Berlin-Day One

After a mad dash to the airport in St. Petersburg traffic, a confusing security procedure in the St. P airport, an uneventful flight and waiting in a long line for passport control to enter Germany, we finally got to give and receive some long overdue hugs!  Isaiah traveled like a pro, entering his 4th country in less than 2 years.  My parents had arrived earlier in the day, which meant that they already knew the ropes and could guide us through the public transportation to get to our hotel.

I can't explain the feelings that I had when I first saw my mama and daddy!  Yes, I cried, but they were definitely tears of joy!  And Isaiah's recent shyness when around different people wasn't an issue at all!  He loved on Grandma and Grandpa right away.

We enjoyed our first day, taking it easy and visiting nearby Checkpoint Charlie.  Our first souvenirs were Checkpoint Charlie stamps in our passports from a guard with tons of personality, who spoke at least 6 languages.  We educated ourselves at the Checkpoint Charlie museum where we learned about the many brave people who risked their lives to escape and to help other people escape from East Germany.

To finish off my parent' first day of their first European experience, we ate dinner at a Mexican Italian restaurant!  I just find that quite amusing.

Our second day we hope to get an overview of the city on a bus tour, and then hopefully we'll know some other places we'd like to see more closely.

Mama has passed on tons of hugs and birthday surprises from friends back home, with more to come, she says.  We love and miss you all--if only you could fit in checked luggage!

Little Man traveling well!  (praise God for an uncrowded airplane!)

The guard who stamped our passports--quite a character!

Thomas "on both sides" (where the wall used to be)

Here we are at the remaining Berlin Wall