I've Never Been To Manhattan...

...but this weekend, we take Berlin!

For all you Leonard Cohen fans out there...oh, never mind!


I have to come clean -

I'm not the biggest fan of Germany. Ok...I said it!

Mrs. TBF and I met our friend Dave in Munich in October, 2001, and we had a really fun weekend. Then, we went to Hannover for a wedding a couple of years later, and had a good time at the wedding (even though I had a bad cold), but found Hannover to be...well...a bit on the dull side (sorry!). So, other than a handful of trips just over the border into Lörrach, or to make a flight connection in Frankfurt, Hamburg, or Munich, we haven't really ventured into Germany at all over the past few years.

And here's the best part: I speak passable German, AND the German border is only fifteen minutes away from where we live.

Ok...OK...take it easy! I have nothing against Germany. Nope...nothing at all that I can think of. I...just...don't make a reason to go there. It's kind of like when I lived in Chicago; there was absolutely NO reason to venture into Indiana or Wisconsin unless you really had some specific reason to go there (...going just to laugh at the Hoosiers and Cheeseheads doesn't count!).

It's the same for me with Germany.

So, why did we decide to go to Berlin this coming weekend? Well, I guess it's because the Basler Fasnacht begins this coming Monday, and the thought of being around Basel during the weekend prior to, and Monday of, Fasnacht (and having to endure that grating fife and drum music) is even less appealing to me than going to Germany for a long weekend.

Yes...I'm a real party-pooper when it comes to the Basler Fasnacht. Hell...I didn't even buy a Fasnacht badge! Mwah-ha-HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

So, it's with mixed emotions (indifference, lack of excitement, opting for the lesser of two evils...) and a general malaise (at least where I'm concerned) that we will make our way to Berlin tomorrow morning. I haven't made any restaurant reservations, I haven't really read our "Top 10 Berlin" book, and I...

Well, we'll see...