We Learn A Bit About Berlin

Leo with his grandparents, the Berliner Dom in the background; Leo with pizza-making girls; Cousin Julian helps Meredith; Cecily, Meredith and Wally as chefs in the restaurant kitchen.

Saturday morning, we met the whole family--including grandma and grandpa and aunt and cousin--at a local restaurant in the shadow of the magnificently baroque Berlin Dom, (city church) for a buffet breakfast. Scott's eye's nearly fell out of his head at the site of piles of sliced processed meat and cheese options, and the girls made quick work of the German pancakes. After visiting a bit, Meredith and Cecily were invited back to the kitchen to make pizza--chefs' hats, aprons and all. (Olivia, unfortunately, missed out after she got sick and had to return to the hotel for a brief rest.) Once our leisurely brunch broke up, we visited the Old Gallery where we saw a wide representation of German artists, most of whom are not on display in London museums. (Imagine London not having an affinity for German art!) It was unfortunate that we only had time for one museum because Berlin has many, which are conveniently grouped on a single island in the the city. We could have spent days there. Only the girls were glad we didn't have more time. After our art tour, Laura and Olivia rejoined us, and we headed for the remains of the Berlin Wall and the site of the memorial currently under construction. We enjoyed climbing a viewing tower which used to look over the wall to allow West Germans to waive at their friends and family on the other side. We also enjoyed talking to Cordula and Rene about their personal recollections about the time of the wall, which were doubly fascinating since the two of them were raised on opposite sides of the wall. Rene's story follows.