Adventures from Berlin and Back to the US

Willcommen..... from the Wandering Berkmans!

We're actually back in Seattle now until mid September but going over all the Berlin pix is bringing all the oom pah pah back!  (Sorry, the only German we know is from Cabaret and more recently, Der Guten Tag Hop Clop from the Producers.  Not what you want to sing in public!)

Our planned 1 week reunion with our friends the Wornings took place in Berlin in what turned out to be beautiful weather.  We stayed in a suite hotel, the Adina,  in the Berlin Mitte section of town and were walking distance from the Reichstag and some interesting architecture on the River Spree. 

The Cathedral of Berlin featured  just outside the main doors a striking exhibit of life vests in the shape of the cross to remember all those lost at sea trying to emigrate to Europe.

The Neues Museum was a great place to take my sketch pad and draw what I saw, including the bust of Nefertiti.  I wish I could say my sketch did her justice but it's the thought that counts!  As a show of respect, guards had us  photograph her from a distance.  

Also in the Neues, what was referred to as a family portrait from the 13th century...

... and the  "Game of the Snake" game board and player pieces from around 3000 BC.

As always, we sought out street art and our search was rewarded with some impressive pieces.  This below by Shepard Fairey, the same artist who designed the Obama  HOPE poster.

Another favorite we saw in the Kreuzberg section of the city.  

Our friends Anna and Mikael joined us in Berlin for a whirlwind weekend that included a concert in the Kollwitzkiez section... 

... with an outdoor showing of the World Cup to boot!

At the Fotografiska Berlin , the Contemporary Museum of Photography and Culture, we were treated to, among other exhibits,  a mix of creative portraits of contemporary musicians.

 

 The Staatliche Museum was a favorite for our foursome.  Some exhibits that caught our eye--

the series of posters announcing various events in the city included this one with lettering made of seeds and then showing the sprouting and drying of said seeds.  

So clever! 

Try reading these concert posters below.  They definitely make you look and linger, which is what a good poster should do!

We loved the expression on the faces and the poses of these queens (not Queens).  Not your usual pious maidens, we bet they'd be a lot of fun at parties.  

And the best depiction of the Fountain of Youth we had ever seen.  

The Wornings treated us to a tour of The Reichsbahnbunker, a former bunker intended for Germans to hide when the Allies bombed the city during WWII.  It now houses contemporary art with a penthouse dwelling to top it off.  With outer walls 3 meters thick, it certainly served its purpose during the war.   Not so sure that was as necessary when it later was used as a techno club (good to keep the noise down for the neighbors? )

  

For exhibition purposes some walls were reconfigured but overall the space was left as it was back in the day.  Called the Boros Collection, the art was interesting and at times odd (is that a garbage can for my gum or is that an exhibit?  It was an exhibit!)  but we found the space itself especially fascinating.  

Originally a railway station, the Hamburger Bahnof- National Gallery of Art was a fun visit on a rainy day, especially to see the main hall filled with wooden blocks for kids and the kid at heart to make whatever structure their heart desired.  Some kids were going to town on towers taller than them!  Others were running around on the blocks -- the mom in me thought "someone's gonna get hurt...-- and sure enough when I went to retrieve our bags from coat check I saw a kid being treated by emergency services for a nice cut over the eye, oy.   How I wanted to be wrong!

Still, a really cool space to create.

Exhibit A-- tourist # 593,873 fooled by the ol' "ATM in the Berlin Wall" trick.

Speaking of the Berlin Wall, remnants seem to be everywhere and it always stopped us in our tracks, physically and mentally.  This area also showed the location of the underground tunnels attempted and thwarted.  

Did we partake in German food?  Not too much (if any? ).  But the city had plenty of Asian food to keep the Mr. very happy and sated. 

Trip # 2 to Berlin was a success, made all the more special by sharing it with Anna and Mikael, our around the world travel buddies!  Next year, we head out  Copenhagen way to stay with them in the part of their home they have kindly dubbed The Berkman Wing.  From there, we'll go together to Poland, the land of Anna's birth, for our first visit there.  

Onward!  And back to the US.  First stop-- Chicago to visit sister Laura and main squeeze, the wonderful Breisa.  Look who else stopped in-- young Zach from Mexico City!  Lake Michigan never looked so good!

The Chicago tour took us to the amazingly ornate Bahá'í House of Worship..  
A wonder inside and out, it's open to the public and available to those of all faiths.   

Our Airbnb couldn't have been stocked with more things to do and books to read-- it was a lot visually.  Breisa and Laura made sure to stock the fridge before we arrived-- we immediately felt right at home!

Unfortunately we were a day too early for the grand opening and had no tickets to enter the Obama Center but we did meet a couple who had been inside a month earlier so we bombarded them with questions and lived vicariously through them.  Yeah, some call it the Obamalisk and yeah, they're not wrong but this puppy is def on our "to do" list for our next Chicago visit.  

When the heavens opened up we ran into the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures on the campus of UChicago.  And what a fortuitous stop it was-- we were floored with some of the exhibits, including the clay tablets below indicating a deed of sale and a dedication to a temple.   

Thank you, Laura and Breezy, for a wonderful visit to your home city-- we shall return!!


Hello, dearies-- we missed you! Back to Wisconsin we went to see my mom and the fam-- Susan, Oscar and Andrew.  Zach must have been in the bathroom.  :)

We stopped by the Milwaukee Domes, an arboretum with different botanical environments in each dome.  

We were disappointed we wouldn't be in town to see the blooming of  Penelope The Corpse Flower.  With growth between 2-3 inches a day she's a big girl!  When she hits her stride she's said to smell of rotting flesh....Lovely!  See her big day here.

Undeterred, we made sure to stop and smell the sweeter gardenia.

Speaking of stank, when Ellie the dog got into it with a skunk we knew it was time to make our exit.    A memorable end to a great visit-- thanks, WI fam!

Next stop-- NJ!  Although we stayed at their house, we missed our Outhwaites as they took off the next day for a planned trip to the shore.  We did stop into Clinton to share a coffee and town gossip with our friend and former neighbor Judy.  We missed you, Hunter!  And Tony!  

And we laid my dad to rest in Spruce Run, where Don's dad also rests.  Buddies together forever. RIP, dads.

A trip to NJ wouldn't be complete without a visit with Alisha and Niraj, Don's mentee.  Last time we brought them to a typical NJ diner and they politely ate a bit of their food only to bring it home and spice it up with the chilis their Nepalese palates adore.  We thought we chose better this time when we suggested Korean food.  They ordered a spice level of 5/5 and were still non-plussed.  The owner came out with "the Fire", the heat they only bring out for the chosen few.  And even then our duo said, "yeah its hot but not so hot.  We make it hotter at home."  Holy cow!

 Alisha and Niraj presented us with a lovely gift basket of treats, flowers and a truly touching note.  We adore this couple and are so glad we can be a part of their lives as they start it together personally and professionally here in NJ.  

What house could this possibly be, you ask? Well, for those who knew us when, this is none other than 9 Woodrow Place, our first home.  But it never looked like this!  The new owners basically took it down to the studs and made this, depending on who you ask, "larger home" (me) or "monstrosity!" (Don).  More distressing, they took out many of the large trees and bushes.  Yeah, yeah, it's nice, albeit a little Sopranos, but we were sorry to see all remnants of our old house gone.   

The annual visit to our 5x10 storage unit is always a trip down memory lane.  This time we found some great pictures of my mom around 1989 when she was a cast member in a production of Oliver, directed by my brother.  Nepotism?  Who cares? The way she chomped down on a cigar and wiped down the bar like a champ bartender had us cheering her on!  

We had the opportunity to finally meet up with Tommy in person!  We worked with Tommy virtually back in 2023 via Rainbow Railroad, bringing in a Venezuelan political refugee from  the LGBTQ+ community. This time we volunteered together with the Human Rights Campaign at Harlem Pride.  

Those who know know we love a good wedding crash and we made it happen with an unsuspecting family back in 2016 while on a flight to Cartegena, Colombia.  Since then, the Sibs have been an important part of our lives.  How could we resist when Shelley and Ralph invited us to their son's wedding?  A legit invite?? And another opportunity to dance with the mother of the couple?  Yes, please!

Anna, are you following us?? We love it!  And to have daughter Christine join us for a reunion in Clinton was a real treat. 

And finally, who turned 60 this year?? We did!  So what better way to celebrate than with Vaz, one of my best friends from Rutgers (Karen, we missed you!)  at her place in NJ.  

The million degrees heat that week curtailed our plans a bit but we had a great time just hanging out, spending way too much time in Sephora, going to many delicious Indian restaurants (my request.  Thank you soooo much!!), watching a ton of the World Cup (when did we become sports fans??), going through old pictures of Rutgers classmates and creeping said people on FB,  and celebrating husband Sam's birthday in NYC.  

Have you seen the show SIX?  It's great fun and the talent was phenomenal.  Sure, these woman all had something in common (some dude named Henry VIII) but you'll want to know even more about them after this terrific show.

Lucky me to be able to then dine with Vaz's family afterwards on next-level delicious Italian food in Hudson Yards.  Thanks for setting us up, Rocky! 

We leave for Mexico City next week for Zach and Tavo's wedding yay!  The planning and coordinating continues but it's sure to be a lovely occasion.  

Next post we'll take you to Halifax, British Columbia where we stayed for a month in July and August.  Here's a pic to whet your whistle-- a meet up with brother Bob and Mary and their little pup Rosie!  Don is featured as "the hand".  

We'll close this post out with a picture commemorating the birthday chicks from senior year,  Halloween 1988.  Happy 60th to us!  

(ps-- I was dressed as Tammy Faye.  With Don as my Jim Bakker we were quite the sensation that year..... ok nobody knew who we were and we relied on name tags but that's neither here nor there.  We amused ourselves!) 

As always, thanks for following along!

Don and Monica