I have been to Anne Frank’s house before and it certainly was a memorable experience however today’s visit was something else.

For those who do not know the story of this young girl who for two years hid behind a bookcase that led to a hidden area. She lived there with her family for two years before being betrayed by the owner of the building and sent to the concentration camp.

During the time she was in hiding from the Nazis this young girl wrote a diary and wrote in a style way beyond her years.

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Before I say what I am about to say I must tell you I love Holland and I will tell you why later.

However, before I tell what I like I have to balance that out with the dislikes.
Firstly, the language which is as confusing as why someone hasn’t given Simon Cowell the good news with a five iron yet.

In Dutch the A is pronounced I and the E pronounced A and don’t get me started on the J.

Then there are the words which require half a ton of phlegm in your mouth just to say it……I asked directions from a Dutch Guide today and my hair is now full of his spittle.

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I am sitting here in the departures lounge looking at one of the smallest Fokkers I have ever seen……………….I had no idea they made passenger planes this small and I have already been told that my carry on bag is too big and has to be checked into the Fokkers holding area.

Now, considering my carry on is a small laptop dancer bag you will understand this is one small Fokker and when I was a kid I had a bigger plane than this hanging over my bed on a piece of string.

However, here I sit waiting to board the flight from Hamburg to Amsterdam looking at a Fokker on the runway. Now it is a jet plane but the engine is small and looks like the sort of thing you see on a Subaru car and if it gets up in the air it will surprise me.

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I have been arrested only once before but it came very close to being a second time today…..more about that later.

First though a very Guten Morgen to you all from Germany where we spend a few more hours before flying to Amsterdam. Last night we had a wonderful dinner at a place called La Villa in Warnemunde. Heidi had Risotto and I decided to go for something different. Usually when in a foreign land on these trips the Tour Operators choose the menu for you feeling that you need to try the local cuisine. Therefore as I have been telling you I have dined on Herring, Bear, Elk, Reindeer and Eel. However last night I was allowed to choose from the menu myself and much to my astonishment I found myself ordering……..Wild Boar. I say that I astonished myself because there was a time when I looked at a restaurant menu and it didn’t have “and fries” listed I would leave.

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Well, it’s time for bed. It is 11:00 pm and we have a full day of inspections and then a flight tomorrow night to Amsterdam.

Here is Bubba’s last blog and please join me in thanking him for sharing in his adventures.
I am off to sleep in my German bed and for the first time in many years and thanks to the sausages I have as the Germans say ” KANNNICHTSCHEISSEN “………it’s prunes for breakfast for me.

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Yesterday in Berlin we saw the famous sights that represented the Old Eastern Germany in Check Point Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the remnants of the wall. This morning I visited one that is very clear in my mind thanks to the Harry Palmer cold war spy films starring Michael Caine.

In one of his movies there is a Spy exchange with a British and Soviet Spy walking down a mist laden bridge…….the movie whose title embarrassingly escapes my memory was based on a true story and the bridge was the scene of many famous such spy swaps. The bridge is called The Glienicke Bridge and American, British and Soviet spies walked that bridge…..some to a hero’s welcome and some walking to the Russian side to receive the good news from a Luger and given the OBE……one behind the ear.

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In the UK we are proud to have the worst train system in Europe. If your train is supposed to leave at 10:27 am you will be lucky if it leaves at 11:27 am if it leaves at all. It will therefore come as no surprise that the German train system is the best in Europe. If a train is scheduled to leave at 10:27 am it will leave at 10:27 am and if you arrive at the platform at 10:27 will find the train has buggered off and you will be in the scheisse..

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It seems that in the last two days I have spoken about my bottom a lot and tonight is no exception.

I have just sat on a motor coach for 3 hours straight without adding the 9 hours I had previously done today already. Therefore, right now my bottom is totally numb and you comb it with a porcupine and I wouldn’t feel a thing. We have just arrived in Warnemunde following an exhausting and emotional day and here I am at the Neptune Hotel. I had good intentions of sending loads of photos tonight but I have just discovered that there is no wireless service here and instead I have to go and get something called a “cable” from reception and use a “dial up service.”

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Today we saw the Brandenburg Gate where President Kennedy said those immortal words ” Ich bin ein Berliner.” We saw the summer palaces of Alexander 1st and the Sans Souci palace with its gorgeous fountain lined gardens. We visitied the Domed Cathedral and the Cecilienhof Palace where Truman, Stalin and Churchill met after the war to decide the fate of Germany.

However, now as I sit here on the bus for the 3 hour ride to Warnemunde I only have thoughts for the place I jus came from………Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. We walked as the prisoners did up to the huge forboding iron gates that have the feared insignia of the SS on either side and in the middle the words ” Arbeit Macht Frei” which translates to ” work will give you freedom .”……..nothing was further than the truth as this was the place where 50,000 Jews, Russian soldiers and anyone who did not fit Hitler’s “Kampf” died. We listened to the stories from our expert guide about the tortue and we visited the cells and chambers where these acts were carried out. Then there were the stories about the children……..oh the children……I cannot even bring myself to write the words.

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