BERLIN IN THE RAIN

Had a good night sleep and a great breakfast at the Pension. We checked out and took the ubahn(the subway) to Potsdamer Platz and checked into The Ritz Carlton. Very nice, very plush. Decided to take a Berlin bus tour(a hop on hop off tour.) As soon as we got on the bus it started to rain. We had hopped on but decided that we weren't going to hop off. The tour took about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We got back to the hotel around 2:00 and had lunch. The hotel's only restaurant is a French bistro. I had another meal of Boeuf Bourguinon. Absolutely delicious. After lunch I went down to the spa and made an appointment for an hour full body massage. Before the massage I spent some time in the sauna. The massage was my first but certainly not my last. It was wonderful and helped my back and shoulders tremendously. Our hotel was a buzz with activity. All the NATO ministers are here in Berlin for a conference. They all had dinner here at the hotel last night. Security forces and police were all around and streets were partially blocked all thru the city. I don't know, protests in Rome and snow in Paris in December and now NATO ministers in Berlin. What next? The Ritz Carlton

Another view

View from the front

Traffic Jam @12:20 in Berlin

Museum

Main train station in Berlin. We arrived here on the train from Paris.

Another view of the room.