Monday July 28, 2008

Sunday in Berlin

After getting out of the airport area, and into downtown Berlin, we noticed their traffic lights are different from ours.

Our first stop was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It was built in the 1890s, and bombed in 1943.

Our group, listening to our guide, Gordon (center with arm in the air), give some information about the church.

Bomb marks and damage can be seen around the entire building. The church is no longer used, but is now a museum.

A new church has been built a few hundred feet away. We walked inside to observe a service in process, and stood behind glass. This is an internet photo of what we saw. There were too many people in front of me to get a good photo.

A hooded crow that was intent on finding crumbs from tourists.

David Eberly (Maryland) was asking about my camera, so I took a photo of him. Since it got fairly good, I decided to feature him today. He is a retired Church of the Brethren minister.

Gordon told us that we should try currywurst while in Berlin, so we took him up on the challenge and stopped here following our visit to the church and a relaxing walk.

I forgot to take a picture of it, but got this picture of John Heisey with their Apfel Schorle. It bubbled when they opened, what they thought was apple juice. We kidded them that they may have gotten wine! It was okay though – it was apple juice and carbonated water.

Linda and Stafford Frederick also decided to get currywurst, so we invited them to join us. He is a pastor in Virginia and she is a registered nurse. We have enjoyed getting to know them better.

Here we are driving across a section where the wall separated East and West Berlin.

These cement slabs stand as a memorial to the millions of Jews who were murdered during the war.

There are 2,711 unmarked, concrete slabs built on 4.7 acres of land.

The memorial is even more impressive when you walk between them.

From there we went to this museum that houses artifacts from the Babylonian era.

We could not take cameras inside – so these photos are from the Internet. Above are stones which include writings and information.

A dagger.

One of the displays that most impressed me was a reproduction of the Tower of Babel. The white section in front is the steps.

Then it was time to check into our Holiday Inn Motel and have time to relax, change clothes, and get refreshed – the first time since we left home on Saturday morning.

Gathering for supper in the motel

Singing the Doxology. We decided that we could be a traveling choir!

Tomato Apple Soup. It was cold, spicy, and delicious.

Chicken, vegetables, and sesame potatoes.

A delicious chocolate mousse for dessert.

Those who wanted to walk up the hill to an old anti-aircraft bunker met outside the motel following supper.

The day had been hot (86 degrees) but the evening was delightfully cool.

This is where we are going.

There were lots of oohs and aahs when we got to a lookout and saw this.

We decided to look it up on the way down the hillside.

One of the many lookout areas.

A view of Berlin

I forget who built this tower – but it was the leadership of West Berlin. However, when it was completed, the sun always reflected a cross. They tried a variety of things to remove it – but it has remained. Isn’t that neat?

Another lookout.

My photographer buddy – Ken Bomberger

These two – Cora and Dale Deter – are married six years on Monday. We call them “the kids.” Both were married to their first partners for forty-two years when they passed away – her husband from heart disease, and his wife from cancer.