Tuesday, the first full day in Berlin

We took about a full hour looking for the breakfast place we had located yesterday when we went on our initial walk around the neighborhood of our hotel. We couldn't find it and resolved to make better mental notes.  Nevertheless we found a good place which had people sitting outside as well as inside. While we waited we had the opportunity to see the food others ordered, and when we sat down at a large table we received a friendly greeting from two other persons.  As we studied the menu their food arrived, and we inquired what they had ordered. They were happy to share the information, and that began our breakfast/lunch conversation with them. They appear to be a couple. She is Saudi who is a consultant for Price Waterhouse, and he is a PHD student from Ecuador in climate science. They were en route to Prague for a few days after a few days in Berlin. Ahh - the joy of travel to Europe for a week of vacation!

At 1100 we began our Rick Steves walking tour of Prenzlauerberg, the part of Berlin where we are living. We have yet to complete what he described as an hour and half walking tour. His walking directions and information has been superb. On the walking tour we visited the historic water tower on top if the highest hill in the city and the largest synagogue in Germany. Set back from the street, with barriers in front and extra police protection it remains active.

The museum of everyday life in the DDR kept us involved, watching short, hearing personal descriptions, seeing documents, and many from life we learned how the East German government exerted control over the minds, homes, families, schools, work places, even recreational activities. For me that was a very heavy experience, for I lived in the western sector for a year before the wall was erected, and I spent time in the eastern Sector B visiting, shopping, and attending concerts. 

It was late afternoon when we continued our walk and visited the historic currywurst location. Since 1930 it has served wurst under the U Bahn tracks in the middle of a very wide street. Even at that hour there was a line of people waiting to place an order. 

We decided to continue the walking tour tomorrow morning and walked to the hotel to rest our feet. En route we stopped to view a couple of courtyards which were sites of groups of people resistant to the DDR. One was the current site of a theater and artist activities. The other appeared in disarray.

After time off our feet we walked up the street to a very large beer garden.  The Prater is well known. Hundreds of people sat outside with their mugs if beer and wurst. We ordered something else: schnitzel with cucumber salad and warm potato salad and Berliner Weisse.

After more than seventeen thousand steps our feet and legs are on the bed, and we are watching the European women's soccer championship,  this evening between Germany and Spain.

Gute Nacht, Susan

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