Berlin

It took about 6 1/2 hours of driving to get us to Berlin, Germany.  We settled into our apartment and then took a bus to the West side of the city.  We went into the remains of  Kaiser Wilhelm  Memorial church.  It has been stabilized, but not repaired since the bombings during WWII.  The very small part that we could go into was beautiful, but I was really disappointed by the exterior.  The outside of the building was COMPLETELY  covered in scaffolding.  We couldn't see any of the tower.  :( 

Our next stop was Hard Rock Cafe.  Judith's first time.

This was a building near our apartment.  The wall in front is not part of the infamous Berin Wall.  There is just one small part (memorial) where the wall remains standing.

A building on the corner of the street our apartment was on.

A map of 1960s Berlin near Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie.  The point in the American sector where foreigners could cross from East Berlin to the West. 

These guys were not official US military.  :)  If they were, I don't think they would have charged us 2Euro for the picture.  They were however, VERY friendly and seemed to enjoy their jobs.



The bear is the Berlin mascot.  These guys were all over the place.  (Like the steers in Houston.)



This is the Memorial section of the Berlin Wall.  On the left of the photograph was where the Gestapo and SS offices were located.  The buildings have been torn down, but under the glass is kind of an open air museum retelling of the Nazi Party's rise to power and the events that followed.  It is actually in the "basement" of the demolished buildings. 

Where the wall no longer stands there are stones (or steel in this location) that follows the path of where the wall once stood. 



This is the beautiful Berliner Dom.  We didn't go inside.  Ezra was in an anti-picture mood, but you can see him heading off toward the fountain on the back left.

Jonas paying homage to the arts on Museum Island.

This is the National Gallery.

Mike and the boys dwarfed by the Brandenberg Gate.

The boys and a Berlin bear.  Yes, this is the landmark you have seen in pictures and videos of Nazi rallies.

A photo op while we were waiting on Mike to come out with our Starbucks Coffee.

Allison Family at the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin.

This was an awesome Jewish Memorial.  We were supposed to be appropriately mindful of the great loss Jews suffered during WWII.  We tried to be, but it was hard in such a great place to run and play.  I think we would have been the only ones observing such silence and reflection as most folks were climbing, eating, and running among the blocks. 

 It was impossible to find children once we lost sight of them, which of course was an endless game for them.  This picture was taken minutes before they ran off again, hiding amidst the stone pillars.

Enjoying an ice cream across from the Memorial.  Despite the chilly, windy 60 degree weather, it's never too cold for ice cream!

This is the equivalent of our White House.  The president was in residence because the flag was flying.

We intended to tour the Reichstag (the Parliment building), but it was only open by appointment on Saturday.  That didn't stop us from playing on the grassy lawn in front of it though!

 Ezra was anti-picture again.  He was only concerned with "being a bear".

Jonas actually took this picture.  Awesome, huh?!?!



Cute Judith videos

Judith started walking about 6 weeks ago or so, but just this past week, it's become her preferred mode of travel.  She'll be chasing after her brothers in no time.

 

Playmobil Funpark!

Two days after Mike's return home, we celebrated our country's independence by going on a trip with the Molls to Playmobil Funpark.  It was the greatest kiddie amusement park ever.  EVERYTHING was geared toward young children.  In fact, I don't recall seeing any kids over the age of 12 or so.  My kids could do/play everything and DID.

 

Here is a picture of Jonas and Evan climbing up a net thing.  Below is Ezra at the top of the net thing.  This little area was right at the front gate and was "construction" themed.  There was also an open building next to the play area where we could go in and play with tons of Playmobil sets.  There were several pirate stations, some farm stations, and a toddler area that was perfect for Judith.

Here is Ezra at the top of the net thingy in the construction area.

 Evan, followed by Jonas, followed by Rachel coming down a slide.

The huge building where we had lunch had Playmobil stations set up everywhere.  This is Ezra playing with a house set.  (Some of these pics were taken by Jeremy--Thanks!!)

We joked about Rose and Ezra being on their first date.  Ha!  I don't think Rose would have said so.  She's a full year older and and think she was more interested in helping to LEAD Ezra to the next play area since she'd been to the park several times before.  Plus, Ezra did indeed need to be led.  He was forever wandering off, lured by the next cool thing he saw.

Mike climbing up the castle walls.  There was also a rock climbing part of the wall and Ezra scaled that all by himself!

Ezra inside the castle.

 This was a farm play area.  They could pour water on the horses and cows and brush them.  Jonas is blocking the view, but the cows also had udders that you could "milk" (water came out). 

This was an area where they could play with Playmobil water toys in the troughs.  They had two sizes. 

This one was perfect for Judith and there was a bigger one. 

A huge "treehouse" to play in.

The dinosaur area.

Hurray for the Playmobil king and queen!

Hurray for Playmobil pirates!

Mike and the boys paddled around on this raft after playing on the pirate ship.  The water was only about 3 feet deep.  As precarious as that looks we did not witness any "men overboard".  

 

Pirate Daddy and his two buccaneers!



Judith and Jonas playing with the water toys. 

We had SUCH a fun day!

The last of Cassis pics

Mike is back from his 3 month TDY.  Yay!  We have lots of trips lined up for our last 4 months overseas, so I figured I should get the remaining pictures from our last trip blogged before we have any more pics to post. 

 

On Day 3 we hung out in Cassis.  We took it easy in the morning.  Mike and the boys played at the apartment and Mommy and Judith hit the local market.  Then we went to ride the carousel by the beach.

The family on the beach in Cassis.

On Day 4 we went to Arles.  There is another amazing Roman arena here where bullfights and other displays take place.  It was raining so we decided on a petit tourist train to see the city.  In this picture you can see one of the towers left over from when they bricked it up and used it as a fortress during the Middle Ages. 

Brother hug.

"Hurry up random guy taking the picture for us!  It's raining!"

Riding another carousel in Arles.  Jonas is on the famous Arles bull.  Bulls are also emblematic of this area because in the Camargue (delta region just south of Arles) bulls and horses live in the wild and are reared for bullfights. 

A huge temple between where we parked the car and where we got on the little train.

Raining!

On day 5 we hung out in Cassis again.  During the morning we drove along the cliffs.  Because there were no railings (except at the very highest point) to protect wandering children from going over the edge and falling to their certain deaths, we only brought 1 child with us at a time at the various points where we stopped. 

No railings, but there was a sign to remind us of the dangers...

Confidence in a Speedo on the beach in Cassis.

Ezra and Daddy enjoying the water.  It was pret-ty chilly.



Although Judith looks like the likely culprit, it was actually Daddy who buried Jonas.