Berlin

Our inner city campground in Berlin is an vacant lot in the the Turkish Muslim section.
A tram station is a 100 meters away,  and there's a million kabob, storefronts.
Up in the am , we buy daily transit passes, and once again were try g to figure out which train , nope wrong one, back 2 stops up the stairs,  across the bridge down the stairs, running. Vroom train leaves......
We get off
A friend from Portland suggested we get reservations to go to the Reichstag, 
I applied last week we got a reservation for 11:45
We run 4 blocks
We get there it's huge,
Of course we're at the wrong side
There's fence, polizie
We walk fast get in a long line, oh yeah one can't be late for their appointment/ reservation.
Oops we get to the front it's the wrong line we rush to the next long line....
We get in...whew
Now they want to see my appointment letter,
Ok it's on my phone, so my IT vp is right here with me, we download, the upload, link on my wallet app.....and vundahbar !
The guy that has been talking nonstop german to me asks me for an I'D,  oh I say
My papers!
Zee
I show him Our passports
He continues non stop german, but for some reason he doesn't get louder, so I can't understand.....
He finds our names
Checks them off and in we go to the glass rotunda of the German house of delegates
We do an excellent audio tour of landmarks in the city that one can see from this excellent vantage point.
While below thru the glass ceiling/ floor we can see the bundastat in session.

There is a huge treed park outside and we learn that what wasn't destroyed in the bombing was cutdownand burned right after the war by survivors for fuel and heat.
We wonder to the memorial for WW2 murdered gypsies, sad..
We walk a little further and are at the Brandenburg gate, which survived the bombing,  a few more blocks the US embassy guarded by berlin polizie.
A few more blocks we're at checkpoint charlie
A replica of the US checkpoint is still in the middle of the road....
Lots of sidewalk murals and pictures , descriptions of the tank standoff of October 27,28 1961...
The 47 kilometer berlin wall was built.
There are still some small sections of the wall still around as symbols.
We then walked to the des topographie terrors
A free museum on the site of the allied destroyed german SS headquarters building
Accurate and  disgusting chronological display of shitler the Nazis and SS  control of germany in the 1930's early 1940's... and the inadequate
Sentences imposed on some of the third Reich  heriarchy....
We found a wonderful Italian restaurant all you can eat buffet for $10 euro's...
Off and on rain all day but lite
Back to the van, Liam heads out looking for some berlin nite life
Liam realizes nite life starts here about midnite plus....

Up early to see more of berlin, we de use to rent bikes for $12 euro's, but the threatening rain. And that one needs a local telephone. Number,  deters us...
A little rain... Ha we live in a rain forest....
We head off to the spy museum, only appropriate in Berlin west germany......
Interesting
Cool stuff
Can't tell you though, then I'd have to kill you....
We head over to the cool neighborhood of kreizburg,  a friend from Portland we meet there planned.
This neighborhood didn't get bombed and all the 5 story buildi vs are intact as once were.
There's a fantastic street fair going on
Free music booths lots fun people
No problems
Plenty of food booths from all over the world
Plenty of beer
Plenty of liquor booths
No one's drunk
No one's an idiot
Hmmm un controlled alcohol consumptionl and peole are being perfectly responsible....must be the???
Good food
Oh and by the way
Almost all public toilets are perfectly clean, and an employee is always there collecting your $1-$2 euro's.....
 The rain starts again we meet a few people
Decide time to head back to the oasis....
Now that were leaving we have another train system figured out...