The Best Kind of Tour Guides: Berlin, Day One

October 22, 2014

Berlin is a big city with such a fascinating history. We were so lucky to have had Wolfgang and Anna with us today. They were able to interpret for us, explain things, and of course they have that local knowledge that is invaluable.

Anna spoiled us with a ten jammer breakfast that included croissants, buns, cheeses, meats, fruit, and scrambled eggs and bacon. I must remember that I am not riding my bike every day now, because I ate fruit, cheese, and a heart shaped bun with eggs and bacon (the best bacon ever) as though I am. Then we relaxed and visited and out came tea and homemade cake that was out of this world. We were spoiled. I loved Anna's tea pot. It sits on a stand with a tealight underneath to keep the tea warm.

Then we piled into the car and headed to Potsdamer Platz. US Secretary of State John Kerry decided to visit Berlin today too, and this caused many road closures for Wolfgang to negotiate, but it was fine for the tourists in the car. The security for Kerry's visit was quite something to see as well. We passed Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag among many other things, some of them twice!

We started at Panoramapunkt. Love that name. Punkt means point. Thank you Anna. It is in a central location and you have a panoramic view of Berlin. It is accessed by the fastest elevator in Europe which goes up (and down) 103 metres in 20 seconds. Wolfgang the engineer informed us that going down much faster than that would mean we were falling. Our views were excellent, but it was a misty day in Berlin and we couldn't see things in the distance. Coffee at the cafe was a must do. The views were terrific. I suspect in the summer it is a challenge to get in.

Then we walked around Potsdamer Platz. It was the largest construction sight in Europe last time we were here and we didn't recognize it. We visited an exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was one of those exhibits where you want to read everything. It was a fantastic history lesson. Wolfgang and Anna talked about being at home and getting the news, and that they just couldn't believe it.

Then we went to Alexanderplatz and saw the sights. The Dom is striking and we are saving it for tomorrow when we will have more time. By now it was getting late and we were getting hungry. We stopped for dinner at a great German brew house, and then home to bed, tired and happy.

Across from Wolf and Anna's house. They could see the lights from the wall at night from the house.

These are confounding machines everywhere in the world! Note the sidewalk bike path right behind Wolfgang.

None of this was here last time we were in Berlin...just a lot of construction.

The Sony Center. Tiergarten in the background.

Keith and Wolf had absolutely decadent hot chocolate.

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