Germany & Austria

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Berlin, Germany and Vienna, Austria. Before I start writing I have to warn you that my spelling may not be accurate..the German words have way more letters than I am used to and also dots and such above letters that I can’t do on my US computer.

I met my parents in Berlin and traveled with them for a week. Berlin is a fascinating city and the wall that came down in my lifetime. It has so many museums that they call it “museum island”. We went to sites that my parents remember seeing on tv including Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg gate, we saw the Jewish memorial and new Jewish museum as well as the Pergamon museum, Egyptian museum and the Gemaldegalerie art museum and walked the Unter den Linden. The Kaiser Wilhelm church was left in ruins and a modern memorial was built around the ruins that are still standing. It is a visual reminder of the bombs that devastated so much of the city. We also visited Reichstag and toured the new glass dome on the top. One evening we listed to the Berlin symphony orchestra. We also enjoyed wonderful food including a Prussian soup with beets. It sounded weird, but it was actually very good. And we made a last minute stop at the KaDeWe – a famous shopping mall. It is the largest shopping mall on the European continent. My dad gave my Mom and I 20 min. to wander around..it was not enough time to do any serious damage J

We flew from Berlin to Vienna mid week and our time in Vienna was a mix of sightseeing and time with relatives. Josef and Sisi Herfert warmly welcomed us into their home and served my Dad a wonderful Austrian cake for his birthday! The cake is called and here is the description from Wikipedia..it was incredible!

“ The cake consists of two layers of dense, not overly sweet chocolate cake (traditionally a sponge cake) with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle and dark chocolate icing with shreds of chocolate on the top and sides. It is traditionally served with whipped cream without any sugar in it, as most Viennese consider the Sachertorte too "dry" to be eaten on its own. “

I’m not the genealogy buff that my dad is, but here is the family connection as I understand it… Josef’s Grandfather and my Dad’s Great-Grandfather were brothers. My Dad’s great-greatfather immigrated to America and all of his siblings remained in Austria and many of their descendents are there today. Josef and Sisi took us sightseeing around Vienna to many churches and also the Hoffburg treasury which was incredible. My parents and I took the train out to Schonbrunn, which was the summer home of the Hapsburg family and is similar in grandeur to Versailles. We also took a tour of the Vienna opera house and listened to the Vienna Imperial Orchestra.

I only have 5 day s left in Dublin, so I am working on packing and cleaning my apartment and I will return to Colorado on Nov. 16. I can’t wait to see everyone at home!