The Rest of Our Time in Berlin

Brad went off to work, Piper and I finished up a fabulous breakfast (love the Hilton and their breakfast included) and headed over to the Reichstag. It is Germany's Parliament building. They have this awesome dome that you can go up in and see the entire city! Also, the que starts before 9 and can be 90 minutes to wait, UNLESS you are handicapped or have a stroller..score!! No line and no wait, we went through a separate entrance! Once you get to the top you get an audio guide and you walk up a spiral ramp hearing about all the sites, then you go down a separate one, totally cool.

Then we power walked over to Checkpoint Charlie.



Good thing Piper was in the stroller because I power walked down to Unter den Linden and despite the fact it means Under the Linden, as in trees, there aren't that many anymore. Still a nice walk, past Humbolt University, and Bebelplatz, which is where the Nazi's burned 20,000 books. There is a Plexiglas hole in the ground and when you look through it you see a subterranean rows of empty bookshelves. There is this cool monument to Friedrich II that was erected in 1851.




We cruised around by Berliner Dom and then Piper and I, tired of being outside, ducked into the Deutsches Historisches Museum, which is right there next to Humbolt University, and houses all of the history of Germany. It was pretty cool, Piper loved the different 'suits of armor' from Egyptian through WWII. It really was a very interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Berlin.

Okay next I will show you what is around our hotel...Gendarmenmarkt...it is awesome. On one end is the French Church, it has a tower you can climb, Piper declined every time I asked so I never did it. In the middle is the Concert House, we looked in and were able to see an orchestra rehearsing. On the side closest to our hotel, is the German Dom. We toured it, Piper was so-so impressed, and we came out and ate curry worst at the curry worst stand. It's a pretty cool plaza across from our hotel.







Let me show you the awesome chocolate store; Frassbinder and Rausch...look at what we saw there, imagine the chocolate we ate and brought back from there!






We got to see some great museums, like the Neues Museum on Museum Island. The building and it's history is a story in itself and the artifacts it housed, wow! We saw, in the North Dome Room, Nefertiti. It was pretty cool.
The museum next to it had to be my favorite, it was called the Alte Nationalgalerie and it has a whole floor dedicated to Impressionist. I was able to see more of the water lily paintings and more Claude Monet's and Renoir's, and the famous sculpture, The Thinker.





One that looks like Uncle Jay and a favorite painting of Brad's. I think we all loved this museum.



Next we went to the Berliner Dom, awesome doesn't even begin to describe it and we had just been in Notre Dame a few days before. In this church we could climb 270 steps up inside the Dome itself and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the entire city!






this is what the inside looked like:









What do you do to top that? We went to the Berliner Fernsehturm, which is the TV Tower in Alexanderplatz. It has a 360 degree view from 203 meters. It was a quick trip up too, 203 meters in 40 seconds! We were thirsty by then:



Then we enjoyed this wine with dinner:


Okay at this point we knew we were not going home, so we spent the next two days having a little more fun, and the weather was great! The Berlin Zoo and Aquarium are easy to get around, had great places to stop and eat, and up close views of the animals. Here are a few of our favorites:
















Then we went to the Aquarium:





I haven't mentioned Dr. Paul Ragsdale, he works in S&T DHS with Brad. Paul was our traveling partner from the minute we all realized we were stuck in Berlin and needed a way home. Since we couldn't get a car, with a one way drop off, until Tuesday, we booked our flight home on Thursday from Madrid. Paul went to the Zoo and Aquarium with us, and then the next day we walked around Alexanderplatz a little more and enjoyed the sun. We had lunch in an outside cafe along a boardwalk that sat right next to Berliner Dom, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Please note the fountain people playing with their dogs.







Since Monday was our last day in Berlin, we walked to Tiergarten, the park, and visited the Soviet War Memorial, and like all things Soviet, the entrance has two T34Tanks and on top of the memorial wall is a Red Army Soldier. There are some 2500 soldiers that were killed in action in Berlin buried there.







We wandered through Brandenburg Tor again, and met a bear:



Tried to hitch a ride to Paris, it seemed like a good alternative:




Found someone with a bigger, and longer nose than me, and Piper hugged her little green friend that she wanted to bring home with us.





While strolling through Alexanderplatz one more time, we stopped at a department store, large by most standards, it was smaller than most I have been in while in Europe. However, the food market was outstanding, I only got a few pictures, but this is the general idea of what they look like in Europe in department stores. The KaDeWa has over 1,400 different types of cheese, this place had a pretty impressive candy display as well as gourment section.






This concludes our time in Berlin, and you know what? I would go back and see more, there were museums we didn't see, places we could have eaten at (need to hit the Hard Rocks next time),and more bears to see.

More of My Travels...we arrive in Berlin...for longer than planned

We land...it's great, the Berlin Hilton is great, all that we need and a breakfast every morning too! They totally cater to Princess Piper, and that is, indeed, what they called her! Her 'favorite gal' was our waiter in the lobby lounge, and she helped (with Brad's co worker Paul) Piper find a new favorite drink, it's apple juice and sparking water. This was mine:

The manager came over the first night and brought her a Hilton Backpack and bear, and today at the pool, the (super cute) pool boy brought her two Hilton Ducks and a kick board. (Bears will be a theme in this town and during this part of the trip)



Side note: Piper is addicted to The Little Mermaid and today just up and dove in the pool, like Ariel. I would like to take credit but sadly it's from the movie. Nonetheless, the girlie now dives in and thinks she can swim like a mermaid. I am so proud.

First day on our own, Brad is off to work, so Piper and I grab a cab and head to The Kurfurstendam area of the former West Berlin. We are staying in the Former East Berlin, and you can still tell the difference. We go to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche. Which is two very different churches. One is very old (1895)and was hit by bombs on November 23, 1943. Built next to and around it (the church still stands and is amazing, an open empty hole of a church that is still beautiful) is a grey octagonal church that has 33 thousand blue stained glass squares that make the entire church glow in different hues of blue. It has an amazing sounding organ and the two next to each other are like night and day. Something else that was unusual around it was the souviner shops that looked like a bavarian villiage right out the door of both churches along with the currywurst stands. Odd yet totally normal I guess.







Then we head down the street to KaDeWe. This is THE LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE in all of EUROPE! It was great! We walk in and they are having a private reception for some sort of 300 year old anniversary of china,from China. They have tv cameras and the model whose face is in all the ads is standing there in a long black shimmery dress. They have this huge budda that is nodding it's head and sticking out his tongue, then they have smaller ones you can purchase! We made our way up to the food market on the top floor. It was huge, it was impressive but I have come to the conclusion that nothing tops Harrods in London. I will give the best chocolate selection nod to KaDeWa though, it was impressive and we 'donated' to the store. We also discovered a new Princess, her name is Lillefee, she rocks! We are now the owners of a lot of Princess Lillefee. http://www.lillifee.com/en/ check her out. So this is where we really discover all the bears around town, here is the first one, in front of the Hertz car rental:


We get back and meet up with Brad, and then we walk over to Brandenburg Gate. So much history with this, of the last four gates. It is at Pariser Platz and the US Embassy is there, as is the Russian (which has Aeroflot airlines attached to it) Embassy and of course a Starbucks:
This is also where the wall formerly stood and there is a lot to see and take in there.



Also in that general area is a very moving memorial to all the Jews that were murdered during the Holocaust. It is apparently somewhat controversial and it takes up a whole city block but I found it facinating.
This is about all I am going to post for now. We must hit the road to Madrid, so stay tuned because about the time we are doing all of the above, the volcano in Iceland blew and all flights were cancelled. We were able to enjoy a full week in Berlin so we did quite a bit and could have/should have done more but the last two days of the trip were so warm it was easier to relax, like this, photo by Piper. Brad and me at Alexanderplatz in beach chairs:

My Travels...through more of Europe than I planned! Paris...

I thought I would blog more than I did at the beginning of this trip, but now I find myself with a few extra days on my hands as we are stranded in Berlin due to the Iceland volcanic eruptions. After numerous calls to Air France and no response, not even a response to my email (and they say they promise to respond with in 24 hours, pleeze!) we have had to make our own plans, they involve a BMW S Series, yea, and driving 22 plus hours, boo, to Madrid, yea!! I have always wanted to see part of Spain, so now we will, even though it will be quick. We are not set to fly home on Thursday out of Madrid. Lots of people have the same idea so I hope the roads aren't too busy. As of today they've been testing the skies with flights and then going over the plane to see if there is damage, there is not but who knows what the politicians, meterologists and all others in the EU are thinking?? So, what have we done? Make the best of it! The Hilton is fabulous, the staff is great, Piper has been able to wear her new pink sparkle high heels from Paris every night to dinner and has loved the attention.
So, after our first day in Paris, where we walked the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, had a drink in a cafe and then went up in the Arc de Triomphe; we were done! It was such a beautiful view from the top of the Arc, I didn't think it would get better. Oh and the first people on the street that spoke to me asked if I spoke English, and they asked in French! Turns out they were from New Jersey there to run in the Paris Marathon!!! Too funny. When we got down from the top they were having the evening ceremony preformed each night at 6:30 PM by retired vetrans honoring those that have fallen and keeping the eternal flame burning. It was really impressive.
Day 2 started out with us walking into a fabulous neighborhood where our cousin Ryan and Catherine lived for a while, we went to their favorite bakery and did our best to order crossiants and coffee and Brad managed to even get cold milk for Piper. After that it was onto the Eiffel Tower and WOW it is impressive! They have vendors at the bottom that sell mini towers, scarves and postcards it is crazy, and all the ques to get up into the tower! We had reservations for lunch on the second level at Jules Verne an exspensive and totally delicious restaurant by Alain Ducasse, worth every euro we spent and we spent A LOT there!



http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com





After that we decided to skip the Louvre and instead go to the Musee d'Orsay, it was the old train station that was originally inagurated in 1900 and operated for 39 years until electric trains started running. It is the site of one of the largest collections of impressionist art and I loved it all! I think I walked around with my mouth hanging open seeing all these truely beautiful works of art. It was my favorite museum in all of Europe...so far. Piper totally fell asleep so Brad and I enjoyed a wonderful walk across the bridge and up to see the Louvre and then down through the Jardin du Tulleries and past the Place de la Concorde, where Marie Antoinette was beheaded. (advice here, don't start a revolution, uprising or large scale protest with the French, they get pissed). We had delicious crepes as we walked back along the Champs. And after such a wonderful meal (the best I have had in Europe on this trip), we were done!


Day three, it was Sunday, so we went to church of course! We rode the subway (really easy and incredibley efficient) over to Notre Dame. We have been in beautiful churches but none compare to Notre Dame. It is huge and amazing. We walked all the way around the inside and just stared at the stained glass and listened to the organs play and enjoyed the mass in French.









From there we went to the Conceiergerie, which was basically the prision where if you were well off you could spend your last days in a cot, or if you were poor, you slept on the floor with straw and a bunch of other guys, not washing or anything like that. Marie Antionette also spent her last days there before she was taken over to the Concorde. It's a facinating place, Piper did not like it. Then we went to the Sainte-Chapelle which is where the famous Rose window is, and is currently covered being cleaned. The place is quite beautiful and there are chairs all around the room to sit and wait for light to shine through and see the colors dazzle. Brad said it gave him the creeps, so we were off to a boat tour of the Seine River. That was pretty cool and a nice chance to sit for the adults, Princess Piper has enjoyed seeing Paris and Berlin via a stroller with a cover, such the life. The river tour took us up and down and highlighted all the fabulous sites and a great history of the bridges, my favorite being Alexandre the III. It is ornate and gold and very distinctive. Then we started shopping. We had spent the day in the Latin Quarter and Island, so we walked up to Rue de Rivoli and picked up a few things along the way back to the hotel, including more yummy crepes.
Day four and Brad is off to work, Piper and I take the subway back down to the Latin Quarter and St. Germain des Pres, where we went to the Musee National du Moyen-Age-Thermes de Cluny.


It was a fancinating medieval collection spanning Paris history for 15 centuries, including works from the Chapel of the monks de Cluny. There was stained glass, the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry that tells of the 5 senses and then a sixth, Love. It was beautiful, there were all sorts of bits and pieces of Roman and Greek artifacts and a 16th century alter depicting three carved scenes including one of the Last Supper. Oh and two of the Pope's rings, they were HUGE, try double the size of a Super Bowl Champion ring. Piper and I went down St. Germain from there, just walking andlooking and admiring the architechure and stores, until we got to Cafe Les Flores next to Cafe Les Deux Magots both famous for the writers, painters and artists that used to hang out there.





We had a little coffee and sweets then walked more streets and had a great time. We stopped at the Grand Palace, which was grandly empty as it under goes restoration, walked up George V street and then we took the afternoon off and had cheese, wine (for me, she got ginger ale) and some quiet time in the hotel lobby.
Day Five, Brad is off to work at the airport and we are free to GO SHOPPING!! We started by walking down Rue de St. Honore, it was a great street with designers stores at every corner and when we got to our destination, it was just like we had imagined Paris to be, there was a flower shop, the Opera and the little square was called Place de la Madeleine, with the church in the middle. We ate at Fauchon's a beautiful food market that also serves pasteries and coffee, yummy! After that off to the largest Department Store in all of Paris, the Galeries Lafeyette.


The food market was good, but did not rival Harrods and even after seeing KaDeWa in Berlin, Harrods is still tops and over the top! This is the store where we 1. had lunch at McDonalds and 2. bought Piper her first pair of heels. So, all in all a great trip of shopping. I recommend both Fauchon's and the Galeries Lafeyette. Walking back we took Blvd. Haussmann, and saw a wonderful church St. Augustine and walked through it. Then it was off to the airport and onto Berlin...whew what a trip through Paris!

Paris France

Hey, I am in Paris, I love it, so far. Will do a full story later, when I am not beat from the flight and a day of walking around. (okay and a couple glasses of wine). Missing the Masters golf though, but this is worth it. Beautiful day and the most amazing view from the Arc de Triumphe!! Can't wait to see the Arc from the Eiffel Tower tomorrow. Interesting observations regarding cars and people on the very busy street Avenue des Champs-Elysees; unlike NYC the cars don't constantly honk and there isn't continual yelling at people while driving. It was really quiet. Yet, people seem to think they really do have the right away and just walk out regardless of the little green man blinking the OK or not, they are INSANE. New Yorkers edge out but certainly don't randomly or routinely just walk out, even with cars coming right at them. Granted I doubt they'd be killed, I mean a lot of the cars driving around made the US Smart Cars look like SUV's!