September 29, 2007 Berlin Tour of Parliment and Observation Tower Above it.

After a visit to Dale’s airplane in maintenance, we headed over to our new hotel – The Hotel Zoo Berlin – owing to it being very close to the Zoo. We then jumped on the famous 100 Bus for a tour of some of the sightseeing highlights. Dinner was at a little Pub on the way back – pork hocks and goulash and beer of course.

Today started very early, as we had to be at the Reichstag before the line-up got too long. We thought the bus would be a more direct route, but since the Berlin Marathon is taking place tomorrow, roadblocks were already set up, and we would have done much better to take the Underground. However, we were only ½ hour later than planned (0830), and only stood in the line-up for ½ hour. We were told that later in the day the line-up would be 3 hours long, and it was starting to look that way when we exited. It was a very interesting piece of architecture, with many historical photos and explanations at the base of the sphere, as well as a great view of the city. The photos show the mirrors on the inner tower looking down and the steel curtain rotates around with the sun to block excessive heat. Not a problem today!

Seeing as the weather was so blustery and rainy, we first stopped for a Starbucks in the old East Berlin (ironic) then we moved over to the IMAX Centre or Sony Place and watched the new Harry Potter movie. Very comfortable seats and nice and warm and dry! More German fare for supper and an early night as I am catching a flight back to Cyprus tomorrow on Olympic Air. I have my first Greek lesson on Monday.

We are still hoping to have internet connected soon, so stay in touch.

Love,
Laurel

September 27, 2007

After our slow start on Wednesday, we headed to the Deutsches Technikmuseum http://www.dtmb.de/index_en.html, obviously Dale's choice. The ships, trains and of course airplanes were amazing. We particularly liked the old videos of early years of flying in Europe. Several hours later we sat under a bridge and had Chinese food - not bad for being in Germany. That didn't leave us much time to see the Judisches Museum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_Berlin and sure enough we had to leave before we were quite ready. It was a humble experience and very enlightening - specifically there was a lot of earlier history on the Jewish people and their persecution throughout the ages. It also explained how they became traders of goods and financiers.

Today we started at the Kunstgewerbemuseum at the Schloss Kopenick http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objectId=7 very near our hotel - an awesome choice. The artwork in wood was amazing. Inlaid colours of the wood and the carvings were spectacular. After that we took the train clear across the city to the Schloss Charlottenburg area to take in the Museum fur Vor- und Fruhgeschichte (which we both enjoyed) http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-78724505-Germany_Berlin_Museum_fur_Vor_und_Fruhgeschichte.html, the Brohan Museum (we were very quick) http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-78792205-Germany_Berlin_Brohan_Museum.html, and the Museum Berggruen (I'm not a fan of Picasso and there were four floors of his work) http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?objectId=22. We ended our marathon at the Altes Museum (early Greek and Roman artifacts as well as an interesting Egyptian exhibit) http://www.aviewoncities.com/berlin/altesmuseum.htm, as we wanted to take in the Evensong Service at the Berliner Dom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Dom - a very good way to end the day.

Tomorrow we are changing hotels - Hotel Zoo Berlin http://www.hotelzoo.de/ which will put us right downtown. More to follow.

Love,

Laurel & Dale

September 26, 2007

Monday, after Dale's meeting we bought a week-long bus/train/subway pass and headed downtown Berlin. We started at Alexanderplatz, through the park and on to the Berliner Dom; all of this familiar territory from our last visit ten years ago. The changes though are phenomenal. There is no longer such a chasm of disparity between East and West Berlin. The city has truly amalgamated and moved on. The river beckoned so we did a sightseeing cruise complete with mugs of beer. Definitely the way to go. We then meandered along, poking our noses into Churches etc. until we ended up where Jason wanted us to go for dinner. Bratwurst, sauerkraut, fried potatoes, red cabbage, etc. A good choice. Again, we wandered around some old haunts until our feet complained so loud we finally listened to them.

Tuesday, Dale and I decided to take in a museum or two, since the weather didn't look too good. Thank goodness umbrellas were for sale everywhere, since even with the great transportation system, one must walk at some point. We started at the Bode Museum (Byzantine art and sculptures) http://www.berlin.de/tourismus/sehenswuerdigkeiten.en/00020.html with 261 exhibit rooms, not to mention the gorgeous hallways and foyers. Four hours later we decided to do a quick re-visit of the Pergamon Museum (South Asiatic Antiquities) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon_Museum. Two hours later we met up with Jason and Hans for dinner. Hans is the Bombardier rep. and he took us to a fabulous restaurant in the Nicolai sector. More great food.

This morning Dale is at another meeting, so I am taking the opportunity to fill you in. We bought a three day museum pass with far too many choices on it, so the marathon continues. I will have to spend the next little while on the net to narrow down our list. We'll keep you posted.

Love,

Laurel

September 24, 2007

So to continue our story of our return from Canada.... I drove Dale to Larnaca so he could head off to work the day after we arrived in Cyprus from Comox (Sept. 15). We had a lovely visit with Michael and Keeley and their boys in Calgary on our way back. I was in Kouklia for 6 days (so I could become an Alien, play bridge, go to Church and go out for lunch and dinner), and on Sept. 21 I headed over to Cairo (another drive to Larnaca - I just hope my car is still there when I get back). Micah lent me his bed for the night, and Jacqueline and I caught up on Saturday between Micah's and Olivia's soccer games. We had a lovely visit and even went out shopping. Jacqueline found the most beautiful alabaster vase which she gave me for minding the cats all summer. Definitely not necessary, but treasured all the same. We then met up with Stephen and Cathy for dinner. What a treat to meet up again with some of the fabulous people we met during our time in Cairo. Then off to the airport at oh-dark-thirty!

The weather in Berlin is much better than anticipated. 23C is great for sightseeing and touring. As we arrived on Sunday, there was very little open so we went for a walk around Kopenick (a suburb southeast of Berlin) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6penick. We had a light supper beside the Spree River. Between Dale, Jason and me, we were able to order something to eat that ended up being more or less what we thought it would be. At least it was all delicious. With, of course, a huge piece of Schwarzwalderkirschtorte (Black Forest Cake) to finish up with. We sure knew what we were doing ordering that. Today, Dale and Jason are off to a meeting to have some maintenance done on the airplane, which is why we are here in the first place. Jason plans to spend a few days working with the mechanics here (he is the Company mechanic as well as a CJ3 pilot), but Dale will be able to take some time off and we are hoping to get out and about. Today being Monday, Museum's are closed but we'll let you know what we find later.

Bye for now.

Love,

Laurel

September 17, 2007

We made it back to Cyprus with all luggage intact. We had such a wonderful time in Comox, and it was so great catching up with as many of you as we could. Obviously we will have to come for longer next time, as we did not get to see everyone.
Everything is fine here, and today I completed my immigration interview. Basically, I waited for two and a half hours for them to look at and and stamp all my paperwork. I am now an Alien!
I have re-booked Dale as he ended up going back to work as soon as we landed, as one of their pilots had to have an emergency appendectomy.
Unfortunately, I have to cut it short, as I took too long to find this Internet Cafe and didn't put enough money in the parking meter. I hope to fill you in more when I get to Berlin with Dale next week - a bonus for him going straight to work.
Take care.
Love,
Laurel

Sep 2nd Various Photos of Hotel and House on Moving Week