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The day began with purchasing train tickets so the group would be mobile tourists.  First stop, the Opera House.  The four were approached by men wearing costumes to buy theater tickets.  Clothes for the concert?  No problem.  They could wear casual clothes because Vienna was casual in the summer.  (Did you know that? )  They only had 7 tickets left in the A section which they would sell to us because we were so nice.  Blah, blah blah.  The group was able to resist the sale.

They continued on with a walk through the city.  Some of the sights that they saw were the following:

Opera House – AKA Wiener Staatsoper – (This was confusing to Debbie –  She thought Wiener Staatsopr was the name of a tour company and kept looking for the Opera House).

Albertinaplatz – Contains several museums and the Monument Against War and Fascism

Kaisergruft – The Imperial Crypt (Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church.  The bones of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. (Fun fact – A Hapsburg is buried in three places – bones, heart and organs in different places.)

Neuer Markt –  Has lots of statues and other stuff

Graben – The Graben is one of the most famous streets in Vienna’s first district, the city center.  (We walked down it.)

Demel – Chocolate Club field trip – Ultimate Viennese chocolate shop packed full of tourists.  (Debbie resisted the urge to purchase any more chocolate).

St. Peter’s Church – The oldest church building (of which nothing remains today) dates back to the Early Middle Ages, and there is speculation that it could be the oldest church in Vienna.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral – St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.  (Okay, Debbie failed on this – When the group got there, the church was closed for the day and only open 1 hour the next day).  The church was circled several times with multiple pictures taken.  Vienna gingerbread was also purchased which was quite tasty and helped keep strength up for touring.

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Larry:  People stood too close to me. I felt the togetherness of the tour group.  Jawohl! (He has been wanting to use this word from Hogan Heroes days).

Joyce:  Well, it was informative but did you check with Trip Advisor about this tour? However, did you find this tour?

Jerry:  It was okay.  I felt energy in the building and energized by the tour.  I might take up singing again.

Larry:  Just wait until you get to Salzburg and the hills are alive with the Sound of Music.

Debbie:  Who ever planned this tour brought the Wein Opera alive.  Maybe we will be invited to the debutante ball in 2018.  We should start practicing the waltz.  It was a magnificent tour!

 

 

 

Today was a travel day and the group took two Ubers to the train station.  Joyce told them to meet by the restaurant that they visited when they got to Prague.  Debbie and Larry were going alone and Debbie was somewhat concerned.

Debbie:  “Well, okay but what if we get let out somewhere else?”

Joyce:  “There is only one entrance.  You can’t get lost.  (Wrong, Joyce – wrong).”

Debbie:  “I might get lost.”

Joyce:  “You can’t get lost”

Debbie:  “Well, Larry might get lost.  You know he just wanders away.”

Joyce:  “He can’t get lost”.

Thirty minutes after arriving at the train station, dragging bags around 3 floors, Debbie & Larry confessing to each other that they didn’t know where the restaurant was nor the name; they found the meeting place.  Joyce and Jerry were not yet at the meeting place because they too were dragging bags up and down the train station.  Joyce conceded that there was more than one entrance and one could get lost.  (Everyone’s hands were sweaty)

Next mission –  spend their Czech money before they left.  The exchange rate was 25 to 1 for Euro.  Joyce exchanged her money but suggested that they spend Debbie’s money.  (Debbie thinks this just doesn’t sound right)  Joyce went shopping and bought sodas for the train.  She still had money left which she gave to Debbie and Larry to spend in the same store and they just couldn’t do it.  (There was a line, the store just didn’t have the right food and their hands were still sweaty).  Debbie finally found a store and sauntered off to spend the money when Joyce shouted out that it was 15 minutes before the train left.  (Debbie says that this really did not help her concentration.  She felt like she was on one of those shopping shows where you have to spend the money and fill the basket in 60 seconds.)  Debbie ended up with some kind of mystery roll and 2 packages of Oreo’s.  She still had money left. (Okay, if you think you can do better, I’ll meet you at HEB with a couple of foreign dollars and a stop watch).

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The group arrived in Vienna and traveled to the flat to meet Philip, the owner.  (Debbie really liked Philip because he carried two bags at a time into the flat for them.  Debbie staggered off the train with just one so it was impressive.  She hopes that Philip will be available for carrying bags when she leaves.)

Once in the flat, a rotating shower schedule was developed since the bathroom situation was challenging.  The schedule approach has been fairly successful except Larry keeps try to put himself in position 1.  He can only remember that he should be in position one which is the head of the line. (Everyone else is working with him and now convinced him that he is position number 2).

That night, they ate at an Austrian restaurant, Wilder Mann, with  staff that spoke very little English.  Debbie continued the schnitzel quest across Europe.  Joyce had ribs and chicken.  She was inventive in clucking like a chicken to describe her meat selection which pleased the waitress immensely.  After the original clucking, the waitress clucked at Joyce each time that she came to the table.  (Debbie thinks the kitchen refers to Joyce as the Chicken Lady.) .

They are now residing in Vienna, Austria.

 

 

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Today was a small tour to Terezin.

History Moment:  Terezin or Theresienstadt concentration camp or ghetto,  was a concentration camp established by the SS during World War II in the garrison city of Terezín located in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.  Thousands of people died there, some killed outright and others dying from malnutrition and disease. More than 150,000 other persons  were held there for months or years, before being sent by rail transports to their deaths.   It was also used for propaganda and to fool the Red Cross. Our guide was a Czech historian who specializes in Terezin history and has published 2 books on the topic.  It was an extremely sad and thought provoking day.  Due to the sensitivity of this subject, we only published pictures.

After yesterday, a slower pace was set for the day.  Some of the places that we visited were :

• National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror – The Church of Saints Cyril & Methodius houses a moving memorial to the seven Czech paratroopers who were involved in the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich in 1942

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Astronomical Clock – Everyone makes a big deal about this clock.  On the hour, the windows open and all 12 disciples look out the windows and then the bell rings the hour.  Crowds gather to see this clock.  Debbie can’t tell what time it is and has to count bells.  It is a neat looking clock but doesn’t seem very functional to the people that can’t read it.  (Debbie thinks the others can’t read it either but won’t admit it).

• Nicholas Church – Prague Lesser Town – The Church of Saint Nicholas is a Baroque church in the Lesser Town of Prague. It was built between 1704-1755 on the site where formerly a Gothic church from the 13th century stood, which was also dedicated to Saint Nicholas. You got to love the way the Czechs name things.  Lesser town of Prague or Old New Synagogue.  They built a new synagogue so named the old one the Old new Synagogue.

• Wenceslas Square – Debbie’s definition – This is a big old square where a lot of history and stuff happened.  King Wenceslas and the song?  People like to protest here.  They jiggled their keys to send the Communists home.

• Tyn Church, or The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn – This church dominates one side of the Old Town Square. In the early 15th century, the Tyn Church came under the control of the Hussites. But this was a tumultuous period in the Czech lands, when Hussites were being slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics. In the end, Catholic Jesuits took control, recasting the bell, and replacing the Hussites symbolic chalice with a large figure of Mary from the melted crown.  This is an impressive looking church from the outside.  It towers over the square.  However, the only way to enter the church is to walk through a restaurant.

Still no ice cream for those in need.

The target for today was Praha Castle.  Praha is the Czech translation for Prague.  (It took Debbie awhile to figure this out and it is unclear if Larry is aware yet.  Debbie is pretty sure if she left him somewhere that he could not get back home).   Prague Castle is the number one tourist site in Prague.  It towers over the city and can be seen from most city locations.

Joyce had her group up early with “Boots on the Ground” outside at 7:30. (The group likes to delude themselves with the idea that they have a certain military precision.)  They marched to the tram and with assistance from locals were able to validate tickets.  They and the school children rode the tram up the hill.

Safety Moment:  It was explained on the first day that as long as one was in a crosswalk that the pedestrian has the right of way.  It has been our experience that this is not always true and you need to look like you are Czech or proceed with a stink eye to cross the road.  Debbie has asked that if she is hit to please drag her back into the cross walk.  However:  Trams trump everything.  They have the right of way over pedestrians who then have to fall back to red light/green light concept (somewhat similar to the game).  Trams are very quiet and go all over the road.  Debbie tends to stand looking left / right / left / right until she darts across the road.  (She has been yelled at by the group.  Joyce had her jacket grabbed to save her from the tram).  Anyway, it felt good to be inside a tram and not outside as the group traveled up the hill.)

The little group arrived at the castle before it opened.  (Yes, you read that right – before it opened).  It is an interesting setup.  The President of the Czech Republic has his office in one of the buildings.  Security searched all bags before entry.  Several cars came driving through at a fast pace to park by the President’s office building.  (There didn’t seem to be much concern for tourist safety as they whipped around the blind corners.  Maybe they don’t know that trams trump them? ) The four ran around and took pictures for about 45 minutes before opening thus you will see pictures without all of the know tourists in the shot.

Joyce was 4^th in line for the ticket office.  (We know that it would have been 1^st if Debbie hadn’t gotten into an incident with the toilet attendant yelling at her “Pay Now!  You Pay Now!”.  It is not Debbie’s fault that she got there before the attendant came to work.  Debbie was more than willing to pay.  What if she had already put her money in the box?  What about that “You Pay Now Lady?”)

Once tickets and audio guides were purchased the group set off with a strict time limit on the audio guide of 3.5 hours.  (The guides were almost the cost of a ticket – not cheap with a big penalty for being late plus a big deposit fee.   We are talking les cheap girl heart attack cost).  Tickets could be purchased for varying configurations. The group had purchased option B which included:

• Old Royal Palace – The Old Royal Palace is part of the Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Its history dates back to the 12th century and it is designed in the Gothic and Renaissance styles.  (You could not take pictures and we don’t know why.  It is a cement building with nothing in it.  They used to ride horses in it but you can’t do that now.)
• Basilica of St. George – St. George’s Basilica is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920.
• Golden Lane – Somewhat like Williamsburg but people don’t dress us and it is really crowded
• Vitus Cathedral – St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services, coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. The cathedral is a place of burial of several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops. (Debbie says this is why everyone goes to Prague Castle).

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As good tourists, they tried to go to several of the locations not on their ticket but were denied entry.  (Wrong tickets and they really didn’t want to go anyway. Much to Debbie’s relief, they were able to return the audio guides on time to get back the deposit.  They proceeded to the gardens and a 1000 more pictures.  Next was lunch  outside the castle and away from the main tourist drag.  By the time the group left, there were tourists everywhere so it was good that Joyce had them there early.  (As much as it hurts Debbie to get up early, this model may be used in other cities in the future).

Just a side note:  The castle was a medieval castle not a Cinderella or Versailles chateau.  The church was pretty spectacular but the castle was more rectangular and not that great.  .

After lunch, Joyce announced that we were going to walk back to the flat.

Debbie: “That looks pretty far all the way down there.  How far do you think it is?”

Joyce:  “A mile”

Debbie: “Really?  Cause I do a lot of walking and it looks pretty far?”

Joyce:  “It is a mile”

Larry:  “My foot sort of hurts”

Debbie:  “Can we have ice cream?”

Joyce:  “Yes, wrapped in those cinnamon things”.

Larry:  “We get ice cream?  I can soldier on”.

Debbie:  I can walk to the ice cream.

The group trickles off down the hill (no longer marching with military precision).  Three and a half miles later they arrived at the flat with no ice cream and a blister on Larry’s foot.

Note to Lindsey from Debbie:  “You will be happy to know that your Mom performed successful surgery that night on the blister.  We are thinking of inviting you on the next trip for medical support.  If you can’t come, could I take one of your surgical caps?  I think that I would look more professional.”

The day started with a tour from a British expat named Jason.  The tour was called “Hidden Mysteries.  It gave the group a good understanding of the last 100 years of political history and change in Prague.  The tour circled old town and led the group through the Jewish Quarter.  After a couple of hours, Jason told the group good-bye and left them on their own.  (He left because the tour was over not because they were difficult).  Immediately, the group headed for lunch because walking can make you hungry.  At the restaurant,  Joyce got her long awaited pig knuckle.  (Debbie continued her quest to find the best wiener schnitzel in Europe.)

In the afternoon, the Jewish Museum in Prague was visited.  History Moment:  The Jewish Museum in Prague is a museum of Jewish heritage in the Czech Republic and one of the most visited museums in Prague.  It includes six Jewish monuments:

• Maisel Synagogue – Synagogue from the 10th to 18th century.  During the Nazi occupation of the Czech lands, properties of the Czech Jewish communities were stored in Maisel Synagogue
• Pinkas Synagogue – The Pinkas Synagogue is the second oldest preserved synagogue in Prague built in 1530. In 1955-60, the Pinkas Synagogue was turned into a memorial to the nearly 80,000 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Bohemia and Moravia.
• Spanish Synagogue – The newest of the six historic Prague synagogues was built in the Spanish Moorish style in the second half of the 19th century. It has colorful stained glass, stylized Oriental motifs.  Often called the most beautiful synagogue in the Prague Jewish town.  (It is pretty nice!)
• Klaus Synagogue – The largest synagogue in the former Prague Jewish ghetto and also a single example of an early Baroque synagogue in the area.
• Ceremonial Hall – Located next to the Old Jewish Cemetery on the site of an old mortuary used by the Prague Burial Society (Hevrah Kaddisha). The first floor once housed a room for the ritual washing of the dead; on the second floor was the burial society’s club room.
• Old Jewish Cemetery – During the more than three centuries in which it was in active use, the cemetery continually struggled with the lack of space. Piety and respect for the deceased ancestors does not allow the abolish of old graves. Only occasionally the Jewish Community was allowed to purchase grounds to expand the cemetery and so many times it had to gain space in other ways; if necessary, a new layer of soil was heaped up on the available area. For this reason, there are places where as many as twelve layers now exist.
• Old-New Synagogue – The synagogue was originally called the New or Great Synagogue and later, when newer synagogues were built in the 16th century, it became known as the Old-New Synagogue

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It was an interesting afternoon but a bit overwhelming.  (Debbie says that she could not match the places to the names.)  After all that history, some shopping was done in the afternoon as a reward.

Everyone was up early to make the train for Prague.  After a 4-hour train ride, they arrived in Prague.  Just a note: English is not as prevalent in the Czech Republic.  The group ate a late lunch at the train station and then walked with bags in tow to the rental apartment check in office.  At the check in, intensive coaching was done with Joyce and Debbie on how to open the door.  (They must look lock challenged).  They practiced until Debbie had the instructions memorized and Joyce could pantomime the motions to unlock.

Once checked in, a taxi was called.  After a few minutes, Mom’s Taxi pulled up.  (We can’t make this stuff up and it did look like your Mother’s car if it is a mess).   It was a small car and did not look like it could accommodate 4 people and 4 bags.  The driver opened his trunk to show it was full of personal junk.  (We do truly mean junk).  After moving stuff around and getting an interpreter (Google translate does not work for Czech), the decision was made to call a bigger taxi.  Mom’s Taxi leaves and then the travelers were told “Not Possible” to find a bigger cab ( “Not Possible” – a favorite English phrase – It is also not possible to have butter on your bread.).  So, Joyce and Debbie take an Uber in car number 1 while Larry and Jerry wait for a taxi.  Eventually, Mom’s Taxi shows up (same taxi) with room for 2.

Joyce and Debbie arrived at the apartment and practiced opening the front door over and over.  They left one person inside in case there was an issue but became so confident that they both moved outside.  Unfortunately, things then started to go wrong and the door jammed.   Joyce flagged down people to help but they could not unlock the door either.  By the time Jerry and Larry arrived, the group was locked out of the apartment.  Luckily after a few minutes of standing pathetically on the sidewalk, someone came out of the building thus solving the lock incident of 2017.   (We had a plan just didn’t want to call check in and tell them that we failed the coaching)

Within 5 minutes of arriving in the flat, the front room curtain rod had fallen when opened.  Through a combined group effort involving a wooden spoon, the curtain was repaired.   Larry also learned how European windows can suddenly pop open causing repair people to end up from standing on the window ledge, to falling onto the sofa and rolling to the floor.  It did give Debbie a moment of fright when she rounded the corner to find Joyce and Jerry standing over Larry laying on the floor going “Are you okay?”
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We are happy to report that Larry made a fully recovery in time to go to the Czech grocery store.  This led to another round of unsuccessful Google translation. (Yes, we know how to use it). Joyce forced Debbie to go order at the meat counter which traumatized her. (Debbie is now committed to eating a pound of tasteless salami before we leaving Prague).   Jerry was not allowed to go to the store in case the door didn’t work.  (He was our BCP (business continuity plan))

Despite all this our flat was nice.  Our front window is now always open when we are in the flat.  We can hear live Czech polka music all night long.  (Again, I am not kidding – Debbie says it gives a certain ambiance.  Larry polkas around the room when “roll Out the Barrels” is played).

Today was the last day in Berlin.  Debbie was determined that the group use their museum passes to obtain full value.  She chose the German History National Museum as the first step.  Cultural Moment:  The Germany History National Museum is a chronological tour through two floors that presents Germany history in its European context.  The museum did not have English audio guides and it took a little while to figure out the flow but overall it is a good museum that the group would recommend.

There was one incident with a guard and Joyce.  Joyce made the mistake of asking a guard if she could drink water in the museum.  He said many things all of which translated to “No”.  Joyce thought this meant that she could just take the water into the museum as long as she did not open it.  Turns out that it does not mean that.  The guard followed Joyce around the entry way of the museum until she tried to check the water.  The guard instructed the bag check lady  not to check Joyce’s water.  She was instructed to put the water on the desk but she could not check it.  Joyce and the lady exchanged eye rolls.  Joyce was happy to report that the water was returned at the end of the museum visit.

Lunch was at a great restaurant that we highly recommend.  Larry and Jerry got the special boiled meat plate.  It was much better than it sounds.  (Debbie suggested the “Spiffy Meat Platter” as a name.  The restaurant needs to work on the name of their dishes.)  It was meat boiled in a broth used as a soup and then the meat was the entrée.  Debbie stuck with wiener schnitzel. (Hard to mess that up) .  Larry said that his meal was good but that he really liked Debbie’s meal.  The restaurant was Aigrier Gendarmarket.

The chocolate club had an exceptional field trip planned.  As a surpriseThey stopped at the Ritter Company store and Rausch  Debbie then planned an exceptional field trip for the chocolate club.  The

They also visited Ritter’s Chocolate flagship.  A customer is able to make their own custom made chocolate club.  Debbie wanted to make a chocolate club bar but the wine club said that it would take too much time.  Next stop Rausch Schokoladenhaus, located in the Gendarmenmarkt square in Berlin’s Mitte district, is completely devoted to chocolate enjoyment.   They have awesome chocolate sculptures.    The chocolate club was ecstatic.

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Down side – Les Cheap Girl failed on full value of the museum pass.

Up side –  Larry is now called the Texas Sheriff, available for hire!

 

Today was the tour field trip to Potsdam.  Debbie had studied the maps and routes.  She was able to lead the group through 3 transfers including 2  U-bahn trains, a regional train and a bus, like a well-oiled machine.  (Actually, a well-oiled squeaking machine because the others kept questioning her auth-ri-ti sometimes sending Debbie into a frenzy).

Joyce:  “How do we know when to get off the bus at the palace?

Debbie’: “When we pull up to the gate”

Joyce:  “Are you sure?”

Debbie never actually thought about it since the book said to ride the bus to the palace. She trusted the book but maybe Joyce was right.  So, Joyce with Debbie in tow quizzed the bus riders.  (Not an enthusiastic group).  Guess what?  The bus pulled up to the visitor’s center and the group stepped off. (Debbie thinks it was a test from Joyce to see if she knew what she was doing).

Cultural Moment: Sanssouci Park is a group of palaces and garden complexes built by Frederick the Great during the 18^th century and expanded under Frederick Wilhelm IV.  First stop was Sanssouci Palace – Frederick the Great’s summer residence.

It was at Sanssouci that the group would first encounter some issues.  First several stink eyes had to be administered to a bus load of tourists from China that must have had limited time to see the palace.  The tour group pushed through and were reprimanded several times by the staff for not having photography wristbands (This involved purchasing a band – Debbie knew about the band and had already outfitted Larry with the appropriate band).  This pushing was what made Joyce and Jerry receive reprimands for stepping on the wood flooring.  The group of 4 also noticed that an alarm kept going off, they were all ready to stand behind the guard and deliver additional supportive stink-eyes until the guard approached Joyce to tell her to move her coat.  (Oops!).

After the four finished the tour, they discovered how to take selfies and were quite thrilled.  Thus, the many selfie pictures our children have received.  The group then decided to visit the kitchen and winery. (This could be counted as a wine club field trip.)  Unfortunately, the wine club field trip had an incident.  Jerry got lost.  The other three split up and conducted a search.  Debbie found Jerry wandering around.  (Join the chocolate club – they do not lose members.)  Debbie is also a bit obnoxious calling herself the finder since she takes credit for finding Joyce’s bag and Jerry.

Lunch was outside in a biergarten (beer garden) by ourselves.  At this point, Joyce discovered that she has lost her ticket.  After retracing steps and going back to the ticket office, the entry people tell Joyce just to use her receipt.

Next stop was the historic windmill – Debbie’s definition – a really old looking windmill that let you  walk to the top.  It has steep stairs and you hoped that you didn’t slip and were dumped unceremoniously on the floor.  No problem showing the receipt to get into the windmill.

On to the New Palace at Sanssouci.  Joyce presented her ticket at the reception area for an assigned time.

Reception person (RP):  “This is a receipt”

Joyce:  “I don’t have a ticket, the other reception desk said we could use this”.

RP:  Nein (No), I must have a ticket.

Joyce:  “I don’t need a ticket” as she steps closer to the to the desk.

Debbie:  “Perhaps you should talk to the lady at the front reception”

RP:  “It is not right.  I must have a ticket”.  Voice is raised.

Joyce:  As she lifts her leg to go over the counter, “I don’t need a ticket”.

Debbie:  As she pushes Joyce’s leg down, “Let’s call the other office and ask to speak to the British lady”.

RP:  “You must have a ticket” as she hands the tickets to Debbie.

Joyce:  “I want to speak to a supervisor”.

RP:  To Debbie “I gave you four tickets” as Debbie drags Joyce from the room.

The group stomps back down to the New Palace and uses the ticket. Cultural Moment:   The New Palace was built by Frederick the Great for his guests.

More houses were visited.  Frederick liked to build.

• The Roman Baths – Built in the style of an ancient Italian villa but not a lot to see.
• Chinese House – Another building that shows the preference of the time for Chinoiserie (We can’t make this stuff or words up).
• Charlottenhof Palace – the place of crown prince William IV and his family. The scene extensive reprimands.

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Charlottenhof Palace  – The group mistakenly thought that the tour would have the following:

• English audio guide – Nope
• Tour guide that would know an English word other than – No
• Written handout – Yes but it was 1 page for 12 rooms.

List or reprimands received by the group during the tour

• Debbie needed to turn her backpack to the front
• Joyce touched the railing so she wouldn’t fall over putting on her shoes
• Debbie and Joyce were told to wear their jackets instead of tying around their waist
• Joyce was in trouble for carrying her jacket instead of wearing it (Stink eye only)
• Jerry and Joyce for getting off the rug on the floor.

To tour, one had to wear shoes over their regular shoes.  The only way to move was to slide.  Larry really got into it and swung his arms like a speed skater.  He recruited Joyce to the speed skating team until she quit when she almost fell.  Both got questionable looks from the guide.  Debbie was concerned that she would pass out from the heat because she was wearing a jacket.  (We know your question why didn’t they leave?)  There was no way out as the guide locked and unlocked each room as the tour group traveled from room to room.  (Debbie was going to fake fainting but was unsure that she could fall on the floor without getting off the rug or that Larry could stop when he speed-skated over to her).   We think that the guide was actually good as the German member of the tour were smiling and nodding.

After the Charlottenhof Palace, the group headed home on a crowded train.  Joyce thought that she had found the best seats ever with tables and plush chairs.

Debbie:  ”We can’t sit here”.

Joyce:  “Yes, we can”.

Debbie:  “No, we are going to be thrown out.  You don’t mess with the Germans on this”.

Joyce:  “It is fine.  They won’t throw us out”.

Conductor:  “Tickets Please.  (Deep sigh).  These are not first class tickets”

Debbie:  “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.  I have never been kicked out of a seat.”  This is so traumatic. (Wait she only thought this).  What she said was “We are moving now ”.  Everyone got a stink eye for this.

Debbie had to buy a doner with lots of chili on it to soothe her wounded self for 4 euro.  (More intense writing here).  Meanwhile, the other three were cutting lines and throwing the Chinese food place into disarray.  There needs to be a serious discussion on obeying the rules….

Still no word on the baggage and the day begins in an unhappy state.  As everyone by now knows, if Joyce is not happy, none of us are happy.

Today will be a more cultural day with visits to museums planned.  The original plan is to visit the German History Museum but Debbie’s plans get jacked by dueling GPS systems.  She eventually sees the Neues Museum and indicates that this is what she actually meant.  Neues probably translates to German History (It doesn’t and she knows this but is trying to cover her lapse in directions.  You can’t have the tour group lose confidence in the guide. BTW: Why don’t they ever clap at the end of her tours like the other tour groups?  Shout out to my Venice tour members, Don and Greg, didn’t you want to clap for Debbie that time she had to improvise as the tour leader?).

Cultural Moment: The Neues Museum displays artifacts from Egypt and the Papyrus Collection.  Big plus for the museum –  free audio video in English.  Star attractions include the bust of Nefertiti and the Berlin Golden Hat.  You have probably seen pictures of the bust of Nefertiti.  Visitors are not allowed to take close up pictures but the guards will line you up at the door and allow you to take a long shot.  The Golden hat is this really weird looking hat.  The theory is that it tracks the lunisolar calendrical systems of up to 57 months.   The hat allowed the owner to predict the seasons which is valuable information.  (Debbie says that the hat owner must have really tiny heads and don’t see how they could hold up the hat.  Larry’s hear is too big.)  It really is an interesting museum.  Half of it is Egyptian and the other pre-German/early German history.

As the morning progresses, Joyce continues to pelt the airline / baggage companies with texts and calls to no avail.  No answer – nothing .  Joyce travels through the museum sending out waves of sadness which seems to wash over the others.  (That really sounded good, didn’t it?   Maybe Debbie should be a writer?  This is being written on a train.  How artistic is that?)  Anyway, It is with much sadness that the group breaks for lunch.

The group finds a nice shady place by the river.  The skies feel the pain of the lost baggage and begin to cry.  (It rains – still being artistic).  Seriously, though, Joyce is quite upset at this point.  Debbie and Larry suggests that the group forget the museum in the afternoon and go on a field trip to the airport.  (They have the 7 day transit pass after all). It is worth a shot.  At least, Joyce could find out the name of the baggage service.  Larry and Jerry are sent back to the flat on the off chance that the baggage is delivered.   So off Joyce and Debbie go, on bus TXL to the airport.

Once the duo arrives at the airport, they discover that the Berlin airport has a building dedicated to baggage service.  Debbie thought this is encouraging as they must have a lot of issues with bags.  Joyce is not as encouraged.  The two must have looked really professional (more likely confused tourists) as a man walks up to them and asks if they needed help immediately.  He takes the ticket and goes to check.  Debbie sits down in preparation for the wait.
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One moment Joyce is there and the next she is gone.  Debbie jumps up to try to find her.  Debbie sees Joyce talking to the guy behind a restricted area.  She could only see them through the top half windows.  There is arm waving and frantic talking.  Debbie is concerned that Joyce is going to get thrown out.  The two disappeared behind a door.  Then more shockingly, both emerge from behind the door where Joyce kisses the guy on the cheek and then burst through the door dragging her bag.

JOYCE IS HAPPY!!!!!!!  EVERYONE IS HAPPY!  The bag is found!!!  JOY ABOUNDS!!  (Cut to scene where Debbie and Joyce hug – Everyone else looks on in amazement – the room bursts into applause (not really) ).

Les Cheap Girls spring for a taxi even though, they have transportation passes.  Joyce lovingly pats her bag.

Things are back to normal.  That night Joyce, Larry and Debbie walk to the bakery and explore a different path home.  They stumble on a Chinese restaurant.  Joyce and Larry are staring so intently through the window trying to see the food that the owner comes out to check on them (Debbie is trying to be cool about it and stand away from them).  The owner invites them in to check it out – Dumplings made to order.  One of the cooks offer them a sample. (Okay, Debbie runs over when she thought that she might get a sample.  They are like “Oh, you are with them? “  Debbie said “Well, yeah, they are my security people so I should have a bigger portion of that sample than them”.)   Things are back to normal.