1st Rehearsal

We just got back to the hotel after our first rehearsal with the Berlin Phil @ the Philharmonie. They are every bit as good as I remember them, and we were nothing like as good as we are capable of being, with lots of sloppiness with entrances and cutoffs. We adapted very quickly to A443, however, and our pitch was very good throughout. We know where we need to improve, and we will.

We got up this morning at 9:15, reluctantly, and made our way down to breakfast. They've a terrific breakfast buffet at the hotel (which normally costs 17 euro, but which is included as part of our tour), which we did our best to demolish. Cold cerals, eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, lots of fruit and juices, everything a growing boy (and girl) needs. Afterwards we hopped on the U Bahn and made our way over to the Berliner Dome. This is the second time we've attempted to visit said Dome. The first time was back in 2003, and it was pissing down rain and really far too cold to be out, so we satisfied ourselves with taking a picture of it from about half a mile away, then bravely turned our tails and fled.

This year we got all the way inside, only we were extremely pressed for time (being as we woke up and ate so leisurely), so we were intending on just zipping in, getting some pictures, and zipping back out again. Only, it turns out, there's a 5 euro charge to get in now, so instead of paying 5 euro for 5 minutes we turned tail and fled again, vowing to extract our revenge later. We have a weekly U Bahn pass, so I feel certain we will make good on this threat. Note to future Berlin travellers - you cannot pay for your 7-day U Bahn pass with a visa or amex. They only take mastercards or cash.

We're now headed out to dinner, and probably a few Biers. We can't go too hot and heavy tonight, since we've an early rehearsal tomorrow and we'll need to fortify heavily first at the breakfast buffet. We'll post pics from today afterwards.