I was heading to Prague — it was recommended from a good source — but I felt the drive from Kiel to the Czech Republic was too long for one day so I split it up and drove Friday afternoon to Berlin. I stayed at a wonderful hotel just off the famous Kurfurstendamm at a wonderful little hotel:’

I didn’t have a lot of time in Berlin, it was just a stopover, so I jumped on a bus and started down the KuDamm — as the Berliners call it. Quite a street — 5th Avenue, Rodeo Drive, and Oxford Street rolled into one. Beautiful shops, beautiful things, and beautiful people:

and

I loved the design on that building in the rear — with the glass facade.

The Germans do remember the horrors of the war, and an area at the foot of the Ku Damm is reserved as a memorial.  Many Jews lived in that area before WWII and many ended up in cities listed here:

Germans hurried by the sign and other monuments in memorial. They were on their way to the subway, or to work, or to play. But they will not forget….

I decided to check out the Kaiser Wilhelm Church — Or the remains of it. I knew the famous relic was on the Ku Damm — but where?

This poster told the story — It’s being renovated.  They aren’t going to repair it to its prewar design, but want to leave it as is, as a reminder of what horrors war can bring.

You can just see the tower and cross peeking out of the scaffolding. If you come this summer, it should be open.

I stopped in at a local bar for a beer and struck up a conversation with the bartender. He spoke good English (learned it in school) but wasn’t happy here at the bar, He wanted to become a policeman but alas, he hadn’t done well enough in school. “I was a little rough in school, and look where I ended up.”  Nice guy. Good Beer.

I had dinner in a Madrid based restaurant with tapas and other food from Spain. It was great, as far as the tapas were concerned, but I had much better paella at Spain Restaurant in Newark. So there you go.

Up early in the AM and off to Praha.

JVH