We have a free day today, about 50 advisors and their guests arrived yesterday, when we did, and the rest of the 300 advisors and their guests arrive today. So we got advanced registration, advanced picking out of our gifts (I chose a red Bose portable speaker for the kitchen so we can stop moving the jambox in and out of the garage and Jay chose a smart watch by Garmin that will track his biking, running, heartrate, golf and let him know when he has texts and emails), and a free day today while the others all arrive.
We went to the chocolate store next to the hotel, and there were several chocolate sculptures.
And then we went for lunch to a little Italian place across the street and shared soup and pizza. So good.
We arranged for a private tour this afternoon with a car and guide with Mark and Brandon. The guide was quirky and funny and very knowledgeable.
In 1986 the Gendarmenmarkt Square across from our hotel was fully restored. It was in complete ruins, with trees growing in its buildings. The hotel, which we are in, was mostly intact and elaborate because it was the place used to host International guests. The Square was one of the first major restorations because 1987 was the city's birthday and there would be celebrations and international guests at the hotel.
Next, the driver took us around a corner and pulled over slightly. He showed us a spot with a bunch of people milling around and said that there is an underground memorial which you can look through the glass on the ground into an empty room with empty bookcases to remember a spot where there was a huge bonfire of books - and that Einstein had witnessed the bonfire from the University window and soon after fled Germany saying that he would be burned next.
He then dropped us off at a fountain and square where there is a museum and cathedral for some photos.
He said that there were portions of the city that were nearly uninhabited they were so destroyed in the war. A lot of the courtyards in the middle of square blocks were destroyed and were not rebuilt in the same fashion, so he took us to one area where there was a series of courtyards that all connected in the interior of a city block. We walked through while he met us at the other side.
When we got back into the car he said that that courtyard now is mostly a tourist trap. I said to Jay - tourist crap, which is what we always say to the girls when we don't want to buy them every little thing everywhere we go. He said crap or trap..I said crap, like 'junk'. He said ah, junk, under his breath. He then told us that his English was mostly learned in school, but that he had once found himself lost in India and had to brush up on his English. I said "how long were you lost for?" He said "about a year and a half...I was a bit of a hippy in those days, it was the 70's"
We had been in an area he called OffCulture area or Alternative Culture. Then we entered what he said is the Hipster Area, which was one of the areas in disrepair, he said Hipsters had their wealthy parents refurbish the area for them to live, because it was an authentic part of the city. He said if you're over 35 in Hipster area the locals will think you're parents out looking for your daughter. He was a weird guy. Later we entered what he called the Hippy area..and Mark said "Where the Hipsters are?" He said "No! Hipsters are weathly kids. Hippies are a little bit desperate..like backpackers..its backpacker area".
This was the Capital Building for Prussia and next to it down the street a little was the Capital Building for Germany.
The bear is very prevalent in Berlin, its a symbol on the coat of arms. They have these bears, similar to our moose, throughout the city. This one was really colourful so I took a photo for Sophie. Then I made Jay get in a picture and hug the bear..but his heart wasn't in it - the things he'll do for the kids. Lol.
Then I said, fine take a picture of me hugging the bear for Sophie! He takes the worst pictures..look at those people in the background..at least there is no thumb in the frame like the last two times I had him take my photo.
The Wall.
Most of the wall has been torn down and where it used to be located there is a double line of cobblestones set into the roads.
The driver had said he was a Peacnik, a draft dodger - and he had fled to Berlin to avoid the draft. Berlin was 25% French at the time and unsympathetic to the war, very left wing liberal in their political views so the war effort never had a stronghold in Berlin.
The city is very wet and swampy..so when a new building is being built the contractor needs to run this above ground piping in order to pump the water back into the river until the foundation is sealed.
This is a bridge. I just liked the look of it.
And then we went to go get a coffee near Checkpoint Charlie - which really is a tourist trap. Just a gatehouse in the street with 2 Germans dressed as American soldiers for a photo op.
At one point something got said about the soccer Eurocup - because the entire square in front of the Reichstag Building is closed down for public viewing and there is a ferris wheel (that's why, I asked about the ferris wheel and if it was permanent or just for the soccer events). He said it was for the soccer hooligans, because they needed entertaining, and then went on to say several times that the soccer hooligans were often fascists!?! lol. Mark later asked if there was still anti-Semitism in Germany, the driver said "Not out in the open, only maybe if you are black and are jumped by some soccer hooligans"...the fascist soccer hooligans again.
After two hours we went back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. There was a reception that night and a buffet set up. So we went for the drinks at the hotel and then walked to a Thai restaurant for dinner.
I got a nice photo of the concert hall with no people in it, because it was late.
And then we passed by the University area where the room with nothing in it is, so we walked through there and took a photo.
Dinner was really good - then we walked back to the hotel with Mark and Brandon and they went back up to the reception to have a few more drinks while Jay and I went back to the room.
Tomorrow is supposed to be another rainy day..Jay has a business session in the afternoon and I'll probably try to do a tour of some kind, maybe the boats - but we'll see what the weather holds. For some reason neither of us brought a rain jacket!
