September 20, 21,22 and 23. BERLIN

We had a good time in Leuven and our flight to Berlin was uneventful.

We have been coming home so late, there has been no time to blog.  So many mishaps have happened.  We are sure that Jorg and Maria will never forget their travels with the geriatrics.

So far,  the Californians lost their umbrella, then a jacket.  On another day, I put my backpack down, propped against a wall on a sidewalk because I could not lean.  Once whomever came back from a bathroom break, we all walked away.  A couple of blocks later, I realized I had left my bag on the ground.  In a panic, I ran back with Bernie on my tail, but not before alarming everyone especially our den mother Maria who screamed for Jorg to come to our rescue.  He, of course made it there before us and the backpack was right where I left it.  Maria now doubled her watch, always checking and making sure we all had our belongings, that they were properly zipped up, that all jackets were accounted for....  The next day, as we were all getting out of a train, Bernie's wallet was lifted from his back pocket.  Of course, Maria had been telling the 3 guys to not keep their wallet in their back pockets something Bernie now abides to but not Jorg.  That night, Jorg had to advise the police because all of Bernie's card, his driving permit, his OHIP card and more were now missing.  Bernie called the credit card companies, the bank etc.  The very next day, it was now Lloyd's turn to forget his backpack on the train.  Unfortunately, the train had left when he realized it.  There went his other jacket and all sorts of other things.  

That said, we are having a good time but I am not sure Maria is completely relaxed watching us all the time.  We are all having a good laugh at each other's expense.

Our apartment here is quite large and very comfortable.  Baby Valerie is sooooo good, we barely know she is there.  We have all fallen in love with her and we can't imagine having to say goodbye to her when the time comes.  I now will let Bernie tell you about this beautiful city.

We saw so much that I don't know where to begin so I will talk about those things that impressed me most. Firstu the pool of tears.This memorial is to remember the large number of Roma people that were sent to the concentration camps and eventually killed by the Nazis. It is a simple shallow circular pool with a small triangular platform at its centre on which rests a single fresh flower. Along the circumference, just below the surface of the water a simple moving poem speaks to the lives cut short. At eight PM every day, the centre platform is lowered and the flower replaced with another fresh one. Also very prominent in Berlin is the holocaust memorial. It consists of more than 2000 large concrete blocks buried at various depths and inclinations, in straight lines over a large area. Walking along the narrow corridors can be an unsettling experience as one sometimes dips below the height of the blocks and other times above them. There is no single explanation for the design. It is whatever one interprets it to be. One of the more interesting sites was located in a nondescript parking lot. It was a parking spot that was directly over Hitler's concrete bunker.   He committed suicide there with his mistress, Eva Braun. The bunker has been filled with concrete. Across from the Public Library is the square in which the book-burning took place on the 29 November 1933.  All books at odds with Nazism were destroyed. Further down the road we saw the memorial to the gay men, many of whom were killed. An interesting building is the present Ministry of Finance which is one of the few Nazi era buildings still standing. At that time it was the Ministry of Aviation and is frequently depicted in movies draped in swastikas.  I could go on and on, but then we will never publish.

This will definitely not be a losing weight holiday as there are bakeries on every corner and the restaurants are quite good.  To my surprise, Berlin is a really inexpensive city.  We have had delicious Vietnamese food,  authentic German food, Thai food and Italian food.   Tomorrow, we leave for Dresden. I hope the food is not as good...