Born in the DDR

Today was all about daily life in the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik). In English, the GDR (German Democratic Republic). Ach! So many acronyms! The DDR Museum was awesome. What did vacationing look like for East Germans (limited, & only to nearby communist countries)? Sports? Movies? Work? TV? A video driving game appeared on the car windshield, & we "drove" an East German Trabant, nicknamed a Trabi. Running jokes about the Trabi included: How do you double the value of a Trabi? Fill the tank.

We explored a pretty life-sized replica of an apartment: kids' room, master bedroom, bathroom, living room, & kitchen. Opening cupboards & drawers revealed real-life items with descriptions & explanations. Kids tried out their skills on the manual typewriter in the living room & were fascinated. I'm serving tea in my East German apron.

Afterwards at a nearby outdoor cafe, we licked our bowls clean of our chocolate ice cream sundaes in fancy glass bowls.

Berlin's coat of arms bears a bear. The city is dotted with fancifully painted ones. I said hello to the ones from Ritter Sport Chocolate World, Taiwan, Sweden, & my hotel (oh, to do a headstand, but that cement was awfully hard).