So I'm off on my Eastern European adventure.  Mic's mom is in town for two weeks and I want to give her time alone with her baby boy.  Plus, summer has hit Malta with a vengeance and it's hot, hot, hot!  I had long wanted to visit several countries in Eastern Europe, mainly Hungry and Poland.  I figured now was the perfect time. I had booked an apartment called Bebop Máty á s Apartments and was really impressed with the apartment and staff.  I had several communications back and forth with them and Marton met me at the apartment when I got in at midnight.  The apartment was a one bedroom loft in a very old building with a lot of character.  It was a good end to a frustrating day.  That morning I picked up my cell phone from the repair shop.  It had a scratched camera lens and the microphone needed to be replaced.  Neither was repaired properly and now my tablet was broken too!  Monday morning I started out with a plan to use my phone for navigation, as

I was stationed in Holland from 1987 to 1989 and I first visited Berlin in 1988, before the Wall came down. My impression, and that of everyone I've talked to, was that it was a bleak and dreary place.  Everything was stark; there was no color or vibrancy and the people themselves looked pretty gloomy for a Saturday afternoon.  When we went to East Berlin, we had to be in uniform and we were escorted by several KGB officers.  They took us on a tour of the city and I remembered they kept us away from the wall.  They focused on the parks and statues etc, going into great detail about their historical figures.  In the early afternoon, we were released from the group tour and free to roam about on our own, each with our own personal KGB tenders, following at a not at all discreet distance.   Several of us headed to Alexanderplatz, where we understood all the shopping to be.  Prices were really cheap in the east and everyone was looking forward to some bargain hunting.  In