Off to Potsdam!

Notes from the bus:

Oktoberfest was originally to celebrate the wedding of Ludwig (the creator of the castles). Timing was changed to September due to inclement weather.

Badenhoser is swimming trunks.

Potsdam!! So beautiful! The Beverly Hills of German. Celebrities live here like Katarina Witt

Church tax. 8-10% of income goes to the state so people can declare themselves atheists, but privately believe in god.

The city of Potsdam has incredible history as it is where Churchill, Stalin and Truman brokered the final deal after World War 2 in Europe. The palace is quite incredible as well. The soviets had “The Forbidden City” that was behind the wall. When they left in 1989, they took everything – windows, doors, any fixture of any kind even street lights. All those items would be very valuable in Russia.

Lunch was a little later than scheduled at 330, but there was a food truck fair in Potsdam. When in Germany, one should have Jamaican jerk chicken!

Upon arriving back in Berlin, we enjoyed some refreshments in the lobby and then returned to the German restaurant from last night – pumpkin soup and green beer! Sour wheat beer with woodruff added to give it a sweet minty vanilla flavour. Just as good as the raspberry last night.

Bus tour of Berlin. Kevin Kennedy was tour guide.

Reich means empire.

German humor. How many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb? One. They are efficient and have no sense of humor. German humor is similar to American healthcare. Not everyone gets it.

We had our tour and then went on a walking tour of World War II Berlin. We stopped for lunch first and had curry wurst which is basically a sausage with ketchup sprinkled with curry. Not our favourite meal.

The walking tour just emphasized what an ass Adolf Hitler was and the people that enabled him. It also emphasized the importance of education for everyone to realize the errors that were made.

We also found the giant version of the Ample man who is the crosswalk guy in Berlin from communist days.

Our guide asked us to join him at a traditional German restaurant where Allen had spaetzle and I had roast beef with creamy cucumber salad. Sooo goood!!!! Our table mates had meatballs which looked good and a lot of them ordered liver which they seemed to really enjoy. I asked for fruity beer. It was a wheat beer with raspberry juice. Wow. I could become a beer drinker if I drank that.

We spent the day learning the area around our hotel as we will be here for a few days. We went and saw a beautiful church with blue glass that had been bombed in the terrible war that was the cause of insane politics. (Quote from the church museum). We finished up with sampling some beer that even I liked.

Joined our travel group tonight. Some quotes the leader, Beate, shared with us:

To travel is to prove that everyone is wrong about other countries.

Once you have travelled the voyage never ends as the journey continues in your mind

There are no foreign lands, only foreign people

Tips: Bolt. Less expensive than Uber.

Our group is quite the conglomeration of people. A few younger girls and quite a few people older than us. Should be an interesting week. Tomorrow we tour Berlin and take a historic walking tour.

Flights were awesome. Regina to Calgary to Paris to Berlin. No delays. Luggage all good.

Some amazement in my part as I couldn’t believe I was going in the trip. On our longest flight, the man across the aisle from me had a boot on. I asked why and he said he had ruptured his Achilles. Why are the chances???

Seinfeld flashbacks using the shower in Berlin. The water pressure is so strong, the shower head pops off the shower holder. It makes for an interesting shower. Hahahah!

Had supper at an Italian restaurant close to hotel. Incredible steak from New Zealand. Who knew??