Berlin: Skates

Finally, we go on a big shopping spree to Berlin Alexanderplatz where Mum buys me inline skates.

Very fist steps in the yard of the hostel.

Oops!

Berlin: more culture

It's not all about family and ice cream. Mum also takes us to a couple of culture trips.

The columns of the Holocaust Memorial make for good hide and seek.

Hmm, maybe not.

On a Spree cruise along the city buildings.

With Berlin Dom in the background.

The people sit along the river bank and call it "beach". 

The Berlin Dome cupola. 

In autumn, they celebrate Thanksgiving in the Berlin Dome.

Kaiser's emblem, the eagle.

In the crypt they store old caskets of kings, queens and noble people.

The Pergamon museum of ancient history. 

A famous old mosaic.

The entrance way of old Babylon.

This one os for Lev: Evolution of modern chess: only for the last 500 years the powerful queen was established, before they had other pieces with different moves on the chess board. 

An ivory pice.

Coins and stamps.

The largest coin ever: A 1 million Canadian Dollar coin.

Berlin: Anna, Andreas, Paul and Bela

After all these activities with the Schremmers, it is time to meet with Dad's side of the family again: Great cousin Anna and her family. I am thrilled to learn that there are more Kappelmanns, and some of them live right in the centre of Berlin, in Prenzlauer Berg.

Paul is seven years old and Bela three. They let us play with all their toys. We spend a lot of time with the car tracks.

Later, we all go out for spaghetti ice cream (that is, vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce and white chocolate flakes) and a big play on the play ground.

Bela and Paul with spaghetti ice cream.

clockwise: Mum, Andreas, Anna, Bela, me, Paul, Jonas.

Trying to be silly.

Berlin Marathon

It got us by surprise, but we happen to be in Berlin on the week-end of the world famous Berlin Marathon. This is more than just a marathon. There is a skater marathon on the Saturday - and many skaters happen to live in our hostel and happen to skate along the long corridors. Finally on Sunday, the wheelchairs and the runners go to the start line.

From our hostel we walk a few meters down the road to meet the marathon parcours at kilometre 21, halftime! It's a good spot to watch with a large bend and not too many spectators who mainly wait near the finish line.

We ask a few officials, and they tell us that the first runners will be exactly where the helicopters are hovering over the city. They also tell us that the first runners are expected at 10:17 am (in 17 min from when we enquire at 10:00 am). I am impressed that they have such a precise estimate of the runner's arrival.

The publicity preparations below Siegessäule.

First come all those athletes is wheelchairs.

They have all different sorts of wheelchair designs.

This man is taking a marathon video with his GoPro.

Finally, the first runners: all are black.

A long time later the first white runner.

Looking and waiting and looking and waiting.

Berlin: Frank and Eva

I can now draw my extended family tree! After meeting great cousin Torsten in Heidelberg and Bruchsal, and doing the bicycle trip with great uncle Heinz, I meet another great cousin of mine, cousin to Mum.

Frank and mum are three years apart and last met 17 years ago. Frank owns a scaffolding company in Berlin. Frank and Eva invite us over for a BBQ in their garden where Jonas and I can run and play. We are also taken on a tour with the big truck.

It is such a nice day that we meet again, and again. The third time, we meet at KaDeWe, the most exclusive shopping mall in Berlin. Eva has some Moët champagne with Mum whilst Frank takes Jonas and me to the toy section. We can choose anything we like. I am certainly not going for the smallest Lego on offer! Thank you Frank, I am soooo enjoying my Ninjago Lego!

Frank and Mum at Frank's "beach", a sandy corner in the garden.

clockwise: Frank, Mum, Eva, Jonas, me. 

A tour with the big truck. They also have a crane in their back yard!

Another Brandenburger Tor. This one made from marzipan at KaDeWe.

Berlin: Bundestag Dome

We have to get our tickets for Bundestag Dome the day before, and we are booked into a specific time slot. It is quite impressive to have a close look at the building where political decisions are being made.

At the foyer of Deutscher Bundestag.

The audio guide provides information.

On the way up the glass spiral.

The very top under the open roof.

Looking from the top into the hall of the representatives.

A side view of the mirrors reflecting the sun light.

Berlin: Seven days in the German Capital

When Jonas and I were two years old, Dad and Mum had taken us to Berlin. Back then, they took a photo of us in prams in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Mum said that she hated Berlin then, as she could barely manage the cobblestone with two prams. Now six years on, it is time to revisit the German capital, for some culture as well as to visit family.

Another photo of Jonas and me at the Brandenburger Tor.

The Currywurst was invented in Berlin.

My Hyde attacking a Currywurst.

Walls and wall memorials everywhere. This one is a memorial of the Warsaw separation of the Jews.

The famous wall, as a memorial, along the East Side Gallery near Warschauer Platz.

Hackesche Höfe.

We need a break from all the sight seeing - at Gleisdreieck playground.

It is bedtime for me, yawn!

Day 8: Last day, from Schillighörn to Dangast

The last day of our bicycle trip. We have got a big day ahead, from Schillighörn to Petra's camper in Dangast, almost 50 km away. This is the longest trip and Mum is slightly concerned about the distance.

It turns out she needn't have to worry. The weather gods are with us! It is the only day on our trip that it is overcast, and we even have 10 min of rain in the morning. However, the winds are blowing strongly, and they are blowing north to south, the direction we are riding! The cycle track is new with very smooth concrete. Even without pedalling, we make 10 km/h.

I challenge Petra to a speed race. Her speedometer proves that I am doing 31 km/h max at Wilhelmshaven! Jonas is racing Opa Siegfried but only manages 27.8 km/h. I am the speed king of the day!

Petra, me and Jonas inspect the gates of the water lock at Hooksiel.

Lovely hair style: brown sheep with black and white faces around Wilhelmshaven.

Someone has left these hay balls on our track, we can hardly get past.

Almost at our destination, the last group foot of the trip: Petra, Opa Siegfried,, me, Jonas, Heinz and Oma Elke. Mum takes the photo.