{"id":3430,"date":"2015-09-29T10:04:31","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T15:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=3430"},"modified":"2015-09-29T10:04:31","modified_gmt":"2015-09-29T15:04:31","slug":"wrapping-up-our-visit-to-berlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=3430","title":{"rendered":"Wrapping Up Our Visit To Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Loooong blog warning* \u00a0*Lots of pics*<\/p>\n

So many things have happened during our week here in Berlin, Germany. \u00a0I’ve wanted to share as much of it with you as possible. Seeing as we are flying home tomorrow, I’m going to tell you as many things as I can today along with pics. \u00a0They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so here we go!<\/p>\n

From the first day of our arrival, I’ve noticed these double rows of bricks. \u00a0They would be going here and there. \u00a0Crossing the streets. \u00a0Seemingly disappearing into buildings…I especially noticed them while racing this past Sunday. \u00a0The reason I paid attention to them on Sunday was because they wanted to twist my foot\/ankle if I stepped on them funny. \u00a0It was because they weren’t following the lay of the road. \u00a0Finally yesterday while MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I were out walking it dawned on me. \u00a0These bricks marked where the Berlin Wall had stood!<\/p>\n

When I think of all the times MFH and I walked over these bricks on our sightseeing adventures this past week and the many, many times I crossed over them on my race~well, it was very sobering. \u00a0VERY sobering.<\/p>\n

The Berlin Wall came down in 1989. The same year my son was born. \u00a0It hasn’t been down all that long. \u00a0The people of Germany have not had freedom for a long time. \u00a0It is staggering! \u00a0That wall was evil.<\/p>\n

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The evening after the race, a FB running friend, her husband, MFH and I went out for dinner. \u00a0It was a place called: \u00a0White Trash Fast Food. \u00a0It was an interesting place! \u00a0They had great burgers. \u00a0The thing that was unique about this place was it was built by the river where people had try to swim\/escape Eastern Berlin to the Western side of Berlin. \u00a0Many, many people were shot and\/or drowned trying to gain their freedom where we were enjoying our post race dinner.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

It’s been funny and interesting to see how American culture has been adopted and interpreted overseas. \u00a0Check out the menu for this place!<\/p>\n

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Hahaha!!! \u00a0The food was actually very, very good!<\/p>\n

Yesterday, MFH and I went to Potsdamer Platz. \u00a0Today, this is a big shopping center. \u00a0In 1989, it was the site of the Berlin Wall and desperation. \u00a0They had a anniversary display of pics from the beginning of the Berlin Wall until it was torn down. \u00a0I’ll try not to bore you with too many pics. Seeing as I remembered a LOT of this stuff from my childhood up through Reagan yelling to “Tear down this wall!” I dunno…it just really strikes a chord in me.<\/p>\n

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When I ran through the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, that was in Eastern Berlin! \u00a0Actually, a LOT of the race was in the Eastern part of Berlin!<\/p>\n

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How sad is it that people had their windows blocked shut by the gv’t so they could look out and see the free\/western side of Berlin!?!<\/p>\n

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This is where I met MFH after the race. \u00a0It is a beautiful building!<\/p>\n

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Today, we visited\u00a0one last “famous” landmark in Berlin. The Kaiser Wilhelm\u00a0Memorial Church. \u00a0From what I read on the inside of the church, this church tried to save a large number of the Jewish population by baptizing them as Christians to keep from being sent to the concentration camps. It didn’t work. The church was bombed in 1943 and what we visited today is the remains of the church. The Nazis wanted to rip down the rest of the building but somehow, the remains are still here. It is a beautiful place! I bet the real deal before the bombing was breathtaking! It was only open 10 years before the war started.<\/p>\n

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I’m sure you can probably tell that I’m a history nerd. \u00a0WWII has always been something that, I don’t know…can’t really put my finger on it, but has been one of the most terrible things I can ever imagine.<\/p>\n

Back when my kids were little, I read a book entitled, Memoirs of the Third Reich. \u00a0This book was just transcripts of interviews. \u00a0They interviewed people who had survived Europe and primarily Germany in WWII. \u00a0They interviewed little old women and men. \u00a0People who had been in concentration camps. \u00a0People who were civilians. \u00a0People who were in the armed forces. \u00a0People who had been Gestapo. They interviewed survivors. \u00a0Before each interview, there was a brief bio of the person being interviewed. \u00a0How old they had been during the war. \u00a0What they did during the war. \u00a0What they did after the war and where they lived currently. \u00a0The bio also specified if the person had passed during the compilation of the book. \u00a0It included pics of these people pre-war, during the war and post war. \u00a0It showed where they lived. \u00a0Their families. \u00a0Themselves in uniforms. \u00a0If they had been tried for war crimes and the verdicts. \u00a0It was quite the book!<\/p>\n

Maybe that’s why this has been such a staggering place for me to visit.<\/p>\n

Anyway, enough of all that nonsense. \u00a0They whole trip hasn’t been visiting sad stuff! \u00a0It has been so much fun!!! \u00a0I got to run a HUGE marathon!!! \u00a0Hahaha!!!<\/p>\n

I’ve been in Germany during Oktoberfest! \u00a0I’ve tried lots of different beers while here. \u00a0I’ve learned that Pilsners in Germany are much better than those in the States! \u00a0The dark beers that I love so much in the States are not as good here in Germany. \u00a0Live and learn, right!?! \u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Today, for lunch, MFH and I went to Berliner Kindl Biersalon. \u00a0MFH tried\u00a0Schnitzel. \u00a0I got pasta. \u00a0I had a taste of the Schnitzel. \u00a0meh. \u00a0He liked it, though!<\/p>\n

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While we were there, a couple was seated next to us. \u00a0They asked if I had run the race on Sunday and I said yes. \u00a0So had the man! \u00a0They were from Scotland! \u00a0So, through our meals, we chatted. \u00a0They were such a nice couple. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

He was trying to talk me into running a marathon that goes along the Loch Ness. \u00a0He asked me if I had heard of Loch Ness. \u00a0I said that I had. \u00a0His wife looked at him and said, “Everybody has heard of that dear.” \u00a0Hahaha!!!<\/p>\n

Apparently, you meet at the Loch Ness and they bus you up to the start and you run back. \u00a0He says it’s nice and flat until mile 15 and the rest is uphill. \u00a0Ugh! \u00a0Sounds like fun! \u00a0\ud83d\ude42 \u00a0We may need to make a trip to Scotland! \u00a0HA!<\/p>\n

We’ve met some amazing people while we’ve been here! \u00a0I really, really like Germany!<\/p>\n

Things we have noticed. \u00a0People are very creative with their parking.<\/p>\n

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Hardly anybody drives big vehicles. \u00a0People can parallel park at the drop of a hat. \u00a0They also will park anywhere. \u00a0Lots of people park in the middle of the sidewalk! \u00a0HA!<\/p>\n

Important things: \u00a0The coffee here is amazing! \u00a0Nobody here drinks nasty, weak coffee. \u00a0It’s strong stuff and wonderful! \u00a0Our hotel has 5 espresso makers in the breakfast area. \u00a0They’re as serious about their coffee as they are their beer. \u00a0I could soooo live here!<\/p>\n

They do not give free refills at restaurants. \u00a0A soda here will hit you for a minimum of 5 Euros and NO free refills. \u00a0A small cup of coffee starts at 3.50 Euros. \u00a0MFH has been having kittens trying to get a glass of ice water. \u00a0He knew ahead of time that they do not serve water with ice so he asked for water with ice. \u00a0The server brought him a glass of water and a dish of ice. \u00a0Hahaha!!! \u00a0MFH was not amused. \u00a0I thought it was hilarious!<\/p>\n

If you order bottled water, you have to specify still or sparkly. \u00a0MFH complains that all he wants is ice water!!! \u00a0Poor guy! \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Finally, broke down today and had some ice cream. \u00a0Haven’t had any for a whole week. \u00a0Between no ice cream and no Nutty Bars, I was in a bad way. \u00a0Hahaha!!!<\/p>\n

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Heading home tomorrow. \u00a0We are looking at 19 hrs in the air and another 3 hrs driving once we land. \u00a0It’ll be nice to get home and MFH can’t wait until we pick up Paxton, Kali and Castro! \u00a0*your sarcasm detectors should have gone off with that last little bit. \u00a0 \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

So many things have happened while we’ve been here. \u00a0It’s been educational, exciting and tons of fun!!! \u00a0Thanks for following along as we’ve traveled. \u00a0Hope this post didn’t completely put you to sleep!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*Loooong blog warning* \u00a0*Lots of pics* So many things have happened during our week here in Berlin, Germany. \u00a0I’ve wanted to share as much of it with you as possible. Seeing as we are flying home tomorrow, I’m going to tell you as many things as I can today along with pics. \u00a0They say a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,9,6,8,5,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3449,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions\/3449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}