Whirlwind In Berlin

This day started out as the rest, except for everyone is having more difficulty getting up in the morning!  After breakfast we headed out to see some Berlin highlights.  First stop Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This church was bombed during WWII and never rebuilt, to be left as a memorial.  On our way there Christoph explained some truck stop barricades that we came across on the sidewalk.  In 2016 a truck ran into a Christmas market on the sidewalk.  So now barricades and truck stops have been set up along the sidewalk to prevent this from happening again.  Next on the agenda, a visit to a store in Germany, known as being the first department store where you could buy anything you needed for yourself or home.  The store is also part of the most expensive shopping district in Berlin, it is called KaDeWe.  Next up, victory column, a monument to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War.  We then made our way to  Tempelhof Airport.  This airport was one of Europe's three iconic pre-World War II airports.  After a 2 hour guided tour it was time for a snack.  Once rested up we ventured to Check Point Charlie.  This was a location where people could pass between East and West Berlin.  Then to rest our feet we took a boat tour on the Spree.  Then our bellies need dinner.  We dined on the Spree at an Italian restaurant.   Everyone enjoyed pasta dishes.  And of course ice cream for dessert.  Since everyone was getting so sleep deprived from so many late nights we turned in early this night!  

Schkolade And Destination Berlin

Our morning started as usual, with a typical German breakfast, this time it was at the hotel instead of at Ina and Christoph's house.  After packing up we headed out to see a bit more of Hamburg before our train departed for Berlin.  First stop, stuffing our suitcases into some large lockers at the train station.  Then since it did not look like we would have time to visit a chocolate factory in Koln we decided to visit one in Hamburg.   This was a very good choice.  We got lots of samples along the way and we each got to make our own candy bar to take with us.   Lunch time again!  Sutton enjoyed pommes(French fries).  Lee had a type of pizza (pizza).  Nate had a burger and I had tomato soup and fried potatoes.  It was all very delicious!  We had just a little time to do some shopping before getting on our train to head to Berlin.  The boys each got some new Lego sets. After some card games and a 2 hour train ride on the high speed train (around 130 mph) we were in Berlin.  After getting our luggage to our hotel we ventured out for dinner and drinks at the Sony Center.  We did have some time for a few photos upon our arrival in Berlin.  It was then off to bed so we could rest up for a full day of Berlin sightseeing!