Michael's European Vacation - Weekend 2

Another weekend and another road-trip, this time to Berlin. As always, Michael was up for anything - except staying awake in the car! He missed most of the BMW's and Audi's zooming past me on the autobahn but did get a picture of my speedometer clocking 140 kph. Since Craig tells me I have to go back to work when we return to Minnesota maybe I should look into Nascar!! Can you see the headlines, "50-year old "broad"sides Nascar"!!! Enough already...

Michael had a bit of a sleeping upgrade this trip. No closet, but we did have to move a 50-pound table every night before blowing up the air mattress. We were also staying in a high rent area of Berlin - surrounded by stores the likes of Hermes, Rolex, Chanel, Hugo Boss - definitely out of my price range (but not out of my taste and desire range)! Maybe that Nascar thing isn't such a bad idea. I think they get paid more than $1.95/hour!!!

Not sure what I think about Berlin. Definitely a beautiful city but it felt too metropolitan for my tastes. We had a great time walking and taking in the many historical sites. Of course we stopped at the obligatory beer garden and feasted on bratwursts. Like most European cities there were several very entertaining street performers. I don't think I can articulate the antics of one of the performers. Let's just say the three of us never laughed so hard in our life's!!! Since the guy was mimicking unsuspecting tourists it may not have been as funny if he were mimicking us!!!

Odd happening in Berlin: Believe it or not the first night in Berlin I ran into a French lady who I met in Wrocław. Huge town, lots of people and I run into someone I know. I've said it before, but the world is truly a small place!!

For the "were you walking around with your eyes shut" award, ask how us long and hard we searched for the American Embassy. We happened upon the British Embassy so checked our maps for the American Embassy. Yup, should be darn close. Let's see if we can find it. An hour later, darkness upon us we still hadn't found it so we added it to our agenda for the next day. Morning comes and once again we easily find the British Embassy - which is blocked to car traffic and is guarded by police - but still can't find our embassy. Thankfully, we didn't embarrass ourselves by asking the police for directions. The American Embassy was right around the corner located RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRANDENBURG GATE!!! We only walked through and around the Brandenburg Gate at least 10 times (ok, slight exaggeration but you get the point)the night before. I wonder if the American flag should have been a monster clue!

Yet another "let Cindy's imagination run wild" moment: We were approaching the ring road surrounding the Siegessaule monument (more about that later) debating whether or not we should jaywalk when a police motorcade began blocking off the road. Soon we saw more police leading some sort of procession. hmmmm....maybe the President?????? Dang, I was excited!!! We wait anxiously only to find out it was a huge Harley Davidson rally. Unless the President rides a Harley it is doubtful he was there (maybe Uncle Bill was there)????

I've held off as long as I can....Here is where I begin to question my German heritage. Maybe I was a bit tainted by visiting the Anne Frank House followed on its heels by a trip to Auschwitz/Birkenau, but that Hitler guy was a creep with a capital monster!!! Berlin is full of memorials (apologies) to all the people he destroyed. Example:

1) Holocaust memorial - absolutely stunning and moving. Includes a free-of-charge museum which is equally moving.
2) Memorial to Soviet soldiers and citizens lost at the hands of Hitler.
3) Homosexual memorial - Amsterdam was hard hit when Hitler targeted the homosexuals, making them wear pink stars and eventually deporting them to concentration camps where they met their inevitable fate.
4) Berlin Wall memorial - to the victims who died trying to climb the wall.
5) A memorial to a group of citizens forced from their neighborhoods and their church destroyed. I'm really mad at myself for forgetting who this group was. I will post a picture of the memorial and issue a challenge to anyone who can identify the group. I've Internet surfed until my bones are weary. I'm putting money on my father-in-law to be the first to find it!
6) Siegessaule monument - ok, not a victim's memorial but another illustration of Hilter's controlling mind. Hitler actually moved this monument (and it is huge) from Berlin to Charlottenburg because he no longer wanted Berlin to be the capital. I can't imagine the physical effort it took to move a monument....weird guy, huh??

My wineglass search was difficult at best (remember the neighborhood we were in). I call it a cop-out purchase but we ended up buying two glasses from a wine store. Unique shape but still not what I really had in mind when I started collecting. Craig and I are planning a trip to Rome and Milan in September or early October so I'm hoping to upgrade just a bit!

After trips to Amsterdam, Kraków and Berlin my backside is expanding from food and drinks and our pocketbooks are getting smaller in direct proportion to my backside. With that said we opted to stay in Wrocław for Michael's last weekend in town. The roads in Poland are safe again!!

Next installment: Michael does Wrocław!!!