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Saturday, June 7, 2003
Berlin, Germany
 
Quote of the Day: "You American Infidels, you will rot in the stomach of Berlin."
 
We woke up early to get some grub in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin about 30 minutes away. The typical German meal is what you would think it is - dark meat, lots of butter, and hard bread. Throughout the day we were abruptly introduced to several things:
  • Bottled water in Europe is not like bottled water in America. Bottled water in Europe has carbonation in it, and it tastes like shit!
  • It costs 50 cents to use the bathroom in a restaurant in Berlin.
  • It costs 1 Euro to use a grocery cart in a supermarket.
  • It costs 10 cents for every bag you need to put your groceries in at a supermarket.
  • Driving on the Autobahn is awesome!!! No speed limits, no cops, no dickheads driving slow in the left lane. Germans drive the way Americans should drive. At one point, I had the rental car up to 200 km/h (125 mph). Don't tell Eric or Gooch because they were asleep.
  • Driving in a foreign country can be rather difficult at times. For example, I accidently drove down a bus/train lane and almost got hit by an oncoming bus. You know those lanes that have the tracks embedded into the road. Fortunately, my American off-road driving skills came in handy, and I quickly drove over someone's lawn and got out of harms way. Thank God no one was walking around or I would have probably killed them.
We did a lot of sightseeing in Berlin. The things we saw included: the Berliner Dom (The Berlin Dome), a cathedral built around 1747; The Bradenburg Gate, the symbol of Berlin built in 1778; The Berlin Wall (which I left my mark on); Checkpoint Charlie; Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche (a church that survived World War II).
 
The Berlin DomeChurch in BerlinCheckpoint Charlie
 
Some sights in Berlin
 
Leaving my mark on the Berlin Wall
 
Yes, I signed the Berlin Wall
 
The show in Berlin was not a festival. It was a normal Metallica show. However, the parking situation was still shitty - no parking lots near the venue. One good thing, Wuhlheide was a very cool amphitheater. It was setup like a bowl and not like your typical american amphitheater (seating and then the lawn). Wuhlheide was the opposite - general admission up front and then the seats. We grabbed some seats off to the side...not really a bad seat at this venue. Disturbed was the opening act. I felt sorry for them. It's never easy opening up for Metallica because the audience wants to see Metallica. This crowd was no different. Just like the Rock Am Park festival, everyone had a beer in their hands. I even saw young girls getting drunk! God Bless Germany! Germans love to drink their beer. So I decided to have a few myself. I gotta show Hans and Frans how we do it in America!
 
Metallica in BerlinDrunk in BerlinMetallica in Berlin
 
What did YOU do on your 30th Birthday?
I was watching Metallica and getting drunk in Germany!!! God bless German beer!!!
 
Metallica in BerlinWatch out James!Metallica in Berlin
 
The beers were flowing, the vendors were selling fish sandwiches (What the f...) and Metallica played a kickass setlist! What more could you ask for? Metallica started the show off great - Battery, Puppets, Lightning, Sanitarium, Bellz. What a great way to start a show. They went on to play The Thing that Should Not Be, No Remorse, Fight Fire, Harvester, Blackened, Frantic, St. Anger, etc. The crowd was really into the show which made the show even better. All in all, a great show!
 
After the show, we drove 250+ miles to our hotel in Kassel.
 
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