supposed to do with it.
6. Girl pulled from audience got to undress the performer. She got soooo into it.
7. Batman rescues a girl from evil and she rewards him for his kindness
And one other skit that doesn't come to mind so it must have not been that good.
And then there was the gorilla. Someday I might tell you what the gorilla does.
Now I realize that this sounds sleazy and I guess it is, but it's hardly a "Guys" show. I would estimate that about 40% of the audience were women. And a good time was had by all!

So no, we didn't do the Reiksmuseum, we didn't do the Rembrandt Museum, we didn't do the Ann Frank Haus. We did better!

Monday in London

I definitely lucked out on the flight over! I had 3 seats on the Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 all to myself. When I checked in for the flight I asked the agent if anyone was sitting next to me and she told me there were. So I had her move me to a window seat further back that had no one currently in the other seats. She did but of course could not promise that someone else wouldn't end up there. But soon enough the aircraft doors closed and there I was with 3 coveted seats all for myself! It made for a much more enjoyable overnight flight to London.....3 seats, 3 blankets and 3 pillows; and a seat-back video screen to kill a few hours too. Beef and mashed potatoes for dinner....my kind of meal.

Before long the plane began its decent into London's Gatwick Airport. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the English countryside was still sporting a mostly green coating even though it was mid-November. I recognized the port of Southampton from the air, a place I departed on a cruise a couple years prior.

My friend was flying into Gatwick from DFW. The plan was to meet in a certain location at the airport with all kinds of backup plans in case one of us got diverted or delayed. My flight was actually nearly an hour late getting in but I cleared Customs & Immigration in no time and was at the designated place. His flight arrived on time and before long there he was, a first-time visitor to Europe. We were both a bit tired; it's hard to sleep well on a long flight, but we were ready to go!

We took the train from Gatwick into central London. Our hotel room was not yet ready but the hotel took our luggage so we were free to see the sights. I had warned this guy that this was not the way to do Europe; particularly 3 cities in 3 days. At that pace we would see the sights, but only for about 5 minutes each! This turned true. With our Underground (subway) Day Pass
we spent more time in the Tube going from place to place than we did actually seeing any place. Big Ben/Parliament, take photos....back in the Tube. Tower of London/Tower Bridge....back in the Tube......Marble Arch, take photographs....back in the Tube. And so on. Did a little bit of Christmas shopping on Oxford Street at TopShop and TopMan. (www.topshop.com)

London is horribly expensive for Americans. Think of U.S. prices and then multiply them by 2.3. My dinner seems reasonable at £16.95 if those were dollars. But they're British Pounds and that works out to nearly $40 for a small steak, fries and a coke. :(

First night was an early evening. Jet lag sets in and by 9pm it was lights out. And we have an early departure too.

Europe in a Daze

Hello everyone from Orlando where it's been chilly the last couple nights but we're headed back into the upper 70's and low 80's next week. Unfortunately I won't be here as I am making a quick trip to Europe.

A good friend of mine had me plan a great two-week trip to Europe for him and his wife & kids a few years ago. Unfortunately the trip never happened and he ended up (ultimately) getting divorced. So he still hasn't ever been "over the pond" and that subject came up a few months ago during a phone conversation. We ended up deciding we should do a trip together and I'd show him the highlights of a couple places. Problem was though that between our two schedules and other commitments we only had about 3 days to "see Europe". So Sunday night we fly out and on Monday we'll "do" London, Tuesday we're in Amsterdam, Wednesday we're in Berlin and on Thursday he flies home and I fy to Frankfurt to spend an extra day (due to flight timings) and I return on Friday.

I'm confident that between jet lag, late nights partying and daytimes on early airline hops, we're really going to SEE a lot of Europe! And did I mention it's going to be in the 30's & 40's over there?

WELCOME!

Welcome to King Bob's Domain!

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend! KINGBOB