VICKI & DON FROM ATC HOSTS JOACHIM AND RENATE KLEIN BERLIN, GERMANY DAILY DATA REPORT

Transcription

1 VICKI & DON FROM ATC HOSTS JOACHIM AND RENATE KLEIN BERLIN, GERMANY DAILY DATA REPORT (VOLUME 2012, EDITION - SEPTEMBER) DATA FOR: Saturday, SEPTEMBER 1, 2012 through

2 Monday, SEPTEMBER 3, DAY 7 IN FORMER EAST GERMANY & WEST BERLIN ADVENTURE Saturday 1st ATC HOSTS JOACHIM & RENATE KLEIN FLONINGWEG 33A (12107) BERLIN, GERMANY Breakfast was enough to last us all day. Goodness, I could sure get used to a life like this.. Vicki and I are so blessed and lucky.. Joachim gave us very detailed directions on how to get to Potsdam.. We rode the M76 Bus to the S7 train then switched to the S1 train to Potsdam.. How about that? It worked.. POTSDAM Potsdam is the capital city of the State of Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, 15 miles southwest of Berlin. The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been "Poztupimi" from a West Slavonic name meaning "beneath the oaks", highlighting the area's many grand oak trees. Potsdam has several

3 claims to national and international notability. In Germany, it had the status Windsor has in Britain: it was the home of the Prussian Kings and Kaisers until Around the city there are a series of interconnected lakes and unique cultural landmarks, in particular the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. Potsdam developed into a center of science in Germany from the 19th century. Today, there are three public colleges and more than 30 research institutes in the city. FREDRIC THE GREAT ART GALLERY Frederick II ( 24 January August 1786) was King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. He is best known as a brilliant military campaigner and organizer of Prussian armies. He became known as Frederick the Great and was nicknamed "Old Fritz. Frederick patronized the arts and philosophers, and wrote flute music. His Art Gallery was created for him to enjoy and he visited it daily, many times for hours... This is one of the only art exhibits in Europe that is hung exactly as he desired...with Great works from floor to ceiling on 6 great 30 foot walls. This was a very exciting place to visit.. Many pieces of art were lost in the War. However, during the Russian occupation in East Germany, over 150 pieces were taken to Russia. Only about 50 have come back.. The others are in Museums in Russia and private homes.. Ten small pieces just came back just last month from America. They had been taken as war booty in WWII by Americans. It is hoped that, as time goes by, more art will be returned to its rightful place in this great Art Museum. This facility is where the very famous

4 Caravaggio is hung.. This may well be his most famous along with his crucifixion of Saint Peter (I stood for over 30 minutes in front of this guy) and the Beheading of John the Baptist, (which is his largest work and is in Malta... and which I have not seen...) It is stunning and almost makes me cry. What a great feeling it was to see

5 PETER PAUL RUBENS <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< RAPHAEL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> this great work.. Doubting Thomas has his finger stuck into the spear wound of Jesus.. to believe that our Lord had really risen. It is a choker and thinker.... WOW, WOW AS IN WOW!! Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci, in Potsdam. His favorite food was Potatoes, so people bring potatoes and put on his NOTE THE BALD HEADED GUY TOP CENTER. THIS IS PETER.

6 THIS IS THE CRUCIFIXION OF SAINT PETER IN the CERASI CHAPEL of SANTA MARIA del POPOLO, ROME gravestone. They are given to the needy on a regular basis. We did not tour the Palace. We are Palace ed out.. They all look nearly the same on the inside.. PALACE GROUNDS These grounds are a sight to see. Many Hectares (acres) of vegetation and lakes.. They are flat beautiful. Once again we did not walk them, but I tell you: they are worth taking the time and seeing

7 THIS GUY HERE IS A HOT DOG STAND HE JUST STANDS THERE AND SELLS HOT DOGS.. WOW! AS IN WOW!! ME AND MY HOLLYHOCKS LIFE IS GOOD LOVE IS BETTER

8 CECILIENHOF PALACE POTSDAM COMMISSION AGREEMENT TRUMAN, STALIN, CHURCHILL. & ATTLEE The Potsdam Conference, the major post -WWII conference between the victorious Allies, was held at the Cecilienhof from July 17 to August 2, Participants were the Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States. The three powers were represented by Joseph Stalin, Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and, later,clement Attlee and President Harry S Truman. Stalin, Churchill, and Truman as well as Attlee, who participated alongside Churchill while awaiting the outcome of the 1945 General election, and then replaced Churchill as Prime Minister after the Labour Party s victory over the Conservatives

9 SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL ONE OF MY LIFETIME HEROS PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN THE HARD DECISION MAKER ANOTHER OF MY LIFE TIME HEROS THE BUCK STOPS HERE

10 CHURCHILL & TRUMAN FLIPPED TO SEE WHO HAD TO SIT NEXT TO STALIN.. TRUMAN LOST! NOW I THINK THAT IS FUNNY! gathered to decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on 8 May (V-E Day). The rooms in the Palace are set up exactly as they were during the conference. This I consider to be a must see for anybody who wants to try to understand what happened after WWII.. This is where Germany was split and given to Russia. This was how East and West Berlin came into being. Almost 30 % of Germany (from 1937 borders) was given to Russia. Berlin became an Island in the split. This later developed into the Wall being built in Berlin to keep the East and West Split.. WOW, what a visit! The rest, as they say: Is History. RIDE HOME We had another sandwich of Dead Lamb at our Greek place.. GOODNESS!!! LIFE IS GOOD -- LOVE IS BETTER

11 Sunday 2nd ATC HOSTS JOACHIM & RENATE KLEIN FLONINGWEG 33A (12107) BERLIN, GERMANY Once again, Breakfast fit for a King.. Life is so very good,,.. We are getting to know the subway system very well.. It does not hurt a bit to have Joachim telling us how to get there. We are so lucky..!!!! We got off of the U6 and at the correct spot. LO and BEHOLD 50 yards from the Subway : CHECK POINT CHARLIE. West Berlin was divided off into three sections.. The North section was French with Check Point Alpha, The English Section had Check Point Bravo, and the American Section had Check Point Charlie... That Simple.. Alpha & Bravo were not used very often: Hence Charlie became a mecca. Now talk about a bone-i-fide tourist trap.. this is one.. We looked at all of the general area. There is a small section of wall in a compound that sells tourist junk made in China. All kinds of data about the Wall and its affect on the world.. There is a big McDonald s next to Check Point Charlie..

12 All of the American Tour busses take their people to it HOP ON, HOP OFF BUS We caught this bus for a complete audio-guide tour of the city.. What a GREAT TOUR.. one that is vital should you ever come here... It covers all of the downtown area in East and West Berlin. We had full descriptions of all of the facilities.. Berlin is nothing except a construction Zone. If the Euro is in trouble, the contractors do not know it.. Most of the work and upgrading is being done in the East German sectors: Latest state-of-the-art Fiber Optic, Solar Power systems, new Electrical Grids and new Microwave sites everywhere. New upgraded sewer systems.. ALL UNDERGROUND!! It has been going on for 20 years and it is expected to continue for another 20 years.. I have NEVER in my life seen this much construction.. This was a very eye opening tour.. Once again: The stuff that the American Media is putting out about how bad the euro is: IS PURE B.S! That simple.. Nobody here knows that their Euro is bad... I have found NO ONE who would trade Passports with me. They all like to go to the United States because they can save money and get more for their Euro. They come to visit the US with empty suitcases, and fill them up with all kinds of supplies that are much cheaper than in Europe. All have a 36 hour work week and all plan on their required HOLIDAY time. Most all have four to six weeks PAID HOLIDAY TIME.. They must take. Now just think about that. The next time you hear FOX or CNN or CNBC or CBS PEOPLE TELLING US how bad the Euro is, Just throw a brick at the TV.. Or better yet: Buy a B.S. filter for it.. Just make sure it is a big one..

13 THE WALL Most all of the wall has been removed. Many pieces were sent to The USA to our American Museums and Presidential Libraries. The libraries of Reagan & Nixon have over 25 foot of it. Pieces of the wall are still being sold to tourists... (Packaged in China). Think about that.. Right down the road is a 151 section of the wall next to the Museum of Terror. On the Bus tour, we passed another 800 meter section.. THIS IS ALL THERE IS OF THE WALL... These sections now are National Monuments and no more can be shipped out of the country THE MUSEUM OF TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR The Topography of Terror is an outdoor museum in Berlin. It is located on the site of buildings which, during the Nazi Regime from 1933 to 1945, were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal instruments of repression during the Nazi era. The buildings that housed the Gestapo and SS headquarters were largely destroyed by Allied bombing during early 1945 and the ruins demolished after the war. The construction of the new Documentation Center and the

14 landscape was finished in The new Documentation Center was officially opened on May 6, 2010 on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. The new exhibition and documentation building and the redesigned historic grounds were opened to the public on May 7, This is really a sight to see. The full Nazi programs are explained in full detail.. These guys were really bad..nothing except punks and killers. So sad! This has become a major site for tourists and WWII People. MORE OF THE WALL The boundary between the American and Soviet zones of occupation in Berlin ran along the Prinz-Albrecht- Strasse, so the street next to the Terror place soon became a fortified boundary, and the Berlin Wall ran along the south side of the street. The wall here was never demolished. Indeed the section adjacent to the Topography of Terror site is the longest extant segment of the outer wall.. I counted 151 sections still standing... There is a longer section of the wall which was not seen from Berlin. The longer East Side Gallery section in Friedrichshain is actually part of the inner wall not visible from West Berlin.. This section was allowed to be used for art projects by local artists and is a sight to see.. There are full books written about its art THE MUSEUM OF THE WALL AT CHECK POINT CHARLIE This also is a MUST SEE.. This place started next to Check Point Charlie just 2 Weeks after the Wall went up.. It was constantly growing as people were finding different ways to escape from the East.. An interesting fact we learned was that almost all of the THE FIRST TRAFFIC LIGHT IN GERMANY... STILL WORKING

15 successful tunnels were dug from the WEST to the East. The East side guards learned early that if someone was buying shovels, they were up to no good and were watched and arrested. Most all of the smuggle cars, that were used, were in this museum.. Some were made like armored cars with concrete doors to prevent bullets from entering. One was a VW Bug that had a small compartment in the front, under the hood, where the owner had smuggled his whole family out one at a time.. Yes, permits were given from the West to the East.. He would bring back a family member each time he came back to the West.. There was a Hot Air balloon that was built, went up at night and brought over two families.. They sewed the balloon with an old foot peddle machine.. The basket was four tanks of fuel on a pallet and a blast pipe with room to stand around it... and over the line they came..disney later made a movie about it called Night Crossing. Two brothers made two 2-seat ultralight planes which were decorated with the East Army Stars and camouflage.. They were going over to get their younger brother.. One plane was a look-out and redundant in case of a failure of the first plane.. They both took off from the West and had their brother back in 16 minutes.. Now think about that one.. OH, Yes! They each had fixed video cameras and made movies of the full flight in broad daylight. All of our Presidents who spoke and visited West Berlin are covered in the exhibits. When JFK spoke at The Brandenburg Gate area, the East Draped the Gate so no one could see through it.. Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Senior Bush.. and of course, Ronald Reagan has a room all to himself. He is really a hero over here because of his request to : Tear This Wall Down This museum is massive and requires constant reading and looking.. We spent over two hours in it and I am sure we could have spent another two with no problem.. There were no pictures allowed.. Such is life.. Nevertheless: it is well worth seeing and reliving this very bad time in History DINNER As all Good Germans and Good American Tourists do: We got sucked into the Check Point Charlie McDonald s... BIG MAC is a German word here. So who says I can t talk German???

16 Monday 3rd ATC HOSTS JOACHIM & RENATE KLEIN FLONINGWEG 33A (12107) BERLIN, GERMANY HAPPY USA LABOR DAY Up and at them early and had Breakfast... Achim had a Doctor Appointment.. We said our good-byes and so-longs to him and kept eating with The Gusto of a Hound Dog... Renate is so very proud of their home. We walked around and looked at Dishes and Crystal and Oooo-ed and awed We had a great time. We are loaded and ready to flee the scene Left at 09:45 to our next stopover.. The trip down these autobahns are OK except, as in our country, the only time they can work on the highways is during summer months. So it does slow you down.. For a Country that is so against walls, their freeways are lined with 3 meter walls.. like driving in a tunnel and it gives many places for graffiti.. These Highway people just have too much money to spend.. (OH, I forgot: The Euro is in bad shape.) DAY 1 0F MOSEL RIVER VALLEY FACILITY FROM HOUSETRIP.COM WE HAD A GREAT TIME WITH RENATE & ACHIM.. YOU CAN TELL BY THE WONDERFUL BREAKFASTS WE HAD.. THEY ARE ANOTHER OF OUR GREAT ATC HOSTS..

17 GERD-R. GOLCZUK VELDENZER STREET 2 BERNKASTEL-KUES, GERMANY We checked into this great apartment.. The only thing wrong was that I flat blew it on the fact that I thought it was a stand alone property on the ground floor.. It is on the 3rd floor with a 4th floor sleep loft.. Being 75 years old, with worn out legs, does not help the access much...no elevator, 32 steps to 3rd floor apartment, 10 steps to sleep loft... HOWEVER THE PLACE IS FLAT BEAUTIFUL:: No one said life is going to be easy.. We in bed at 22:30..