A Summary of Berlin - We Love You!

Leah:        “I liked Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, riding in the bicycle, the Victory Column, and the Rittersport Chocolate World.  Our hotel was really nice and cozy.  The shower was really tiny and the toilet was very interesting.  I ate hard rolls with butter for breakfast every morning, and cheese pizza for dinner every night.  I like the Fanta soda here; it tastes like really tart orange juice.  I love my cute scarf I found in the children’s department of Zara.  I like riding the S Bahn (aboveground) train better than the U Bahn (underground) train.  I think the Berliners are very friendly and speak English very well.”

William:    “I liked all of the trains and it was really beautiful with less pollution and more green.  The food was good, although I only ate cheese pizza, fruit, and rolls.  I liked everywhere we went.”

John:        “I really liked riding the S and U Bahn trains and enjoying the understated beauty of Berlin, a city that successfully blends past and future, culture and utility, modernity and classicism. The Döner Kebaps (the Turkish version of a Greek Gyro) were super delicious and I liked all the German food, contrary to the stereotypes. Also, the Berliners were quite kind and helpful, and many of them spoke excellent English. I really liked the city and am going to miss this beautiful city with its appreciation of the past and its racing towards the present. Also the museum was one of the best I have ever seen.”

Ellie:        “Berlin was a pretty city. I liked the German people’s fashion sense. I had to try and convince Leah that we did not need pictures of everything, but in the pictures that Mom did take, John did not appreciate my faces. I especially enjoyed seeing the Berlin Wall since we just learned about the Cold War in history. I have one important thing to say about my time in Berlin: ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’”

Mom:       “In 1987 I spent a summer in Berlin, 26 years ago as a 16 year old.  My Uncle Ron was stationed here with the army and my parents sent me here for the ultimate summer vacation.  Not only did I see the sights of Berlin, but we also toured Germany, visited Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark and Sweden.  It was truly unforgettable! 

Only 1½ years before the Berlin Wall fell, Berlin was very much a divided city.  I remember not being able to get up close to the Brandenburg Gate as it was blocked off.  I remember learning about families who were separated when the wall was built.  I remember learning about daring escape stories, people willing to risk everything, even their lives to escape the oppression.  I remember seeing guards and watchtowers all along the wall.  I remember seeing graffiti all over the western side of the wall.  I remember passing through Checkpoint Charlie on ONE day to shop in East Berlin.  They checked our papers and I vividly remember the sign, “You are now leaving the American sector.” Since it was such a depressed economy, we were able to buy a lot for our money.  I remember buying some feather beds and other linens.  I remember the eastern side being gray, dark, somber, and altogether depressing. Heaven forbid I get detained there!  Communist Germany was not a happy place and I was happy to return to the west.

       Fast forward 26 years and Berlin is an entirely different place altogether!  It is a unified city and country with no internal walls or borders.  It is spectacular!  I cannot even express the difference in words!  I kept trying to figure out if we were in the east or west, but it was so seamless, so perfect.  The capital of Germany, it boasts great ethnic and cultural diversity, so much to see and do, and a delightful people.  I would definitely visit again and even stay for a spell longer if given the chance!

  We departed Berlin by ICE train and were delighted with efficient German railways.  The comfortable train departed on schedule and we enjoyed the beautiful, albeit rainy countryside all the way to Kaiserslautern.  The complimentary snack was mini bags of Haribo gummy bears that we eagerly devoured!  We chatted, read, watched Doctor Who, snacked on too much sugar, spilled our sour balls, dozed, and updated our blog.  A great way to get down time, we agreed that traveling by rail is fun and we should do it in the US too.

John’s Song:             “Trains are silly, trains are fun, trains should be used by everyone!”

Mom & John doing the bare bear stare.