GO WEST… BERLIN TO AMSTERDAM.

GERMANY – NETHERLANDS: DAY 490 – 500. BERLIN, HANOVER, AMSTERDAM.

The rain in Berlin puts a dampener on getting around but we finish off and get on the road to Hannover. A quick stop there and then another wet & dry ride to Amsterdam

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Good morning, adventure travelers. We are on Museum Island. And in behind me is the Asian Art Museum, which is in the middle of town. You can see the old uh Berlin TV ball on a needle in behind there. I’m not going to go inside to see any uh Asian art. Just having a walk around the island. As you can see, still pretty uh overcast. Can’t see any blue skies, but it’s nice and warm and dry. So, let’s just keep plotting along. [Music] [Applause] [Music] She’s a big old unit, that’s for sure. And we are going from the Asian Museum to the Berlin Cathedral. Boy, it’s pretty impressive. Quasimoto’s in there ringing the bells thick and fast at the moment. So, that’s a cathedral that we looked at from the uh the riverside yesterday. It’s very impressive, although needs a bit of a water blast if you ask me. And right alongside the cathedral is the old museum. It’s got the Roman columns. Definitely going inside the old museum to uh check it out. Okay, just outside the front of the old museum. Very impressive columns and uh and steps. So, up we go and looking back towards the park. And there’s the cathedral in behind there. Amazing. Got to say, I do love me some Roman columns. So, we’re in the antiquities part of the museum, and all this stuff here is over 2,000 years old. This vasin behind me, 600 BC. These warrior masks as well, 2 and a half thousand years old. This is the Greek goddess Athena, 400 BC. Pretty crazy that you can walk right up to it. Okay, so I’m in a circular room with marble statues. It’s pretty amazing. and the roof. Amazing detail. I dare say they’re all a couple of thousand years old as well. Here is a statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius who featured in the film Gladiator. How will the world speak my name in years to come? Will I be known as the philosopher, the warrior, the tyrant, or will I be the emperor who gave Rome back her true self? There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it, anything more than a whisper, and it would vanish. It was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter. What’s up, adventure travelers? Yes, another overcast, not very nice day in Berlin. It’s been raining this morning, but it’s eased up for now. It’s probably going to have another crack later on, but we are at the Brandenburgg Gate. So, the Brandenburgg Gate is the beginning of the road from Berlin to Brandenburgg, and it was built in the late 1700s. Pretty imposing. It’s got the sculpture on the top there, but it’s a very popular tourist spot. There you go. Probably not quite as popular as normal with this uh not so great weather. And anyway, next stop, Checkpoint Charlie. I understand it’s around here somewhere. I’m not quite sure why I’m wandering around in the rain looking at historical buildings when I could be in a nice warm pub somewhere drinking a nice cold beer in the beer making capital of the world. But anyway, in this case, the juice is definitely worth the squeeze. That is very impressive. Hope you guys like looking at historical buildings as much as I do. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you just want to see the motorcycleycling stuff. But anyway, this is the German Parliament. Can’t even fit it all in. So, here’s a question for you geography files. Berlin was the capital of East Germany back in the day. What was the capital of West Germany? All right. So, this I’m off to find shelter in a pub somewhere. Cheers. All righty. Well, the rain has no intention of easing up today. It’s 4:00 in the afternoon and uh finally making the way to Checkpoint Charlie. Look at this weather. Just nasty. And here we are getting rained on to see the famous Checkpoint Charlie with McDonald’s in the background. So, this is the famous place where they exchanged our prisoners and let people in and out of West Berlin back in the day. Just looks like a tiny little innocuous hut these days, but um yeah, it was quite a significant piece of geography in the communist days of East Germany. Here’s a picture inside of the hut of what it looked like back in the day. What’s up, adventure travelers? All right, we have a special edition of the threeminute geography lesson. Today’s lesson is on a city, not a country. That’s right, Berlin. Let’s go for a walk around the streets of Berlin and learn a little bit more about the history of this place. Berlin was founded in the 12th century. In 1701, Frederick crowned himself king of Prussia and made Berlin the capital of the new kingdom. In 1871, Prussia became part of the new German Empire and Berlin retained its position as the seat of power. With the defeat of Germany in World War I, the empire shrunk to a republic. But Berlin held on as the center of it all. With the defeat of Germany in World War II, the Soviets and the Allies split Germany into East and West. But Berlin was actually split four ways with sectors being controlled by France, UK, the US and the Soviets. This arrangement eventually morphed into East and West Berlin with the famous Berlin Wall being built in 1961 to encapsulate West Berlin. With the collapse of communism in 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and East and West Germany were reunified. Berlin became the capital of the new country. Berlin is Germany’s largest city with just shy of 4 million inhabitants. About 25% of the population are foreignb born and about 50% of the population of Berlin has a migrant background. It’s a thriving cultural, historical, and political hub, and it’s a mustsee if you’re in Europe. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time here, and it’s on the short list of places on this long trip that I’ll definitely be coming back to. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] Okay. Well, it hasn’t turned out too bad. What did I pay for this? €46. So, round about 90 New Zealand dollars. But anyway, it’s a nice and tidy room for the night. Plenty of room for all my gear there hanging up. Even a little nook there for the laptop to do a bit of work. Just a splash and dash in handover. Got an early start tomorrow. Over 400ks tomorrow. So, 6 and 1 half hours in the saddle. So, better grab a quick bite and get an early night. Heat. [Music] [Music] Just pulled over at the petrol station for a coffee and I was hoping the rain was going to ease. is up a bit, but no such luck. Look at that sky. Oh boy. Pretty nasty out there. Still 3 and 1/2 hours of motorway riding to go, but it is what it is. Let’s get on the road. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Music] All righty. Here we are in Amsterdam. Found a park for the bike. I’ve surreptitiously disguised it as a bicycle. No one will notice. It’s parked with all the other bicycles up and down the canal and it could very easily have slipped over the edge into the canal. So hopefully it won’t attract any fines over the next couple of days and uh we can go and see some sights and sounds. I still think the hostel is overpriced, but it’s not a bad location. Look at that. We’re in the heart of tourist town, but uh despite what we all think about tourists, they go to where the good stuff is. So, that’s what we’re surrounded by. Anyway, time for a shower and maybe get out for a cool beer. I know I said it was a good location, but $110 New Zealand dollars for a room in a 10 bed hostel is just extortion. Put that in your pipe and smoke in Amsterdam. Hopefully my contact, my biking contact in Rotterdam will uh will be in touch over the next 24 hours and I can go and sleep on his couch for a couple of nights and that will uh make the average cost per night a bit more palatable. [Music] Oo hey.