Berlin

In her monologue that opens ''Best Before'' Ellen says that she started flagging in order to get out from in front of the computer. That hasn't changed. So, unless indicated otherwise, you can blame Ken for the spelling and grammer here.



Ellen has discovered that the hardest part of being a star is not dodging the papparazzi and autograph seekers. It is finding time to eat and sleep. The Friday night cast party in our room broke up at 4:00AM and Ellen had to be at the theatre at 2:00 Saturday afternoon for the matinee.



Bob, one of the 5 cast members didn't make the trip, so a new cast member was added here. Due to the nature of the play, where the cast members tell their own stories, that meant a major rewrite and a lot more rehearsals here in Berlin. No days off for Ellen and very little sight-seeing. My own tourist activities have been hampered by bad timing and long lines at the museums when I did try to go. So we had to be satisfied with walks around the area. We are in the heart of Berlin, an area just east of the Brandenburg Gate.



Berlin is a Beautiful city, grand by any definition. The broad avenues and large squares add emphasis to the architecture, both old and new. The traffic is quite controlled and the sidewalks in the business districts crowded. Most major streets have bike paths delineated on the sidewalks, but it doesn't seem to cause problems. This is a flat city, and would be great for biking if we had the time.



''Best Before'' has been playing to full houses of appreciative audiences and they get most of the jokes. They are using supertitles for the stock lines (German for the English spoken lines and visa-versa) but much of the dialogue is spontaneous between the players, so some might be missed by those who don't understand English well. The new cast member adds a German comentary to try to keep everyone up to speed.



We are hoping to fly out to London tomorrow for the next run in Brighton, but the news reports are that the volcano in Iceland may shut down London airports tomorrow. Since the play doesn't begin it's run until the end of the week, this is not a crisis. but it could be a major inconvience. My own flight here was delayed, leaving me in Houston for 13 hours and causing me to get to Berlin a day late. I did get to visit with Gabriel for about 15 minutes in Houston when he was between flights.



Sory there are no pictures. I wasn't in the habit of taking the camera with me, and now I'm having trouble getting the pictures that I did take out of the camera.