Berlin, Day 2...

First of all, I have to tell you about dinner last night.  We went to a very nice restaurant down from the hotel which was called “Paulener” (like the bier).   After we were seated a rather frazzled waiter came up and said there was a problem in the kitchen and the only thing they had to serve was a quarter of a roasted duck.  Since my Dad was one of the great white hunters, we ate duck and all kind of strange things when we were kids, so that didn’t throw me at all.  What did throw me is when they brought out my plate – do you have any idea how much  meat is on a quarter of a duck?  A lot!!!  Thank goodness for Dave who finished about an eighth of a duck that I just could not eat.  Way too much food here.  Rolled back to the room and crashed.
Got up this AM and we had decided last night that we were going to go on a walking tour of Berlin.  We started out by buying a 2-day pass for the U (Underground) and headed to the meeting place for the tour.  Thank goodness I bought a scarf while we waited for the tour to start since I had left mine back at the hotel and it was a cold and damp day today.   Our tour guide, Michael, who was British was absolutely wonderful.  We walked to see so many sights here in Berlin that dealt with the Berlin Wall as well as many, many areas that reek in history.  We actually saw the only portion of the Wall which is standing and it gives one the creeps when you think about the way the people lived.  There was a man in our group who lives in Houston now but was originally from East Berlin but got out of there into the Western area.  We also saw Checkpoint Charlie or actually a replica of it since it was torn down when the Wall was taken down in 1989.  We did break for lunch at a bakery which served wonderful homade breads and great sandwiches as well as sinful desserts.  We then took off walking again and ended up at the Brandenburg Gate so I took another 6 or so pictures of that.  (I probably took about that many or more when I was here in 1998.) 
After strolling through the Gate, we took the U to one of the biggest department stores in Berlin – the KaDeWe.  It is an unbelievable place that is over 100 years old and has everything and anything you can imagine.  We spent a good deal of time on the 6th floor was has gourmet everything – from fresh fish to assorted spirits to tobacco products to cafes that serve so many types of food you have to see it to believe it.  Also, every type of chocolate and candies is there.  We decided that if you lived in Berlin, that could be your hobby – going to the KaDeWe and going through one floor at a time just to figure out where things are.  We also went through the men’s department and there was every high end designer’s clothes exhibited.
We did find a nice restaurant close to the KaDeWe for dinner.  I ordered a curry-wurst that came with pomme frites (French fries)  and a small salad.  The curry-wurst (about a foot long) reminded me of mett sausage we have at home but it’s served on a ketchup and curry mixture.  Pretty good but I just could not finish it. 
All in all, we walked about 3-4 miles on the walking tour today and then probably another mile or two on our own – with most of it on cobblestones.  No wonder my dogs are barking!
I am going to wash my face and crash…
Gute nacht…