Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Friday in Berlin was spent by Rachel and the kids near the Hackescher Markt U-Bahn stop visiting Museum Island and the surrounding area.  The first destination was the Pergamon Muesum where we saw chiefly the Collection of Classical Antiquities.  Unfortunately, Rachel forgot to preface the museum trip with "museum etiquette" lesson for the kids.  But in reality, the pieces on display have already survived for thousands of years, right?  Our visit was not cramped by the one security guard who decided to follow us around.  The Pergamon Altar, Ishtar Gate of Babylon, and the Market Gate of Miletus were breathtakingly beautiful.  Edy enjoyed the brightly colored beaded necklaces and earrings especially.  


After lunch, Rachel and the kids walked past the Berlin synagogue and eventually met up with Philip.  Like many other big cities, there are a lot of musicians performing on the sidewalks.  A couple of the better ones included a  7 member brass band playing Latin music, and a one man Peruvian pipe player who also played the drums and maracas at the same time as making giant bubbles and tying balloon swords.  We had to put coins in his hat.

Philip considered it a priority to take a boat tour of Berlin.  This was well worth the effort.  The kids insisted on riding on upper deck of boat.  This was chilly on the outside, but we were warm on the inside because of a special Berlin brew that was fruit flavored and enjoyed by all. 


By far our favorite part of Berlin was dinner with Jason and Jessica Bell and their children on Friday night.  We met them in Göttingen and made a point of getting together again.  Their children are darling, the conversation was sparkling and all our children combined livened the atmosphere of the entire restaurant we ate dinner at. 


Saturday morning, and afternoon, and evening was consumed by our trip home which...hmmm... is now over.

Berlin Synagogue

ancient mosaic floor

What the Pergamon Altar looked like new

The Bells