2014 EUROPE by Rail 21 - Destination: Euromaxx

We love Euromaxx, a program from the Duetsche Welle broadcasting company. It is a daily TV show based in Berlin that presents food, homes, travel, events, and other topics from all over Europe. On occasion we've mentioned in this blog certain segments that were of interest to us.

And we have a few personal connections to it, too. It is art, culture and design based. We enjoy that kind of stuff. Also our niece lives in Berlin and has a Masters of Art in Furniture Design. We look for her in the crowd when the segments are in Berlin. I'm sure we'll never see her, but crazy fun just to look.

We also had a Euromaxx segment done on our behalf. The hosts request folks to write in with ideas for places to highlight on their show. In fall 2013, we suggested they do a walk following the route of the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One race. (This is what we tried to follow a few days ago, when we got rained out.)

Well, they liked the idea and featured it in May 2014 just after the actual Grand Prix race. The segment followed the route and a few places just off the route. Our photo, as well as a map highlighting Kalamazoo, was displayed at the start of the segment. Boy, that was a thrill.

Our cat Bella likes the show, too. She often runs to the TV when the show theme song starts. And she seems to particularly like when Karin Helmstaedt is hosting. Or maybe its because we usually watch the show during lunch. Here's Bella watching our very own segment.

Anyway, not long ago they changed the studio to include a back window panorama of the Brandenburg Gate. We studied the view outside -- gate, street light, other buildings behind. So one of our goofy goals on this trip was to find their studio. Here's Bella watching host Anne O'Donnell with the Brandenburg Gate background.

Sustenance first. We stopped at a little bagel shop we had spied the night before for caffe au laits and bagels. Mike had an everything bagel with cream cheese and the best lox ever. I had my usual, everything bagel smeared with plain cream cheese. The cream cheese was out of this world. No Philly brand here. The shop was quite busy and the proprietor was a cutie. She ran the shop all by herself and did a fabulous job.

With our trusty walking map, we began our quest. We started back toward the market from last night, crossed through the train station tunnel and followed the Spree River for a short distance. We crossed over the river onto Museum Island were we found the now Protestant (originally Catholic) Berlin Cathedral.

The history of this cathedral dates back to 1451. The current structure is the largest church in Berlin. It is impressive with its numerous copper domed towers and ornate statuary. No time to stop. We were on a mission. Much more info at:  www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Cathedral

On another side of the square in front if the cathedral was the Museum of Arts of Liberals or the Altes (old) Museum built between 1823-1830. It houses the antique collection of the Berlin State Museums. Notice how small the people are on the steps compared to the impactful building. 

As we continued through the square we saw an all-girl marching band performing and then marching off into this museum. We crossed over another bridge off the island and started down Unter den Liden (under the linden trees) Boulevard.

The route was originally a bridle path laid out by Elector John George of Brandenburg in the 16th century. It was replaced with a boulevard by order of "Great Elector" Frederick William in 1647. At that time it extended from the city palace to the city gates. Now it lies in the heart of the historic section of Berlin.

In the grassy area between traffic lanes were stately statues (including King Frederick II of Prussia) and monuments to various persons and events in German history.

Each side of the boulevard is lined with impressive building after building. Among them are the Berlin State Opera, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, the German History Museum, Neue Wache (a war memorial), Humboldt University buildings, Berlin State Library, the Hungarian and Russian embassies, and many more. For more info about the boulevard and the buildings along it, see: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unter_den_Linden

On the way were several impromptu sidewalk sales offering books and vinyl records. There was so much to see along this route that we went into overload.

What caught our eye next was the Mercedes-Benz Motor Car Gallery and show room. Bad American elitists! But it was free, so we mozied on in. And it was very cool.

They displayed detailed toy models of all the styles in its history; photos and quotes of famous race car drivers that were sponsored by M-B (including the great Lewis Hamilton); facts and figures of M-B history; and much more.

There was also a cafe and a gift shop with lots of M-B merchandise. As Mike had purchased a Lewis Hamilton cap in Monaco, I decided to treat my self to a M-B scarf. It was shades of gray and pink stars. Here's my photo wearing the scarf in my dream car.

The next stop was the Berlin Store. We could have spent hours here. It sold every historic or current day goo-ga you can think of relating to Berlin and Germany. There were lots of books and music CDs from German authors and musicians. There were souvenir chunks of every size of the Berlin wall, toy soldier sets, Berlin Bears of every size, postcards, posters, war gear, busts of famous Germans, gadgets, games, and endless other things.

German criminal code outlaws symbols of unconstitutional organizations. So no Nazi flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans (or forms of greeting) for sale. Not that we wanted any!!! 

A few steps further and we arrived in Pariser Platz, the heart of Berlin. The square is named after Paris, France, in honor of the anti-Napoleon Allies' occupation of Paris in 1814. Brandenburg Gate was ahead. We would get to that, but Euromaxx studio was our focus for the moment.

We turned to our right. We spotted the street light and then looked to our right. There was a building there that was a possibility, but no obvious sign. We went inside the building and looked at the directory. Nothing that said Euromaxx or Duetsche Welle, but there were several studios listed.

We went back outside and surveyed the situation. Finally I picked a window. You could not easily see in, but I went up close and put my hand up to shade my eyes to try to look in. OMG, this was the spot. But before I could look carefully a young man with a headset started hollering at me to get away. I didn't hear him at first, but I did hear Mike yelling, "Deb, Deb!"

I asked the young man, "Is this where they tape Euromaxx?" He said, "Yes, but not right now. Right now they are recording a show with Peter Hahn (I think was the name and it sounded familiar)." They did not want my nosy mug appearing in the background of the segment!!

Well, I was quite apologetic and hoped the young man did not get in trouble for his delayed reaction to my action. I hinted that we would love to go into the studio, but that didn't go over successfully. No problems. We had accomplished our goal and made it as close as we could get to the Euromaxx studio. Yee-ha!