We got our first experience with discount airlines today. We flew out of Stansted Airport on Air Berlin for the fantastic price of $60 one way. The down side is that there is no way to get to Stansted airport, 50 miles out of central London, by 6am, other than hiring a taxi. A $90 taxi fare later, we arrived at Stansted. The terminal was littered with backpackers sleeping on benches and on the floor, apparently overnight after getting there on the last bus the previous night. While at Stansted Lindsey's Mastercard would be copied by a shoe store employee, her identity stolen, and $5500 in fraudulent charges rung up within 48 hours. We did not discover this until two weeks later, when on a rainy afternoon in Romania, I decided to check our statement online. Luckily the good people at Citibank refunded us the full amount. Whew!
Blissfully unaware of our credit card problems, we flew to Berlin. While London certainly saw a lot of destruction during the blitz, WWII completely obliterated Berlin. Other than one half-destroyed church left standing as a reminder of the past, every building in Berlin is lass than 60 years old. The giant crane is definitely the official bird of Berlin.
