We are off to eat and drink around the world :)....

[dgbg100106]

The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall located near the centre of Berlin on Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.

The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall. The East Side Gallery was founded following the successful merger of the two German artists' associations VBK and BBK. The founding members were the speche of the Federal Association of Artists BBK Bodo Sperling, Barbara Greul Aschanta, Jörg Kubitzki and David Monti.

It is possibly the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world. Paintings from Jürgen Grosse alias INDIANO, Dimitri Vrubel, Siegfrid Santoni, Bodo Sperling, Kasra Alavi, Kani Alavi, Jim Avignon, Thierry Noir, Ingeborg Blumenthal, Ignasi Blanch i Gisbert, Kim Prisu, Hervé Morlay VR and others have followed.

The paintings at the East Side Gallery document the time of change and express the euphoria and great hopes for a better and free future for all people of the world.

 

[dgbg100106]

The Oberbaumbrücke is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, considered one of the city landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.

This is the TV tower...
The Fernsehturm (German for "television tower") is a television tower in the city centre of Berlin, Germany. Close to Alexanderplatz and part of the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT), the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the former German Democratic Republic administration who intended it as a symbol of Berlin, which it remains today, as it is easily visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin. With its height of 368 meters, it is the tallest structure in Germany.

When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm's tiled stainless steel dome, the reflection usually appears in the form of a crucifix. This effect was neither predicted nor desired by the planners. Berliners immediately named the luminous cross Rache des Papstes, or "Pope's Revenge". For the same reasons, the structure was also called "St. Walter" (from Walter Ulbricht).

U.S. President Ronald Reagan mentioned this phenomenon in his "Tear down this wall" speech on 12 June 1987

"Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexanderplatz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw: treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere, that sphere that towers over all Berlin, the light makes the sign of the cross. There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed."

 

[dwheatl]

I think if I were those fencers, I'd be holding the shield in a different place. As for the Maserati, it would be great to have it in Germany, where you can drive it at the speed it was designed for. And very cool about the tower.

 

[dgbg100106]

I think if I were those fencers, I'd be holding the shield in a different place. As for the Maserati, it would be great to have it in Germany, where you can drive it at the speed it was designed for. And very cool about the tower.

Yea.... I am waiting for Alison to make a comment about those guys....

The car was so very cool... I think I could drive it that way and enjoy every minute of it.

 

[dgbg100106]

The Berliner Dom in Berlin, Germany, is an impressive basilica known as the "Protestant St. Peter's." The present Baroque structure dates only from 1905, but stands on the site of several earlier structures.

Now on the Check Point Charlie...

Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.

The Soviet Union prompted the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop Eastern Bloc emigration westward through the Soviet border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin to West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of east and west. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.

After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in the Allied Museum in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin.

We are looking into the American Sector in this direction...

They placed these markers in the street to show you where the wall once stood.

David standing on both sides at once...

It is very capitalistic here everyone trying to make a dollar, selling anything from pictures to food.

You know it was hard for to think of Berlin as old and historic when all you can see new buildings and modern structures, to me it lost its culture by not preserving anything. But it was bombed pretty bad and destroyed a lot of buildings.

Image leaving the American sector

David and I decided to have a Curry Werst while we were there...

This is the backside of a section of wall that is not being preserved.

 

[dgbg100106]

Potsdamer Platz, literally Potsdam Square is an important public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about one kilometre south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corner of the Tiergarten park. It is named after the city of Potsdam, some 25 km to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate. After developing within the space of little over a century from an intersection of rural thoroughfares into the most bustling traffic intersection in Europe, it was totally laid waste during World War II and then left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location. Since German reunification, Potsdamer Platz has been the site of major redevelopment projects.

Although a contraption at Stephansplatz in Hamburg is now thought to have predated them by two years, it has often been stated that the first traffic lights in Continental Europe were erected at Potsdamer Platz on 20 October 1924, in an attempt to control the sheer volume of traffic passing through. This traffic had grown to extraordinary levels. Even in 1900, more than 100,000 people, 20,000 cars, horse-drawn vehicles and handcarts, plus many thousands of bicycles, passed through the platz daily. By the 1920s the number of cars had soared to 60,000. The trams added greatly to this. The first four lines had appeared in 1880, rising to 13 by 1897, all horse-drawn, but after electrification between 1898 and 1902 the number of lines had soared to 35 by 1908 and ultimately reached 40, carrying between them 600 trams every hour, day and night. Services were run by a large number of companies, but in 1929 all these were unified into the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (Berlin Transport Services) company, which has operated Berlin’s trams ever since.

Up to 11 policemen at a time had tried to control all this traffic, many of them standing on small wooden platforms positioned in key locations around the platz, but with varying success. The traffic lights, again from Siemens, were mounted on a five-sided 8.5 m high tower designed by Jean Kramer, shipped over from the United States, and actually modeled on a similar one erected on Fifth Avenue in New York in 1922, although towers like this had been a feature of the Big Apple since 1918. A solitary policeman sat in a small cabin at the top of the tower and switched the lights around manually, until they were eventually automated in 1926. Yet some officers still remained on the ground in case people did not pay any attention to the lights. The tower remained until c.1936, when it was removed to allow for excavations for the new S-Bahn line (on 26 September 1997, a replica of the tower was erected, just for show, close to its original location by Siemens, to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary. The replica was moved again on 29 September 2000, to the place where it stands today).

David and I stopped at this place for a little lunch...

Sitting inside the square looking up and the canopy

Jägerschnitzel

After we left lunch we made our way over to where Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva (née Braun), committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide.That afternoon, in accordance with Hitler's prior instructions, their remains were carried up the stairs through the bunker's emergency exit, doused in petrol and set alight in the Reich Chancellery garden outside the bunker. The Soviet archives record that their burnt remains were recovered and interred in successive locations until 1970 when they were again exhumed, cremated and the ashes scattered.

 

[dgbg100106]

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a 19,000 square metres (4.7 acres) site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The stelae are 7 ft 10 in long, 3 ft 1 in wide and vary in height from 8 in to 15 ft 9 in. According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.

Building began on April 1, 2003 and was finished on December 15, 2004. It was inaugurated on May 10, 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II, and opened to the public on May 12 of the same year. It is located one block south of the Brandenburg Gate, in the Friedrichstadt neighborhood. The cost of construction was approximately €25 million.

 

[dgbg100106]

Embassy of the United States, Berlin

With the fall of the Berlin wall and the unification of Berlin in 1989–1990, the U.S. State Department found itself with two main office facilities in one city: a Chancery in the former East Berlin, Mitte district (U.S. Mission to East Germany), and the Clay building in the Zehlendorf district of the former West Berlin (U.S. Mission Berlin). In accordance with the reality of a unified Berlin that was now officially part of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Department of State announced that, effective October 3, 1990, the status of the United States Embassy to East Germany and of the United States Mission Berlin were to be changed. The two missions were 'closed' and replaced by a single representation under the title United States Embassy Office Berlin

The new €180 million Chancery building, conceptualized in 1996 by Moore Ruble Yudell, has its main entrance facing north towards the famous Pariser Platz. Its eastern side fully abuts an existing bank building, and the west side of the land faces a main road artery. The south side also faces a street, towards the German Holocaust memorial. Pariser Platz is most famous for the Brandenburg Gate at its western entrance.


The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin

Opposite direction of the gate

This is the hotel where M. Jackson held his baby out the window and the tabloids went crazy! Facing the gate.

 

[dgbg100106]

The Reiterstandbild Friedrichs des Großen is an equestrian statue of Frederick II of Prussia in Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities. From 1828 it was known as the Frederick William University, later also as the Universität unter den Linden after its location. In 1949, it changed its name to Humboldt-Universität in honour of both its founder Wilhelm and his brother, naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. Einstein taught here too!

The Old Armory in Berlin
The battle uniforms for these statues were amazing...

Random shots while driving....

 

[dgbg100106]

Neue Wache and Käthe Kollwitz

In 1933, after the establishment of the National-Socialist regime, the Nazi Party authorities forced her to resign her place on the faculty of the Akademie der Künste following her support of the Dringender Appell. Her work was removed from museums. Although she was banned from exhibiting, one of her "mother and child" pieces was used by the Nazis for propaganda.

Working now in a smaller studio, in the mid-1930s she completed her last major cycle of lithographs, Death, which consisted of eight stones: Woman Welcoming Death, Death with Girl in Lap, Death Reaches for a Group of Children, Death Struggles with a Woman, Death on the Highway, Death as a Friend, Death in the Water, and The Call of Death.

In July 1936, she and her husband were visited by the Gestapo, who threatened her with arrest and deportation to a Nazi concentration camp; they resolved to commit suicide if such a prospect became inevitable. However, Kollwitz was by now a figure of international note, and no further action was taken. On her seventieth birthday, she "received over one hundred and fifty telegrams from leading personalities of the art world", as well as offers to house her in the United States, which she declined for fear of provoking reprisals against her family.

She outlived her husband (who died from an illness in 1940) and her grandson Peter, who died in action in World War II two years later.

She evacuated Berlin in 1943. Later that year, her house was bombed and many drawings, prints, and documents were lost. She moved first to Nordhausen, then to Moritzburg, a town near Dresden, where she lived her final months as a guest of Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony. Kollwitz died just before the end of the war.

Kollwitz made a total of 275 prints, in etching, woodcut and lithography. Virtually the only portraits she made during her life were images of herself, of which there are at least fifty. These self-portraits constitute a life-long honest self-appraisal; "they are psychological milestones".

Mother with her Dead Son a World War II war memorial. The sculpture is directly set under an oculus and is exposed to the weathers, symbolizing the suffering of civilians during the war.

This is a Parliament Building but nicknamed the Washing Machine

The Reichstag is one of the most popular and historical Berlin’s landmarks; this imposing building is the seat of the German Parliament. It was designed by Paul Wallot after the founding of the German Empire and constructed between 1884 and 1894, mainly funded with wartime reparation from France. The building was burnt in 1933 and was left as a ruin for a long time, during the cold war; it was restored after the German reunification and became again the seat of the parliament. There is a huge glass dome where the views over Berlin are impressive especially around sunset.

As we were leaving the area, I picked some random shots again...

Soviet War Memorial (Treptower Park) This war memorial was built to honour the Soviet soldiers that fell in the battles against the German army in the Second World War. It was located at the 17 June Street very close to the German parliament - the Reichstag

Weisse Kreuze, white crosses, as a reminder of all those who died trying to escape to West Berlin from the GDR after the border was sealed off.

Situated on an area of 20 hectares (about 50 acres) beside the River Spree, Schloss Bellevue was built for Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia, the younger brother of King Frederick II of Prussia. It sits on the north edge of the large Tiergarten park and served as the Prince's summer residence.

The Victory Column is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 meters high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners, with their fondness for giving nicknames to buildings, call the statue Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy".

We came back to our starting point and the crowds and left, so I got some better shots of the statues...

We rode back in what seemed like forever on the highway back to the ship. We made it back dropped everything off and headed for food. We ate some Italian and some sushi that turned out very good.
JoAnne and Albert both joined after their meal and listened to the music. The guitar and singing was pretty good.
Off to bed we go, so very tired, but there is that noise again. It is awful!

 

[dgbg100106]

29 Aug
Sea Day… David and I made up to breakfast on the 10th deck, and then down to Michaels for coffee and vodka for drinks…
We had a busy day planned, 9:20 am was the bridge tour, we enjoyed going back up and seeing everything from up there.

At 11:15 was the Elite wine tasting in the San Marco restaurant on the 5th deck, I was so glad that it was not the blending class anymore. This was a class done by the sommelier and covered wines that were for sale in the restaurant.

As we left the wine event we decided that it was a good time for lunch. The pool deck had a Germany sausage event with the F&B manager ottam and the executive chef Butti out there cooking and serving sausages to lots of people.

We also went by and had lunch of grilled salmon again in the aqua spa café. The food there is done so very well.

At 1:00pm was the lecture on Peter the great, the guy giving the lecture was from Silver Spring Maryland and is a city tour guide in DC. He gave a very interesting talk on Russia and the history and buildings.

After the lecture, we stopped by the coffee area and got some cookies and returned to the theater for a lecture on Faberge in the theater on deck 4 at 2:30. This was a very interesting lecture and the items were beautiful and very expensive.

After the lecture we went to deck 5 Boutique C5 and waited for the raffle and the unveiling of the St Petersburg collection. There was a mad house of people and we were not happy being there but we had our raffle tickets. The number drawn was only one after ours….. we missed it, but the item was not pretty, it looked like a pope hat.


We came back to the cabin, and rested a bit then showered and got ready for dinner. We made it up to the Elite lounge and David had the bourbon and diet coke and I went with grapefruit juice and vodka. We were here about an hour prior to dinner.

After we were seated at dinner, I started with the seafood risotto, David with the shrimp cocktail and Champaign sauce.

We both had the potato soup with frog legs.

I also had the chilled strawberry soup, which was very nice, with a touch of crème fraiche.

David had the Cajun ribeye with Pineapple salsa, and it was super tender and he enjoyed it very much.

As the sun was setting tonight, it was this pretty purple and pink sky.

For dessert I had the crepe suzette, and Chocolate pistachio cake neither was very good, I just ate the ice cream.

David had the sorbet again

 

[dgbg100106]

30 Aug
We decided to get up early and follow everyone advice about watching the arrival into Sweden, Stockholm, thru archipelago (Skärgärden), this strip of small islands and rock out cropping, was created during the ice age, we saw many small islands with houses built right on them and some islands were very large and whole communities were there.

 

[dgbg100106]

The weather was nice, a little cool on the water and the sun was rising it was beautiful. We had some breakfast upstairs in the buffet, and then headed to the Michaels lounge for the wake up drinks. Vanilla cappuccinos for us, a belini for David and vodka and grapefruit juice for me, the breakfast of champions.

We decided to spend the $10 and take the shuttle into town for a look around. We were late making it in, and the crowd had already gone, which made traveling for us a breeze. The shuttle dropped us right in front of the opera House, which was beautiful and the royal palace was across the bridge, we crossed at Norrbro into the old town Gamla Stan.

As we started walking for the Royal Palace, the guards were making their way there also. The trumpeted and beat the drums as they rode in horseback. They looked very young and proud to be there. We rounded the corner just as they did and made it to the square in time to see the changing of the guard. It was hard to see with so many people and most of them were rude…. Starting at Nybroplan, Stockholm’s daily military parade marches over Norrbro Bridge and up to the royal palace’s outer courtyard, where the band plays and the guard changes at 12:15.

 

[dgbg100106]

We started the self guided walking tour at this point, walking back down the hill towards the statue of King Gustav III which is facing the Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet). The royal family no longer stays here, this is still the official residence, and this palace is designed in Italian Baroque style and was completed in 1754 after a fire wiped out the previous palace. The changing of the guard is a highlight of the palace.

It has looked like it would rain all day, I am hoping that it stays away but for some reason I don't think it is going to last...

Here is King Gustav III

We were standing in the large cobblestoned boulevard and looked out over the water. The grand building across the way is the National Museum (which is says in huge letters over the center entrance), in the distance and to the right of the museum is a fine row of buildings called Strandvägen, this was cleaned up and made into high rise costly apartments, where Tiger Woods bought.

Continuing up the cobblestoned road, you will find the Obelisk, which honors Stockholm’s merchant class for its support in a war against Russia (1788).

We looked for the Iron Boy statue but never found him…

We walked to the Strotorget, Stockholm’s oldest square; Colorful old buildings topped with gables line this square, which was the heart of medieval Stockholm (pop. 6,000 in 1400). The Nobel Museum is also here. We did not go in but stood in front of it for awhile.

We went to the grocery store in the square and bought some ham, bread, soda, and beef sticks. We also picked up some marzipan that we were just guessing what it was and it turned out wonderful, it was a nice surprise.

I have to say that these marzipan things were the most delish I have every had, they were moist, and chewy and covered in Chocolate.... Yummy!

 

[dgbg100106]

After we left the square we walked backup the shopping street, västerlånggatan, it was very busy and kind of expensive compared to some of the other shops.

At the end of the lane it went right down the middle of the parliament buildings on Stallbron.

They have this neat tradition where they put their names on locks and put them on the bridge, to show that they are committed to one another.

We have entered the new town now and everything is very commercial and high rise feeling. There were many many tourist shops along this road. We did not stay long here and left for the shuttle to take us back.

After we go back to the ship and got ready for the Elite lounge. Diner was ok, nothing special.
We showered and got ready for bed, the noise was so loud in our cabin that they decided to move us to another cabin. We are now in 3086.

 

[franandaj]

Yea.... I am waiting for Alison to make a comment about those guys....

The car was so very cool... I think I could drive it that way and enjoy every minute of it.

I didn't even really notice them and when I read that I had to go back and look! Yeah I wouldn't carry the sword there either! But in your picture from when you went back, uhhhhh do the Germans make their statues a little too life like? And if that is life like, I pity the sculptor.

Jägerschnitzel

OK after that last comment, it seems weird to talk about food! But I love Jägerschnitzel! It was my favorite food in Germany.

That was a HUGE day, you saw a lot and with a three hour bus ride on either end. I can see why you weren't up to taking food porn for dinner! Beautiful pictures, Berlin looks like a wonderful city. I never got there, I was in Europe in the summer of '88 many people in our band went there after the "band tour" ended, but we went elsewhere. It would have been neat and scary to have seen East and West Berlin.

The city reminded me a lot of DC, giant monumental buildings in all their glory, memorials and still modern buildings. I know it's probably not really similar to you working there and all but coming from So Cal where our "historical buildings" are from the 20th century, it's a different perspective.

I wondered how you had such good descriptions of the places in your TR, you use Wikipedia! There were a couple in the beginning where you forgot to remove the [citation required].

 

[dgbg100106]

I didn't even really notice them and when I read that I had to go back and look! Yeah I wouldn't carry the sword there either! But in your picture from when you went back, uhhhhh do the Germans make their statues a little too life like? And if that is life like, I pity the sculptor.

OK after that last comment, it seems weird to talk about food! But I love Jägerschnitzel! It was my favorite food in Germany.

I really enjoyed it... I think I told you that I grew up in a German town in Texas, we were always eating German food and I grew up thinking it was normal food!!!!

That was a HUGE day, you saw a lot and with a three hour bus ride on either end. I can see why you weren't up to taking food porn for dinner! Beautiful pictures, Berlin looks like a wonderful city. I never got there, I was in Europe in the summer of '88 many people in our band went there after the "band tour" ended, but we went elsewhere. It would have been neat and scary to have seen East and West Berlin.

We saw so much and we were so tired and then that noise was there and it was just a rough evening.... we just ate the food fast and went to bed, we did not even go to our seated dinner, we just ate at the buffet.

The city reminded me a lot of DC, giant monumental buildings in all their glory, memorials and still modern buildings. I know it's probably not really similar to you working there and all but coming from So Cal where our "historical buildings" are from the 20th century, it's a different perspective.

For me I am still in awe when I go down into DC for something, to see a hotdog stand next to where George Washington made major decision for our country but the grandeur is kind of wearing off... When friends and family come here I get to see it again thru their eyes and it becomes wonderful again.

I wondered how you had such good descriptions of the places in your TR, you use Wikipedia! There were a couple in the beginning where you forgot to remove the [citation required].

Look after a day like that I am lucky to remember my name might less anything amazing about it. I get a lot of info from my books to. I look up places I want to go and then fill in the blanks when I get back...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Beautiful shots of European cities, Brandi! Thanks for sharing.

Berlin is a wonderful city...we had the good fortune to be in Berlin 3 days before reunification in October 1990. We met someone in our travels and she invited us to go stay at her place as there was no accommodation to be found anywhere in Berlin at all during this time.
Those images of Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburgertor that you shared brought back a lot of memories. But it was sad for me to see so many people/tourists in that area...it was still "East Berlin" when I was there and the vibe was certainly very different to what your pictures show.

And in those days....we jumped behind the Wall where all the artists had decorated and walked in "no man's land". The watch towers were still up and we could well imagine Eastern Berliners trying to swim across the river towards the West and being shot at.


Your cruise and food porn looks great. I've always wanted to either cruise the Mediterranean or take a river cruise through Europe. Something else for my bucket list!

 

[Pinkocto]

Wheww! I am all caught up. Firstly, your pictures are amazing! There is just too much to comment on since I am so far behind. I will mention a few things that stick out in my mind.

I had no idea there was a Crime and Punishment museum down in D.C., that looked awesome. I was reading all the plaques you posted, very cool.

Your pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam was so very action packed, and with Mr. Boot no less! I am a bit shocked at the open aired urinal though. How can men feel comfortable? and then that guy getting mad and going in the street, how bizarre! Very impressed with your adventurous eating at the asian restaurant, I can not remember the name and am too lazy to go back and look. I'm so glad that bartender saw your distress and came to the rescue!

I'm so glad they changed your cabin, but why were you unsure if you'd like it from the start?

You guys did so much in Berlin I was getting nervous you were going to miss your ride back to the cruise ship. I love all the historical descriptions.

Thanks so much for sharing your trip

 

[dgbg100106]

Beautiful shots of European cities, Brandi! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks.....

Berlin is a wonderful city...we had the good fortune to be in Berlin 3 days before reunification in October 1990. We met someone in our travels and she invited us to go stay at her place as there was no accommodation to be found anywhere in Berlin at all during this time.
Those images of Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburgertor that you shared brought back a lot of memories. But it was sad for me to see so many people/tourists in that area...it was still "East Berlin" when I was there and the vibe was certainly very different to what your pictures show.

And in those days....we jumped behind the Wall where all the artists had decorated and walked in "no man's land". The watch towers were still up and we could well imagine Eastern Berliners trying to swim across the river towards the West and being shot at.

Hy DH graduated from High School in Mannheim, Germany and had been to Berlin before the reunification and had traveled thru Check Point Charlie, he told me stories about the place and how the guards came onto the bus and checked everyone and all the luggage and that it was very intense. While we were there he said everything was different. Nothing was the same, that after everything was bombed, everything had to be rebuilt and looked modern and updated, and clean. It was very surreal for him....

Your cruise and food porn looks great. I've always wanted to either cruise the Mediterranean or take a river cruise through Europe. Something else for my bucket list!

I took a Med cruise three years ago and it was amazing... We took a round trip out of Barcelona and spent 4 days there prior to the cruise, it had to be one of the most amazing times I have experienced... I can't wait to go back.. Now I can say that we went to Morocco (Tangiers and Casablanca) and they had to be some of the worst living conditions for humans that I had every seen, it was very hard to see. Small children with nothing and malnourished just living in the street, and gold plated Mercedes driving by them, they have two class structure, very rich and very poor. They also take advantage of tourist, they cheated a bunch of the fellow passengers out of a lot of money, would drive them places and then charge them 3 or 4 times the $$$ to get back, and drive off and leave them if they did not pay. Very scary.