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Yesterday, we checked out some of the local places in Prenzlauer Berg. The allyoucaneat breakfast place did not open until 10:00 so we went back to another place in the area, found the beer hall and the most well known curry wurst location while on the way to the Pergamon. The curry wurst was excellent as we found out later in the day when we returned to the hostel to take a nap and meet Danny.

By now we are noticing the sublties of mass transport: where on the U-bahn to get on so that you will be close to your exit or to avoid steps, a hassle, grab a tram to skip a busy spot or get to a favorite imbiss (street food/beer) when you get off. For tourists who trade time for trade sightseeing, bus 100 that travels from Alexander Platz to Zoo Garden via Unterden Linden, Reichtag, Tier Garten, Europa Center, was a good afternoon break from the Pergamon to pick up some camera batteries (4AA).

Why do that? Well the rechargable ones failed on about the 2nd shot in the Museum. We search our packs for the backups we always carry. Alas a recent clever packing adjustment turned out to mean the backups were at the hostel. CYA man to the rescue, we enjoy the audio description of the exhibits and make walk a through to spot must have photos athat must wait until after the afternoon break. As it turns out we would recommend this strategy for future museum visits as doing everything at once can be much less effective than breaking the visit into tasks.

The Ishtar Gate reconstructed from Nebcunezer II Babylon, now modern day Iraq, is colored in a blue that leaves one speechless The whole story about its short and flashy history reflects the similar present day arrogance of the USA. One wonders who the next Persia will be and how their side of the story might turn out. I find it curious that these artifacts of history are preserved here in Berlin where the auspicious failures of extreme political approaches to social organization, both left and right, that caused such devastation in the last century.

Later in the day we returned to the hostel for a short nap and recharge. We gobbled the curry wurst with bottle of Berliner Bier. Daniel Torres, Jill Farris' brother-in-law, met us at the hostel about 20:00. He works in a dress shop nearby and he had his bicycle. We walked to a resturant that served Mexican style food and good German Bier. We had a good time visiting and getting to know a bit about each other. He is in the process of sending out his CV for a position as a designer. It might take him away from Berlin and his partner and friends so he is naturally anxious about the uncertainty the future holds after living the past 8 years in Berlin. He was pleased to have us visit him. He had about a 20 minute ride home and when he got there he sent us an email about a place in Heidelberg that we should visit. It was so good to make with the next generation family connections.

Today we are traveling to Frankfort on a trainoute is on the same right-of-way that used to be the corridor from Braunschweig to Berlin in the days of the GDR. As the train sits out in the middle of nowhere waiting, we recall the barbed wire fences, guard tower and GDR soldier from our travels in 1985.

On a brighter note, this train terminates in Interlaken. The annoucements that always say Interlaken remind us of the good times we had there only 2 weeks ago. A train full of new VW from Wolfsburg that we passed through minutes ago just pasted by on the adjacent track make it obvious that the auto plague is still firmly spreading into a climate threated world that cannot tolerate the carbon emissions these auto will produce.

We can hardly wait to eat a brat mit brochen & beer in the Frankfort Hbf, an old German tradition, especially for SD travelers.