Two Doms

Today was a short day, since P got home from work early and we headed out of town. As such, I got an earlier start than has been my norm. But before starting out, I was sure to have my travel bag packed.

After my failed attempt to ascend the AquaDom, P tried calling the next day, only to find the phone led to auto-attendant hell with no opportunity to speak with a human. I then tried sending an e-mail, for which I received no answer (to be fair, they did eventually answer it, but none too fast). That left me with making the trip with hopeful heart.

My plan was to arrive in time for the first ride. Fail and Rule at the same time. SeaLife opens at 10:00 and I didn't make it by then, but the first ride in the AquaDom isn't until 11:00, for which I was early.

Other than the novelty, I would rate the aquarium more highly than the AquaDom. There were a variety of fish, but all the identification information was down on the main floor. The hotel was always visible beyond the fish, so it's really nothing more than a giant fishbowl, unlike the aquarium where they strived for realistic settings. 

It was kind of interesting seeing the divers cleaning or feeding the fish or whatever they were doing.

But I wasn't a huge fan of watching the floor fall away, especially knowing it wasn't working properly a mere 2 days ago.

The maximum capacity is supposedly 45 people. I think that could be more than a little claustrophobic, even spreading them over the 2 floors is the lift.

Having some time, and being in the neighborhood, I decided to visit the Berliner Dom, or cathedral. 

The admission is 7€,  which includes the sanctuary, the crypt, and the tower (and whatever else might have been upstairs... a direction I seldom choose to go without an elevator).

This is just the entry hall.

The sanctuary is a baroque splendor.

The altar.

Close-up above the altar.

Close-up of the altar.

The organ.

The pulpit.

The entrance.

The dome overhead in the center of the sanctuary.

The really important folk get to stay in the sanctuary after death, 

Friedrich I

while the less royal still have some rather nice "digs".

I stopped for lunch at a restaurant by the AquaDom called Andy's Diner. They have an American theme, but I can't speak to the quality of their burgers, having opted for a gyros plate. The fries were good... but German fries usually are.

I ate inside. See those blankets. It was too chilly out here.

Heading back to the apartment, the bus I was riding had an accident with a taxi. All I felt was an abrupt, hard stop. Riding backwards, the only thing I saw was a standing woman thrown off her feet. Later I saw the dent in the rear fender of the (Mercedes naturally) cab. It was a minor accident, but we were tied up for about 10 minutes. When the next bus came along, they stopped right there and picked up all the passengers from the first bus, and we were on our way.

Despite a couple of angst attacks, the first being when I got the wrong result adding 6 to the time on my device, and the second being the accident, I was still back to the apartment in plenty of time for our weekend departure.

I'm going to throw in one more picture of the Berliner Dom, not because it actually shows anything, but because I think it came out cool and I really, really like it.