Home again home again

We arrived home Tuesday afternoon - always good to be home and especially nice with spring flower

 

 

Leaving Berlin

We've had a great trip! Scenes from our last day in Berlin, a boat ride on the Spree.

 

The Federal Chancellory on the right - I think I saw Angela Merkel hosting a group outside.

The architects who designed the new government buildings provided a connection on both ends of the complex uniting east and west Berlin - very cool architecture not really captured here.

East Berlin's walk figure - shown on all the stoplight pedestrian signals. After reunification they started to standardize on the generic figure used by West Germany until a grassroots campaign brought back this figure. Now this is the standard and a Berlin icon.

The scholar

We went to Pankow, the section of Berlin where the European College of Liberal Arts is located, to see where Eliza has lived since September. She's had a great opportunity over the past year being part of a dedicated learning community.

The view from Eliza's dorm room window.

 

Eliza's dorm was formerly the Egyptian Embassy in the DDR (former East Germany). Picture on right is her neighborhood church.

 

Eliza joined us for Sunday brunch and then we went to a huge flea market.

 

Berlin - Part IV

Street scenes

Photo on left is Checkpoint Charlie - making the world safe for McDonalds!

Photo on right is a bike bar - you climb on board and the bartender not only drives you along, he also pours you a drink!

 

 

 

Berlin - Part III

We have been out and about, seeing the sights. Meeting Eliza's friends was a highlight.

Mary, Agnes, Eliza, Christina (Nicaragua), Signe (Denmark) and Ena (Croatia).

 

We climbed up inside the glass dome of the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Great views from on top.

 

 

We visited the Pergamon Museum, where they have many remnants from the altar at Pergamon and the Gates of Ishtar - all dating from at least 200 BC. We are biased somewhat since we have visited the ruins of Pergamon, in the Turkish city of Bergama, and can't help but want to see them in their original location.

Berlin - Part II

We are loving our time in Berlin - walking all over, taking the great transit system, and seeing amazing things as well as experiencing the everyday life of the city. Our initial observations are that Berlin is a city of young people, with many young families. Lots of bikes, loads of green space, and lots of construction underway. We did a great 3-1/2 hour walking tour on Monday, beginning at the Brandenburg Gate and ending at Museum Isle. The tour guide was well-versed in history, architecture and art - a wonderful mix.

 

 

 

Arrival in Berlin

We have a great place to stay in Berlin for the next 9 days, and are looking forward to exploring its many historic, cultural, and artistic wonders. We are staying in the Mitte section in what was known as East Berlin before reunification. We wandered out of our place headed for a big flea market and instead happened upon a memorial on the wall just 3 blocks away!

Mary on the stairs to our place (our apartment is on the first floor, to Mary's right); view from the bedroom window, and view across the park in front of our building.

 

 

Sometimes the wall's former presence is best seen by the empty spaces it has left.

The Bernauer Strasse was one of the first checkpoints when the wall went up. The memorials set up along this area tell the story of the building of the wall and how it affected city residents on both sides.