We are not going hungry. We're in to our routine where we meet at 8 for our breakfast. This is a really huge part of our trip. We make sure we have this meal included with the hotel. We were a little concerned about this hotel because it had a "cold" breakfast. We were really excited as we were on our way for the first breakfast and could smell good things on our walk there. It does include hot foods. Among other things, Dave is enjoying the salmon, Sabrina loves the sausage and salami, and Michael and Edie like the Musli (grain cereal).
We've about had our fill of Italian food, even though the food is good. We've had two Italian dinners and one Italian lunch. The last Italian dinner included a light and fluffy Tirama. su.
We had Austrian food at Lutter & Wegner, which was fabulous. Three of us had the veal weiner schnitzel and one had Sauerbraten. And for dessert, the BEST apple struedel ever.
Today we found a tiny little soup place that was an excellent value. Good thing we had a young woman in line behind us because she was out interpreter. Otherwise we could be an episode of Seinfeld, the Soup Nazi.
The great thing about Europe in general, is that they've mostly missed the American style of stuffing your face on the run. Meals take hours and we can sit and eat and then stay and talk as long as we like.
Berlin is really a good value, things are reasonably priced. Does this sound like an advertisement for Berlin?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Berlin - We LOVE this City!
We have been having some real trouble getting internet connections, so sorry the blogging has been lacking. Now we'll try to remember the last three days....
Our hotel is located in the heart of all the attractions...we're in the old East Berlin. The city is very good value and not crowded. They've had a very tough time with the Unification of East and West. The West has poured tons of Euro in to rebuilding the East side. The motto is "Poor but Sexy" for the city.
There are only a few parts of the wall left up, just for tourists and to remember. But they have left the double brick visible with a plaque commemorating where it was.
Our Trabi Safari tour guide showing the guys the engine....they were looking for the squirrels.
The four of us barely fit in to the "car". We almost got asphyxiated riding in the thing. And it almost burns more oil than gas.
Our German favorite, Veal Weiner Schnitzel
Michael picking out his Bugatti
Checkpoint Charlie, which is located two blocks from out hotel
The Brandenburg Gate
Part of the wall that they put up a fence to protect! People were taking chunks out and writing grafitti. You can see that it was reinforced by rebar and they put half of a pipe up on top so that people couldn't grab and pull themselves over.
Our hotel is located in the heart of all the attractions...we're in the old East Berlin. The city is very good value and not crowded. They've had a very tough time with the Unification of East and West. The West has poured tons of Euro in to rebuilding the East side. The motto is "Poor but Sexy" for the city.
There are only a few parts of the wall left up, just for tourists and to remember. But they have left the double brick visible with a plaque commemorating where it was.
Our Trabi Safari tour guide showing the guys the engine....they were looking for the squirrels.
The four of us barely fit in to the "car". We almost got asphyxiated riding in the thing. And it almost burns more oil than gas.
Our German favorite, Veal Weiner Schnitzel
Michael picking out his Bugatti
Checkpoint Charlie, which is located two blocks from out hotel
The Brandenburg Gate
Part of the wall that they put up a fence to protect! People were taking chunks out and writing grafitti. You can see that it was reinforced by rebar and they put half of a pipe up on top so that people couldn't grab and pull themselves over.
Odd things we've seen today
A big part of travelling is seeing such odd things...and since we don't speak the language, we have no idea what is going on. Here are a few things we've seen:
This is a couple of newlyweds having photos taken on the median of the road.
This is a couple of newlyweds having photos taken on the median of the road.
Berlin - Arrived Safely
If a plane leaves SFO at 7 pm and arrives in Berlin (via Frankfurt) at 5:30 pm, how many hours does it take? I'll give you a hint, Berlin is 9 hours ahead of San Francisco. Bet you didn't know there would be math!
We're staying at the Mercure at Check Point Charlie, GREAT location. Edie and Michael love it because it is a modern style, Dave loves it because there's plenty of room, and we all love it because it is in a great location. Oh, and Michael loves that they have a little work station because he brought his own computer this year! Which is really odd because until the France trip he had never even sent an email! We're all getting the power switches and toilets down...it is a little tougher than you think.Look at how they make up the bed. This is two twins pushed together and we each have our own comforter....and one very flat pillow.
I was a little worried when I looked in here and didn't see a toilet! I thought it was hidden behind the wall, but you'll see in the next photo. And that's a drying rack which is so handy if you want to wash out a few clothes....it's a close to a clothesline as I can get :)
And here's the toilet and tiny sink around the corner from the shower.
We have lots of big windows. One is just a window (that actually opens) and the other is a private balcony. We couldn't figure out how to open the darn thing when we woke up at 3 and the room was really warm...probably because we were drying socks on the towel heating rack. We did figure it out in the am, so we're set for the other nights.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Ezra Update
I thought that maybe I was going a little overboard with my grandson, Ezra, so I haven't posted any photos in awhile. Well, I can't help myself any longer! He has a lot of white hair, very blue eyes, a couple of teeth, and a precious smile.
Here is his crawling pose....he is on one knee and then his foot. When he crawls he looks like he's hopping along...which is very entertaining but his mom doesn't like my jokes about his unusual style, imagine that!
He's been pulling himself up for about a month now, and generally prefers to be on his two legs. He's letting go so he can grab something, but it doesn't last too long. He does a very nice shuffle though. And please note that G-Pa Dave is not too wild about his grandson being dressed in Bronco colors...sorry Lindsay.
Ezra with his daddy (who is the favorite right now) at the farm in Sunol where they get their organic produce. He likes the chickens too.
And these are my babies...Ezra and his mommy.
Here is his crawling pose....he is on one knee and then his foot. When he crawls he looks like he's hopping along...which is very entertaining but his mom doesn't like my jokes about his unusual style, imagine that!
He's been pulling himself up for about a month now, and generally prefers to be on his two legs. He's letting go so he can grab something, but it doesn't last too long. He does a very nice shuffle though. And please note that G-Pa Dave is not too wild about his grandson being dressed in Bronco colors...sorry Lindsay.
Ezra with his daddy (who is the favorite right now) at the farm in Sunol where they get their organic produce. He likes the chickens too.
And these are my babies...Ezra and his mommy.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Congratulations!!!!!!!
Our son-in-law, William, just finished his final final! He's finished with college....unless he has plans that he hasn't shared with us. Big party next month!
Can You Really Ride for 12 hours?
We met at 8 am at Starbucks and I didn't get home until 8 at night. We rode over 400 miles, almost all the way to Tahoe. And it was REALLY cold...hard to believe it's August! The temperature above Bear Valley, or was it Kirkwood?, was almost 40 degrees!
We still had a wonderful time....except for listening to the sloppy Raiders v 49ers game on the ride back :(
And this is why we live in California....beautiful! I would say it's all about the weather, but I've already whined about the low temps.
This might be Ebbetts Pass...
Our lunch spot at Alpine Lake....fabulous soup and sliders.
I wish I could remember the name of this little town, but there was 14+ mini coopers that were out for the day...some car club. Huge variety of drivers and they had their cars all cute with silly vanity plates....tons of fun.
We still had a wonderful time....except for listening to the sloppy Raiders v 49ers game on the ride back :(
And this is why we live in California....beautiful! I would say it's all about the weather, but I've already whined about the low temps.
This might be Ebbetts Pass...
Our lunch spot at Alpine Lake....fabulous soup and sliders.
I wish I could remember the name of this little town, but there was 14+ mini coopers that were out for the day...some car club. Huge variety of drivers and they had their cars all cute with silly vanity plates....tons of fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)