I guess I should not feel so bad about the extensive reminiscing that I know you are soon to be subjected to. Comparison is at the heart of this project and for me the most obvious comparison is between how it was and how it is.
And how is it, now? Getting to Berlin today is a piece of cake. And a pretty inexpensive piece of cake, at that. Even though we spent the last three months in Brussels, our journey to Berlin began in Paris. The fact that Paris is a nice place to visit was not the deciding factor. The ease and cost of travel was what took us west when our destination was to the east.
And how is it, now? Getting to Berlin today is a piece of cake. And a pretty inexpensive piece of cake, at that. Even though we spent the last three months in Brussels, our journey to Berlin began in Paris. The fact that Paris is a nice place to visit was not the deciding factor. The ease and cost of travel was what took us west when our destination was to the east.
Brussels, despite being "the Capital of Europe", is still pretty small town by European standards. It is not an airline hub and not a major tourist destination. As a result, trains and airfares in and out are pretty expensive. The fact that a lot of the travel in & out is charged to government expense accounts probably does not help boost competition. Travel to Paris is one of the exceptions, Berlin is not.
Our preference, all things being equal, would have been to take the train from Brussels to Berlin. Train travel is far more relaxing than that guantlet you run at the airport. It was a disappointment to learn that the train to Berlin would cost twice as much and take twice as long as going Brussels-Paris, then Berlin by air. Sadly, that's how we went. (Bad carbon footprint)
The trip to Berlin was uneventful and pretty much just like a flight between SFO and PDX - a route I know pretty well. You can take good mass transit to the airport, catch your flight and ride the Metro on the other end. When you get there you grab your luggage and go. No border control, no hassles. And that’s how Paris-Berlin is now. A far cry from my first trip to Berlin. On that trip the train stopped for long stretches to give the East German border guards time to scrutinize every passenger, their luggage and the undercarriage of the train. It had to be done entering and leaving the GDR. Today, Europeans pop from country to country without a care. Schengen has made the trip very much like one with in a single country.
 |
| Berlin Border Control - No one there. |
The trip to Berlin was uneventful and pretty much just like a flight between SFO and PDX - a route I know pretty well. You can take good mass transit to the airport, catch your flight and ride the Metro on the other end. When you get there you grab your luggage and go. No border control, no hassles. And that’s how Paris-Berlin is now. A far cry from my first trip to Berlin. On that trip the train stopped for long stretches to give the East German border guards time to scrutinize every passenger, their luggage and the undercarriage of the train. It had to be done entering and leaving the GDR. Today, Europeans pop from country to country without a care. Schengen has made the trip very much like one with in a single country.
No comments:
Post a Comment