In a high-level meeting just after midnight early morning April 2 Berlin transportation leaders (BVG) and public worker’s union Verdi agreed to talk in a long-running wage dispute and agreed there would be no strikes during this round of negotiation.

BVG, which employs some 12,000 workers, announced the cancellation immediately. Service is expected to be uninterrupted on April 2, 2008.

The reason for the strike is worker compensation- the Ver.di labor union is asking for a 12% bump in salaries for their members who work for Berlin’s public transportation system (BVG). The main inconvenience seems to be to commuters, tourists and of course workers. Why? Because financially, Berlin is saving about €500,000 ($750,000) per day for what it normally subsidizes the BVG while the BVG, according to Berlin daily newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the revenue loss of €1,300,000 ($1,900,000) is offset by savings on salary, electricity and fuel. Let’s hope they can resolve this issue so the workers can get back to work and Berlin can start to shine as the fantastic city that it is.

In the meantime here is what you need to know to get around strike land Berlin:

Arriving to Berlin via air has been affected but is not crippled.

• Airport Berlin-Tegel: There is a replacement bus service between Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and the airport.

• Airport Berlin-Schönefeld: Use the AirportExpress or S-Bahn.

Getting around:

• The BVG replaced some of its most important routes with around 130 buses operated by a private company.

• Take a walking tour. It’s no secret that we love walking tours as a way to see a city and Berlin has some of the best we have taken. The Insider Tour comes highly recommended. They offer a number of tours including Berlins Original Pub Crawl.

• Take a bike tour
  • Fat Tire Bike Tours
  • The Insider Tour
• Rent-a-bike
  • Fat Tire Bike Tours. They set aside a number of bicycles for people who have taken their tours, but they also rent to people who have not taken their tour.
  • Berlin on Bike also offers guided tours and has set aside 200 bikes for rental.
  • Call-a-Bike. Run by the Deutsche Bahn and located at just about every major junction of the city. Simply register on the Internet at www.callabike.de or call the service hot line at 07000 5225522*, to speak with a customer agent to immediately receive a customer number. Once registered your credit card is debited €5 which is deducted in full from your next Call-a-Bike invoice.

If you decide to rent a bike and are worried about getting around the city you might want to check out BBBike, which has a handy little mapizer? that can be used to help you plot your rout strategy. The application is OK and is dependent on your knowing a lot about Berlin and where you are going and from where, but imagine the possibilities of when they are able to sink this application with a GPS phone. It will be awesome.

Happy Travels

One of our friends in Rome, Italy turned us on to Kris Mole, self-professed slacker now turned fund raiser, from England who is traveling to each European capital to raise money for cancer in the memory of his late aunty, Susan Proto.  Here is the catch, on November 1st Kris turned up in Stockholm, Sweden without a pence in his pocket.   So, for the last month he has been traveling through Europe while living on the kindness of others and on his wits.  To date Kris has raised about $1,800 / 950 Sterling.  Kris threatens that if he raises 2000 Sterling by January 1, 2008 he will stand naked at the Eiffel Tower with, “Message to the French, garlic is not a deodorant” written across his chest.  I suppose that in itself is a reason to donate….maybe? 

Kris’s exploits can be followed both on his blog and if you are a FaceBookie then you can join his group “The Great Euro Freebie Challenge”. 

Kris, Good Luck and Happy Travels 

About Kris’s charity: Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UKis the world’s leading independent organization dedicated to cancer research.  It supports cancer research into all aspects of cancer through the work of more than 3,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.  Over the past 10 years alone, thousands of lives have been saved through early detection and treatments.  But, much work needs to be done if they are to achieve their aim of beating breast cancer.  Charity Registration No. 1089464

This year’s fest is taking place from Saturday 22nd to Sunday October 7th and is the 197th edition of the original 1810 wedding festival. 

Average price of a liter of beer is expected to be between 7.50 and 8.00 Euros

There are 14 “tents”.  Each with a certain style.  Do your best to explore a bunch different tents because you’ll  have a much richer experience.

Excellent sight seeing tour:  Mike’s Bike Tours

Recommended accomodation:  Euro Youth Hotel

Fantastic information source: http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/02/content/

Enjoy Yourselves!

Listed in order from 1st to 10th most disappointing:

The Eiffel Tower, Paris; Mona Lisa at the Louvre, Paris; Times Square, New York; Las Ramblas, Barcelona; Statue of Liberty, New York; Spanish Steps, Rome; The White House, Washington DC; The Pyramids, Egypt; The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin; Leaning Tower of Pisa

We suppose that the good news is that most of these sights (save the Louvre and Statue of Liberty) are free of charge.  In defense of these iconic sights we believe that each is worth visiting.

Tips for how to make each of these disappointing sights more satisfying:

1. The Eiffel Tower, Paris- Get a photo and if the line is too long then go to the top of the Arc de Triumph and take in a beautiful panoramic of Paris.  If you are up for it we suggest one of the bike or Segway tours with Fat Tire Bike Tours.

2. Mona Lisa at the Louvre, Paris- Yah, the Mona Lisa is small compared to let’s say the Creation of Man in the Sistine Chapel, but there is a lot more to the Louvre than this picture.  Take some time to appreciate: Venus di Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace , a fantastic Roman collection stolen by Napoleon and countless other paintings.  Plus the Louvre is an unusually comfortable museum experience because it has plenty of places to sit, eat and use the restroom.

3. Times Square, New York- Go at night when everything is lit-up or at about 13:00 (1pm) when MTV is shooting TRL.  If you go during the day there is a good chance you will run into some intern trying to give out free tickets for shows such as David Letterman and others.

4. Las Ramblas, Barcelona- We think that there is no better place to find top talent street performers.

5. Statue of Liberty, New York- It is a hassle to get there, no doubt.  But really, you get a boat ride and the chance to see the statue for the price of a film.  Cost for ferry $11.50 for adult, $9.50 for child.  Another alternative is to take the Staten Island Ferry which is free and leaves every 30 minutes.  If you decide to do this just go to the back of the ferry for a great view and picture opportunities of Lady Liberty, Downtown NYC and the Verrazano Bridge.  This option will not take you to the Island.

6. Spanish Steps, Rome- Yup, they are just steps!  But get there in the day and have an espresso at Antico Caffe’ Greco, 86 Via Condotti where Casanova, Lord Byron, John Keats and Buffalo Bill frequented; have your coffee at the bar for the best price but make sure to tour the very old an unique caffe’.  Craving a spot of tea?  Try Babington’s English Tea Room.  Plus, around the Spanish Steps, there is plenty of great shopping including Gucci, Prada and about every other major Italian brand.  A great walking tour / pub crawl that covers the Spanish Steps is Rome(ing) Tours.

7. The White House, Washington DC- Hey it’s free.

8. The Pyramids, Egypt-  Sure they are just ‘there’, but they are absolutely spectacular especially if you see them at night with one of the light shows.  We recommend taking the opportunity to rent a camel.  Think of it, you on a camel in front of the same physical structures that Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon conquered.

9. The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin-  We were also let down by this.  A great walking tour that covers this is the Insider Tour.

10 Leaning Tower of Pisa-  After years of avoiding this sight because of the bad press we took a short trip, maybe 3hrs in total including travel and visit, from Florence to finally check it out.  Maybe it was because of our low expectations but we found the tower well worth the €20 transportation cost.  Moreover, only by being there can one actually see how far this tower is leaning, which is quite impressive.

Any other suggestion for how to make these underwhelming sights more satisfying? 

We surveyed some tour guides about common questions that they get and learned that a many travelers are curious as to the whereabouts of Raphael’s little angels; the same cherubs that are commonly on t-shirts, prints, post cards and numerious other little knickknacks found in tourist shops throughout Europe. We heard that tourists get pretty upset and confused in the Vatican, Lourve and Uffizi when they learn the angels are not there. These feelings are compounded by the fact that even the official museum shops sell items displaying the angels, which lead people to mistakingly believe that the originals are indeed at that museum. Well, be upset and confused no longer: this dynamic duo is nestled at the feet of the Sistine Madonna at the musuem Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany.

Has anyone made the trip to see the cherubs? Is it worth it? Any other recommendations for what to do in Dresden and how long to stay there?

Happy Travels,

The iKangaroo Team