Hi from Berlin, Germany

Hi everyone, wow today is the end of our fifth week here and we just saw Karen and Stan off on their bus to take them to the airport and home. Karen was excited to see the good old USA again and everything in English.
We are spending another day in Berlin before heading south this afternoon to stay with Craigs friends Dave and Nancy Fayram. Craig grew up with Dave in Concord.
Yesterday we went on the City Center sightseeing tour around Berlin. These hop on hop off buses are great if you dont have much time and want to see a lot. We first headed east of town and were immediately struck by how modern the city was. We then learned that 70/80% of Berlin was leveled in the WWII. Everywhere we went there was still new construction. We found out in London that they had just been able to pay off all their debts from WWII and had started a lot of reconstruction around the London area. So it seemed to be the same with Berlin. Plus a lot of foreign companies have come in and built skyscrapers, not tall but big. Sony, Japanese, has a huge glass multicomplex building in the city that really stands out. So their opera buildings and foreign embassy buildings were all new, or at least 60 years old. But once in a while you would see what looked like a pre world war building that had been able to survive and reconstructed. They had left what was left of a tower of a church as a reminder of the horrors of war and built a new church next to it. They have interviewed grandchildren of WWII generation and they all say We don't know where Berlin is going, it's in a state of constant building and change, but we do know where we were and we NEVER want to go there again. Its kind of sad to watch how 2nd and 3rd generations of WWII are trying to survive their horrible history and develop a new one of their own. But they are trying.
We first went to Check Point Charlie. This is quite a tourist attraction with the original border building still standing. It was surrounded by tourists, like ourselves, taking pictures. I was excited to find a gentleman who stamped our passports with commenorative stamps from WWII era. For a fee, of course, but it wasnt bad. Craig and I then went into the Checkpoint Charlie museum they had right there and it was incredible to see all the black and white pictures and read personal stories on every wall of how the people tried to escape, how some succeeded and how some failed. I learned a lot about the history of the wall and how it worked. What was really interesting was the museum was filled with young German teenagers who were actually studying their history and were interested in what happened too.
We then went on to their DOM church, main church, and it looked like the original old building, the outside was spectacular but we couldn't go inside to see what we were sure was beautiful. But by looking at all the postcard stands with black and white fotos of 1945 Berlin and what wasn't left, we realized that a bomb dropped in the middle of the church and so a lot of what we were looking at had been rebuilt.
We went then on to the Brandenburg Gate. This was built in the 1700s and Napolean, Hilter and other conquerors have marched under this arch. But what was sad that it ended up behind the wall which existed from 1961 until 1989. It became a symbol of freedom when the wall was finally torn down. It would have been exciting to be here when the wall came down as there was tremendous emotion as East Berlin was liberated.
Finally, we made it to Charlottenburg Palace. We don't know much about this as it was late and we couldn't get in, Craig and I are thinking about walking back there today but it was named for Queen Charlotte I think in the 1700s and survived WWII as it was in West Berlin.
We have had a spectacular time in Europe. We are not sure what we will do with Dave and Nancy tomorrow before we have to catch our flight early Monday morning. But there is so much we want to come back and see in more detail. We only scratched the surface but we still feel that our traveling views have again expanded as we have learned a little more European history and culture. We have loved it here.
We have missed you something awlful and so look forward to seeing everyone soon! We will be home late Monday afternoon and Karen and Stan are picking us up at the SFO airport.
Love from all of us to all of you.

Hi from Berlin, Germany!

Hi everyone, Well we are in Berlin. We had a long ride on our ICE train. It took several zigs and zags between Frankfurt and Berlin. But when we were on straigaways it was rolling smoothly along at 150 mph. We could have a drink on our little table in front of us, play cards and write journals while moving along at 150 mph. It is something to see the countryside zip on by very, and I mean very quickly. We noticed that the southern part of Germany was very mountainous and beautiful but the farther north you come, especially around Berlin it is flat as a pancake and a lot of farming country. I am going to find out how cold it gets here in the winter and how much snow. When we got to the Berlin main train station and found the i information station,we found that we were quite a ways from our hotel. Couldn't walk it and the local train and bus connections were complicated. So it cost us 20 euros to get a cab, 10 euros per couple. But it was worth it. We found out there was a Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin just down the street, so off we hiked to find it. We had good food and Craig and I split a piece of one of the most decadent and ooy gooy of chocolate cake we've had in a long time. OOOOOOhhhhh the withdrawals when we get home and go back on the calorie wagon!
We can tell that we have distinctly gone north in Germany. It is very cold here. Also the main street we walked along was loaded with every possible upscale shopping store you could imagine. Cartier, Gucchi, Channel, etc. But fun to window shop.
Berlin is huge, and by the map even the tour bus tomorrow covers a lot of territory. With one day the hop on hop off bus is the only way to go.
Saturday, Karen and Stan are leaving and looks like it will be early and an expensive cab ride to the airport. There are two and quite a ways out of town. I am not sure what Craig and I will do as we will be coming in from Dave and Nancys, our friends here we are staying with the last two nights before coming home on Monday. We have to figure out how to get to the airport from 45 minutes outside Berlin and be at the airport at 7.30 a.m. Monday morning.
We found out that just last week, Germany passed a country law that there is no more smoking in restaurants. But there must be people that haven't gotten the message as we still see smoking everywhere inside and out. The culture here is based on smoking, I swear, and it will be very difficult for them to have any restrictions on them.
Miss you all and hope you are well. Love from all of us to all of you.

Hi from Frankfurt, Germany

Hi everyone, well we were trying to decide what to do for one day in Frankfurt, and found a tour company that took you out to the Rhine River. We have found out that Frankfurt is probably not a city that we will return too. On our walk this morning by the Main (pronounced mine) River we found their Dom which is there main church. While it was really pretty, all around it was modern buildings. Yet just in front of the church we found what was a Roman bath ruins that had been uncovered dating back to before Christ. As we were walking around what looked like a very small version of "old town" by this church, I found postcards. I wanted one of the Dom church but also found a black and white showing the Dom church in 1945 and the whole city around it was rubble to the ground. We found out on our Rhine tour this morning that Frankfurt was pretty much leveled in WWII and they built a new modern version. So in this postcard from 1945, the Dom church is still standing while everything around it was gone. You could say that it was unbelievable luck that random bombs didnt hit the church, or divine intervention. Who knows. Even their old town is only about 60 years old. They had pictures and tried to reconstruct some of the buildings to look like they did before the war. But Frankfurt is a city of commerce. No tourism. Even the locals during the winter leave. It gets to a minus 20 celsius and all the locals leave and go to warm countries (Mexico, South Amercia, Australia) for 6 months. Its cheaper for them to leave for 6 months than stay in Frankfurt during the winter. So its swamp with tourists here because of the Rhine River in the summer and there is no one here in the Winter. So we took about an hour ride in a bus out to the Rhine River area. We went to what was called the Rhine Middle Section. The river is very long and we only did a small part. We stopped at this one citý and saw a hugh monument they have by the shore of a lady they call Lady Germania. Then we rode a ski lift from up above by her down to a small town called Assmannshausen and had lunch at a local restaurant. Then we got on the huge tour boat and took off in the north direction. We passed several castles along the shore. Some were restored. A couple were ruins. Some were youth hostels or hotels. All were very old dating back to 1000, 1100s and 1200s. We then went down past the Loreley point (the singing siren that lured sailors on the Rhine to their deaths). and caught our boat and returned to Frankfurt. It was a lovely day even though it threatened to rain.
We have been so lucky with the weather. So far (knock on wood) we keep dodging the rain. Tomorrow its suppose to rain, but we are on the train to Berlin so rain away!
One of the things about their trains here. You have to be sssooooo careful around the platforms. When we have been standing at a platform waiting for our train, you have to brace yourself. If one comes through before your train and its not suppose to stop at your train station, it doesnt slow down by the platform. Whatever speed it was doing when it arrives at the train station, it maintains the speed and whizzes through. Its downright scary at times. And we have been on our trains when they whizz through a station without stopping. Its scary to watch the platform fly by. Also, when your are waiting for a train, when it arrives, you have to be ready to get on as its not there very long before it leaves. But their trains are so efficent and definitely on time, so they know something we dont.
The temp. is getting colder and all the trees are turning to yellow and dropping around here. I would love to see Europe in the spring.
Last night Craig was reading and went to turn on the bed light by his side of the bed when it blew with sparks. the whole room went dark. Well not actually dark, as through the curtains the lights from the buildings across the street lit the room up as well as our lamps. But we lost all power. He tried to call the desk but no one answered. He was nervous to go out in the hallway for fear that he had blown the whole floor. But it was just our room and they came and tripped the circuit breaker.
We will definitely looked at American things at home in a completely different light. (Pardoned the pun!)
Love to all, miss you loads! Love from all of us to all of you.

Hi from Frankfurt!

Hi everyone, we are in Frankfurt, Germany. After i sent my email this morning, we walked downtown one last time and found a tower of a church with an overlook, so up we went! 295 stairs later, sweating and huffing, we came out on the top. What a view in 360 degrees. It was great.
It took all afternoon to get to Frankfurt. Our train came in the south terminal of the city and we found out we needed to get to the main terminal of Frankfurt, so we had to negociate the ticket system to catch a local train (very much like BART) to get to the main train station. Our hotel was just across the street. We are getting very good at hauling our suitcases behind us.
If I have learned anything, its think small on a European trip. I had already downsized my suitcase once before leaving, and after 5 weeks of hauling my medium suitcase around, I wish that I had brought a carry on size case. There have been many times where there was no elevator in the hotels and we hauled suitcases up flights of stairs. Or jumping on and off trains. You have to be fast, they dont wait for you when opening and closing their doors. So next trip, small and small.
Talk to you soon. lots of love from Germany!
By the way, Karen found a cool Hummel. It was a little boy at a gate ringing a doorbell for Doctor Muller. He had a bandage on his right forehead and holding his left hand on his other side of the forehead. It was great, as Stan and Karen have both hit their heads on this journey. Perfect way to remember Europe!

Hi from Munich!

Hi everyone, miss you all a lot.
On Sunday, our train ride took most of the afternoon. Karen and I sat up toward the front of a car where the seating was minimal (probably for people with bikes and heavy luggage). But the view was great. sometimes this preferable to riding backwards with a backward view out the window. Well, this would be a good time to talk about the intricacies of how to work European bathrooms. Craig took a good five minutes trying to figure out how to lock the door on this particular bathroom on the train. When he finally figured out the buttons, he then explained it to us. As Karen and I were sitting up in this front part, we were also sitting by the bathroom door. No surprise there, I realized that I became the bathroom monitor. It wasnt just us that couldnt figure it out. Even the locals were stumped. So as each person walked in (it was a big one for handicapped). Ýou could see puzzlement on their faces. The doors usually have the open and close buttons on them, but this one had open and close and lock buttons on the side wall. So I couldnt stand watching them struggle and there was no translation needed to show the open, close and most importantly the lock button. But each time we use a public bathroom, these buttons along with how does the water turn on, what do you push to flush the toilet, how do you dry your hands, and more always has us chuckling as we exit. Every single one is different and we do a lot watching others first to figure it out. Craig loved the one in Como where the doors opened and closed with a whoosh like a Star Wars space ship, and then when you were done, locked the door and sprayed the whole bathroom with water to wash it down. Other places where there is attendants, they take pride to keep them clean and when you are done, they are right in there behind you, making sure they are clean for the next person. Its really quite amazing to observe their workings.
Okay, we arrived in Munich. We got here in the afternoon, and immediately started checking the tour brochures as we only had one full day here. We finally found one that takes you out to the castles. But they were closed. So yesterday we were up and going by 8 a.m. at the train station to find the tourist office opened at 8. We found a tour bus that took you out to two famous castles and made the bus by 10 minutes. It was packed and we sat in the very back but we were excited to make it.
First we left Munich and got on the Autoban. Now I have heard a lot about this, but when we got on it, it wasnt that bad. The buses have to go no more than 65 mph in the slow lane but we found that most cars didnt fly by. An occasional zipper flew by but it didnt seem that scary.
First we went to Castle Linderhof. It was smaller, but when you got inside, it was opulent galore. It was built by King Ludwig II, the last Baviarian king. He loved French architecture and design and had barroque design everywhere. It was beautiful with gold carvings, statures and gold framed paintings on walls and ceilings.
We then made a quick stop in a town for shopping, there were tons of tourist stores here and our tour guide recommeneded three. It was obvious he knew the people but it was still fun to walk around and check out the stores.
We then went onto the next castle. Castle Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that everyone sees in postcards perched up on a mountainside looking like a fairy princess castle, and its the one that Walt Disney used to design the castle in Disneyland. We got to a lower parking spot for the bus and then hiked up (and up and up). But the view of the valley below was incredible. We then went on the tour inside. Again this belong to King Ludwig II and he loved Robert Wagner music so all the design inside reflected his operas and stories. But what was interesting was only about 1/3 of the castle was finished. For some unknown reason they had this king declared insane and shipped off to another castle where he was found drowned in a lake with his doctor the next day, all at the age of 40. Many speculate there was nothing wrong with him but policital intrigue looked for an excuse to get rid of him, so it could have been murder or suicide. No one knows. As the money for the castle building came from family money, I am suspicious they had had enough of his extravagant spending and called a halt. So we only toured the finished parts but wow, unbelievable extravagant furnishings and tapastries, and carved oak wood. We went way up in the castle and the views all around took your breath away.
We finally came down, got back on the bus and 2 hours later at 6:30 p.m. we tiredly returned to our hotel. Exhausted but thrilled at what we had seen.
We then returned to the Haufbrauhos restaurant again. Good German food. I loved their version of meatballs and mash potatoes. Craig ate pigs knuckle, he loved it. We sat in the non smoking section, but out in the main dining hall, the beer was flowing freely, with cigarette and cigar smoke. They were having a great time, as a band played.
Walking around Munich, you dont see much "old town" with 4 or 500 year old buildings. WWII destroyed much of their old town and they tried to reconstruct a lot of it, but it is more of a modern city to explore. But we found a pedestrian walkwaz with every possible expensive store you could imagine.
So today we are off to Frankfurt. Wont get there till later this afternoon.
We miss you all so much. Love from all of us to all of you.