28th May - Tours of Berlin

Ah these hotels are the thing! - lifts everywhere - soft beds - nice temperatures .

We plan to visit Tranenplast - take a 2.5 hour velobike tour of Berlin and then a 2.5 hours boat trip on the Spree.

Breakfast at Friedrichstrube - Then the rain and wind appear - on dear - our first inclement weather! 

We battle the elements in our walk of 50 metres into Traneplast - the palace of tears - a museum on the site of one of the original border crossings - West Germans could cross but their East German relatives had to say goodbye to them here - stories of crossings - stories of a divided Germany - we see border visa checking stations - Bernie stands beside a sliver of the wall.

We head back to the hotel the weather still inclement! We prepare for what could be an unpleasant morning.

Leo arrives at the hotel at 10:30 - he brings with him a change in the weather - we chat - he is an Italian from Bari - married to a girl born in East Germany to East German parents - good English - no sign of the tired attitude of long term tour guides - he is enthusiastic and committed.

We head towards the Brandenburg Gate - we are stopped - Zelenski is in town - his cars pass - decoy car after decoy car - police in front- police in the middle - police behind - police on every street corner!

Past government buildings - past the site of the first failed attempt at escape.

Past the memorial to the murdered Jews and traces of the wall.

Past the long stretch of the wall near the Gestapo headquarters.

Past the Hitler bunker site and Trabbie world

Past churches turned into museums - past buildings rebuilt - past buildings pock marked by bullets.

Past buildings of East German governance. 

Onto museum island and past the buildings of modern Berlin.

 Past Alexanderplatz -  through what was the old Jewish quarter and home 

It is time to head off for a cruise on the Spree - Mike asks Uber to take us to the tour operator's headquarters rather than the mooring point - We are a fair way away with only 30 minutes to departure time - "let's give up" says Mike - "We can make it" says the very one who should be giving up. We struggle - we make it with 5 minutes to spare.

We join about 20 others - we order  a water to refresh and institute a change in mindset to relax.

The trip is calm, relaxed, practically silent - we feel a privileged to be cruising through the center of Berlin.

We reflect on the wonderful time Knud and Erika will have with Liquenda moored on this stretch of the Spree later in the year.

We pass people who look relaxed - people dancing, people sitting and watching, people playing cards.

We pass magnificent buildings and what looks like peace and prosperity.

We pass restaurants with people dining under trees - people dining under  umbrellas - People strolling.

Magnificent old buildings slip by - bridges skip by and more bridges slip by 

We pass Apartments and TV towers - a building with twin Steeples and golden orbs.

We pass tall red brick towers with flags and we pass magnificent buildings that house the workings of German democracy.

"I think Berlin is my favorite city" says Bernie - she sits on the outer deck smiling - she is enjoying Berlin and enjoying life.

As we move away from the center of the city  graffiti appears - some of it appropriate and historical - some of it not so.

We slip past old and new buildings sitting side by side in harmony - we slip past statues and cafes and more bridges.

We arrive back to the mooring point - oh s...! - the phone is dead - how do we call a taxi - there is the nHow Hotel - let's ask them to call us a taxi - we approach - there seems to be lots of people wearing shiny leather pants and shiny leather helmets. 

Bernie wanders into reception - asks the receptionist to call us a taxi - he looks at her - "we don't see many people like you here" - "of course I will get a taxi to get you out of here - my mother would want me to!" 

The taxi arrives - he looks a little relieved to see his passengers are two retirees - we laugh all the way home!

We arrive at our hotel - "this has been the funest day of the whole trip" says Bernie.