2022 - Fall in Europe and More

The last two Christmas markets we visited were Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and Romerberg in the Altstadt in Frankfurt.  Plus, I got to celebrate my 75th birthday on our last day in Berlin.   The Charlottenburg Palace Christmas market was in the courtyard of the palace.  The stalls didn't open until 2 pm about the time we got there so it wasn't too crowded.  We found a few more products to buy plus enjoyed mugs of Eierpunsch (basically warm eggnog mixed with some white wine and topped with whipped cream) - a nice birthday drink on a cold day, I have to say!  There was also a small brass band playing at this market which added to the Christmas ambiance.   That evening, we celebrated my birthday in a packed restaurant not far from Hackescher Markt called Sucre et Sel - and, yes, it was a French restaurant!  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate a milestone with my sister and close friends.q The following day we flew to Frankfurt to visit ...

The first time I went to Berlin I stayed in the part of the city that was the former West Berlin.  Since then, I have always stayed in what would have been East Berlin and usually near Hackescher Markt as it is more centrally located to most of the major sights in the city.  However, we did want to visit the western side, particularly to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, Kurfurtendamm aka Ku'damm (the famous shopping street in Berlin often likened to Paris' Champs des Elysees) and pay a visit to Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe,) the famous department that is somewhat like Harrods.  Thankfully, getting around in this city is very easy be it with S-bahn, U-bahn, buses or Uber.  So, the #100 bus (recommended from Alexanderplatz to Zoolischer Garten) passes by most of Berlin's major historical sites.   Our visit to West Berlin started with a stop at the Kaiser Wilhelm Church which was bombed during the war.  A new modern church has been built beside it.  Bo...

[Admittedly I am back home but am going to finish this blog about my 2+ month adventure.  The hotel in Berlin, while perfect in many ways, did not have a dependable Internet so I gave up trying to write blogs.  So, I will continue the story in a couple more posts from the comfort of my home.] Following our day at the Reichstag building and the visit to the Topography of Terror, the next one seemed to focus on Berlin, and Germany in general, during the Cold War.  It is yet another important part of Berlin's history.  While many are aware of what happened, I have included the following information as a "refresher" or to augment readers' knowledge.  The following is from the website, history,com After World War II, defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British and French zones of occupation.    The city of Berlin, though technically part of the Soviet zone, was also split, with the Soviets taking the eastern part of the city .  After a ...