Photo Essay - a Berlin Weekend

Tram tracks lead to the tv tower in eastern Berlin on the Oranienburger Str.

Here is the view from our hotel room window - the Tempelhof airport.
Sebastian takes the cue from Buddha to meditate before currying...
....the French church at the Gendarmenmarkt
A detail from John chapter 4 of the French church at the Gendarmenmarkt
The impressive Gendarmenmarkt - my favorite square in Berlin
.... and in an inner courtyard you find artwork like this...
my coffee break in the afternoon on Sunday
the beautiful café where I enjoyed this coffee break.
a classic view of west Berlin - the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the background.
The Berlin Cathedral on the Spree River - here the Hohenzollerns, the royal family of Prussia, went to church...
The Cathedral from the other side with cherry blossoms.
the chancellor's quarters seen from a boat on the Spree River...
Our coffee break at La Fayette in the Friedrich Str. in central Berlin.
a self-photo at the Indian restaurant in Prenzlauer Berg.

Here is a photo update on my life. With wonderful weather, a weekend ago we took a 2-day trip to Berlin - 1 hour on the train and voilà, you're in Berlin. It was a peaceful yet fast-moving time; Berlin is so big that you have to keep moving fast to take anything in. The lemon tart at La Fayette was wonderful, and the boat ride on the Spree River was the first I have taken - worth the money. More details soon, but at the moment I have to get on - and get to bed! Sleep well...

Biking through Saxony on Easter Weekend

The beauty of Spring earlier this week - on the way back from Rötha and not too far from my apartment.
Such a beautiful public park in Markkleeberg...
A splendid mini-island to relax on...
This fellow watched us while we ate ice cream in Grimma
The Mulda River in Grimma
The bridge over the Mulda in Grimma
A main street in Grimma
Tobias and I at the ice cream café
Sebastian and Stefan across the table from Tobias and me.
The serene lake in Beucha.
A conference late Monday morning at the lake in Beucha.
From the tour on Friday - here in Rötha. You see our bikes in from of an art nouveau house.
A sculpture at Lake Störmthal.
Stefan about to deface this creation he ordered... in Rötha.
Lake Störmthal again: Stefan, Tobias, and Sebastian.
Stefan at Lake Störmthal.
Such nicely paved roads in the country - easy to ride a bike here.
Tobias and Sebastian resting at the café in Rötha.

This was my Easter weekend. In Germany Good Friday and the Monday after Easter Sunday are holidays, and in Germany holidays are "holy cows", so you are "doomed" to take it easy on such days, as we did in these photos above. The ride over Beucha, Naunhof, Grimma and Bad Lausick was 38 miles, or 60 kilometers, and sunshine the whole way. The trip to Rötha on Friday was a bit shorter but also sunny the whole time. Since I run regularly, I had no muscle problems, but the seat on my bike did leave me sore - I'm not used to sitting on a bike for over half a day!
It was so good to spend the day out in the sun, flowers, meadows, and fresh air on Good Friday and Easter Monday. I haven't lost any weight from all that biking, though - must have all gone to muscle - oh yeah....

I hope you have had a wonderful Easter weekend too.