A Sunny, Warm Day in Berlin

Wednesday, July 20, 2016--Berlin

We were up early to meet friends for breakfast at Gasthaus Lentz.  Detlef, whom I have known since 1982, Claus, and Gerti joined us.  We sat outside enjoying the fresh air.  I had a baguette with smoked salmon, cucumbers, dill, and horseradish.  We talked about anything and everything.  I asked a question I have been asking everyone in Europe:  Should I vote for Trump?  As usual, I got a resounding, "NO!!!"  The other political talk was about Erdogan in Turkey.  Everyone here is concerned about what is happening there for several reasons.  They need the assistance of Turkey in holding back the refugees as the EU finalizes its plan for handing them.  They are concerned about the number of Turks who may want to enter Europe following the recent coup and because of future actions by Erdogan (such as today's announcements that university professors would not be allowed to leave the country).  Finally, they are concerned about Putin's influence on Turkey.  No one wants Turkey to be admitted to the EU.  They see Erdogan as headed toward establishing an Islamic dictatorship there.

After breakfast, Dieter, Detlef, and I took a 3 1/2 hour boat tour on the River Spree and other tributaries through various parts of Berlin.  There were interesting things to see along the entire way.  Much of what we saw, I had seen from streets before, but the perspective from the river is a different one.  We passed nice apartment buildings (new and old), the new government buildings, the restored parliament building, museum island, the redeveloped area of Potsdamer Platz, etc.  We also passed people sunbathing, playing, walking, etc., along the riverside.  One thing that was interesting to see was that the Technological Museum has one of the old American planes that flew relief supplies to the citizens of West Berlin when East Germany cut off all road traffic suspended out toward the river on the outside of the building.

Following the boat trip, we spent time sitting in the shade in a beer garden beside a lake in the Tiergarten, a large park in the center of Berlin.  It was a long and tiring outing, but it was nice to see old friends and to see so much of Berlin in one unusual type of tour.

After resting for a while, we went to a nearby local restaurant with a side garden where we both ordered the wienerschnitzel.  It was far too large for me and came with a huge mound of fried potatoes with onions and a small salad.  I've been traveling for two weeks, and I have over-eaten the whole way.  Tomorrow, the diet starts!