Wednesday in Berlin

Today we planned on taking a bike tour.  It was easily the highlight of our days spent in berlin.  Our guide, Randall, was the funniest aussie I’ve ever met.  He travels to Berlin every other year to work for the bike company, and in the off year, he goes to Bolivia to work with underprivileged children.  They run the bike tours to raise money for the kids.  He was so funny and taught the history of the city in a way that humorous, entertaining and easily understandable.   We started out by picking out our bikes.  He said we should take our time and find one that we really loved.  He said we should use our squeaky toys and bells!  They were all very nice geared California beach cruiser bikes.  We all picked a bike and gathered around for his final instructions before we were on our way.  He asked for a volunteer.  Said it needed to be someone responsible, strong, caring and easy to spot.  David raised his hand.  He thanked him for volunteering when he didn’t even know what he was volunteering for.  Then he said, David would be our “ASS-MAN”.  The one to stay at the end of the pack and watch all of our “asses” and make sure no one got lost.  He said he’d rather be doing that then leading the group, but David probably didn’t know where to go.  He would look behind and make sure he could see his “Y” baseball hat.  If he couldn’t find his assman, then he would know something was wrong and he would go looking for the lost people.  More than once, our faithful assman David saved the day by helping the girls who crashed their bikes or who stopped to take a picture and then got left behind.  I was so proud of him!

The concept of the bike tour was amazing.  We were so tired from walking and this way we could get from sight to sight in no time at all.  The best part was the city was completely shut down because of Obama.  Today there was NO car traffic which actually worked out nice, because it wasn’t nearly as scary to ride on the roads.  The amount of polezi  was crazy!  Armoured tanks at every street and the parks were lined with armed agents.  I kept thinking, is this really all necessary?  We were able to get through most security stops with our guide and saw most of the big stops.  We couldn’t get close to Brandenburg gate because that is where Obama was actually speaking.  They had also closed down check point Charlie and the Reichstadt building while we were there to prepare for the first family to visit.  But, we still did and saw lots!  We will definitely plan a return trip in two years.

Because of the security issues we had to take a different path through the Tiergarten.  It is an amazing park in the middle of Berlin that used to be the royal hunting ground.  Unfortunately the only path available to take went right past the Nudst Meadow.  Yep, Dorthy, you are not in Kansas anymore.  Now this is not the kind of nudity you want to see……as a matter of fact, you don’t ever want to see this kind.  PEOPLE, have you looked in a mirror?  The guide said, try and keep your eye to the left, but it is just like a train wreck, you really can’t help but look at it.”  I’m glad he gave us some warning.  We were riding along and out of nowhere, a bunch of rolly polly old men were sprawled all over the grass on blankets and dozens of them were dancing around in the fountains.  Oh my!  I’m surprised that no one wrecked their bike.  He did say if you like what you see, then give them a little squeak with your horn to let them know.  UM, some of our group did.  Mmmmmm, I think they did it because they just wanted a reaction and they got what they asked for. 

CJ mentioned that they wandered down the beach one day to find themselves in an area where people should look in the mirror before prancing around in their birthday suit.  I guess we not big into the nude scene in America.

**********WARNING TANGENT*******

You have been officially notified that the following section is emotionally charged and possibly blown out of proportion.

Ok, seriously!  REALLY!  You close down a major museum for three days, so the first family can visit for one hour?  Are they really that important?  How many visitors do think there were in Berlin this week that missed that opportunity because the government feels justified for “security reasons” to completely take over a city?  Did I mention I’ve had my trip planned for more than 1 year!  Not only that, I didn’t know Obama was in Berlin until I got here.  Maybe the government could keep us more informed of where NOT to vacation if we wanted a break from American politics for a week.  I kept seeing $$$$$ as they welded every man hole cover shut, swept every park with thousands of officers, put up security fencing for miles and miles and miles.  Brought in huge tanks and armored vehicles to place on every single street!  Is it necessary to shut down a museum two days prior to a visit of the president?  They can’t do a security check in less than 48 hours?  If his life is in that much danger, maybe he should just stay home!  After the third day of the OBAMA CHAOS, the Berliners who were excited for his visit were now just mumbling about the ridiculous level of security and inconvenience this has caused.  They said over and over, it wasn’t like this the last time he came.  But ahhhhh, he wasn’t the President of the United States then.  The street restaurants and venders all had to close and lose business, there wasn’t a trash can to be found anywhere!  They were the unhappiest of all.  Who would cover their expense for a week without any customers? 

All this effort and expended resources to speak out in the open, which in the end didn’t happen, he ended up speaking behind a bullet proof shield anyway.  There were only 4,000 special guests who were cleared to attend.  Needless to say, the tone definitely changed over the few days we were here, and the other Americans visiting expressed feelings much like ours.  When I was asked why I didn’t like him, I mentioned a few things about the “big brother spy attitude” of his government and what I think is obvious dishonesty and deception.  Man, did that set the German people off.  I guess I should have figured that out ahead of time, but I was just being honest.  Don’t they read the paper?  Don’t they know what is really going on in the USA?  Excuse after excuse for illegal behavior that is “necessary” to protect us?  Sounds like something from German history.

************************TANGENT OVER******************************

So the bike tour was amazing like I was saying, and we enjoyed every bit of it.  We ended up back at the TV tower where we started.  David was congratulated for being a great Ass-man and was told he could have a free beer, but since Randall figured out along the way we don’t drink, he offered him nice cold bubble free water.  (actually more expensive than the beer!) and gave him a free piece of the berlin wall. 

We walked back to the station and headed back to the hotel.  We were  hot and sticky!  We took an afternoon shower to cool off and took a short nap before getting dressed to go and meet with the mission president. 

We figured out the trains to make it to the mission home.  After getting to the closest station we had a short walk (about 1.6 Km).  The neighborhood was beautiful, and it had cooled off just enough to be bearable.  We arrived at their home just as they were pulling in the drive way…..perfect timing. 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is all I can say.  They were wonderful!  I’m so glad we had the opportunity to meet them and spend just a short time visiting with them.  I think Sister Kosak is a lot like me…..poor CJ.  She is matter of fact, but in the sweetest way.  She said she pleads with the elders to keep their apartments clean because the spirit couldn’t possibly live in that kind of a mess.  They answered all of our questions, shared lots of great information about what would be best for CJ, and were delightful in every way.  President Kosak said he believes in principles, not rules; because if you only have rules, you will not know where to go next, except to look for the next set of rules.   It was evident that telling someone how to live their life is not something he will ever be a part of.  I’m not sure I’ve got the quote right, but he said every missionary who complains about his companion will hear this, “Elder, you can choose your wife, but not your companion.  You need to learn how to get along with your companion because you don’t choose your children.”  How true!

President Kosak kindly drove us back to the train station and just as I was getting out of the car he said, “Sweet Mother Mullen, your boy will be in good hands.  You need not worry so much.”  I replied “But if mothers didn’t worry, the number of prayers offered for the missionaries and all that labor with them might decrease.”   He gave me a sweet smile and a warm hand “hug” and we were off to the train. 

I felt so much better!  I have had more peace than anxiety, but after meeting them the anxiety was mostly gone.  We have a good plan of what he really needed, what the mission was going to be like, how money, bikes, traveling, personal shopping and everything else was handled.  I wish every mother could have had the experience I just had.  It was such a blessing.