Sunday 13th September
Andy picked us up this morning and we had brunch at one of his favourite restaurants. Then it was off visit the remnants of the Berlin Wall on the eastern side. Jim was in Berlin 20 years ago, a few months before the wall was torn down and it's remarkable to see this city as it now is.
There are many memorials to those who lost their lives trying to get to the Western side and it's a sobering reminder of this history. We find the way that this generation of Germans present their history very powerful. There is a sobering recognition of the Nazi era and an attempt to reconcile and remember. At the entrance to our apartment building are 4 brass plaques embedded into the foot path that name Jewish families who lived in this building and were taken during the war.....
Andy then took us on a river tour of Berlin. It was an interesting way to see the city from a different perspective. Three hours sailing along at a leisurely pace with the first lock that both of us had ever been through - we were like wide eyed kids as the boat was raised in the lock to continue along the river.
Poor Andy has to work tomorrow so he delivered us back to boy town and we had fun there late into the night. We got a little lost, so hailed a cab which delivered us home to our lovely apartment. Another exhausting but fun filled day.
