Seahike had been standing still in Tunisia for about 3 ½ months by this time. She would be sitting still for another six weeks or so until we started our sailing season. We decided that this would be a good time to have her hauled out to get her bottom power washed, sanded and repainted with primer and anti-fouling. We also took the opportunity to have her tops and sides polished, have a mechanic look at the starboard sail drive and engine, and replace the sacrificial anodes.

We planned to leave for the US via France in February and wanted to be around for the haul out. (You will also recall that we’d planned some time before this to have her hauled out, as that is why we returned from our trip to Germany and Switzerland earlier than we had wanted.) The haul-out was scheduled for January 31. A beautiful sunset kept us company as we took Seahike to a nearby port where they have haul-out facilities.

We were instructed to be at the port at 8:00 a.m. We were. We waited until 11:00 a.m. to actually get Seahike hauled out. I hadn’t witnessed a haul-out before, so I rather enjoyed it.

The huge travel lift has straps that are placed under the boat which then lift it slowly out of the water. Then the travel lift drives the boat to its resting place in the yard, where workers place (in this case) wood under the hulls. The travel lift and its straps then drive away to repeat with another boat.

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I am starting with the horrifying site: The Topography of Terror

From Visit Berlin: “Remembering terror and persecution – the documentation centre Topographie des Terrors is one of the most-visited places of remembrance in Berlin.

A place where terror is tangible, a place of remembrance and a warning from history, the “Topography of Terror” exhibition is located on the site where between 1933 and 1945 the principal instruments of Nazi persecution and terror were located: the headquarters of the Gestapo, the high command and security service of the SS, and from 1939 the Reich Security Main Office.”

A description from Germany/travel: “The Topography of Terror is different to the other places of remembrance relating to the rule of Fascism in Berlin because it is the site of the perpetrators. The exhibition at the heart of the capital city informs visitors about the headquarters of the SS and police state, which makes the European aspect of the Nazi reign of terror all the more real.

The site that has been home to the Topography of Terror since 1987 was once used to plan and govern the majority of crimes committed by the Nazis. Between 1933 and 1945, the main institutions of the Nazi instigators of terror, the SS and Gestapo, could be found here. Having been partially destroyed during the war and then changed beyond all recognition later on, this historical site was gradually added back into Germany’s memory of its past from the 1980s onwards. “

The major focus of the permanent exhibition of the “Topography of Terror” is on the central institutions of the SS and police in the Third Reich and the crimes they committed across Europe. The exhibition panels mostly present historical photographs supplemented by introductory texts and short quotes. Under the panels are consoles where thematically arranged documents are displayed.

It was actually quite a horrifying visit. I can’t bring myself to share any of the stories. That said, I think it is important to visit places like this. If you go to Berlin, gird your loins and go.

Now let’s move to the confusing site: The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Let’s start with the facts: The monument is composed of 2,711 rectangular concrete slabs (or stelae), laid out in a grid formation, the monument is organized into a rectangle-like array. This allows for long, straight, and narrow alleys between them, along which the ground undulates. The stelae are 7 ft 9 ½ inches long, 3 ft 1 ½ inches wide and vary in height from 8 inches to 15 ft 5 inches. The site occupies an entire 205,000-square-foot city block.

The rest is open to interpretation.

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We braved the cold and strong winds and visited several places in Berlin. But first, let’s talk about our hotel and Checkpoint Charlie. We stayed at the Mercure Hotel and Residenz Berlin Checkpoint Charlie. It is a nice hotel, in a good location, and just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie. We recommend it.

For those who need a refresher, Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of East and West.

When Berlin was divided into East and West, the former military checkpoint was controlled by the Americans. Only foreigners, employees of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in the GDR, and GDR officials were allowed to cross the border here.

Important Site of the Cold War

There was hardly any other place where the atmosphere of the Cold War was as frosty as at Checkpoint Charlie. The border crossing gained notoriety in October 1961 after the construction of the Berlin Wall: in the last days of October, American and Soviet tanks took up positions here after members of the US mission were asked to identify themselves at the GDR border post when passing through the Allied checkpoint. Soviet and Allied tanks faced each other with live ammunition and a third world war almost ensued. In the years that followed, the checkpoint was the scene of spectacular escapes which often ended in death.

Here it is today! The “sandbags” are made of cement.

I bought this cup at the museum you see in the picture. It isn’t glass or ceramic so it should last on Seahike, unlike the glass glasses we foolishly brought onboard.

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We thoroughly enjoyed our short time in Lucerne. But because we were on the fastest trip ever to see several sites in Switzerland, it was time to get a move on. Our next stops were Interlaken Ost and Grindelwald. We arrived in Interlaken Ost the evening of the 20th, so we had the full day to visit Grindelwald. If we’d had more time, we would have spent a full day in Interlaken West.

On the walk to the station to go to Grindelwald, we saw a paraglider – yes, paragliding in the middle of the cold winter! Don’t get me wrong, I liked my paragliding experience and I liked my 46 (? – give or take, I don’t recall exactly) skydiving experiences, but I did them when it was warm. No thank you to what this guy is doing! Here he is landing in the park right by our hotel.

Here are two more pictures of Interlaken Ost.

And just like that, we were in Grindelwald. Initial pictures:

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If you haven’t read the January 16-18 blog about our visits to Munich and Ulm, you might want to read that first. In the end, the order is immaterial. Just sayin’ that there’s another blog about Munich.

Our main goal (we had a late start) was to get to the glockenspiel before noon to see the re-enactment of a Medieval tournament. It does this at 11:00 a.m. and noon. We had time to visit St. Peter’s church on the way. Actually, we didn’t really visit it so much as utilize the tower for a view. Michael decided to hang out down below while I climbed the 306 steps to the top. The view was quite nice.

Everything that happened next was all about the glockenspiel. I took a video with my phone and grabbed screenshots, so the pics aren’t that great, but I hope it gives you an idea of the “show.”

First, it just shows people and knights hanging out. There is a bit of jousting, but no one is hurt. Then one of the knights gets the other one with the joust. When that happened, Michael said with a dramatic flair, “Oh no, he got him!”

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It was time to take another trip. We had planned to go to Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, but we had to limit the trip to Germany and Switzerland. Here’s why: We had to wait until we had been out of Schengen for 90 days, so the earliest we could go to a Schengen country was January 13. Plus, Michael wanted us to return to Tunisia no later than January 26 because they were going to work on Seahike (sand her bottom and apply new antifoul paint) “sometime in late January.”

In the end, we had a total of 10 days for our vacation. Due to available flights and weird extremes of costs, we started in Munich, then went to Switzerland, then went back to Germany to Berlin, then to Monastir. Today’s blog is about our first few days of the trip, in Munich and Ulm.

We first want to give a shoutout to Hotel City Demas in Munich. It is a lovely hotel, with friendly staff, and is within walking distance of lots of stuff. We arrived later in the day so our main goal the first night was to go to a beer hall. We got a nice night-time view of the Neues Rathaus along the way. Here is our hotel and Neues Rathaus (which we visited again in the daytime):

The beer hall was fun. You just grab any old table and plop down. We were fortunate to plop down next to two friendly gentlemen, and not far from the little band. The beer, music and company were all excellent. We ate something, but I don’t remember what it was.

This is where we went: Hofbräuhaus München. A legendary history. After centuries of producing beer for the royals, in 1828 the Hofbräuhaus was opened to the public by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The beer hall quickly became the center of public and political life in Munich, counting famous names such as Mozart and Lenin amongst its regular customers. 

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