petetherock Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 Hi Friends I will be in Berlin next weekend, and I am hoping to score some bargains, maybe some HD DVDs or BR discs. Any ideas for buying? Anyone ordered from amazon de before? Thanks
SDL Posted May 20, 2008 Posted May 20, 2008 IIRC someone on here lives in Germany, they mentioned not many HD DVD's left in shops when I was looking for a German release, but there should be BD they can help you with.
iainl Posted May 21, 2008 Posted May 21, 2008 As for ordering from Amazon.de, the trick is to have an English-language Amazon open in another browser window. All the steps to ordering are the same, all the buttons in the same places. So if the German text confuses you, just see what the English is on your local site.
ivor biggin Posted May 21, 2008 Posted May 21, 2008 As for ordering from Amazon.de, the trick is to have an English-language Amazon open in another browser window. All the steps to ordering are the same, all the buttons in the same places. So if the German text confuses you, just see what the English is on your local site. amazon in stereo
Guest TheBlackFlash Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 (edited) IIRC someone on here lives in Germany, they mentioned not many HD DVD's left in shops when I was looking for a German release, but there should be BD they can help you with. I think SDL might mean me, since I remember having a bit of a discussion with him regarding F4:Rise of the Silver Surfer, but I live in Austria, not Germany. Hd dvd is gone here in Austria (in the shops at least) and if Germany is anything like Austria with respect to prices (and it usually is) you're looking at 25 to 40 euros each for Blu-ray discs. Stay away from the bigger electronics stores and you might find some bargains. There are a couple of people on the forum at the moment who actually are from Germany. Maybe they might have more to say. Hd dvd and Blu-ray haven't made much of an impact here in Europe. There has been (was) no mass take-up of either format. When I've browsed in shops, I never saw anyone even looking at hd dvd or Blu-ray. Here, I think Blu-ray will remain nothing more than a niche product if it survives at all. Austria is a rich country and people have high amounts of disposable income, but it's all about bargains (things being "günstig"=cheap) and neither format was a bargain during the so-called format war. Dvds can be had for peanuts...3 euros and up. Blu-ray has a fight on its hands. I'll ask if anyone in Germany would like to help you out Iainl's idea is a good one and he is correct, but of course learning or knowing German would make it all the more easy Cheers, TBF. Edited May 22, 2008 by TheBlackFlash
Buccaneerfan Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 Hi FriendsI will be in Berlin next weekend, and I am hoping to score some bargains, maybe some HD DVDs or BR discs. Any ideas for buying? Anyone ordered from amazon de before? Thanks Actually Germany isn't the cheapest country to buy HD discs.. Especially BR discs are way too expensive here.So don't expect to find any bargains. I'm from Germany and i've ordered the majority of my HD discs from Amazon.com, dvdpacific and ezydvd.com.au, cuz over here it's just way too expensive. Most BR discs over here sell at € 20-30 (or US$ 30-45)...
petetherock Posted May 22, 2008 Author Posted May 22, 2008 Much appreciated! Anyway on a more social basis, is there anyone else to buy, apart from clocks and chocolate? I will be going to change money soon and someone told me to budget 30 euros a meal, which seems a bit steep... I will be there about 7 days or so
Buccaneerfan Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 Much appreciated!Anyway on a more social basis, is there anyone else to buy, apart from clocks and chocolate? I will be going to change money soon and someone told me to budget 30 euros a meal, which seems a bit steep... I will be there about 7 days or so Well actually clocks and chocolate is more a Switzerland thing... Although i'm german i couldn't think of any specific german products or souvenirs that you can't get anywhere else. Damn global economy.h30 euros does indeed sound a bit steep, although that would depend on what and how much you eat... If you stay out of posh restaurants you might get fed for about € 20 including a beer or two.
petetherock Posted May 28, 2008 Author Posted May 28, 2008 I need you help Can you translate and type out for me please: - " I am lost, please tell me how to get back to Hotel Kalifornia (yes its that cheesy title)" - "Toilet" Also any ideas on eating places in Central Berlin I have weird vibes about my hotel! Well actually clocks and chocolate is more a Switzerland thing... Although i'm german i couldn't think of any specific german products or souvenirs that you can't get anywhere else. Damn global economy.h30 euros does indeed sound a bit steep, although that would depend on what and how much you eat... If you stay out of posh restaurants you might get fed for about € 20 including a beer or two.
me2b Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Shopping..? Well, if not already mentioned, you should visit KaDeWe. Oh, and also Dussman Both are in Berlin, both sell DVDs (and more besides), although, as noted, neither of which go especiallly for cheap. Neat Though. For chocolate, Fassbender & Rausch is also v. much worth a visit, as its in Berlin, sells a wide range of chocolate, and does kitsch as only Germans can.
Buccaneerfan Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 I need you helpCan you translate and type out for me please: - " I am lost, please tell me how to get back to Hotel Kalifornia (yes its that cheesy title)" - "Toilet" Also any ideas on eating places in Central Berlin I have weird vibes about my hotel! Okay, if you just need that to be in writing (i suck at phonetic spelling...)- "Ich habe mich verlaufen, können Sie mir sagen, wie ich zum Hotel Kalifornia zurück komme (ja, das heisst wirklich so bescheuert)". Although the address of this hotel might help a lot. - "Toilette". That was easy, wasn't it?
Buccaneerfan Posted May 28, 2008 Posted May 28, 2008 Shopping..?Well, if not already mentioned, you should visit KaDeWe. Oh, and also Dussman Both are in Berlin, both sell DVDs (and more besides), although, as noted, neither of which go especiallly for cheap. Neat Though. For chocolate, Fassbender & Rausch is also v. much worth a visit, as its in Berlin, sells a wide range of chocolate, and does kitsch as only Germans can. Well, the KaDeWe is spectacular, of course, but it is, rather expensive. After all, it is basically the german Harrod's...
petetherock Posted May 28, 2008 Author Posted May 28, 2008 danke! I am budgetting about 15-20 euros for food a meal, hope thats enough and I don't need to go Macs all the time For laughs, check out my hotel website, it really plays the erie music.... Hotel California GmbH Kurfürstendamm 35 D - 10719 Berlin from outside of Germany telephon: +49-30-88012-0 telefax: +49-30-88012-111 Internet: www.hotel-california.de
petetherock Posted June 4, 2008 Author Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) Guess who is in Berlin playing right now - the Blue Man Group! A real aureal experience! http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008139.jpg http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008129.jpg Edited June 4, 2008 by petetherock
Guest TheBlackFlash Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 Don't go into Saturn! There's no bargains to be had there
petetherock Posted June 4, 2008 Author Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks, was planning on that... My loot so far... one cheap teddy bear...
Guest TheBlackFlash Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 Well....if you're curious, you could go in and be amazed at the ridiculous prices for Blu-ray discs (if you can find them!).....DVDs should be pretty cheap though but of course all the packaging would be in German.
the_wonderchild Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 keep us updated with your trip. p.s - Not stopping for Euro 2008 by any chance?
petetherock Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 (edited) Euro, sigh too much leave involved and too little $$.... Anyway you asked for an essay: Berlin – a city of Contrast and Juxtaposition Prior to my arrival, most of what I know about Berlin centres around the wall, and the East West Divide. A story told to me by a German was that the East Germans had no access to tropical fruits, and when the wall collapsed, there was a picture taken of an East German, holding up a cucumber, waving it and shouting, “I can eat a banana now”…. Strangely for an almost full plane, I had one seat next to me on cattle class. This was probably one of the reasons I that for the only the second time in my life, I slept for a few hours on the plane. So despite such a big time difference, I found little jet lag so far and I was quite awake for most part of the day. Well, firstly my hotel, the website left me a little disconcerted, with the Eagles signature tune playing in the background, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Ok the bad parts first, for $300, I Expect air-conditioning. And in the middle of summer in Europe , it can get quite hot in my room. The room itself has internet, free breakfast and is a lot bigger than the tiny room I had in Florence , some years back. I mean, for 150 Euros, I expect dancing girls to greet me and feed me grapes and all. Breakfast is quite a nice experience with 6 to 8 types of ham, 3-4 types of bread and there are also sausages and meat patties along with the obligatory cereal and eggs. We get 8 different types of tea and coffee. All quite a deal especially since it comes with the room charges. Food of course has to be a big part of a visit to a foreign country and the visit to a typical restaurant was quite nice again. White asparagus was in season, and along with the pork knuckle, and sausages, the whole German experience was nicely satisfied. The nice thing about summer is the long day and with the congress a good 3km or more from my hotel, it means a decent walk and temperatures were hovering around 30 odd degrees and you can feel the moisture on your brow when you get there. My hotel is along the “Ku’Dam”aka Kurfuerstendamm, which is akin to the Pitt or George St, where the main tourist shopping belt lies. As you saunter, along, you notice the multitudes of branded goods on sale, but with prices to match. The first structure which really catches your eyes is the Gedeaechtniskirche, which is a church that stands next to a modern octagonal structure. The contrast is striking between such a old structure and the new one, but more poignantly is that the church lies in ruins, a hollow shell after the bombings in WWII. From most directions it is quite visible and as you peer into the empty shell, it does a good job of reminding you there was once life here, but that has been taken away. Fortunately Berlin is quite flat and as you walk along, you notice the nice orderly clean streets and the large number of parallel side streets which help you bypass any jams and obstructions nicely. The end results is that you don’t see much traffic jams here. Conventions are not much to write about unless you include the scores of people in comatose positions throughout the sessions, a surrogate measure of how exciting the talks are. European meetings are more generous in the numbers of freebies they hand out, and you can easily score a dozen free pens, note pads and the like. In fact one stand has a free coffee making area for you to order your favorite brew. Of course congresss folks are no angels and some fight to get ahead in the coffee queue and once I found my seat being rudely taken away and the same lady tried to swipe my mineral water. I then ordered my coffee and placed it on the counter to re-adjust my bag only to see her take it away. The coffee making lady looked in horror as she gulped down the coffee, oblivious to the fact that I had already started on it. I re-assured the coffee maker that it was our little secret and if the coffee stealer had any tummy runs, it was of her own accord and she rightly deserved it. This of course pleased the coffee maker to no end. The first tourist attraction I visited was the renowned Checkpoint Charlie. Perhaps it became a letdown because of the tremendous history behind it, but to see it being converted into a sad forlorn re-construction of its former self, with mock checkpoints, strangely non-German actors dressed as American soldiers with large placards on them inviting you to take pictures with them for a small fee. The dignity is replaced by sheer comercialisation with souvenier shops peppering the artificial divide between East and West, carrying none of the terror and you don’t any sense of the lives losts and the deep sense of excitement when the wall separating the two sides finally coming down in 1989. instead most of the real wall has been taken away, put on sale and these days you are more likely to see bits of it on sale on Ebay or in a museum. We see only a small segment of it, but fittingly, the words ‘madness’ can be seen painted on one side. The highlight on the second night was the Blue Man Group Concert, which proved to be a loud and thunderous affair. Tonight, I am attending the gala dinner, which is held in an old empty airport, within one of the hangers. The Templehorf airport hangers are the largest structures in Europe and were the headquarters of the American forces in Berlin . This was the site of the famous Berlin Airlift, a monumentous effort by all accounts. It is a strange thing to see people dressed to the nines in such hot conditions, with the temperature easily matching that in a Sydney summer. Somehow I rather look forward to the end of the meal and a quiet evening at the hotel. Meetings can be quite hectic and you rushing from one session to the next, with one project in hand and adding another within minutes. In between, you scramble for the conference idea of lunch, with a box full of cold meats, sandwiches and a fruit. Not much fun eating the same free meal... I shall end my entry for today here, typing furiously in the middle of the loud crowd, yet quite oblivious to the cacophony around me. And I think the whole electronics thing is a lost cause.... I shall drown my sorrows in a cup of strong coffee whilst sitting next to the Brandenburg gate later... keep us updated with your trip. p.s - Not stopping for Euro 2008 by any chance? Edited June 5, 2008 by petetherock
the_wonderchild Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 thankyou for the detailed update on the trip. I read every word of that and thouroughly enjoyed hearing about everything; the 'good' and the 'bad'. Hope you have a good time at the gala dinner; sounds like you've visited so many monuments/events so far in such a short time.
petetherock Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 The highlight perhaps was a rather sweet young German lady who sauntered up to me at the buffet table and somehow the conversation drifted out of the whole congress stuff to hiking and I was glad to be able to report on details on hiknig in Malaysia and other areas around the Asia-Pac region. I promised to write down a list of places to go and would of course surreptitiously include my address there even though it wasn't in the jungles of Bornea (it is a cable jungle).... God willing, I hope to bump into her today. Loads better than shopping for DVDs I must say... Anyway, back to reality... more pics: Hi fi: http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rock/img375.jpg Dream bike: http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008072.jpg The church: http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008040.jpg And a poignant old photo: http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008105.jpg And this for all the Germans out there..... (can you tell me the name of the food?) http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008035.jpg
the_wonderchild Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 And this for all the Germans out there..... (can you tell me the name of the food?)http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x244/pe...rlin2008035.jpg sorry, i'm not german and this is only a guess, but is it sauerkraut and eisbein (shown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisbein)?
Guest TheBlackFlash Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I was impressed by the juxtaposition between the once beautiful and now destroyed church and the modern, ugly skyscraper!
the_wonderchild Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I was impressed by the juxtaposition between the once beautiful and now destroyed church and the modern, ugly skyscraper! yes that was quite startling wasn't it? shows just how fine a line there is between two completely distinct eras.
Guest TheBlackFlash Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 shows just how fine a line there is between two completely distinct eras. I see it here quite often, though not with such stark contrast. Ugly buildings here are generally more mundane apartment buildings built in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Skyscrapers are not allowed, thank god. It seems petetherock has a good eye for an interesting photograph. I also note the Petersilie Kartoffeln (Boiled potatoes covered in butter and parsley). They are a favourite of mine....yum!
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