Today the shirts, summer dresses and colour appeared on the streets of Berlin.

George and I set of for the morning excursion, sadly a little later which allowed our selected tourist attraction to be very crowded on arrival

The three heads of government at the fall of the wall – Bush, Kohl and Gorbatschow…

Checkpoint Charlie, one of the infamous entrance gates to West Berlin, when the wall was up, under the British, American and French rule.

€3.00 to take a photo with your own phone! We avoided the trap and zoomed in in the gatehouse from a respectable distance.

In the middle of the street this sign and a very unimpressive little wooden building remains for the world to visit.

This photo taken from a wall shows what it was really like to pass from East to west.

A small piece of the wall still standing outside a souvenir shop where we bought a T’shirt for Russ!

Being continuously caught in walking tours we raced past some interesting art, George getting flustered setting a blistering pace to keep ahead…

We were close to the other big attractions on the ‘must see’ Berlin itinerary.

The Jewish memorial, from across the road, we had had our up close and personal with this sad story in Warsaw and felt a walk by was all we could manage today.

The Brandenburg Gate, 18th Century monument that marked the route from Berlin to Brandenburg.

The Reichstag building, which housed the German government up until the end of WWII.

Hot, bothered,thirsty and Hungry, it was time to go underground and train it to Russell, who had also had a busy morning with walking tests, physio and lying in his peaceful hospital bed!

He is doing Ok but with more tests scheduled tomorrow (Friday our time) he will be residing there for a few more days.

So, again, while this Northern European trip had all the elements of a once in a lifetime adventure, things have changed! We will not be river cruising on Saturday, and this trip is now cancelled! With a refund, of how much we don’t know, due back as I gave them 48 hours (just)….so the cruise ballot is off (not that I had any takers at such short notice).

I have booked into a very cute hotel for 4 nights from Saturday (breakfast included and cash only payment) The beauty of it is…only 5-10 minutes walk to Russ (with a couple of cafes on the way).

This may be extended as needed we have until the end of the month before we are due to leave Germany!

Russ is getting the best medical attention in the world, and is definitely looking brighter! George is off to Greece on Saturday and I move into the suburbs of Berlin!!

This morning saw the internet down, and after having to do a load of washing by hand in the shower late last night (as washing machine not providing any water and washing with air!), it was time to get out and about. After checking Russ had slept well and been waited on hand and foot at 8am we were out the door, bright and early….destination East Side Art Gallery, the remains of the Berlin Wall.

1.3 kilometres of wall remains from 1989, and has been painted with murals by artists from all over the world.

Images of the wall from both sides, one side with art, the other with graffiti art.

George and JFK…we all know George is not that short!

Some of the images snapped as tours started to roll in..

Bright and colourful

Powerful and…

Touching! Some amazing art in the centre of the city.

And the wall came down…and the people were one.

No wall is complete without an iron door, now laden with lovers locks.

From here, George and I decided to walk to catch a bus to Russ, laden with a list of supplies he wanted, and in search of a coffee and snack before spending the day at the hospital.

A bridge to cross

A view from the other side, still and slightly overcast…promising a much warmer day ahead.

George still hunting for those elusive shoes, a selection hanging from the rafters of the covered bridge!

It was all eyes on the roads as bikes and two wheeled machines, roared past us, at us and barely around us..quite stressful!

Finally a couple of kilometres out of the city, shopping done for Russ, we found the perfect resting place to breakfast. I might add all done by 9.30am!

Building murals, and graffiti yet again a feature of our journey, we duly caught the bus and arrived at the hospital around 11am, just in time to move Russ from his private en-suite room to a shared room, which is still private as no roommate has appeared all day.

We chatted for a couple of hours, Russ ate his carrot soup (that’s what you get for telling them you want vegetarian meals) and the team of specialists are working hard at getting Russ back on his feet… More tests tomorrow and decision day as to whether we can get on our river cruise on Saturday!

If not, we can gift to a lucky couple for a mere €50 euros each…..let me know if you are in Berlin and want to go into the ballot if we can’t make it!

We left Russ for a couple of hours and went for a walk, then back to the hospital for the afternoon. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the last couple of days…Russ is doing good and very positive we will carry on!

Life throws us curveballs – and Russ has had a difficult few days with his breathing – enough is enough, with the help of our Airbnb host we found the name of the hospital to go to.

Only a short Uber ride away. No long wait and with the ease of our Maltese ID and emergency medical cards, we were in the Triage within 30 minutes. The doctor was really great, but not a lung specialist, however he got all the necessary tests done; xrays, bloods etc and gave Russ a hit of oxygen and relaxants so that he could entertain everyone with his tractor snores while snoozing.

While all this was happening George and I took a walk –

Along the river, and graffitied streets of the local area, which our taxi driver had told us was very popular with tourists and students.

Evidence of the good times are these beer bottle tops embedded in the tar on the cobbled streets.

Into the town area, and graffiti and…

More graffiti and…

More graffiti, it sort of grows on you and becomes quite a part of the urbanscape.

We stumbled on a Turkish street market, which was fun, full of food aromas, George had to sample some of the local cuisine.

Fabric and sewing accessories were certainly the popular stalls, the Berliners must still sew a lot.

Dogs (waiting patiently) and their owners (and bikes) all out in the crowds.

And not to be forgotten there was more street art…

And truck art…

Even the vehicles are decorated with local talent.

We returned to the hospital after the designed 90 minutes allocated to find out Russ was being transferred to a specialist hospital to be assessed by a pulmonologist….which, to look at the positives, we can have a new set of eyes on the situation…

I travelled with Russ in the ambulance(only one passenger allowed)…miles away from where we are staying…George headed home to collect some supplies for Russ and navigate the train system to Russ’s new abode for the next couple of nights. (drunks and homeless people keeping him entertained)

Never get a bloke to do a women’s job! George duly appeared with all the supplies – undies/socks/t-shirt – but the dirty ones that need washing! Oops.

Russ has just seen a specialist – and she has a plan – in the meantime Russ has his en-suite room with a view and George and I are baching in the slums.

Last night in Warsaw, hot sunny Sunday evening and we followed the crowds heading to the riverfront….

It was buzzing with bars, food stalls, bikes and people relaxing and soaking up the sun.

We enjoyed our last beer in Warsaw at a sandbar on the riverfront – no one we know in this snap but enjoying the evening.

This morning was an early start, and our last cheap taxi ride ($10.00 NZ) to the airport at 6.30am!

Plane on time, but at the other end our checked baggage had gone “missing” and it was over an hour before it appeared (I think it came on the next flight) our new Airbnb host was very patient and Russ a bit weary today, but we finally made it….we are right in the middle of the city, and apartment quite cute, but I will reserve my opinion of the area for now.

Russ was pleased to lie flat, and George and I went off in search of supplies from Lidl….

Back to do a bit of work catch up and then George and I left our resting Russ, again, heading for the mall in search of elusive shoes…for George. It is really chilly here and Birkenstock sandals were swapped out with Russ’s sketchers for the walk.

First chilly impressions, lots of bikes, battling with traffic and locked up everywhere.

A grey old river day, and very noisy trains.

Construction abounds – super large cranes, and big glass buildings going up… lots and lots of graffiti and homeless and quite grubby.

The mall however, for my shopaholic friends, was five stories high, about two blocks and every level had several parts… too weary to look too hard and only looking for shoes for George’s feet – not many size 47’s even here in Germany.

Tomorrow will be a new day and hopefully summer is following us, Russ feels better and we can go exploring!

With very little open on a Sunday in Warsaw, the Bonnici-Carter trio decided to have a Sunday funday at the Zoo…

This opened at 9am and we were there before 10am…via Uber.

A large zoological park on the other side of the river.

You could be forgiven thinking we were, once again, in the wooded wilderness of Warsaw! George does think that no one sells lawnmowers in this city and sees a business opportunity for an enterprising Warsawian!

The zoo is quite impressive with large open air(mostly) natural habitat areas…and flat walking, which suited the team today.

My favourite picture of the day, a leopard en pointe, oblivious to human activity.

These big boys were out enjoying the sunshine, Bison, Rhino, Elephants and the Giraffes.

The watered areas all had a very green tinge, and at the polar bear enclosure (another green pool) he was no where to be seen, we did wonder if he was white or green (as our last Auckland one turned over time).

Some of the smaller species, Chimps, European Bison, Otters and Pink flamingos.

And some of the larger species, no other than husband and son!

A bit of kiwi taxidermy in Warsaw; the “Kakapo” and the “Kiwi” birds in the Elephant house. Where else would they be?

One of the main attractions were the gorillas – no where to be seen and the zoo was now filling up with the other half of Warsaw who had slept in. It was at this point Russ got caught behind a “pram jam” (rows of prams and young families on a narrow circular path…)

Another weather change happening (midday); the sun went out and the black clouds came over with a few big drops of rain. Zoo excursion over, it was out the gate to see the masses now queuing from one end of the street to the other… time to Uber back to our quiet neighbourhood.

Steak and hamburger lunches! It is a repacking afternoon, as we leave this city of Warsaw early tomorrow morning. Berlin here we come!

New town, Warsaw, last night found us in the busyness of a late afternoon; many cars, many people and an architectural mix of old and new!

Objective of the afternoon visit was to find the small part of the Jewish Ghetto wall that remains, from the Jewish uprising and the only bit left from the Germans razing as much as they could to the ground.

Old buildings sit side by side with the new glass towers, this is certainly a metropolitan city with all the bells and whistles.

Centre stage is the people’s palace which was built, only in 1955, by Stalin for the Polish people after the war…in the baroque style of the old town.

We found a cafe (in a side street) and had a drink and a snack before heading home.

This morning, George and Sue left Russ in peace again (at his request) and marched out for a morning walk….again heading up!

Monument of Charles de Gaulle and WWII fighter planes and tanks….nothing open till late morning but gates open and worth a sneak inside.

George’s shoes have holes….and rather than buy a new pair…

He walked the streets home in socks…being careful not to stand on any sharp or squishy bits.

The walkers Returned mid morning and collected Russ for a coffee break and a wander to the rooftop garden on the university library, with a lift up!

Standing in the circle of light on top of the dome…

The roof in panorama planted in grids.

The boys in the rooftop vineyard arches and…

A roof with a Birdseye view over the river.

Moving right along and taking the low road we walked the waterfront heading towards the riverside gardens of the Royal palace in Oldtown.

A family moment before park bench rest time.

Further down there was a larger park with fountains.

And a couple of sculptures. We were by now reallywarm and hungry so We headed up into old town in search of a cafe for lunch.

Russ holding the lamppost up, as he took the hill in stages.

Still searching for that elusive cafe (there were actually 100s of them, but all full with lunch eating tourists) we found the WEII museum

Thunder clouds started rolling in and a very real threat of rain was eminent…..the kiwis were a little slow to action here.

We had just decided to order a Bolt taxi, and he was 2 minutes away, when the heavens opened! A then very scary (and damp) 10 minute ride home – the driver almost aqua planing his Ford Focus (yes any car can become a boy racer model with the right operator) and overtaking and undertaking everything in sight. May I just say here, visibility was about five meters!

We made it….took a quick trip to the bakery for lunch and home to eat and rest! Only one of us is snoring away!

For some reason WordPress, or the operator malfunctioned and I could not deliver the second part of the morning

George in front of the palace.

A little further down the side of the lake was an amphitheater and the stage in the lake..very cute.

With a view from the outdoor seating back up to the palace.

We had definitely beaten the crowds, so far we had only spied a few runners and the odd mum and pushchair. It was now almost 10am and we spotted the first walking tour. Time to head off, we had practically been VIP guests for the last hour and a half, with the palace and park to ourselves.

Next, we went towards the waterfront, to make our way back home.

We found one of those islands in the middle of the river and walked through bush, above houseboats..

A beach volleyball complex and a rather large rowing club camp.

Boats (motor and rowing) moored in the canal as we crossed the bridge with lock gates and left our island behind.

We were now on the riverfront, with riverfront beaches, all very sparsely populated…it seems like we were ahead of any crowd action this morning.

However, there did seem to be a fair bit of construction activity further along the rivers edge, with many bars being set up in a mad frenzy on a Friday morning.

Coca-Cola sand bar, no where near a beach of course, but in readiness for something.

The converse bar on a riverboat in front of the stadium on the other side….where Bon Jovi is playing tonight. Maybe there will be a party before and after (and during) on the rivers edge.

Under a couple of bridges, getting very warm and footsore (15000 steps already under our belts) we were close to home….spotted Russ out for a walk, so we all devoured a very large Kebab and headed back for an afternoon rest.

Warsaw, with a population of about 2 millions seems very sparsely populated…maybe everyone has left for the summer.

p.s. just sorted the tech problem had to buy more media space to keep the story rolling.

Russ opted for a rest day, so George and Sue set off on foot at 8am to explore Lazienki Palace and Royal Baths Park.

Definitely a more summery feel in the air and no wind for the first time since we arrived in Warsaw.

Tennis park and football stadium en route.

The Lazienki Palace is on 78 hectares of gardens and in the middle of a lake…first glimpse

The view from the bridge and then into the gardens.

Can you read the T-shirt- these kiwis got lost!

Wandering through the gardens, planning on a circumnavigation of the Palace, after about 40 minutes we ended up back in this exact same spot, not actually having got near the palace.

On the way, however…

The Orange grove house – with a very manicured orchard of round orange trees (pruned to perfection)

Squirrels running around in the treed gardens…

Memorial monument to Fredrick Chopin, surrounded by deck chairs to soak up the ambience.

This bird enjoying the peace and quiet and sweet smell of the rose gardens.

And this bird enjoying the summer sunshine and smell of cat poo….couldn’t rest for too long and checked the bottom of my shoes..but all clear!

Back down the hill towards the palace…

Peaceful little rivers and pathways….and a full circle of the right hand corner back to where we started.

Ok, palace on the radar now, we stick close to the lake.

Et Voila, up close and personal with the palace building. Around the side to the back gardens and lake.

This story continues….

Not all stories are happy ones and today’s journey took the Kiwi Wanderers on a very sobering path.

While Warsaw is a vibrant and beautiful city to visit, under the sometimes sombre faces of the Poles lies some memories that can never be forgotten.

Today we visited Treblinka – the labour camp and the extermination camp site of the polish Jewish people and many other adjoining countries.

We knew it would not be a happy day, but we did not imagine the reality.

We booked a Bolt (Uber) driver to transport us both ways, an hour and a half from Warsaw.

We arrived in a deserted forest area, obviously not a prime tourist attraction. These camps were set up by the Nazis in 1942, disguised as a relocation destination for Jewish people, mainly from the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw…it operated for only 11 months and saw the murders of 900,000 Jews in that time. They were allowed to take 15 kgs of luggage with them, and were transported by overcrowded cattle train carriages to what they quickly realised was to be their demise.

Upon arrival at Treblinka II (the extermination camp) by railway, (those that survived the journey) the people were stripped of all their possessions, clothing and the womens hair shaved and marched into gas chambers…. the disabled and ill were herded to a “hospital” and shot in the back of their heads.

Some of the more able were moved to the labour camp, Treblinka I, two kms further into the forest, to work as slaves to the German and Ukrainian guards and were used to make the black road (from Treblinka I to Treblinka II) out of broken grave headstones, work in the quarry, garden and work on the arrival platform – sorting clothes and possessions to send back to Germany – all the while, knowing their fellow countryman’s fate was instant death on arrival.

Very few who tried to escape survived, due to the remoteness and the cruelty of the guards…shoot as soon as they moved.

Upon disbanding the camp, all evidence (burial pits and buildings) were burnt to the ground to alleviate any of the atrocities committed here…this memorial has been built on the site of the extermination campsite in memory of some who lost their lives.

This was our first encounter of the Treblinka II (extermination camp) and we were already feeling the sadness of the area.

This is a reconstruction of a fire pit, where any remains were burnt.

And here, where the train stopped and where the people were stripped of their possessions and dignity, stands a memorial to all the countries who suffered at the hands of the Germans of Treblinka.

The next steps of our journey took us 2 kms down the handmade black road to Treblinka I, the labour camp, further into the forest…

A short rest for Russ along the tree lined road, where many took their final steps. The silence was overwhelming, probably the most eerie feeling was the lack of any birds or any signs of wildlife in such a densely wooded area…

This road opened out onto the quarry, where the labour camp people worked until they were too broken and then sent to the execution site.

The path then opened up to the labour camp remains…

A very cleared and precisely carved wooded boundary in the middle of the forest.

The stoned floors of the housing and storehouses still remain.

The area had been totally enclosed with barb wire fences and disguised with plants growing on on the outside with guard towers at all points.

We again walked the 2km “black road” with a much deeper understanding of the pain of WWII murder camps…

At least this area has been discovered and uncovered so that everyone, who visits, can keep the memories alive of those who died here.

Our taxi driver was waiting on our return to the still deserted car park and we had a very quiet journey back into the city.

A day like today makes us appreciate our freedom to roam and the opportunities available to us, without persecution!

Coffee time with George who arrived last night, waking up to Wawsaw!

First stop the Bakery (local) to pocket our sandwiches for our morning trip to the “outlet mall” – we didn’t buy cakes and the boys were really excited about the shopping expedition….

The entrance to the mall after another very reasonable Bolt(Uber) ride!

So to spare my readers the agony – shoes, shorts and T-shirt’s …. done and dusted in a couple of hours, sandwiches eaten and back home for a small rest before the afternoon excursion.

Resting en route to old town before the hill climb, and checking out the cricket score! Half way up the hill, it was victory for the black caps in the World Cup semi final.

Poland’s got talent was happening at the top of the hill with lots of music and auditions underway!

A glimpse inside the church housing the hearts of renowned Polish people

And behind this plaque herein lies the heart of Frederick Chopin.

Now we turn our attention to the street entertainment happening in the old city evening.

Two girls singing and playing harp like instruments. The polish language sounding very lyrical.

The tradies hard at work laying a new paved road..one to lift, one to lay and one to hammer into place.

Flowers flourishing in the cooler polish summer, and rain.

A couple of girls in costume – century unknown.

This young man Playing his tiny piano and really enjoying his life…I think!

A couple of tourists using their imagination….A father/son moment!

And a husband/wife moment in the middle of Old Town.

And the tall monument dwarfing George – not much dwarfs George – in old European towns thing are just high.

Finished the evening off with a meal at an, off the beaten track, well rated restaurant….

Zwierzyniec Beer, halibut, pork and peas, risotto! The ratings on the food were correct, delicious food. And just so we will write a good review on TripAdvisor, our waiter Simon bought out complementary flavoured vodka shots! Whilst we were eating our dinner a couple of accordion playing street vendors came past and George shared our bread with them.

Russ really enjoyed them!