Wanted: Dead or Alive

So, now I'm a criminal in two European countries! I have my outstanding driving infractions in Italy and now, according to the police, I'm a criminal in Munich as well. When we first arrived in Munich, we bought a partner one-day transit pass from someone who had bought it to travel out to the airport. So we paid half the price, 10 euros, and used it to travel into town. So, of course, when we had to return to the airport ourselves, we thought we'd do the same. So, once we got out to the airport and checked in for our flight to Berlin, I hung out by the ticket machines looking for someone to buy our day pass so we could recoup some of our costs. I actually had to hang out for a while and was quite relieved to finally find a buyer. As soon as the  money exchanged hands, two plainclothes police approached, told me I was a criminal and pulled me and the poor couple who'd bought my ticket aside. They were extremely scary and in the end they let me off with a warning. I had to give the people back the 10 euros and they confiscated my ticket. I did work up the nerve to ask for their ID (and one cop said, "What do you think I am, an idiot?"). Surprisingly, I kept my tongue and didn't say yes.

So, Berlin. It's very different from Munich. It is shabbier and dirtier - took a bit of getting used to. But, it's history is so fascinating! And, of course, the main focus is more recent history, that of WW II and the Cold War. Life in that time frame would have been unimagineable. Berlin had the shit kicked out of it in WW II. Much of the city was bombed including its famous sites. The reconstruction of Berlin is extremely impressive as the united German government has worked very hard to restore the city. In doing so, it has racked up a huge debt. The city is a mishmash of styles since most of the building has happend in the last 20 years. I hadn't realized, but most of what I knew about Berlin such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Wall, the Reichstag, etc., are all in what was East Berlin. Our flat is in East Berlin and most of our time has been spent in the Eastern sector.

We spent the first day here just walking around and getting oriented to the place. We actually covered quite a bit of ground but without our own personal guides (which we had become accustomed to.....) half the time we didn't have a clue as to what we were looking at!! So, day 2 was spent on a 4 1/2 hr bike tour with a company called Fat Tire Bike Tours. We had a Canadian guide from Calgary and a hot, sunny day. Covered 10 lazy kms and most of the main sites of the city - a great way to get an introduction. Day 3, today, we were on our own again spending a good chunk of the morning at the Topography of Terror Museum which details the Third Reich.

Tomorrow is our last day and we plan on spoiling ourselves by not walking miles and miles. We do plan on going to the German History Museum and are still considering a side trip to Potsdam. Then, bright and early on Friday morning we will begin our journey home.

It has been a wonderful trip and we were blessed with terrific weather for much of the time. We've soaked up scads of knowledge and tasted countless excellent beers. Paul, I wish I could have bought (stolen?) all the mugs for you but, unfortunately, they aren't easy things to transport. Plus, with my current run of luck, I would have been caught and arrested for theft! Mark, thanks for the offer of the vacuuming. I accept! Make sure there is milk in the house! Daniel, rock Cape Town!

Love to all. Get ready to be awed and amazed by our pictures and accompanying commentary!! The pictures we're posting today are: the Reichstage (German parliament); the Brandenburg Gate (listen to David Hasselhof sing there); our travel gnome, Pinocchio, at the remains of the Berlin Wall, Rhonda at the awesome memorial to the Jewish victims of the war; and Checkpoint Charlie.

Rhonda and Laura