EuroTour 2010, Day 45, Berlin to Bonn

The time has come for us to leave Berlin.  The rest of this trip is all about my brother and his family, and you can forget about anything insightful or interesting from here on out.  Unless, of course, my twelve year old niece teaches me some cool slang to share with you.

Today we fly from Germany's capital city to the former West Germany's capital city.

Berlin Tiegel Airport.  The cab driver let us know that it is closing in a few years.  It might be the strangest airport on the planet, where each gate has its own arrival and departure door and its own security screening.

The bags of four people who spent a combined 10 weeks in Europe.  And, as Barbie and I tell every person we come across, the tan garment bag on the lower left is the formal wear for the wedding in Paris that we attended on July 3.  We have essentially lived out of two smaller carry-on bags since that event.

Our ride to Bonn.  

I was sitting on the plane, looking at the little screens all showing the same image, and I had to take a picture.  Maybe I should have cropped it?

Here you go, cropped in extra-contrast black and white because some people have been asking for more of that.

One of my last views of the city of Berlin.  A genuine world-class city.

My first view of Bonn.  Bonn, as you know, was the seat of government for West Germany from 1949 to 1990.  And it actually remained the official seat of government for reunified Germany from 1990 to 1999, when the capital was rightly moved back to Berlin.  (I bet that took some planning.)  Still, Bonn remains a political center and a hub for the headquarters of international organizations and corporations.

This picture is for you die-hard Wasters.  I know that you all remember when I took a picture of that sign last year from inside the airport.  No?  

You are so high maintenance.  Here...

  

Inside the Köln Bonn Airport, July 19, 2009.

Airplane Candid, waiting to deplane.  Köln Bonn Airport.  August 2010.

Last year the jetway had orange sides.  This year the panels paint the light inside green.  Look closely and you will see a Barbie.

Mother-Son Hug at the airport.  I just realized that this is technically a candid and should be black and white.  Rats.

(Fixed.)  Mother-Son Hug Candid.  Bonn, Germany.  August 2010.

My brother lives in Bad Godesberg, the district of Bonn where the majority of foreign embassies were located.  Atop the hill is Godesberg Castle, which Barbie and I have yet to visit.

You can tell how old a kid is by how blurry he or she is in a picture.  

Excuse me, but the next few days I plan to play with them quite a bit.  The Waste will be a tad less cultural, methinks.

Until tomorrow...