Farewell to Berlin

We spent our final morning in Berlin at the famous Zoogarten. It is located in the Tiergarten, and just around the corner from our hotel. It was a beautiful place where you could get up close with many animals. Berliners are so fortunate to have such a wonderful place for families. This is truely a must see in Berlin.

As for our overall impression of Berlin, we were exposed to the horrific history of discrimination, genocide and war. As described, "there were 55 million people killed in WW2, all because of insane politics" and it leaves you with a very sick feeling in your stomach. And, as in Hiroshima, Berlin's buildings and streets lacked the quirkiness and old work charm. Only when we got out and mingled with locals were we able to get the feel of this vibrant city. We did find some excellent German food. Our favorite restaurant was Dicki Wirtins (Bad Landlady) with it' sultze, dumpings, cabbage, schnitzel, and smoked porkchops. Our accomodations, the Hotel Astoria was two thumbs-up, we couldn't have had a better location and our rooms were more than adequate.

We boarded our train for Prague in the mid-afternoon. arriving at our hotel around 8:00 p.m.. We checked in and took a stroll up the street to a nearby restaurant. Our waiter was a very entertaining NHL buff. He and Ron exchanged lots of hockey stats, it was fun!