Guten Morgen / Ya Sas

Saturday evening I returned from my delightful 2-week vacation in Germany and Greece. In Germany, I visited Berlin, and in Greece, we toured Athens, Corinth and Mycenae. I’m still on a vacation high, and am having major issues concentrating at work today. I give it about a week, and I’ll be back to my normal productive self.

I have about 300+ photos to sort through, and about 100 emails to write to people I met along the way during the trip. I met a few lovely people from Switzerland, Germany, England and California – so next year will be a great travel year to visit my new friends.

I will be sure to post some photos here, but most of my personal pics will of course be on Facebook. Just shoot me a friend request if you want to take a look.

Since there’s no way I can write up a summary of all the wonderful things I did for the last two weeks, I’ll post a brief lists of some of my experiences during the trip. I apologize if I’m leaving things out. The two weeks were jam-packed with activities and tours.

Where We Toured (Berlin, Germany):
1. Pergamum Museum (Museum Island)
2. Walked the ‘Zoogarten” area
3. Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
4. Strolled the “Kurfurstendamm”
5. Visited a remaining part of the Berlin Wall
6. Visited Brandenburg Gate
7. Strolled the Unter den Linden
8. Walked Checkpoint Charlie and surrounding area

Where We Toured (Greece):
1. Hadrian’s Arch
2. Acropolis/Parthenon
3. Areopagus
4. Plaka (and Hadrian’s Library)
5. Port of Piraeus (Mikrolimano)
6. New Acropolis Museum
7. Ancient Corinth & Mycenae
8. Islands of Hydra and Poros
9. Syntagma Square
10. Monastiraki

What I Loved About Berlin, Germany:
1. The architecture and ornate street lamps
2. Learning the differences in history between West Berlin and East Berlin
3. Finding out Berlin is one of the poorest German cities, but probably the most charming
4. Touching the Berlin Wall
5. Sampling real German chocolates (miss the nugget candies!)
6. Seeing the actual entrance gate to Babylon (in the Pergamum Museum)
7. Touring a real concentration camp
8. Seeing the hotel where Michael Jackson dangle’s his baby from the balcony.
9. Walking through Brandenburg Gate
10. Learning there’s more to Berlin than World Word II.

What I Loved About Greece:
1. Having REAL Greek food – fresh olive oil, feta cheese, gyros, souvlaki, and moussaka
2. The view of Port of Piraeus at sunset
3. Riding a donkey through the streets of Hydra
4. Buying local paintings from local artists in Poros
5. The psycho driving skills of Athenians
6. Shopping for leather bags in Plaka
7. The full view of Athens from atop the Acropolis
8. The nighttime view of the illuminated Parthenon
9. Spotting excavations of ancient ruins all over the city (including in the metro)
10. Walking where the Apostle Paul walked.