Legally Blonde's Proceedings

 On December 22nd I had an early train from Berlin to Mainz.  I really wanted to fly home directly from Berlin instead of going back to Frankfurt.  I have been to Frankfurt and didn't care to spend the time to return.  The only option I was given when I was trying to book flights was flying from Berlin to Helsinki and then Helsinki to DFW.  I didn't mind connecting through Helsinki, but the only option given was just a 40 minute layover.  That made me too nervous, so I just decided to do round trip to/from Frankfurt direct to DFW. I was bummed about having to "waste" time in Frankfurt, but then I did some research and decided to spend the day in Mainz. I took at taxi from my hotel to the train station for my 7:06 train from Berlin to Frankfurt and then had to switch for a regional train to Mainz which arrived at 11:15. Give me a dog as a fellow passenger ANY day! Locker storage in Mainz. I took the tram and then walked to my first destination. St. Stephan's...

December 21st was my last day in Berlin and I planned to spend most of it outside of the city.  I had breakfast in my room again from my grocery store run and then headed out.  Turns out it was raining so after a block I turned around and went back for my umbrella.  First up, and just a couple of blocks from my hotel, was Checkpoint Charlie.  Of course the original Checkpoint Charlie is gone, but a reconstructed version exists. I walked to the Topography of Terror next.  It wasn't open yet, and I decided not to wait for it, but it does have another surviving section of the Wall. I took the U-bahn to the Zoo stop and changed to a regional train out to Potsdam.  From Potsdam train station, I took a bus to Sanssouci Palace. Sanssouci Palace was the summer home of Frederick the Great.  This one, unlike the other palatial buildings around Potsdam, was his actual residence. In each room you can see the attempt at bringing the outdoors inside.  Lots of f...