Berlin, once a city literally divided in two by a wall, is a city whose rich history stares you in the face at every turn.  Lesley visited Berlin 48 years ago when she was a 15 year old wide-eyed teenager.  All that she can recall is visiting the small one-story (now much larger) museum at Check Point Charlie and actually getting to cross over Check Point Charlie and visiting East Berlin.  At the time, it was quite depressing. In some respects, there is an overwhelming sadness that consumes you when you visit today.  On Wednesday, we took a 5 1/2 hour tour of the highlights of Berlin.  It is a city that staged a revolution, was headquartered by Nazis, bombed to bits, divided in two and finally reunited. . . and that was just in the 20th century!  The city has a very industrial look about it.  We read, with great surprise, that it is actually nine times the physical size of Paris; however, there really isn’t a “downtown” area per se.

There are many tourists in Berlin, although there doesn’t appear to be many Americans.  Unfortunately, tourism is the most significant industry and the locals complain that all of the government money is spent to enhance the tourist experience.  For instance, the city is spending about a billion euros on the re-creation of a huge palace, strictly for tourism, near Museum Island.  We did note that there are many young people living here (Berlin is considered a very cheap place in which to live) and bicycles are very common in this very flat city that sits on a marsh.  (We don’t think the city is that inexpensive; but, of course we are tourists.)  It is also important to remember that 90% of the city was destroyed by Allied bombings during WWII.  The great historical buildings and sites were all recreated after the war.  There are buildings that survived as you can see (pictures below) the bullet holes and other markings on the stone sides of the buildings.

One of the many places we visited was the Gendarmenmarkt which is the most beautiful square in Berlin. It is a wonderful example of an architectural harmony; as, both the French and the German cathedrals are opposite each other and reflect many stunning similarities.  Our guide mentioned that the Concert House at Gendarmenmarkt has the reputation for having the 5th best acoustics in the world.

We visited the bunker area were Hitler took up residence in January 1945 and it became the center of the Nazi regime.  Hitler rarely left the bunker until he committed suicide.  The site is fenced off with some small, rusty metal fences with weeds, grass and dirt within this small area.  Obviously, the Germans do not want to commemorate this site; however, there was an unobtrusive sign acknowledging its historical significance.

The Holocaust Memorial is a city block of concrete “boxes”, every one different than the other.  As you wander through the narrow passageways between the boxes, you are reminded of graves and yet each being different, you think that these were individuals that were murdered.  It is very sobering.  Another holocaust memorial are the brass name plates (about 4-5 inches square) that are randomly placed into the sidewalks throughout the city (and now all over Europe).  These plates show the name, birth date and other information (i.e. at what concentration camp they were murdered) about these victims.  Often they are grouped with other family members name plates.

One of the most important landmarks in Berlin is the Brandenburg gate which dates back to the 1700’s.  It is the only remaining gate in the city formerly used to represent the separation of the city between East and West Berlin.  We were told that the gate symbolizes unity.  The gate is located in the Pariser Platz where all the government building and embassies are located.  We were surprised that the current U.S. embassy was completed and opened in 2008.

Overall, Berlin is a very nice, clean city but its history and all that is memorialized (which is good) adds a sobering tone to the otherwise very active, “young” city.

The medieval cliffside town of Taormina is spectacularly perched on the side of a mountain.  It is Sicily’s favorite summer playground and it has the allure of Capri.  This little piece of paradise is high above the Ionian Sea affording fantastic views of both the sea and Mount Etna. Its natural beauty is hard to dispute.  We decided Taormina was the perfect place to spend 3 days and celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.  The hillside town has numerous restaurants and high-end hotels near the beach or up the hill in the town center on top of the cliffs.  The two areas are connected by a gondola that, we understand, is often down for maintenance (like it is now).  Bus service is available but we chose to walk the 500+ steps up the hill to this quaint center.  The uber-charming walking street called Corso Umberto is part of the city center and is filled with fabulous high-end retailers, shoe and leather good stores, and pesce (seafood) restaurants.   Like Orytiga,  Taormina is so narrow and populated (especially during the warmer months) that all visitors (except residents and hotel guest) must park in one of two parking lots and walk into town.

The views are simply gorgeous from our hotel room and deck.  The aqua-colored water is crystal clear but the beaches, like Capri, are small and rocky.   We look out onto the Isola (Island) Bella which means beautiful island.  It was a private property until 1990 when it was bought by the region of Sicily and turned into a nature reserve.  It has a very interesting history.  There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach.  We enjoyed watching the tide from our balcony disconnect the island and people wading through the water to get to the island.

In Taormina, time is not seen as the enemy, but an asset; after all, this is Sicily’s chic resort town beloved by the high-rollers and visiting celebs.  Everything seem to takes more time around here.   We quickly learned to embrace the pace and enjoy taking our time while eating, walking, talking and even shopping!  During our “honeymoon” here,  it rained most of the time; so, we didn’t hike but had still had an amazing time relaxing and “taking it easy”.   Besides being a spectacular seaside town with sun-drenched beaches, the remains of the Teatro Greco (Greek Theater) is the biggest tourist attraction.  It was rebuilt by the Romans in the 2nd century and is currently used as a stage for operas, concerts and theatrical performances.

We actually feel that Taormina is our No.1 favorite “vacation” spot compared to the Amalfi Coast and Capri.  We are going to sign off and enjoy the rest of our 40th.  We are off to Berlin on Tuesday via Rome.

We visited Mount Etna on Saturday on our way to Taormina.  Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.  Viewing it from the freeway,  it truly dominates the landscape of eastern Sicily.  We were very lucky, the mountain had had clouds at the top for a number of days but as we got closer, the high clouds disappeared and left the peak clear and cold.  As we started our ascent to the Mount Etna gondola by car around twists, turns and hairpin curves, it felt like we were on another planet.  The environment shares the same rugged, ugly and treeless appearance as the Calbuco Volcano we visited in the lakes district of Patagonia, Chile.  Once again, like Calbuco,  both are home to active ski resorts – a big shocker that a ski area exists on a very active volcano in Sicily.

Traveling up the mountain, we finally arrived at a parking area with loads of touristy nick-nack shops, a few restaurants and a gondola.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late to trek any of the mountain, so we opted for the gondola plus a special massive jeep-truck ride and tour after the gondola ride.  The old and slow gondola only took us partially up Mount Etna to about 7,000 feet.  It was a very pricey $145 adventure as there were about 75 people with only one guide for about a 45-minute tour at 9,000 feet.  One can make the 5 1/2 hour round-trip hike further up to the edge of the active crater at the peak (11,000 feet)  if you hire a private guide and leave early in the morning.  We got lucky and actually experienced a loud burst of yellow sulfur clouds spewing out of one of the craters at the very top.  Our guided tour was at one of the craters that was created in the 2002 eruption.

We were surprised to discover that the most recent and apparently, quite spectacular eruption occurred December 3, 2015 – just 5 months ago!  It had sent plumes of fire and ash into the sky, almost a mile high.  Our guide told us that the eruption caused the closure of the nearest airport and left several villages covered in a layer of thick ash.  Due to this recent eruption, the entire mountain was covered with volcanic ash & pumice with the snow underneath.   As a result, we were told that trekking the mountain was quite challenging due to all the loose rock.  The hikers that we did see trekking up and down the mountain were going at a very slow pace.  Some were trekking the 2000 vertical feet from the gondola to our tour location.  We had considered that hike but it was probably good we did not undertake it as we watched a few hikers sliding down the mountain.

Then off to Taormina, Sicily’s favorite resort destination.

On Friday, we were on our way to the island of Ortygia which is the historical center of Siracusa, Sicily.  We also decided to make a side-trip to Piazza Armerina.  The world’s most comprehensive set of Roman mosaics is found in the outskirts of this town.  The archaeological site is known as Villa Romana del Casale which is somewhat difficult to find due to lack of signage and a confused GPS.   Apparently, the specifics of the villa’s history are largely lost to history, but experts have dated its origin to around the 4th century AD.  It’s believed to have been either the hunting lodge for the Roman aristocracy or the home of a single politician.   Apparently, there aren’t enough clues to indicate the real owner(s).

We walked along on high platforms above the rooms and were able to see a number of rooms laid out with these incredible mosaic floors.  We thought that the “Corridor of the Hunt” was the most impressive floor.  As you can see in the picture below, soldiers battle with tigers, then lead them onto ships bound for Rome where they fight against gladiators in Roman colosseums.  Other parts of the “Hunt” depict a group of soldiers trying to pull a hippopotamus out of the water, and a wounded lion jumping onto a soldier.  It is difficult to gain an appreciation of these fabulous mosaics unless one actually sees them in person.  No doubt, it took many years to create all these incredible masterpieces.

Our favorite and probably the most popular mosaic was the so-called “Bikini Girls”.  In a fairly small, square room, ten wonderfully preserved and scantily clad Roman beauties are engaging in various athletics such as discus-throwing, running and playing with a ball.  The girl in the center, apparently the winner, is presented with a golden crown.  We were shocked to see women in bikinis depicted in a mosaic back “in the day”.

The Villa Romana (a UNESCO site) was recently renovated and is one of the most popular sites in Italy.   In order to view each mosaic floor, one has to almost stand in a slow line.  Luckily, the crowds today were manageable.  The place must be unbearable during the summer with undoubtedly lengthy lines with many hours standing in a line to view these beautiful mosaic floors.

The tiny “magical” island of Ortygia, lingers on the edge of Siracusa and is connected to the mainland by three small bridges.  Locals refer to Ortygia as the “White Pearl” of Siracusa.  .  .  and indeed it is!  It absolutely charms with its many narrow streets, ancient flowering balconies, beautiful squares and weathered buildings.  The size and location  of Ortygia reminds us of Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California.  We arrived around 4:00 pm and we were able to cover the entire island on foot in about 1 hour.  The waterfront of Ortygia Island has wonderful views and is full of enchanting churches and ancient buildings.

When we booked out hotel, we had no idea that the hotel was actually a B&B.  We booked it because it had almost a “10” rating (10 is tops) on Trip Advisor. This B&B was not your typical B&B because it was not in someone’s home.  It was actually in a small renovated building and lived up to it’s high rating.  We had a very upscale, modern suite with a sitting room and large bedroom.

We headed south on Thursday to spend the night in Agrigento and visit the grand Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Just like Segesta, you will swear that you have been unknowingly teleported to Greece when you visit Valley of the Temples.   The fact that Sicily is home to Greek ruins scattered throughout the island and slowly fading in the relenting heat of the sun came as surprise to us.  What is also surprising is the quantity and quality of these ruins, many of which are located in the Sicilian countryside, uncovered, unprotected and dwarfing even the tallest of olive trees.  The Valle Dei Templi is Italy’s most important and prominent archaeological park and the largest archaeological site in the world. (We thought Greece would have larger sites.)  We also were perplexed on why they call this site a valley since it is located on a ridge outside the town of Agrigento.   There are 7 spectacular, well-preserved Greek temples from the 6th and 5th century B.C. here.  This site also has ruins of other temples, houses, streets and an amphitheatre.  The most impressive and best preserved temple is the Temple of Concordia.  The majority of its columns are still intact with a series of arches that were later added to convert the temple to a Christian church.  The other temples were only partially remaining temples with quite a bit of “ruin rubble” surrounding them.  The most intriguing feature of the “Valley” is the fact that almost all of the surrounding city of Agrigento (a.k. Akragas) remains unexcavated.  Who knows what may lie ahead for a lucky archaeologist?

While all these Italian ruins are quite interesting, we are on an archaeological overload!  We are looking forward to visiting the Balboa Island of the eastern shores of Sicily, our next destination.

After arriving in Palermo, Sicily on Tuesday,  we headed off to see the old city of Erice on Wednesday.  It sits high on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean.  Our GPS sent us on a wild goose chase through winding, narrow streets to the center of the “new” town of Erice.  The new town was far below the cliffs on which the original Erice stood.  We could see the very winding road that led to the top; however it was challenging to find it.  Erice was one of the nicest hilltop towns we have ever visited because it hasn’t been over developed as a tourist site. There were restaurants, a few ceramic shops and a limited number of tourist junk shops. The town has several castles that were built through the centuries as well as a few churches. What it will never lose is the outstanding views that you get after you drive up the long very curvy road. We were also surprised by the limited tour buses and, in general, the lack of tourists. We wandered the streets, enjoyed the views and this quaint city.

We then decided to visit the Greek ruins of Segesta.  The Romans and the Arabs eventually took possession of Segesta and it was completely abandoned sometime during the middle ages.  This desertion allowed the ruins to survive relatively untouched.  It was fascinating to see the remains of three distinct time periods laid bare.

The primary attraction here is a large Doric Greek temple sitting on a hillside in the farm lands. It is one of the most well-preserved Greek temples in the entire world.  One could be easily be fooled into thinking that the temple was built one hundred years ago instead of twenty-six hundred!  It is interesting that the non-fluted columns were a series of 3-4 ft high cut stones set on top of each other versus the one piece Roman columns seen elsewhere.  It may have been because of the type of stone, cutting or moving technology that may have differed between the periods. There was never a roof on this temple.  It is noteworthy that this exceptional Greek temple was built in this predominately non-Greek town.  We read an interesting summary about Segesta.  It seems that the city had been looking to Athens for assistance in its struggle against Selinute (another area of ruins, we did not visit).  To insure the Greeks would be visibly impressed with Segesta’s size and importance, a Greek temple was quickly constructed.  Once the alliance was secured, the town people never bothered to complete the temple.

We then hiked up a hill to see various ruins and an amphitheater dating back, in some cases, to 400+ BC. The views from the amphitheater looked over the Gulf of Castellammare.  During the summer, productions are often staged here.

Today, Monday, we started our early morning tour to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius.  It was a national holiday celebrating the liberation of Italy by the Allies in 1945.  As a result, the crowds were significant.

Pompeii was a bustling Roman town destroyed by an explosive eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD covering and well preserving the city with ash – giving us a snapshot of Roman life in the 1st century.  We only saw a small part of Pompeii as our guide told us that it would take several days to explore all the Pompeii ancient ruins.  There was also an exhibition of modern sculpture throughout the grounds which was a wonderful enhancement. The best part of the ruins was the “Villa of the Mysteries”, a home owned by a wealthy family.  This particular home was not nearly as damaged as other buildings. The frescos inside the home were quite magnificent. The ever popular brothel (there were 25 in the city) was also well preserved and is the most popular site there.  It was a tiny house with stone beds and scenes of the acts customers could request – ancient pornography!  There definitely appeared to be a lack of upkeep which has taken its toll at Pompeii.  The good news is that we did see some “renovation” going on.

Mt. Vesuvius is still active and some experts predict that it will erupt again within 10 years.  There is a very steep and winding road up to the path to Mt. Vesuvius where we passed volcanic ash and lava flows.  Mt. Vesuvius is probably the best vantage point to admire the Bay of Naples  There were many clouds and low visibility today, but we still decided to take the hike up to the top of the mountain.  Steam pours out of the rocks and, at times, you can smell the sulfur.  As we climbed higher, the clouds rose and, although it was not sunny, we could see Naples, Sorrento and the bay below us.  The views were amazing.  After the short but steep climb of 45 minutes, the winds picked up and it became increasingly colder.  We scurried up the mountain before anyone in our group; so, we were the first to arrive back to the bus when snow started falling. The tour operator freaked out and hustled everyone back in so that we wouldn’t “get stuck” on the mountain. Obviously that was overkill – a mile down the road it was all rain.

The other highlight was “the engagement”. On the top of Vesuvius, David saw a young Canadian couple from our tour kissing and she was fiddling with her left ring finger.  We walked over & offered our congratulations and took pictures for them moments after he had proposed. She hadn’t expected the proposal and now they have pictures of “almost” the moment!

Amalfi is one of the more level towns in the region.  It rambles up the valley hillside rather than clinging to the cliffs which makes it a tad easier to get around.  We learned that Amalfi used to be a maritime powerhouse comparable to Pisa, Venice, and Genoa.   It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

We got off the bus in a torrential downpour!  The hiking was postponed as we resorted to wandering through Amalfi and it’s next door neighbor, Atrani.   Amalfi, unlike Positano or Praiano, starts at the water edge with a promenade along the Mediterranean and a marina full of colorful boats.  The focal point of this town is the Piazza del Duomo which is in front of the magnificent cathedral with its 60 steps leading to the entrance.  The piazza is clustered with sidewalk cafes and elegant shops.  We also discovered that the town of Amalfi has a long history as a center of paper mills.  Apparently, there are still some family-owned paper mills that carry on the tradition.  There are a number of small shops in town that sell beautiful paper goods for writing and wedding invitations.

Luckily, the thunderstorm passed and we were blessed with lots of sunshine to continue our sightseeing.   Looking around the shops in town and the surrounding hills, you quickly surmise that the primary agricultural product of the area is their enormous lobes of lemons for their famous limoncello liqueur.  As we meandered through town, the lemon motif was on everything from ceramics, soaps, clothing and liquor bottles.

On Friday, we took a small sport boat from our hotel to the Isola di Capri with 2 other couples from the hotel.  The 2 hour trip to Capri took us by a private island (rental is only $85k a week including the small church), several interesting grottoes with turquoise-colored crystal clear water including the famous “Blue Grotto”.  Unfortunately, the Blue Grotto is a real tourist trap but has become THE symbol of Capri.

Heaven on earth as been located.  The search is over!  Lesley gasped as we inched closer to the Grande Marina on this magical island paradise.  The marina is awash with tourist’s boats and is even bustling in April.   We can’t imagine what it would be like during the summer months.   We took the steep funicular up to Capri Town which sits on a high plateau looking down to the sea and the marinas.  Capri is a gorgeous island with a focus on high-end retail (Gucci, Prada, etc.) and numerous fine dining establishments.   Fresh pesce (fish) is the star of the show at all restaurants.  With its maze of traditional white washed buildings, there definitely feels like a huge Greek influence here in terms of the color palette and architecture.  This classy island is ridiculously attractive and reminded us of a combination of Sea Island, Georgia and Bermuda.  You really can’t blame celebs and high-rollers for making it their Mediterranean playground!  The island is tailored to affluent travelers and the prices reflect that fact.

Lesley purchased 2 pairs of hand-made Italian shoes from a 75-year old small local shoe store.  (She now has 4 pairs of Italian shoes she has to drag around for the next 3 months.)  The very elderly Italian shoe store owner spoke English and was absolutely adorable and funny.   His father owned the shop before him.   It was a very tiny shop with lots of stunning sandals and flats displayed in a rather chaotic fashion.   Their inventory storage method was basically keeping similar shoes in shopping size plastic bags.  Interesting – but it worked for them.

The weather was a bit spotty.  We had lots of dark clouds after lunch and the possibility of rain.  Due to the precarious weather, we held off on our original plan to hike (it didn’t help that our legs were still sore from the Path of the Gods hike & the thousands of steps to get to the “Path”).  We wandered off the beaten track through some beautiful little cobbled streets, had a delightful lunch and strolled on the “Belvedere of Tragara” which is a wonderful promenade lined with villas and lovely hotels offering high panoramic, jaw-dropping views over the island.

We decided to walk back to the boat after our 4 hour self-tour and were heading down the hill (Capri Center is at the top of the island).  After being stumped by the trail/roads down, we evaluated our situation and discovered that we were walking down the wrong side of the island!   We were going to the wrong harbor on the opposite side of where we landed.   What a mix-up!  If we had completed that walk, a taxi driver would have been delighted.

On the shorter boat trip back (less sightseeing), it was raining and the sea was very choppy.   We loved Capri and we must return.   For such a  small island, Capri has so much to explore and experience. Between the weather and only 4 hours on the island, we weren’t able to do our hikes or visit the village of Anacapri – a major disappointment, but we had an absolutely glorious day.