On March 16, we picked Kate up at the airport and threw our arms around her. What a joy to hold her again and have her here! We dropped a few things off at our apartment and then headed toward Berlin. On the way we stopped at a castle in Wartburg, situated on a 1230-foot precipice overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. According to tradition, the castle (Burg) got its name when its founder first laid eyes on the hill and exclaimed, "Warte, Berg -- du sollst mir eine Burg werden!" ("Wait, mountain -- you shall become a castle for me."
Kate got us in, and we waited in the garden for the tour to begin.
The tour group was mostly German men and the tour guide spoke only German. He could have been an actor as he spoke in a loud, dramatic voice. Kate and I kind of hung out in the back of the group. Once inside the castle, the décor went from plain to extravagant.
The Theater
The Hall (love the lights)
We journeyed on to our Hotel de Ela in Berlin and stayed together in a very large, high-ceilinged, quaint old room. We had a private bath down the hall. To get in and out of our room, we had to unlock a huge set of French doors. That made any trips to the bathroom during the night not too quiet.
We got up early, ate breakfast in our room, and caught the Ubahn into Berlin. We first crossed the Oberbaumbrucke, a lovely old bridge leading to the old Berlin Wall.
We explored the Berliner Mauer East Side Gallery, an international memorial for freedom stretching over a mile along the east side of the Berlin Wall on Muhlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990. It is possibly the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world. We were very touched by the messages of freedom we viewed as we walked along, that were expressed both in words and art, such as this message:
"Many small people, who in many small places, do many small things, that can alter the face of the world."
I particularly loved this quote "Thoughts are like traces of birds in Heaven," as I have always taught my students that "Thoughts are like little birds. You need to catch them, or they will fly away."
In Berlin, we enjoyed the architecture, both old and new.
We explored the Holocaust Memorial, a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. I felt grateful that my great grandparents had already left for America, but I know that we probably have relatives who suffered greatly.
It was soon time for ice cream, and we found the most heavenly display.
We hopped on the Ubahn and were fortunate enough to spot a flohmarkt, and Bob and Kate decided it was a must for me. It was just closing, so I rushed through ahead of them and found a beautiful black German style sweater with silver buttons and a new doilie for my quilt that I am making.
Isn't this a beautiful display?
We headed back to the hotel and along the way enjoyed some interesting sculptures.
We found a wonderful little Italian Restaurant, Trattoria Abaruzzo, and enjoyed a delicious meal of pasta. We left so full, that we were ready to fall asleep.
The next morning we headed for Leipzig, about 200 km south of Berlin. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centers of learning and culture in music and publishing. Leipzig later played a significant role in instigating the fall of communism in Eastern Europe through events which took place in and around St. Nicholas Church. There was some kind of inaugural even going on with lots of police, so we just drove around.
On the way home, we visited a delightful little town, Dinkelsbuhl, where we enjoyed a delicious doner kebab, a Turkish sandwich, that we searched for high and low along the way in every city for Kate.
Lonnie especially enjoyed the window shopping--hearts galore!
We headed for Rothenburg ob der Taube, an old walled city called the "Red fortress above the Tauber River".
While Bob was taking care of the parking, Kate and Lonnie were ambushed by paparazzi in search of a photo shoot.
Rothenburg ob der Taube is a very large town to explore. People live here and go about their daily business, while tourists, like us, ooh and ahh over things that they live with everyday.
Of course, we couldn't leave out the wonderful arts and crafts.
We tried these Schneeballen cookies, but they weren't very tasty. They were very pretty but looked better than they tasted.
We cruised the rest of the home, tired, but never lacking for deep and wonderful conversation, and stopped at the Kartoffelkuche for a tummy warming dinner.
The next morning we got up, ate a bite, and caught the Ubahn for downtown Frankfurt.
We walked around the Ziel where we say an amazing street artist, and then walked over to the more historical sites in Frankfurt, the plaque for the commemoration of book burning, and the Roman ruins.
This little pigeon had only one foot.
We watched the boats on the Main River.
That evening we went to a quaint German restaurant, Webers, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.
As we walked out, I took a parting shot of this landmark tower next the Webers, that always leads us home.
The week flew by and the next morning was our last together for a while, so before going to the airport, we headed off for a few more adventures. The neighborhood bakery was a must.
Kate got a specially wrapped treat.
Then we headed to the historic Ann Frank houses, where she lived before moving to Holland where the family went into hiding. Both of these houses are in our neighborhood, one within walking distance. It's wonderful to think about her once playing in our neighborhood.
I have always loved Ann Frank and have read her Diary many times. I love this quote:
"How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world."
Ann Frank, Age 14
I know another girl like that, who is off to change the world.
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