Dad in Berlin: Part II

My dad is back in the States safe and sound now, and I'm in full gear, trying to combine as much studying as possible with seeing as much of Berlin in my little time left. It's a tough task! My dad's timing really worked out pretty well, because he gave me motivation to work hard before he got here, and then with him I was able to revisit so many of my favorite parts of the city.

So I left off the last entry with Thursday. Thursday was indeed a calmer day for me, because I had class till 4 so I took Thursday as a work day while my dad wandered around the city on his own. He saw part of the Technikmuseum, the outside of the Jewish Museum, and njoyed walking through the markets of the ethnically diverse neigboorhood of Kreuzberg, where much of Berlin's Turkish population lives. Around 6 he came down to my apartment complex so that we could have dinner with Emma, Hilary and Maria, as well as Hilary's mom. We ordered pizza and had salad, and Dad brought watermelon and a dessert from an open air market. There was also plenty of wine!

Action shot!

I made up for spending Thursday with my books by spending the whole day with my dad. Dad suggested renting a car for a day, and I liked the idea. I chose Rostock as the destination for our Tagesausflug (day trip). Rostock is a harbor town two hours north of Berlin, on the coast of the Baltic Sea (or auf deutsch, Ostsee). It lies in what used to be Eastern Germany.

After we figured out how to exit the parking garage and the GPS figured out where we were, it was a straightforward drive. And now I've been on the Autobahn! The Autobahn isn't just one road but it's the German word for highway. We arrived without any problems and spent our first two or three hours in the older downtown area, walking around to see the St. Nikolai church, St. Petri church, the old city wall, city gates and the city harbor. I thought it was a pretty area, very quaint.

Outside an old city gate

This main downtown area was set on a small inlet from the sea. The ships in the harbor can easy sail out to the open Baltic Sea, but it's a few miles away. So after a few hours downtown we drove up to the beach area on the Baltic Sea, and this really was gorgeous.With the two piers it reminded us a lot of Grand Haven, MI. We dipped our toes in the Ostsee (my takeaway: the Ostsee is CHILLY!) and walked along the beach and up to the lighthouse on the west pier.

In the Ostsee!

The water was a bit frigid.

Walking back from the pier it started to rain, and although my dad liked the idea of seeing a stormy sea, we didn't stand around but instead enjoyed the view while walking quickly towards shelter. To keep me from melting we stopped and had Kaffee and Kuchen in a little cafe, which was delicious and restoring. The rain had paused by the time we left and we could see clear skies to the north, which made the view over the beach very cool. We stopped in another church, the Warnemünder Kirche, and then walked back along the beach and pier area looking for one more place to eat.

We stopped in a restaurant that I chose because of the beer they had on tap, and we both enjoyed a delicious (and fresh!) lobster bisque while sipping a half liter of Köstritzer Schwarzbier, one of Maria's and my favorites. After taking our time with our drinks, then walking around a little longer to find some ice cream, we headed back to the car just as the rain started up again, so that we could start the drive back in the daylight. Other than the GPS trying to make us take side roads a few times and not being able to find the Hertz parking garage the trip back was uneventful!

Dad's last day in Berlin we hit up Potsdam, the city just southwest of Berlin, full of castles and where I took my visitors in March. The weather was perfect. We walked around the grounds of the Schloss Sanssouci and the Neues Palais. Seeing the castles in their summer greenery was stunning. I think this set of castles is my second favorite I've seen in Europe (first would have to be the complex in Versailles).

The terraced gardens are beautiful in summer

A bit of construction going on at the Neues Palais

After some sandwiches in Berlin I did some homework in his hotel room (with AC!) and sent Dad back to the Technikmuseum to check out the planes, trains and ships building. He really enjoyed seeing all the stuff I sent him there to see in the first place, and I was glad he had time to go back. After he closed out the museum I met him downtown and we went to church at St. Hedwig's near the Museum Insel. It was a cool church, it's just one big dome. Emma joined us for Mass.

After Mass Dad and I walked through Gendarmenmarkt to see the German dome, the Konzerthaus, and the French dome. Just across the square was an Augustiner Bierhalle, so we stopped in for one last drink. It was a good choice. Dad ordered an Augustiner Dunkel and I tried an Edelstoff, which was great. We picked up some bratwurst from a stand on our way to our last event in Berlin: a return to the Reichstag!

One last true German beer

The dome was reopened on Saturday, so I had made another appointment for us just in case Dad decided he wanted to see the dome. He did, and it was a great use of our evening. I just think the dome is so cool! And I was glad that he could get the historical background that the audio guide provides. After we left the Reichstag I went back with Dad to get my computer from his hotel and leave him with the airport bus times, and then I said goodbye. But only for two weeks! (Yikes!)

Sunday was a lot of work, and then I watched the Women's World Cup championship match between US and Japan. It was so exciting but at the end so heartbreaking. We lost in penalty kicks. Today was another study day at Cafe Bilderbuch, because life goes on and my final exam approaches.