Me, at one of the few remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall. It was bitterly cold! Gina's ex-boyfriend took the photo and joined me for some sightseeing, but seemed more affected by the cold than me, a Californian.

At the time I was staying with Bob D'alo, a friend of mine, in California. I had just returned from a 6-month work assignment in Minnesota. After driving 2000 miles, I had reported for work. My minivan was still completely packed with most of my wordly goods as I had no apartment in California. I objected when my manager told me I would immediately be placed on a project that I had heard bad things about. Eventually, I was able to work out a voluntary layoff from a company I had devoted almost 10 years to. I was given 9 weeks of severence pay. My trip in Europe would end up costing virtually the same as getting an apartment for that period, because I travel cheaply!

Gina, all 5' of her, on the attack! Earlier, she had given me my friendliest welcome ever. This was after the long flight to Frankfurt, long cold train to Berlin, and cold, confusing cab ride to her place. After getting out of the cab, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there she was. She gave me a kiss and a hug.

With such little time to prepare for a 25 day trip, it was a mad rush. I finally decided to fly into Frankfurt, Germany, tour Europe, cross the channel, spend some time in England, and then fly from London, England back to America. I picked these two cities because the plane ticket turned out to be so inexpensive.

I flew out on Thursday morning, which is a holiday in America: Thanksgiving day. There was one stop in Chicago and then off to Frankfurt. The plane was very cramped and the meals weren't very good. On arrival, Friday morning, I took a train from the airport to the train station. I purchased some German marks using one of my travellers checks. Then, I took a 6 hour train ride to Berlin, Germany. It was my first ever train ride. The train was very crowded and for 5 hours I was sitting on one of my suitcases near the door of the train car. It was a cold ride because, at the stops, the doors would open and let the cold air in. Finally, in the last hour of the ride, I was able to find a seat.

In most homes (not Americanized hotels), you don't have shower curtains. Therefore, you have to be hunching down on your knees to take a shower. I preferred the cold showers of the Philippines to this.

In Berlin, I called my friend Gina. She was my first penpal and is a good friend. I had corresponded with her for about 2 years. She visited California last May. I took a cab to Gina's place. The cab driver knew the section of Berlin, but was not able to find Gina's street. I asked to look at the map and located the street. We pulled up to the apartment complex. I got out of the cab and somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was Gina; she gave me a very kind welcome kiss. She had been waiting for me outside in the cold night air (it was snowing). It was quite reassuring that, after travelling thousands of miles to a country where I did not speak the language, I finally saw a familiar face.

This Russian war memorial was in Berlin.

I was cold, tired, and hungry, but excited. Gina fixed me a nice meal and we talked. Gina speaks English, but not very well. It was my first trip outside of the United States and it was very reassuring that, after long cold days of sightseeing, I would always be returning home to see her. Gina was a lot of fun and I will always remember her fondly. She hates the cold, doesn't like Germany, and dreams of living in America with a muscular man (so I was not in the picture). Like most Europeans, she smokes and sometimes I would move into the next room to avoid it, which frustrated her. Gina had been a model before, but now worked in a nursing home which she walked over to each weekday morning. She was born in East Berlin, but snuck across the border, with her young daughter, in the trunk of a car. I stayed there a week, but it wasn't till 2 days before I was leaving that I was able to convince her that I was visiting other cities. She was very disappointed and I felt bad about leaving, but there were so many things to see.

Next