We wake early due to noise and begin a search for breakfast. Food is surprisingly difficult to find before 9 a.m. We return to the hostel to change into our wedding clothes and wait for our taxi to arrive. The car is late and we make quite a site, standing outside the hostel in formal wear with backpacks.
Waiting in tuxedos
We arrive at the castle in the pouring rain and are forced to hike through the mud to the gate. Our rooms are assigned and we are placed in the attic. I can hardly contain my excitement.
Schloss Scharfenburg
The wedding festivities last all day. They wed at 12:30 p.m. We drink champagne and eat cake in the afternoon, then take a tour of the castle. We visit the dungeons and torture chamber and follow secret passages. I thoroughly enjoy the tour and do some exploring on my own. I am convinced the place is haunted and scare myself into stopping my unofficial tour.
In the dungeon
We eat and drink in the evening but it is not until after 10 p.m. that we also dance. The loud, drunk Americans rule the floor and vow to keep the party jumping. There is a break for ice cream at midnight but we dance until it is time to help the DJ pack up at 2:30 a.m. Russell and I return to the attic and Teets and Greer outlast us again.
Day 4 becomes a day of rest and we sleep in as long as possible. We finally leave the hostel for brunch, then walk the neighborhood trying to find some objects made of porcelain to purchase for the evening’s pre-wedding festivities. We return empty-handed as it turned out to be a national holiday, Mannertag, . The holiday was once religious but is now a sort of father’s day. Groups of men celebrate by roaming the streets towing wagons full of beer and getting very drunk.
In the evening we attend the Polterabend. The guests all break porcelain dishes to scare away bad ghosts before the bride and groom tie the knot.
Scaring away the ghosts
The bride and groom must clean up the mess before the wedding. Naturally, all attempts are made to thwart this effort.
We leave Berlin in the afternoon, traveling by bus to Dresden. We are assigned to the Camel Room at our hostel in the Neustadt. The room pales in comparison to our previous accommodations.
The Camel Room
For dinner we choose a GDR style pub. The food is amazing and we wonder why we are literally the only people in the restaurant. Other tourists arrive later.
A GDR meal
We walk toward the Old Town and come across a tiki bar situated on the river. We sip their signature sangria while others play beach volleyball nearby. The bartender recommends a discothek and calls a car to take us there. We are surprised when a man in an Audi arrives to pick us up.
Tiki bar on the Elbe
The discothek is nearly empty on a Wednesday night but we do our best to drink and dance with abandon. It is very late when we arrive at the hostel but sleep is nearly impossible. The street noise outside the window is ridiculous, with loud music and screaming pub patrons. When the crowds finally leave, the street cleaner arrives and I listen to the noise of the motor as it blends with the music.
We eat our first European breakfast, with choices of croissants and Nutella or bread and meat and cheese. Russell takes the predictable route and has salami for breakfast.
Checkpoint Charlie
In the afternoon we take a free tour of Berlin. The guide, Brad, becomes a legend among our group as he leads us on an impressive five hour tour of the city. As we arrive at Checkpoint Charlie for a lunch break we literally run into the sister of groom. It is a chance meeting but she joins our tour and eventually our little group for most of the rest of our trip.
Brad at the Brandenburg Gate
After the tour we take the U-bahn to a random stop to try to find food. The locals are not so friendly and we stay for just a drink instead. We make our way back to the tourist area and find a beautiful biergarten just as it begins to rain. I am intrigued by the German meatloaf and order this for dinner. This is the first of many poor food decisions.
German meatloaf = bologna?
Russell goes for a second round of beer and randomly comes across the groom’s parents. The father suggests that our next stop should be the Erotik Museum. We comply, but settle for giggling in the bar and gift shop rather than pay the steep price of admission. Instead we look for a discothek but fail and spend another evening in the hostel bar.
The bar had a Hasselhoff theme and the biggest boot mugs I've ever seen
We arrive in Berlin in the afternoon and make our way to the hostel to meet friends. Together we have our first German beers and explore the city while trying to stave the jet lag off.
We take lots of pictures of Russell “holding up” the sites of Berlin. Sadly, all of the photos are erased when I mistakenly reformat the memory card.
By 8:30 pm I fall asleep sitting upright, but I rally and manage to stay at the hostel bar until midnight. Greer and Teets outlast us by hours, a feat they will repeat nearly every night of the trip. I sleep more soundly than I have in weeks.
Yet another friend phoned last night to tell us that he and his wife are expecting their first child. That brings the current count of pregnant friends to four. The parents-to-be are happy, excited and proud. I, however, am having an anxiety attack. What are they thinking?
It’s flat, it’s pastel, and during the summer months it’s really too hot for human inhabitants.
Yet somehow my trips to Florida turn out to be some of the most fun and relaxing vacations I’ve ever taken. Maybe it’s time to rethink my stance on the state and embrace the good times.
Satellite Beach
Past Florida Flings
March 2001 - My first trip to the state. We went to Clearwater Beach for spring break. When your break is in early March you tend to be the only non-retirees in the state. Still, we made friends with Bossa, the hotelier, and I learned to play Shuffleboard. We managed a day by the pool despite the weather and had time for a one-way trip on the Jolly Trolley. The booze cruise was pretty nice too.
February 2003 - My first trip to Disney World. Russell and I ate and drank our way through the international experience that is Epcot. I also got Mickey ears.
June 2004 – My bachelorette party in Miami. Days on the beach, nights at The Clevelander, and the biggest rally EVER.
August 2006 – It was hot. Everything in the condo was covered in a thick layer of mold. We barely escaped the Everglades with our lives.
April 2007 – My very first professional association conference and it happened at Disney World. Very professional, no? I stayed at the Polynesian Hotel and would go for a late swim in the pool every night after the families had sent the kids off to bed.
February 2009 – Three nights in a condo on Satellite Beach. There was line dance watching, (very cold) swimming and sunburn. But mostly it was just relaxing in warmer weather.
For as much as it was love at first sight with Portland, I never really cared much for Seattle. My time there had been limited in the past so this time I was determined to see a bit more of the city.
It was pouring when I arrived the first night so, despite my good intentions, I saw nothing more than the hotel bar and the inside of my room. It was bright and sunny, if not bitterly cold, in the morning, so I made my way out into the city. My first stop was Pike Place market. I had been told to look for the fish tossing, but instead found only some delicious fish and chips.
Tourist that I was, I next made my way to the monorail entrance and, after waiting in line with many, many families on vacation, rode it to the Space Needle. It felt a little like being at Disney World, though a little less exciting.
From there I was on a mission. On our honeymoon Russell and I had eaten some awesome doughnuts a place within walking distance of the Space Needle. I remembered walking under the monorail track, so I followed it for blocks until I found what I was looking for. It was just as good as I remembered.
Seattle felt a little more like San Francisco this time around and I found myself really enjoying my day in the city. It would have been nice to have even more time there, but I was anxious to get to my next stop, Vancouver, BC.
