End of Part III

Go to Part IV...

Teufelsberg

Among the lesser-known-but-still-cool places recommended to us by Helen, there was Teufelsberg, an abandoned American spy-station built at the beginning of the Cold War. We took the car west out of town and made a hike up to it. Unfortunately, they can't just let people climb over this thing because it is in bad disrepair and apparently there is leftover radioactive junk. So they only open the gate for a couple hours on weekends for chaperoned tours. We made the most of it though: walked around the double-fenced perimeter and found a knoll farther away to get a view of the tower and a great panorama of West Berlin.

It's getting dark, no more pictures... time to say goodbye to Berlin!

Mustache of Ivy

This poor fellow doesn't look comfortable with the encroachment of the climbing plants.

Berlin Zu Fuß

We set off on foot to see Berlin in a day. In addition to Checkpoint Charlie, we managed to visit Brandenburger Tor, the Tiergarten, the Holocaust Denkmal, the Reichstag Building, and an art gallery.

Brandenburger Tor.
There was a guy here stamping your postcards with the official date you passed from east to west Germany.

A statue in the Tiergarten to the memory of Mozart, Beethoven, and Handel (on the other side).
The Jewish Holocaust Memorial is a square block full of these stone obelisks which are perfect for hopping over, but which you are not allowed to hop over.

Didn't want to pay the eight euros to go inside, so had a look around the glass perimeter instead.

Berlin Wall

The next rainy morning, we started our tour of Berlin with Checkpoint Charlie and Die Mauer (the Wall).

Officer Pepperspray

Maia livememes in Berlin.

Urban Spree Art Show

After dinner, Helen took us to a dirty underground art show in what appeared to be an old Socialist warehouse. The artists had taken over the premises, grafitti'd it up, and made a livable commune out of it. We saw some interesting line drawings, met some interesting people, inhaled some interesting smoke, and stared at a giant nite-brite mural that seemed to dance to the house music.

Helen Choi

That night in Berlin, we met my old friend from New York, Helen Choi. She happened to be working at Polynoid, so I got to take a look at one of my favorite CG studios while I was at it. Here we are at a Vietnamese restaurant in überhip Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Photo by Tyler

Maia in Front of Grafitti

Maia Not Caring About Stuff Behind Her

 Here is Maia indifferent to the Alexanderplatz Fernseh Turm and the ersatz-Oktoberfest around her.

Here she is nonchalantly dismissing the Berliner Dom. Oh wait! She seems to enjoy this one.

The fact we can't find a picture of the Berlin skyline without at least 5 construction cranes is pretty funny.

Drive to Berlin

Fahrvergnügen (Although this is a Mercedes)! Tyler, Maia and I took a trip to Berlin for 2 days and a night. Tyler drove and we bopped to his house music mix the whole way. If you can't see the speedometer, it says 127 MPH... yes, you can convert the car's computer to Imperial units. Matthias lent us one of his taxis, so it has a fare counter on the rearview mirror. Good thing we didn't have to pay the fare: it would have been something like 1300 Euros for this trip.

Our first sight of Berlin's Alexanderplatz from the road. We stayed right around here.

Tyler gets us safely to Hotel Mercure in Berlin, Mitte.

Bikeride to Fresendorf

Tyler, Maia, Uncle Matthias and I took the bikes out im Land for a ride to Fresendorf. Oh yes, Jule was alongside us the whole way too! Great dog. On the way we saw this big ol' country manor that no one wants to pay to keep up, a charming pastoral church in Giekau, and the Selenter See (lake).

Whew, Made it! Surprise Max, your extended family is here.

Time for Kaffee and Kuchen!

Vegans at Veganz

Veganz is an all-vegan supermarket chain in Hamburg and Berlin. Here, Maia has found a whole endcap full of Nutella replacements. Joy! We finished off our day in Hamburg with an excellent meal here.

Miniatur Wunderland!

The main attraction in Hamburg for me was the Miniatur Wunderland, the world's most extensive model railway. There are three floors and 7 different themed worlds, including Switzerland, Hamburg itself, and America. But with the addition of a working model airport, hundreds of little computer controlled cars and trucks with working lights, a cruise ship, and even a space shuttle, it has grown into something beyond just trains. And they're planning on adding Italy and Africa in the coming years!
I loved it! To say "great attention to detail" seems an understatement. Attention to their attention to detail is the whole attraction. The best part was the little tableaux you would happen upon if you looked close enough and cared to piece the story together. So much fun.

Hamburg Harbor Rundfahr

A tour of the harbor by boat is a popular way to get to know the city.

This is where Paul Allen's yacht, the Octopus, is being built.

Hamburg is the most efficient harbor in the world: a giant container ship like the Cosco Fortune needs only 2 days to get loaded up.

Hamburg

Mom, Dad, Maia & I made a trip to Hamburg to see Miniatur Wunderwelt and also to find Veganz, a vegan supermarket where the ladies could find all they needed to eat for a while. We parked near the Hotel Hafen Hamburg and walked into HafenCity.

End of Part II

Go to Part III...

Kieler Förde

I caught a cargo ship just entering a pool of light on its way out to the Baltic Sea. This is somewhere between Heikendorf and Laboe on the Kieler Förde.

Fehls are Leaving

Martin's sister, Susanne, and her family have to take the van back to Bavaria this morning. :(
Tschuss, Walter und Cousin Aikje!

Photo by Martin

Disco with Yorck

Tonight, Ronja had us over to her apartment in Kiel to get drunk and then go to Disco.

To be honest, we didn't get up to much dancing: just hung around in a bar in the nightlife district and shot the shit with cousin Yorck and his girlfriend. It was great! Matthias' taxi company took us home at 4 am.

THW Handball Game

German handball is popular in Kiel because Kiel has demonstrably the best team in Germany, and arguably the best in the world. The game is a mix between soccer and basketball, I would say, with some of the best parts of each. Matthias, Anne, and the American kids went to a game downtown Saturday evening and it was packed!
Kiel won handily. Aber Natürlich. THW (Tay-Ha-Vay)!

No Adults Allowed!

On Friday night, the American kids and the Bavarian kids played a rousing game of Cards Against Humanity down at the Ferien Haus. No pictures exist of the event, but I would like to commemorate it and invite comments, nonetheless. :)

Fresendorf

Fresendorf is where Uncle Max lives with his wife Bärbel, and daughter Mia. The whole family visited for a walk in the country, kaffee and kuchen, and dinner at Alte Packhus.

Photo by Tyler

Photo by Martin

Oma, Bärbel, cousin Mia, and Aunt Susannah.