Three years and many major life changes later, we’re baaaack! I can’t even describe the emotions I felt as the landing gear finally touched down on the runway in Frankfurt. We love Europe so much, that to finally be back almost brought tears to my eyes. Here we go!
After two flight delays (complete with airport sprints), a train delay, and an unexpected train transfer, we made it to our first destination of Berlin 24 hours after we started on this journey. With the time change, the days sort of blur together. It’s hard to tell if we’ve been gone one day or three days! We left Wednesday afternoon from Indy, and it is now Friday afternoon in Germany.
In Berlin, we stayed at a cute little hotel, Hotel Pension Uhland, which was really two floors of what I think was an apartment building. Somehow we ended up in a large six-person room, instead of the private double we requested. No worries, though, it was just the two of us! (And the breakfast was better than any that we had during our entire last four-month stay!)
Our first day started off a little later than anticipated. (Don’t they always??) I guess we just couldn’t pull ourselves away from that delectable, hot breakfast. We started off on foot toward the center of Berlin, which is a deceivingly large city, much like Rome.
On the way to the Brandenburg Gate, we traveled past the Deutsche Reichstag. If the lines weren’t a half mile long, we might have ventured inside because there is a huge glass dome with an amazing panoramic view of the city. (At least that is what the friendly German on the train ride in told us!)
After visiting with locals on the train, we discovered that a huge rain spell had just finished up, and we arrived on the first day of sunshine and blue skies! Wunderbar!
The Brandenburg Gate (Tor) was massive and very impressive.
After the gate, we walked further south in Berlin to Checkpoint Charlie. Outdoor displays were set up all along the sides of the intersection with information about the construction, escape attempts (successful and unsuccessful), life, and finally the tearing down of the wall.
One of the segments I found most interesting was on the escape attempts. Below is a picture showing one of these attempts; a “smuggler” tore out his/her car console so that a person could fit inside. Fascinating! We also listened to a couple tour guides in the area, and one of the most clever successful escape attempts was of a gentleman who made a cow suit and moo-ed his way across the border with a herd of very lucky cows!
The outdoor displays came with a Checkpoint Charlie replica, complete with guards (actors) who would take a picture with you for a euro! (I, however, would much rather spend my euro on two bathroom breaks.)
When we ventured a little further down Zimmerstrasse, we found the largest remaining segment of the Berlin Wall, which is now enclosed by gates as a monument.
The Berlin Wall was our final stop and main reason for wanting to visit the city. We’re getting back into the groove and learning so much more than we did the first time! I’m really enjoying our train rides and talking with locals to pass the time. That’s definitely an experience we didn’t have before!
Onto the next stop…Amsterdam!
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