We were tempted by Berlin’s growing roster of Michelin-starred restaurants (13 and counting)–and even made reservations at one. In the end, however, we decided to save our primarily culinary experiences to the French and Italian legs of our trip. Even so, we found a few good and atmospheric venues to sample all types of primarily […]
Berlin
Berlin Museum Highlights
Berlin has two large concentrations of world-class museums, plus a number of smaller ones scattered throughout the city. Given our limited time, we had to be selective. While we briefly explored both of the big museum clusters—Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and Kulturforum–we selected three museums from these two clusters. plus one Nazi regime historical site on […]
Berlin Rebuilding
Joyce and I first visited Berlin in 1991, while the Berlin Wall was still in the process of being torn down. While the Western section was relatively modern and lively, the recently opened Eastern section of the city was characterized by depressing Communist-era buildings and a somewhat foggy atmosphere, like it had just emerged from […]
Berlin Awakening: Recovering from an 80-Year Bad Dream
Joyce and I first (and last) visited Berlin in 1991, while the Berlin Wall was still in the process of being torn down. While the Western section was relatively modern and lively, the recently opened Eastern section of the city was seemed to be in something of a haze; like it had just woken from […]
Our Role in the 1991 Russian Coup: Accidental Eyewitnesses to History
Seeing yesterday’s news about the 20th anniversary of the 1991 Russian coup brought back memories of one of our most memorable, and certainly one of our most historic trips—one where we found ourselves in the midst of history, without even realizing it. The Remnants of the Berlin Wall Tom had business in Berlin. After […]