7th September – 12th September

Berlin.

We arrived at Regina & Jorg’s home about 6.00 pm on Tuesday nigh and from the start I felt their warmth and humor.Immediately we were ushered inside and offered drinks and plied with questions.. We found that we had a large welcoming committee awaiting us, as well as our hosts, we were greeted by Ann (an exchange student that had stayed with my sister Debbie & family in Australia) her fiancé Fabian (son of Regina & Jorg) his brother Sebastian, Big Mick and other friends of the family. We had an enjoyable night; made easy because most spoke very good English and they were a friendly bunch. We had heard so much about them from Greg and Debbie and always with a laugh in their voice; like it was a party from the time they arrived until they left and we soon found that it seemed to be true and it quickly felt like we had known them for many years.

The next day was Wednesday and Ann and Fabian took us for a tour of Berlin. Fabian’s car has a large glass roof and it was great for sightseeing. They took us to places where the Berlin wall had been and also where some of it still stands as a monument to the past.

Checkpoint Charlie was our next location where we had pizza in an Italian café nearby.

We then went driving to many other locations including a bombed out church [left as it was after the war] Fabian’s fire station where he works, stopping near the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag where we went for a walk passing the Holocaust Monument and back through the Tier Gardens. After a busy day we arrived back at Jorg and Regina’s where they had prepared a traditional Bavarian meal [or feast with the amount of food there]. Another evening of enjoyable company, laughs and good food.

Thursday we decided to tackle Berlin on our own. We were shown where to catch the bus to the train, and then advised which train to take to the city.We also had a map of the city organized for us and points of interest marked out on the map so that we could work our way around to the places where we wanted to have a good look. Unfortunately the weather was not as good as the previous day so we had to arm ourselves with umbrellas and coats and thus prepared we were ready to do the sightseeing as best as we were able. First stop for us was the Reichstag where we waited in line for about ½ an hour to be allowed in, it is free to enter and they supply audio guides so that you get information about the building, its history and the view that you can see from the glass dome that rises above the old building. We decided that as a blend of the old building and new it is a very good example of modern architecture and the commentary is interesting. The view would have been better if the weather wasn’t so cloudy and drizzly but we enjoyed it anyway. After the Reichstag we then walked down to the modern Sony Center at Pottsdam platz then caught the underground to near Check point Charlie. We had decided to leave the visit to the Check point Charlie museum until today as it would take a bit of time and so with many other people crowded into the building we tried to read as much of the information as possible. It was so crowed, hot and stuffy and unpleasant to try and see past people to read about all the exhibits that after about an hour we had had enough. Then it was back to the underground to visit the museum island and into the Pergamon museum, where the displays of ancient ruins and artifacts fascinated us. Time goes quickly when you are sightseeing and it was all too soon that we had to start making our way back to our billet for the night. We caught up with Ann in the city near the train station so she escorted us back to her car and then drove back to Jorg and Regina’s. Another lovely evening was spent around the table with the family, Big Mick and his wife Daniella.

Friday morning it was time to move on and with regret we had to again leave some new friends, as we have a schedule now to keep and many other people we wish to spend some time with before we head home. (I hate goodbyes)