| June 20, 2001 It continues to amaze that in just a few hours you can be somewhere across the world. We boarded the plane last night and awoke in Berlin. We had originally intended to travel to Moscow, but changed our minds at the last minute due to complicated and costly visa requirements. Anyway, we are in Berlin. We changed dollars for Deutsche Mark, reserved a pricey hotel in a flash nieghborhood, and took the bus into the city. Berlin was modern, clean and definitely European. We liked it. We found a sun-drenched park to pass the day and had a picnic of dark German bread and French cheese. Suffering a bit from jet lag, we stayed in the neighborhood for dinner at a sidewalk cafe. Our German is limited, so we just pointed to the specials. Lady had a wonderful meal of bratweitzle, sauerkraut, and buttery mashed potatoes. I got cold, pickled herring topped with raw onions. Hotel - $40, Food - $22, Trans - $4 Total - $66 |
| June 21, 2001 With our itinerary change, we spent most of a rainy dain at embassies and airline offices. All settled then. We have three weeks to travel south to Budapest and catch a flight to Cairo. The public transportation is so easy here and we ventured out to a lagely immigrant neighborhood of Kreuzberg. Along with a crowd of university students, we went to a beer garden and listened to a couple of rock bands in the rain. Then, it was off to a recommended Turkish restaurant for the best felafels in Berlin. Hotel - $40, Food - $23, Trans - $7 Random (Internet - $5) Total - $75 |
| June 22, 2001 We were up in time for breakfast this morning. It was in the typical 'low-cal' German style of meats, cheeses and breads. We were now ready for a mega-museum day. We started at Schloss Charlottenburg, the Prussian royal palace built in 1695, where we toured the gardens. Then it was to the Egyptian Museum. Its collection included a sculpture of Queen Nerfertiti, over 3000 years ago. Next, to a small art gallery that featured Matisse, Picasso, and Klee. We needed a break and stopped for more wurst and beer. Refreshed, we went to the Pergamon museum. It included incredibly well-preserved altars and reliefs excavated from ancient Greece. The heroic stories told in the friezes have inspired us to study Mythology (and to plan a future trip to Greece). Hotel - $40, Food - $16, Trans - $8, Museums - $8 Total - $72 |
| June 23, 2001 Berlin, like Germany, was split along East (Russian controlled) and West (U.S., French, and British) lines after World War II. The cold war as up close and personal here. We visited the now historical landmarks of Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall. After a quick stop to see the Caravaggio exhibit we took the train to Dresden. Dresden also has an interesting history as it was heavily fire-bombed in the closing days of the war. Over 35,000 died in what has been descirbed as retaliation for the German bombing of London. You can read one account in Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse Five. We ate felafel for dinner and then walked to Old Town. It was stunningly beautiful. Much of the city has been marvelously restored and is perfectly illuminated at night. Walking home on the the Agustus Brucke bridge, we were dazzled with a fireworks show over the Elbe river. All the while, a street violinist was playing the classics. Hotel - $25, Food - $14, Trans - $27, Random (Museum - $11) Total - $79 |
| June 24, 2001 We attended an open air mass on the steps of Hofkirche chruch, part of its 250th anniversary celebration. We also visited several museums, including a gaudy jewel exhibit and so much art that our heads were spinning. Lady''s favorite was a Degas sclputre of a young dancer. It is always a treat to see in person what you have studied and only seen in books. Later, we stopped by the tourism office to learn more about Dreden. We were befriedned by the owner, Martin, who asked us to join him for dinner. He was a long-time world traveller and had lots of great stories. We went to a small Syrian resaturant, the Ali Baba, where we feasted on Arabic specialties. The dinner lasted for hours and in the end, Ali was our chaffeur home. Hotel - $30, Food - $51, Random (Museum - $11) Total - $92 |