Affordable Digs: Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbanhof
Frankfurt Hauptbanhof
Our train pulled into Frankfurt rather late, but luckily we had booked a hotel close to the station. We got a really great deal booking early on the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s Web site – parent company of the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. I was also happy that I would be getting Priority Rewards points for the stay. We booked a night at the Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbanhof, about a 3 blocks away from the train station (Elbestraße 7). Hardly anyone was out at the late hour when we arrived. Walking up Kaiserstraße, you’ll notice immediately the Starbucks on the right-hand side (free Wi-Fi).
Holiday Inn Express - Frankfurt
Check-in at the hotel was very quick. As a Priority Rewards member, I got a really nice letter from the receptionist from the hotel manager greeting me to the hotel. The letter also informed me that I could request a late check-out at 2pm, which I did. Also, my room was on the top floor, facing Elbestraße. To access the hotel’s free Wi-Fi, you will need to get the username and password from the receptionist.
The room itself was lovely, with a refreshing contemporary aesthetic and a color scheme that worked. Many times when requesting a double bed in Europe, the rooms will have two twin beds pushed together to make one bed. The bed at the hotel was in fact just one bed (I would say, a little smaller than a King bed), which was nice. The flat-screen TV was a descent size. I wished the bathroom had a bathtub.
Snowy Frankfurt
It started to snow the following morning, which added a lovely touch to the historic facades of the buildings across the street. For lunch we walked down towards the Starbucks on Kaiserstraße. Very close to the Starbucks I had spotted a Vietnamese restaurant on our walk to the hotel the night before.
Pho!
For whatever reason, the though of having Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup with slices of beef) sounded really good to me, especially on the cold and snowy day we were having. Unfortunately, I failed to jot down the name of the Vietnamese restaurant (bad Jan!), but you can’t miss it walking up Kaiserstraße from the train station. The Pho that I ordered hit the spot! So yummy and affordable!
For a hotel close enough to the train station, I would recommend the Holiday Inn Express. We did not have breakfast since I snoozed a bit too long while Andreas went out to do his personal business in the city. Breakfast was not included in my rate, and it would have run a little over 10 euros. I liked the affordability of the hotel along with how new and modern our room felt. Plus, it was a great way to collect Priority Reward points!
Images shot with Instagram.
Off to Frankfurt on the ICE in First Class
From Berlin we had to get to Frankfurt for a couple of personal engagements. Most travelers like me know Frankfurt because of its major international airport and have probably never ventured to the city center. As a German, Andreas didn’t really think much of the city, so we didn’t have anything really planned for our overnight stay, except for an Egyptian exhibition (more on that later) that we had bought tickets to. We bought our ICE (Intercity Express) train tickets a few weeks before we had left for Germany on the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Web site. I learned from Andreas that if you purchased your tickets in advance, you can get significant discounts on the various DB-run trains. Our tickets were discounted about 50% because we bought them early.
I was surprised by how empty our car was!
Leg room on ICE train in first class
I absolutely love train travel, so I was excited to be taking the train to Frankfurt. First class on an ICE train gives you ample leg room space and aisle space because of the 1 seat, aisle, 2 seats configuration. Though I wished the seat reclined back more. In first class, there is a train attendent that passes through for food and drink orders. Also on select ICE trains, you can even pay for Wi-Fi service. The ICE train stops less frequently than the other train options, so our trip to Frankfurt felt extremely fast.
Refreshments
A train car behind first class was the cafe car, where we had a really nice dinner and refreshments. Our train ride to Frankfurt would be one of many train rides we would be taking on our German holidays.
All images taken with Instagram.
Evening View in Berlin: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas
A trip to Berlin is not complete without a visit to the Holocaust Memorial otherwise known as Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Cora-Berliner-Strasse 1, a short walk from Potsdamer Platz U-Bahn station). There is an underground “Place of Information” where the names of all the Jewish people killed are listed. Unfortunately for us, it was closed the Monday we visited.
Andreas and I roamed around the 2,711 slabs or stelae for awhile. There are usually lights that light up on the ground, but they were not on while we were there. I found walking through the maze of stelae that ranged in height from very short to taller than me incredibly moving and at times disorienting.
Image taken with Instagram.
Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery
Andreas and I decided to check out the Berlin Wall on our first full day together, a Monday. Because of the crappy weather the day before and getting lost, I wasn’t able to see any of the museums that I wanted to see. So Andreas and I planned on seeing the Berlin Wall since it was the furthest away, then work our way back towards the museum attractions.
The Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery
There is a nice section of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery, one kilometer long stretch of wall covered with art. There are two S-Bahn stations close by – Ostbanhof and Warschauer Straße. I would recommend Ostbanhof. It’s a shorter walk from the station to the Wall. From Ostbanhof exit, the Wall is a short walk directly in front of you. The Wall is adjacent to the Spree river.
Below are a few snapshots of that I took of the wall. The whole idea of the Berlin Wall is incredible – that a wall could be constructed (a) so quickly and (b) separate people as effectively as it did and for as long as it did is really astounding. Experiencing the Wall was incredibly moving, since I was just a kid when it fell but still remember the news broadcast of its falling. A lot of the artwork at the East Side Gallery has been restored because of vandalism, a good thing given how powerful the artwork is.
You can even get a stamp in your passport at the East Side Gallery. I chose the Checkpoint Charlie Stamp for 1 euro.
I recommend taking your time while at the Wall. There’s so much to see. Like I said earlier, we went to the Wall on a Monday. As we would soon discover, Mondays are bad days when it comes to museum-going – in fact, most museums are closed on Monday – which really threw a wrench in our plans. Plan accordingly!
All images taken with Instagram.
Kaiten-Sushi at Mr. Hai Kabuki Berlin
Mr. Hai Kabuki on Olivaer Platz
After all the travel delays, Andreas finally arrived to the hotel…and boy was he hungry! I awoke from my snooze hungry too and very excited to get some real food, since the night before I opted to cook a pizza that I bought from the nearby supermarket. I was also super excited to have Andreas, a native speaker of German, around since he would be my primary translator during our time in Germany. Skyping the night before, we had both scoped out online a Japanese restaurant close by on Olivaer Platz called Mr. Hai Kabuki (Olivaer Platz 10), a contemporary kaiten-sushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant. On my stroll the night before, I had walked around Olivaer Platz and peeked into the restaurant. I would have eaten there but I didn’t want to experience it without Andreas. In terms of food options, the area around Olivaer Platz has plenty of restaurants. I spotted a Vietnamese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and a couple of Japanese restaurants. I am particularly fond of kaiten-sushi, so I had my heart set on going to Mr. Hai Kabuki. Andreas dropped off his bags, and we were off!
Kaiten-Sushi!
We were greeted by a nice woman, who spoke English and German (not to mention Vietnamese). Having lived in Japan for several years, I am quite familiar with the Japanese language. It doesn’t surprise me anymore that non-Japanese Asians often run Japanese restaurants. Andreas told me that as a child in Germany, the only Asians he ever interacted with were Vietnamese folks. I figured there was probably a fairly large Vietnamese diaspora in Germany. No matter – we were hungry, and we anticipated that the food would be good. The sushi bar where folks sat to pick off the sushi dishes off of wooden boats floating in water was fairly packed. Most of the kaiten-sushi places that I’ve been have used an actual conveyor belt to circulate the dishes with the various rolls and sushi options. Kabuki used wooden boats on water that floated with the current, which I thought was a nice touch.
Shrimp dish
The rolls, sushi, and the other small dishes weren’t too bad. It wasn’t by any means stellar, though good enough, as my friend Wil would say, “for the girls we date.” If you are looking for reasonably-priced dishes (each of the dishes you take is coded by color, which determines the price), then Kabuki is a fine food option for you, especially if you are staying at a nearby hotel like the Citadines. I thought the interior was tastefully designed in a sleek contemporary way. Do know that you aren’t limited to only the dishes on the floating boats. You can put in requests to the sushi chefs, or you can order from the menu (complete with pictures!). Let’s just say, after so much traveling by the both of us just to get to Berlin and my day of walking around in the rain, my bottle of Sapporo tasted so good!
With what seemed like a tower of mini-dishes stacked and plenty of empty bottles of beer in front of us, we were ready for much needed sleep. And yes, we slept like logs!
All images taken with Instagram.
Lost in Berlin: Wintery Rain, Neues Museum, and the Brandenburg Gate
My first full day in Berlin was not without a few challenges. The weather was blistery cold but not cold enough for snow. In fact, the rain fell steadily throughout the day. The mix of cold and rain was not the most ideal, especially when I had planned on visiting various sites around Berlin. With my Berlin WelcomCard in hand, I was surely going to see Berlin…or at least that was the plan.
One of my loves in life is contemporary art, and Berlin, as I’ve read, is place for that. My first stop was the KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Auguststraße 69). I found my way without any problems to the U-Bahn Weinmeister Straße stop – the exit is right next to the fashionable Casa Camper Hotel Berlin and other trendy shopping spots and cafes. The trouble started as soon as I exited the subway. I could not, for the life of me, figure out North from South, or where the hell I was. I found myself walking around in circles, checking the map in my handy Berlin WelcomeCard booklet, going back to the subway station to read the map of the surrounding location, and finally camping out underneath an arch at the Goethe-Institut, waiting for the rain to subside (it never did). In short, I never found the KW. Dejected, I decided to forge ahead with my plans to see Berlin.
Berliner Fernsehturm
I decided to make my way to the Alexanderplatz U-Bahn station, the major hub within the Mitte district of Berlin. There I found the Galeria Kaufhof brimming with holiday shoppers and those wanting to escape the rain. From the Alexanderplatz exit you have a good view of Berliner Fernsehturm, Berlin’s tallest iconic structure. My plan was to walk along the Karl-Liebkneckt Straße, a main shopping thoroughfare, in the direction of the Museum Island (Museuminsel) where the street turns into Schloßplatz. The street then turns into the Unter den Linden, which would take me to the Bradenburg Gate.
Berliner Dom
It might be good to note that, not only will you have to contend with the cold and rainy weather during the Wintertime, you will also have to contend with the short days. Get an early start! Because of jet-lag, I unfortunately got a rather late start (noon-ish). But I also wasted about an hour looking for the KW. By the time I started my walk from Alexanderplatz to the Museum Island, the time was nearing 3pm. It might also be good to note that an umbrella or rain gear might help your journey, especially if you are going by foot. By the time I got to the Berliner Dom, Berlin’s largest church on the Museum Island, I was drenched, cold, and generally not happy. The sight of the Altes Museum across the Am Lustgarten lifted my spirits a bit, since I decided that it might be a good idea to head into a museum, any museum, because of the weather. I made my way along the Am Lustgarten, where I saw Roma women following tourists and soliciting money. I made a point to not walk in their direction.
Neues Museum
Finally I spotted the Neues Museum. The Neues Museum should not be mistaken for the Neue Nationalgalerie, the modern art museum the near Potsdamer Platz area! I say this because you WILL NOT see any modern art in the Neues Museum, but rather multiple floors of impressive Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art (along with Stone and Bronze Age exhibits). The Neues Museum is also where you will find the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti (which you are forbidden to take photos of, apparently).
Egyptian Male Bust in the Neues Museum
I was tired, cold, and wet, which I blame my mistake on. The price of admittance is 10 euro. If you do all four floors, which includes the basement, which I did, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth, and you’ll see enough classical and ancient art to last you the whole year!
Center strip of Unter den Linden
After doing the Neues Museum, I was totally museum’ed out (and here I thought I could fit in two or three museums during the day). I made my way towards the Brandenburg Gate, walking along the center of the Unter den Linden. It was only about 4pm, and hardly anyone was out. The trees at the center of the Unter den Linden were beautifully lit with Christmas lights. In the distance I could see the well-lit Bradenburg Gate and a huge Christmas tree in front of it.
Brandenburg Gate
It took about 15 minutes or so to get from the Neues Museum to the Brandenburg Gate. The site of the tree lit with Christmas lights and the gate was impressive!
Christmas Tree in front of the Brandenburg Gate
I decided that I was too tired to do much of anything else. So after I took a few pictures of the tree and gate, I went to the Starbucks close by and got myself a coffee and made my way to the closet U-Bahn station to go back to the hotel for a quick snooze. Andreas would be arriving shortly, and we’d planned on going out to dinner together.
All photos taken with Instagram.
Getting Around in Berlin: Public Transportation and Passes
My plan to see the museums with Andreas on what was to be our first full day in Berlin together was not to be. His travel schedule was thrown into disarray in the U.S., which caused a succession of travel delays and adjustments. He would be getting into Berlin about 8 hours later, just in time for dinner. I was, of course, disappointed, but I was also in Berlin and had a list of things that I wanted to do with Andreas that I had to revise to do by myself.
First on my list was to figure out how to get around Berlin. I was surely going to take the public transportation system from the Ku-Damm area where I was staying to the various sites of Berlin, and so I decided that a public transportation pass was probably the most practical of choices. Berlin has a fantastic public transportation system of buses, tram system, an elevated train and a subway system (S-Bahn and U-Bahn). As I had described in my previous post, taking the bus from Tegel Airport to my hotel was a breeze. Since we would be in Berlin for a little under 48 hours, I had in mind purchasing either the CityTourCard or the Berlin WelcomeCard, both of which would be valid for 48 hrs (you may purchase passes for longer durations: 72 hours and 5 days). I opted for the CityTourCard for 15.90 euros, which is cheaper than the WelcomeCard by 2 euros at 17.90 euros.
You can buy the CityTourCard at all selling points, traveller’s shops and all ticket vending machines of BVG and S-Bahn Berlin.
I had seen the vending machine at the bus stop where I was dropped off near the hotel, so I decided to make my way there. But for whatever reason, even with the instructions translated in English, the machine would not accept my card. After numerous times, I just gave up. I went to the closest ATM to withdraw money and headed back to my hotel, where I purchased the Berlin WelcomeCard at the front desk.
You can order your ticket including the travel guide in advance from the online shop, or via telephone in the callcentre. Also, many travel bureaus and events organisers include the Berlin WelcomeCard in their program. For those who make spontaneous decisions, the card can be bought directly on site: In the Berlin Touris Infos, you can purchase tickets and guides including individual consultation. Moreover, the Berlin WelcomeCard is also available both at airports and at many Berlin hotels, as well as at sales points and ticket machines for public transport services.
I realized that the 2 euro difference was because the WelcomeCard comes with a pretty handy booklet with tourist site listings and descriptions and maps of Berlin. Both passes are good for two zones (adding a third zone, Potsdam option is also available) and will allow you to ride all the public transportation in Berlin as you want for, in my case, 48 hours. It should be noted that the CityTourCard and WelcomeCard are, as I far I can tell, exactly the same, down to the discounts you can get at the various tourist sites. The only difference is the handy booklet you get with the WelcomeCard.
Both passes also gives you the opportunity to add a “museum” component to your card. This card comes only with the 72 hour duration and give you free access to the Alte Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Bodemuseum, Neues Museum, Pergamonmuseum, all of which are situated on “Museum Island” or Museumsinsel. The CityTourCard Museuminsel will set you back 31.50 euros, while the Berlin Welcome Card Museuminsel costs 34.00 euros. This is actually a fantastic deal, especially if museums are your thing. All of the museums are a very short distance from each other on “Museum Island.” I paid 10 euros just enter the Neues Museum! But be aware that you could potentially spend quite a number of hours in each of the museums – I spent about 2 hours just in the Neues Museum (more on this later). Berlin has so much to offer tourists. You might want to think about just how much museum-going you are willing to do before purchasing the museum component to either your CityTourCard or Berlin WelcomeCard.
In Photos: Evening Stroll Down Kurfürstendamm, Berlin
On my first night in Berlin, I took a stroll around the Kurfürstendamm area, the glitzy and very expensive shopping district of Berlin. The trees that lined Kurfürstendamm were decorated with Christmas lights, and every block or so there was a Christmas light installation, of Santa, Christmas trees, and other holiday scenes. The Ku-damm district, as it is locally called, is quite lovely, though it does get quite cold during the Winter months. The wide sidewalks are made for window shopping, complete with mini-display cases that store use to advertise their luxury goods. You’ll find stores like Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and other high-end stores all along Ku-damm, as well as a variety of restaurants and other attractions like the Cinema Paris, where French films and screened.
Here are a few shots I took on my evening stroll down Kurfürstendamm.
Bears in love
Kurfurstendamm - Bottega Veneta
Ku-damm - Hermes
Louis Vuitton Display Case - Ku-damm
Santa on Ku-damm
Christmas tree on Ku-damm
All images taken with Instagram.
Off to Berlin: Citadines Kurfürstendamm Berlin Hotel and Other Thoughts
It’s become somewhat of a given that whenever Andreas and I travel, there’s always bound to be some drama. Andreas’ flight to Brussels from Chicago hit a snag when on takeoff the American Airlines flight he was on came to an abrupt halt – mechanical issues. Luckily for him, his platinum status and first-class seat got an immediate and somewhat satisfactory response from the airlines, as he was rebooked on the next and only outbound flight to London, where he would catch a plane out to Brussels. When he was all done getting rebooked over the phone, the line from the place to see the gate agent hadn’t moved. Hopefully the other passengers found their way out of O’Hare. Because of the delay, he would be about 8 hours late, and he’d have to book another EasyJet flight from Brussels to Berlin (boo on EasyJet for not having a better “missed flight” policy). This travel snag meant that I would have to spend the first day and a half by myself in Berlin, which it turned out was super easy.
Lufthansa flight, main cabin middle seat
The first challenge was to actually get to Berlin. I had booked a travel reward ticket on Lufthansa from Dublin to Berlin, using my OnePass miles. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pick my seats ahead of time on Continental’s Web site, so by the time I checked in, I was stuck in a middle seat near the front of the main cabin. Fine by me, since I hardly take any room, and de-boarding would be relatively fast. The Lufthansa seat was not too bad for a flight that was less than two hours. My connection to Berlin was through Frankfurt. If anyone has every been to the Frankfurt Airport, you will agree that it’s a bit of a zoo (and it’s huge!). I had a two hour layover, but with all the lines – immigration, security – and terminal change from B to A, I made it to my gate with 15 minutes to spare. Luckily, the outbound flight was late. I did break out into a bit of a sweat.
We landed in Berlin’s Tegel Airport at around 6pm. Right next to the gate, I was surprised to see, was the baggage claim. And adjacent to the baggage claim was the exit into the terminal. From how close everything felt, the airport seemed smaller than it actually is. A few weeks earlier, I had booked a room through Orbitz for two nights at the Citadines Kurfürstendamm Hotel in Berlin for about $108. The reviews were relatively good, and people wrote about how easy it was to get from Tegel to the hotel and from the hotel to anywhere else in Berlin. I thought the price for two nights was a bargain for Berlin. For the most part, reviewers were right. I could have paid about 30 Euro (or $39) for a cab to the hotel, but instead I chose to take public transport, Bus #109 for 2.30 Euro (or $3), to the Citadines. There are signs everywhere in the terminal for where to catch the bus. Bus #109 would take me to the Olivaer Platz bus stop in the heart of Kurfürstendamm (or Ku-damm), the glitzy and expensive shopping district of Berlin. From the Olivaer Platz stop – walking south – the hotel is about three blocks away.
Citadines Kurdtendamm Berlin Hotel Room with Kitchen
The hotel receptionist was waiting for me and knew my name, since I was the last new person to check in. The hotel has a small lobby with computers for hotel guests to use as well as an area where breakfast is served. The hotel receptionist informed me about the Kaiser supermarket across the street if I wanted to get anything to cook as the room had a kitchen ( (be sure to take a tote bag or else get ready to pay 30 cents for a plastic bag). I decided for that option, but I wanted to take a stroll around Kurfürstendamm before I settled in for dinner.
Citadines Kurfürstendamm Berlin Hotel Room
My room was an average-sized room, with a work desk and a double sofa bed. My room had a view of the supermarket and the other buildings across the front of hotel. There is Wi-Fi at the hotel, but only in the lobby. The room, however, had Internet connectivity through an ethernet cable, which was too short to take your laptop to the bed. This was a bit frustrating for me, since I generally prefer working online in bed. In theory you could bring your own long ethernet cord if you decide to book a room at the Citadines. I, however, decided to make my own Wi-Fi connection, using my Macbook Pro as my hotspot (there are countless Web sites detailing how you can do this). This enabled me to use my iPhone to surf the Web, listen to music, check e-mail, blog, etc. When Andreas arrived the following day, I would use his laptop to work from bed.
The room was perfectly fine, and I would recommend the hotel to folks who want (a) an easy commute on public transport from Tegel to the hotel and (b) aren’t afraid to take public transport, either the bus or the subway, from the Kurfürstendamm area to other parts of Berlin. The Kurfürstendamm area is actually a lovely area. For those that need their daily Starbucks fix, there’s one about four short blocks away. If you plan to spend all your money shopping the boutique stores along Ku-damm, then you might want to book a room at the hotel since it is remarkably affordable for Berlin.
I stay at a lot of hotels, and most of the time I’m perfectly fine with whatever I get, as long as there’s nothing flagrant about the room. The kitchen in the room was a nice addition, especially for those folks who want to save some money on meals. I used the kitchen on the first night to cook a pizza that I bought from the supermarket across the street; I didn’t want to explore the foodie scene in Berlin without Andreas. The in-room refrigerator also came in handy. My biggest complaint was what looked like a massive wine stain on the floor in front of the windows (I stayed in Room 318). I couldn’t get over how large the stain was, and I hoped it wasn’t anything more serious than a wine stain. I had to cover the stain with a plastic bag since the sight of it was a tad disconcerting. Otherwise, I’d stay at the Citadines again, but would request a different room, if I ever went back to Berlin.
More photos from my stroll around Ku-damm to come.
All photos taken with Instagram.
Google Translate App for iPhone: Amazing but also Potentially Embarrassing
This holiday season I needed to prepare myself to meet my partner’s German parents for the first time. On the surface, I wasn’t freaked out by meeting his parents. What really sent shivers down my spine was the prospect of communicating with them, since they speak absolutely no English. Andreas assured me that I shouldn’t worry, as he would serve as my translator for much of our time with his parents. This, of course, was not reassuring to me. Knowing him, I knew he’d edit things out or not translate the potentially embarrassing things that his parents would say. What to do? What to do?
Google Translate App for the iPhone
Before the trip, I discovered that the iPhone had an a Google Translate app for free. I’ve used Google Translate on my laptop before to communicate with my housekeeper when I was staying in Buenos Aires a year ago, and it worked just fine. I’ve also been impressed with the language translation function on the Google Chrome browser. So I figured, the app would probably help out just fine when I needed to impart things like simple requests (ie. Can I help you with anything?) or kind words of praise or thanks (ie. The food was amazing.).
Google Translate App for the iPhone
For the most part, the app has been very helpful, at times simply amazing. It has a voice recognition function that enables you to speak your sentence into the app then translate what you’ve said into your desired language. You can also type your word or sentence into the box for translation. You can “star” words or sentences as favorites; this comes in handy if you find yourself using specific words of phrases again and again.
"I am weight gain."
With simple ideas or non-idiomatic expressions, the app works fine. After a very delicious and delightful Christmas dinner, I wanted to express how full I was. So I typed in, “I am very full,” and got back “Ich bin sehr voll.” I played the translation on the speaker function, and got back a delightful smile from Andreas’ mother. It turned out that the translation was perfect. But for more complex ideas or sentences, beware! The app tends to translate literally, with potentially embarrassing outcomes. You might have to break your sentence down into a simpler structure or rephrase your ideas into less complex ways. If not a literal translation, the app just gets it wrong. Luckily, I have Andreas to do quality control before I say or play over the speaker the translation. An example of the wrong translation would be today’s lunch. After another extremely delicious meal, I wanted to jokingly say, “I’m gaining weight.” What the app translated however was, “Ich bin Gewichtszunahme.” Unfortunately, Andreas’ parents saw the translation before I could show it to Andreas – they had befuddled looks. Apparently, the app translated the sentence as “I am weight gain,” which is a totally different idea than the act of gaining weight.
I’m not giving up on Google Translate. I am impressed with the voice recognition function. It also works with German speakers speaking into the app. It has the ability to recognize German to translate into English (or other languages). Most times that I’ve asked Andreas to speak a German word or sentence into it, the app has recognized his words just fine. While it would nice for complex sentences to be recognized or multiple sentences, the app is really limited to short sentences or words. It would obviously be great to get a real-time translation, but that technology is not quite there yet.
Bottom line: Neat app with a lot of potential, though use it with caution unless you want to potentially embarrass yourself.
Merry Christmas from Germany!
Santa Claus on Kurfurstendamm in Berlin
Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and Holidays wherever you are! Xoxo. Jan
Enjoy the Christmas lights from Germany.
Kurfurstendamm Christmas Tree
Peace Signs in Berlin
Christmas Tree in the Sony Center in Berlin
Center Strip of Unter den Linden in Berlin
Christmas Lights Leipzig Train Station
Christmas Tree in Leipzig Promenade
All images taken using Instagram.
Unlocking iPhone 4S with Verizon – a Breeze!
One of my “to-do’s” before I head to Europe for the next few weeks has been to unlock my iPhone 4S that I have with Verizon. One of the reasons why I bought the phone was its ability to work on a GSM network (think SIM card). The Verizon network is CDMA and most of Europe functions on the GSM network. The new iPhone 4S has a native micro-SIM card already in it, and should work via roaming in countries that run on the GSM networks; this means your stateside number will continue to work as well as data roaming – but be forewarned, international calling and data rates are high, and you could potentially be one of those people who end up with an astronomical bill after your international travel. Always be sure to talk to a customer service rep about international telephone and data roaming rates.
My plan has been to purchase a German prepaid micro-SMS card once in Germany (they run about 10 Euro and can be recharged online or through a prepaid card). In order for the German micro-SMS card to work, my iPhone would have to be unlocked. Fortunately, I came across a really helpful article about the iPhone and its world phone capabilities. In the article I learned the following:
Verizon’s will be initially locked, but if you’ve been a customer in good standing for 60 days, you can call Verizon and ask for an “international unlock.”
I’ve had my iPhone 4S a bit under two months, but I thought I’d give Verizon a call anyway. And sure enough, the first person I spoke to said it was possible. I was then transferred over to the international calling department who walked me through the unlocking proces, which was actually really simple on my end. I essentially read a long series of numbers that was found in my settings back to the technician who then unlocked it instantaneously on his end. Of course I won’t know for sure whether the unlocking works until I buy my prepaid SIM card when I’m in Germany, but I have a lot of faith that it will.
Remember, using a SIM card in a different country will disable your stateside phone number and phone plan (you don’t lose it – think of it as still being there but on pause until you return back stateside). You will also get a new local number. When I’m in Germany, for example, I will essentially get a new German phone number. The technician reminded me to hold onto the native SIM card because upon my return I would have to put it back in to get my stateside phone and plan to work again.
If this sounds at all complicated, I assure you it’s not. I think the most complicated part of the whole SIM insertion process is actually taking the native SIM card out of the slot. There are a number of YouTube videos (like this one) explaining how to do this. Having a paperclip handy will definitely help.
Getting a prepaid SIM card when you travel overseas will potentially help you save some money when you are traveling internationally. Good luck!
Radisson Big Night Giveaway Might Get You 50,000 Club Carlson Points
Today I just registered for Club Carlson‘s 50,000 gold points promotional: Radisson Big Night Giveaway. Club Carlson (formerly Radisson GoldPoints Plus) is the loyalty reward club for Radisson-branded hotels. I’ve never been brand loyal to Radisson hotels, but this promotional might change that for me … in fact, it’s really a hard promotional to pass up. The rules are fairly straight forward. The first 50,000 people to register for the promotional will get 50,000 gold points after
one Qualifying Stay at any participating Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean.
Stays must occur between November 10 and December 30, 2011. Folks who aren’t a part of the first 50,000 registrants will still get 15,000 gold points after the qualifying stay.
So, I registered. I booked my qualifying stay at the Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport, getting a pretty mediocre rate of $114 using a AAA discount of 15% off. Word on the message boards on Flyertalk is that the promotional has not achieved the 50,000 registration threshold, so I’m hoping this stay gets me the 50,000 gold points.
This promotional is particularly interesting to me since I just discovered that the art’otel berlin city center west, by park plaza in Berlin is part of Club Carlson. The art’otel is a modern art-themed hotel featuring artwork by Andy Warhol. I’ve been looking into booking a room at the hotel for my upcoming trip to Berlin after Jetsetter ran a flash sale for the hotel a few weeks ago. I missed the flash sale, though I’ve found cheaper rates on other sites. Redeeming a standard award room at the art’otel using points would set me back 38,000 points, and for a premium award room: 57,000 points.
It is unlikely that the gold points that I earn will deposit into my account before my travels to Germany. But it’s good to know for my future travels to Berlin.
Club Carlson is also running another promotional that gets you 9,000 gold points after each award stay booking between December 1 and January 31, 2012.
Also for those who have yet to register as a Club Carlson member, you can earn 2,000 gold points on your next stay after you register.
These are pretty attractive deals especially since 9,000 gold points gets you a free night at a category 1 hotel and 50,000 gold points gets you a free night at a category 6 hotel. There are other redemption options in between. Get your points!
** Update **
My 50,000 points posted about four days after my hotel stay! What a fantastic promotion. I hope we see it again! Thanks Club Carlson!
Luna the Jumping German Cow
I didn’t believe Andreas when he said that there was a girl in Germany that trained her cow to jump. But sure enough, the story is true. Her parents refused to get her a cow, so she did the next best thing and found herself a cow to hop on. I was incredulous about the cow’s ability to run let alone jump, but it does both! Very cute, indeed. I’m sure the girl saved Luna the jumping cow from a trip to the slaughterhouse …
Sailboat at Sea // National Geographic Photo of the Day
Sailboat at Sea, Germany
A spectacular photograph taken near Jasmund National Park in northwest Germany. Download the wallpaper of it from here. I may just have to use this photograph for my Google homepage background.
Kindle Love
Kindle DX and KIndle 3 on the Beach at Cabo San Lucas
For Christmas I bought Kindles for myself and Andreas. I opted for the Kindle DX and chose the Kindle 3G for Andreas. Since then, we have traveled to the Philippines, Germany, Maui, and have taken a cruise to Mexico, and each time we’ve taken our Kindles with us. Simply, we love our Kindles. But we love our Kindles not only because of our love for reading and the beautiful clarity of the Kindle screen in all sorts of lighting conditions – check out the screen quality on our Kindles above, taken on a very sunny afternoon at the beach on Cabo San Lucas! We also love our Kindles because of its power to access the Internet using its 3G capabilities (for FREE!) wherever we are (of course if you have the Wi-Fi enabled Kindles, all you need is a hotspot). I have been to the mountainous terrains of Baguio City in the Philippines and was able to access the Internet. And most recently, Andreas and I took a cruise to the Mexican Riviera, and for the week were at sea and in the various ports in Mexico we could access the Internet on our Kindles. We were amazed and quite happy, especially because the Internet fee on board our ship was quite astronomical. Now keep in mind, the Kindle Web browser is not graphic-oriented. Web sites that have a mobile URL – or a URL specifically for mobile devices – will work better on the Kindle. But for checking Gmail, Facebook, or Twitter, or reading news at various Web sites (CNN, BBC, or the New York Times), the Kindle browser is quite sufficient. Bottom line: There is nothing better than paying nothing for Internet access, especially when you are traveling. So thanks Amazon! We <3 our Kindles!
Guten Morgen!
Goettingen After the Snow Storm - Bikes In Front of the Train Station
A snowy postcard from Andreas from Goettingen, Germany. Stranded bikes at the train station.
