Conclusion

May 1st in Germany (and I think, all of Europe) is called "Day of the Work" or "Workers' Day."

It is sort of like our Labor Day except they shut down pretty much everything except restaurants, airports and train stations. Oh, and I guess it gets really riotous because of the demonstrations and such that go on. So, by Thomas' recommendation we kept things pretty low key that day so as to stay out of any crazy partying.

It's interesting there too because every Sunday the shops are all closed. I actually really liked it. Everything seemed so much more peaceful... it just "felt" like the Sabbath, it made it seem so much more special.

This morning Marc and Thomas met for breakfast at 9:30, but I was late and didn't get there until 10:15. Even at this point, after having eaten breakfast here at this hotel, I still wasn't quite used to having cheese, vegetables and cakes at breakfast time. Sure was good though.

Marc and I checked out and then put our stuff in Thomas' room while we spent a few more hours in Berlin.

We went back the the Wall, also known as the East Side Gallery and I took a lot more pictures of the paintings I found interesting.

I just love this one... somethings about the placement of the cars and the girl sitting by the wall.

Our birth years were painted into one collage

Love locks on this gate next to a very colorful painting.

After the East Side Gallery we walked back to start packing out our stuff to head to the bus station.

But, on the way back to the hotel I saw something quite interesting. From the sidewalk looking into this restaurant window I saw something hanging from the ceiling that looked like and ice cream cone.

Of course I had to ask Thomas what this was all about and he told me that it was meat that is cooking in front of a grill hanging from the ceiling. They shave the meat from that big bulk and put it in a pita-type bread. He said they were really good. I was still a bit full from breakfast, but I had to give them a try.

When we walked into the restaurant I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw a piece of meat the size of a child spinning from the ceiling in front of the grill. I just had the picture...

The guy working tried to duck out of the picture.

That's the meat to the right of the guy

And I must say it was a VERY tasty sandwich. It's a Turkish food called Döner Kabab I loved it! Yumm!

I even got some pictures of the sandwich extraordinaire...

After our little "snack" we were out of there. We got our stuff back at the hotel and then left.

And don't forget that Thomas had Jack to bring him with him. Heres the snap I got of his waiting with Jeff and Marc.

Hee hee hee!

That wias Marc and ThomasWe took the bus to the train and stopped at the train station (because remember everywhere else is closed because of the holiday.)

Before getting on the train at the station we stopped in one of the markets to get some Kinder Eggs for Sister. That is all she wanted for her souvenir from Europe. I also bought a bunch of chocolate bars

On the way to our train I noticed a little ice cream shop with the ice-cream all fancy and fun so I had to take the picture. It' so fun to see ice cream all decorative and creamy.

We got to our spot to wait from the platform. Yalda joined us on our trip back to Hannover, so it was the 4 of us again for the ride.

I slept for about an hour on the train .

When we got into Gerhden there was a garden show going on at the local park. When we went to get information on it we found out it was going to close in 10 minutes so we figured it was not a great idea.

Then Thomas took us on a little drive through the countryside where Thomas likes to run and bike.

So after we unloaded everything at Thomas' house we walked down the street through his little neighborhood and went to the little Italian restaurant.

The Italian food we had was OK, but the conversation was fun and sad all at the same time.  Oh, and our waiter was a kick in the pants, he was all kinds of Italian fun!

We just aren't ready to go home at this point and we know our flight leaves in the morning.

...

5:30 am comes early.

It comes really early when you are not ready to say goodbye to your friends.

Thomas drove us to the train station.

That was a tough goodbye for all of us. I shed some tears.

It made it even harder when Thomas came to the window to wave his final goodbyes as the train started to move.

Home we go! Loaded on our plane.

Wow! It only took me a few months to get all this documented in my blog... no biggie.

It was an epic trip!

Last Day of April, Second Day in Berlin

Before we hit the streets for our next bit of touring, we gathered for breakfast and of course I took pictures... Obviously.

I even had to take a picture of my cute little ticket that I would take to the counter to get our hotel breakfast... so cute... I wanted to take it home.

Isn't that the cutest little breakfast ticket you've ever seen? I'm telling you this place was swank... or as Thomas described it, "hipster." I don't care what you call it, I had a blast there.

Then I had to take pictures in the lobby while we all gathered together to head out.

I know, seriously, my husband is a hottie! Rawr!

After I was done modeling Marc we hit a whole bunch of tourist sites all over Berlin. We took the bus for the further ones but we were on our feet all day for the most part.

The four of us went to the Merry-go-round, Alexander Platz, the Reichstag and just all the stuff in between. Then we had plans to take a train to Postdam, Germany, but Yalda was only with us for the first few hours until she had to leave for a meeting. She was going to meet us later on that day for dinner.

I'll show you the city sites we visited:

Hopping on and off the bus a lot that day

The Merry-go-round that I wished Brother could have taken a ride on so I, at least, took pictures.

This picture is one of my favorites... I like the composition, but I LOVE that it looks like a giant R2D2 hanging out in Berlin.

A selfie and the Reichstag with my camera... I laugh cause it looks like I have horns!

This is a precious statue standing outside one of the train stations in Berlin. It is put up in memoriam for all those that had to say goodby to their families who had to return to the other side of The Wall. Notice the caption, "Trains to Life, Trains to Death" Such a sad time that was. I am so grateful for the freedom I have had the privilege to have my whole life.

And this I took, just because it was an "X," you know, for Fragile X... when I looked at the photo enlarged I noticed the reflection of the people in the red box.

I tried to remember to take pictures of the food we ate as often as I remembered.
This was  one of the least favorite dishes we had. It looks like weiners and fries with ketchup and mayo, and yep, that's about it... meh. Love you still though, Thomas and Yalda (smile)

After lunch we got on a fast train, and I mean FAST! Wow! When another train passed us going the other way it was a split second and then it was gone. Whoa! They don't have TRAX like that here in Utah!

We headed out to Potsdam to see a castle. It was a LOT of walking but it turned out to be quite beautiful.

 After Postdam we made our way into town to find, what we had heard was the best place for cheesecake. We walked through the area that looked like a little Dutch Village.

I loved every corner! It was full of beauty and intrigue.

And, just so you know, we did have the best cheesecake I've ever had! Ever! So good!

Then Marc found a girlfriend...

I'm just glad she didn't seem too interested in him...

After flirting with Ms. Manikin we found an awesome store that I was having a blast taking pictures of. It was so eclectic and creative inside and outside. It had wonderful gifts and trinkets and an antique cash register. This was also where Thomas found his elk... yup, an elk. Thomas was looking for something great to put on the balcony of his new house and bringing a bit of wildlife was just the ticket. We named him "Jack" because of all the talk we did about the Tom Cruise movie... anyway, so he is named. You can see Jack in the bottom left side of the collage below.

I just loved everything in that shop... even just the simple plates and cups...

In order to carry Jack around town and on the bus we needed to make sure his antlers wouldn't poke anybody or anything, so the shop owner wrapped some packing tape to keep him safe... Makes me laugh... It made all three of us laugh. It's just an adventure to carry a metal elk around Berlin...

We waited in the park for Yalda to come pick us up. She thought that Jack was a funny addition to our group. The picture above is just a view from the bench we were waiting on.

We went back to our hotel to drop off Jack and my big bulky, but wonderful, camera and we were off to dinner. Yalda lives in Berlin so she knows it really well and knows all the best places to eat. She suggested Korean Barbecue. It was fun, and a VERY new experience for my taste palate. I even ate the little, tiny, crunch fish that still had eyes... ew... just writing that down makes me amazed that I ate that... Anyway it was fun enjoying Berlin in a Korean way for a bit.

Yalda had to leave us after dinner so Thomas, Marc and I just walked around town and got a feel for the night life in Berlin.

I was having such an awesome time seeing the eclectic and raw nature of downtown Berlin at night that I just had to do my infamous heel-click! Marc wasn't really excited to take a picture of the epic moment, but he obliged somewhat... If you look really hard you can see me in the middle... my shadow helps direct you where I am...

There were street performers on every corner. I was curious enough to go listen to the musician drawing this huge crowd so we went and listened. Not only was she a good singer, Alice Phoebelou, but the crowd made for some interesting and sometimes shocking experiences. One thing I have learned is that you never know what really drunk or high people are capable of at a concert until you actually see it... Woo!

After we had laughed enough about the crazy crowd and enjoyed Alice's music we went back to our hotel. Our hotel had this awesome courtyard with music, lights, pingpong and fun. This is the view of the courtyard from our window.

Whoa! Big Berlin Day