Eine, Svein, Drei Wonderful Days

We flew to Berlin on Saturday morning to visit our former exchange student Leo and his family. Although Laura and Scott had both been to Germany before, neither had been to Berlin, a place its own mayor labels "poor but sexy." To be honest, we didn't see much evidence of poverty. What we did see was a lot that waqs fun, interesting and wonderful. In many ways, there is really no other European city quite like Berlin. As a result of division by the Berlin Wall until 1989, the city has a different feel than your standard city operating with a central business district and tourist hub. Berlin has two town centers, one in the west and one in the east, and each is wonderful in its own right. Berlin also has an efficient transportation system and some of the better roads we have seen in Europe. Facilities are modern, the food is excellent, and the people are friendly and engaging and apt to speak to you--which came as a bit of a shock after three months of dealing with the icy reserve of Londoners. The weather was atrocious (cold and rainy) but no worse than we endured in January in London or winter at home. Leo's family went above and beyond to show us hospitality, and even more than seeing the sights (including the remains of the former Berlin Wall above). The girls loved playing in the bedroom of his 7-year-old sister with all her toys. We hardly slept at all, but no one seemed to mind, and the girls came home delighted and behaving delightfully.