Long, thin, slimy ones; Short, fat, juicy ones....

Thursday afternoon brought the group to Worms, home to the "Holy Sands" cemetery, which is considered the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe (the oldest grave dates back to 1058/1059--38 years before the First Crusade decimated the Jewish community there).

Thursday morning mist

the view of Heidelberg from the Castle at the top of the hill...

On the way to Speyer...

It turns out there was a little, um, issue on the bus trip from Heidelberg to Speyer: the bus broke down. For some, nature called (behind the bus as it turned out) but technology won out and they sent out a new bus. Here's the group waiting for that happy time:

Ready for a dip?

It was a series of adventures getting there, but here's most if the group perched on the mezzanine overlooking the medieval mikveh in Speyer:

The wide reach of medieval thought

stretches aaallll the way to Heidelberg's Hochschule fuer Juedische Studien (Academy of Jewish Studies)

It was a long, long, long travel day

The schedule called for a 6am departure from our hotel in Berlin and some were eager to get on the road:

 

while others gave into the lure of the train:

But it was heartening to see their reaction to Frankfurt all the same:

When you get back to Berlin...

hopefully, the sun will be shining and The New York Times is on the case: After the Thaw: Outdoor Fun in Berlin.

On top of the Reichstag!

After a very full day of engaging representatives of the government (including Wolfgang Drautz, the former Consul General in Los Angeles), the group made it to the seat of power itself, the Reichstag. Despite the crazy security guard who tried to push Jason into an overcrowded elevator, the visit ended up being pretty good. (Thanks Arjan for having our back!)

Neither rain nor...uh...rain....

Nothing can keep us down! We had an incredibly interesting morning at Berlin's memorials but none more iconic than the Brandenburg Gate. Aren't we a good looking group?

Oh, what a night....

It was a lovely end of Shabbat dinner (despite the unrelenting rain!!) with a group of 8 theology students from the Humboldt University. Here we are as we wait for them to arrive at Cafe Orange:

The long, slow dinner

At Casalot, on our second night--once the food came (3 hours later) it was pretty good!

And best of all? Our friend and teacher Reuven Firestone joined us!

And then, after lunch

a walking tour with Dr. Dagmar Pruin, the director of Germany Close Up, through Berlin the city of contrasts

Four future rabbis in front of Rabbinerin Regina Jonas' former apt.

Berlin's new Barbie Dreamhouse Experience

Hard to believe it's only been a single day...

On our first day, as we enjoyed a somewhat abbreviated bus tour, we saw the memorial to the Berlin Wall

the incredible memorial to the Berlin book burning in 1933

and the amazing neighborhood (Mitte) where we'll be staying for the next five days.

On our first night...

After a quick "first impressions" session and a hilariously sleep-deprived introduction to the Germany Close Up support team--including our guides Arjan and Gregor--we headed down the street for a long, slow dinner at Cafe Oranien. See? You can hardly tell anyone's jet lagged....

And, while you're waiting for the rest of us to arrive

Some more Berlin city tips from the guide of all guides....

Slow Travel Berlin

http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/de/  It's a (slow) travel magazine, and they sometimes have a few nice essays on historical matters, and also gastronomy. (Say, this one: http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2013/04/16/a-trip-through-berlins-ghost-stations/)

or this one

http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2013/03/21/berlins-historic-market-halls/.

Check out http://unlike.net/berlin, an English city magazine with good restaurant, art ,etc. guides.

And, http://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/, a relatively new portal for all the museums (in English of course!)

Finding your way around the city....

From our awesome guide Arjan:

For Android users, there's a free map app called "MapsWithMe" that can be used offline - hence no data connection necessary while in Germany. Just download the Berlin package once you installed the app, enable GPS, and you have an offline 'GoogleMaps' with you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapswithme.maps&hl=en. There is no iPhone version... but this app might do the same trick (and in English): https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/fahrplan/id284970116?mt=8

For public transport planning, I can recommend the free app Öffi (in English) that actually covers many cities. It also has a Berlin metro map and surrounding maps of big stations like Alexanderplatz or the central train station. This app does need an Internet connection, so you should use it with a wifi connection (hotel, café) to avoid roaming costs.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.oeffi&hl=en

And we are OFF....

After five days, ten sessions, of intense but fantastic prep, we are ready for Berlin (insofar as anyone is ever ready for Berlin)! Follow our journey over the next two weeks as we explore all that the "new" Germany had to offer. Ten of us together (eight HUCnikim, one USC Trojan, & a hybrid) will check out all there is to see.