Berlin & Boltenhagen

The history in Berlin is very interesting. The wall is marked on the pavement with raised brick through out the city. There are at least two places where the wall is still standing. A small 50 foot area at Potsdamer Platz and a 1000 foot area on the Spree river. We visited check Point Bravo and Check Point Charley. Check point Charley was very interesting cause they had pictures of before and after. They have completely built up the area along the wall with new buildings. At some points this area was maybe 2000 feet wide. They also had a museum showing how people escaped. In some places they had memorials for those that had died trying to get out, their life story. We also saw many other sites like the East Germany radio tower, Berliner Dome, the huge Reichstag building, the Braden Burger tor, and others I do not remember. We took a boat river tour and bus tour of Berlin, plus we walked around a lot. The public buildings are amazing. We do not build anything like this in the USA, well maybe public school buildings.

It is interesting to me how any society can be communist or dictatorship or the like when in all these cases people are always wanting to get out. Doesn't this mean anything to people that these forms of goverment are not good. You don't see people killing themselves trying to leave capitalistic societies.

They have this tiny car here called Smart that is so small that they park it perpendicular to the curb when there is any space left between cars, and it does not stick out into the street. Public transportation is well used here. It is on the honor system. One is supposed to buy a ticket but nobody checks. They say that sometimes they come around checking but we rode a lot and nobody checked. People have to carry everything here, bags, umbrellas, coats. Very different way to travel.

Boltenhagen on the Baltic sea was very beautiful. This used to be in East Germany but again a lot of money has been poured into renovations. We saw the army station that used to watch and shoot those trying to escape over the water. The water is too cold for me.

With as concerned as people here are supposed to be about the earth they don't care about their health, cause most smoke. Good thing the W family does not smoke.

Love the German people, they are very nice, and boy can they speak English.

Well that is all for Germany here, read my book someday for the rest of the story, I say that but I do not like reading books, off to Italy, Till next time, Jorge