I declare this to have been a marvelous day. First of all, staying up to 10 or so last night, visiting and talking the whole time, seemed to guarantee that I'd sleep well. And I did. From my view in the bed by the window, I could see the lights of the apartments across the street. Somehow it seemed friendly to me, those neighbors still up and about and with their lights on.
I must say something about our bedroom here at Petra's. It was Melli's room as a girl, so the walls have her photos, paintings and crafts, karate belts and awards, and much more. With very, very high ceilings in this flat, Petra had a loft built in Melli's room, and she furnished it with two twin mattresses, which is where Maddie and Heidi hold court. Reiner is on a blow-up mattress at one end of the room, by the door, and my bed is, of course, by the window.
We all woke relatively early, even Maddie, although she did not emerge from under her covers until breakfast was on the table. Once everyone had eaten the fresh pastries and rolls, we all (Reiner, me, Maddie, Heidi, Petra, Sascha, Melli, Mika, and T.J.) walked the few blocks to the U-bahn station. Public transit tickets purchased for we four Herbons, we took the U-bahn to the Kudamn.
Here we took advantage of the opportunity to look at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This building, a beautiful church before the war, is even more beautiful now, as it was left in its bombed out condition by Berliners after the war as a reminder of the destruction that comes from violent conflict. The murals on the walls and ceiling, although marked with putty where cracks appeared after the bombings during the war, are still gorgeous, as are the various sculptural ornaments inside.
After an obligatory stop at Starbuck's (in honor of the absent Yvette), we hopped on the 100 bus, the one that circles all the big tourist spots in the city.
Here we took advantage of the opportunity to look at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This building, a beautiful church before the war, is even more beautiful now, as it was left in its bombed out condition by Berliners after the war as a reminder of the destruction that comes from violent conflict. The murals on the walls and ceiling, although marked with putty where cracks appeared after the bombings during the war, are still gorgeous, as are the various sculptural ornaments inside.
After an obligatory stop at Starbuck's (in honor of the absent Yvette), we hopped on the 100 bus, the one that circles all the big tourist spots in the city.
Our first stop--the Berlin Victory Column, a.k.a. the Siegessaule, a.k.a. "Chick-on-a-Stick." Originally designed in 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was finished, it also commemorated the Prussian victories over Austria in 1866 and France in 1870 (yes, those Prussians seem pretty damned aggressive). I wondered why, when the French marched into Berlin with the Allies in 1945, they didn't destroy this monument to their earlier defeat. According to the source of all source, Wikipedia, the French did want to dynamite it, but the Brits and us Yanks nixed the idea. According to Maddie and Heidi, who with Reiner, Melli, and the little boys climbed the 285 steps to the top, bullet holes are easily visible in many parts of the monument, perhaps a left-over of WWII.
Back on the bus, we journeyed to the Reichstag. While we will go back and actually go inside, today was just about looking at the front of this beautiful home of Germany's parliament. On the way there, Sascha was kind enough to point out the Chancellor's building, where Angela Merkel reigns supreme--and kicks the ass of a certain American president who dared to listen in on her calls.
A short walk, and we found a restaurant for lunch. Yummy currywurst and fries complemented the Berliner Weisse that I enjoyed. Maddie and Heidi also had this unique Berlin treat, a weiss beer with a raspberry syrup. While Maddie and I are big fans, Heidi didn't care for adulterated beer. She's a purist. (Here, I left my iPad for a moment and came back to see: "I am lorraine and i am a loser. i like to write my blog all day long and never look at anything.")
A short walk, and we found a restaurant for lunch. Yummy currywurst and fries complemented the Berliner Weisse that I enjoyed. Maddie and Heidi also had this unique Berlin treat, a weiss beer with a raspberry syrup. While Maddie and I are big fans, Heidi didn't care for adulterated beer. She's a purist. (Here, I left my iPad for a moment and came back to see: "I am lorraine and i am a loser. i like to write my blog all day long and never look at anything.")
Heidi--not so much
Maddie--very much!
Just a short walk brought us from the restaurant to the Brandenburg Gate. Beautiful, as I remembered,the changes to the surrounding area were big and obvious. On the east side of the gate, the embassies that took up Unter dem Linden in the olden days are back. The American embassy stands immediately inside the gate, next to the Deutsche Bank, which is next to the re-established Adlon Hotel. Readers of Erik Larson's brilliant In the Garden of Beasts will recognize the Adlon as the place to see and be seen in 1930s Berlin.
Back on the bus to the Alexanderplatz, where we viewed the Fernsehturm (famous television tower) from the outside, but a long, none-moving line for tickets discouraged us from riding the elevator to the top.
Now, we are all back in the flat on Ordenmeisterstr., the kids are playing in the other room, Sascha and Ollie (who joined us after he got off work) are on the computer, Reiner is taking a nap (he would NEVER EVER survive an actual Yvette-Lorraine vacation), and Maddie and Heidi are arguing about job availability in the Sacramento area, the current movement to raise the minimum wage, and something about Danny not being welcome in Canada. And I am blogging, full of German history and satisfied.
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