New Sea Shell Pattern--Truely Seamless

U2 Sighting in Berlin

Our first night in Berlin had a distinct U2 theme, even though we certainly did not plan it that way. We walked past the Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) and the nearby Zoo Station, which inspired the song, Zoo Station, the opening song on U2's Achtung Baby album, recorded in Berlin.
Our walk also took us through the Tiergarten, a large park in the center of Berlin designed in the 1830's that was once a hunting ground. As we walked past the Victory Column, I could not help but think back to U2's Stay (Faraway, So Close) music video. In the video (as well as in Wim Wender's movie of the same name) this 66+ meter column with a sculpture of Victoria on top servers as the gathering place for angels watching over the city.

As we passed under the Brandenburg Gate, we noticed a large crowd standing in front of the enterance to Hotel Adlon. Apparently, Bono was signing autographs at the entrance of the hotel. I climbed a railing for a better look, but still could not see anything. What can I say--the man is short.

As you can tell, I was greatly entertained by the fact that our almost U2 sighting happened right after we walked by so many places that reminded us of the band.

Hotel Breakfasts In Europe

Breakfast was included in every hotel we stayed. Bread, rolls, cheeses and cold meats were served almost everywhere. Canned fruit salad was also a popular offering.

Hotel Atlanta in Munich offered pouched eggs, but during our first breakfast there I could not figure out where people were getting them from. Eventually I noticed a tray of toy rabbits! The body of each rabbit was exactly the size of an egg; each soft plush rabbit kept a single pouched egg warm.

Croissants in hotels in Italy were particularly good. Nick fell in love with jam filled croissants at Casa Formosa in Venice, while my favorite ones were in Residenza Domizia in Rome.

Hotel Maxim in Florence was the first place we have encountered serious fresh fruit—bananas and enormous kiwis. (Just to be fair--Hotel Atlanta did serve really sad looking apples, but I just could not count those as a real effort to serve seasonal fruit.)

The breakfast at Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen knocked me off my feet. I could not get enough of their Birchermuesli—muesli (rolled oaks soaked in water or juice overnight) mixed in with fresh yogurt and fresh fruit. Mixed in with the yogurt and oats were red currants, wild blueberries and gooseberries. While we have seen currants and wild blueberries sold in the markets in Germany and Italy, I have not seen gooseberries anywhere but Russia. So they were an extra special treat. Apparently gooseberries are readily available in Switzerland, and we actually saw some gooseberry bushes while walking through Gimmelwald.

Playing With Sea Shells

A Short Day in Newport, RI

We took a late start on our day trip to Newport, but even then we did not expect the drive to take so long. Instead of an hour and a half, it tooks us well over two and a half hours to get there. I guess a lot of people are making day trips rather than going away for the entire long weekend.

Starting in the mid 19th century, wealthy New Yorkers began building summer houses in Newport to escape from the heat, and today many are open to the public. Unfortunately, due to our late arrival, we did not have much time to tour these famous mansions.

Rather than trying to rush, we decided to just visit the Breakers. I rarely enjoy audio guides, but the one taking us around this Vanderbuilt summer "cottage" was excellent. The opulence of the mansion is mind boggling, but much of it is quite beautiful.

We will have to return to Newport to visit more mansions as well as to tour the downtown area, which we completely bypassed this time.