Our second day in Berlin began with a variety of small challenges to complete (DeutscheBahn´s computers failing to work was right at the top of the list).

After John endured an hour of hell in the reservation office of EurAide, and I dealt with a variety of email concerns, plus the Füssen update, we went to the Pergammon musuem, a mammoth museum dedicated to ancient art.

We had further problems at the ticket desk, but were eventually admitted. The free audioguide detailed a highlights tour of the museum, providing commentary on the spectacular artifacts from Greek, Roman and Babylonian civilizations. The highlight is the spectacular Gate of Ishtar, taken directly from your local Old Testament and taken to Berlin, where it has been reconstructed.

We wandered through the rooms, where I was particularly taken with the Assyrian artifacts (Egypt is SO last season) and then grabbed lunch at a deli close to Checkpoint Charlie. The next stop was the Haus Am Checkpoint Charlie, a musuem dedicated to the history of the Berlin Wall. The museum is one of the kookiest I have been to, more like the office of an eccentric professor than a traditional museum. It is an odd conglomeration of objects that are effective in telling the story of the Berlin Wall and those who escaped over it.

Afterward, we returned home to find that our landlady had done our laundry, and we showered, before hitting an Irish Pub for an average meal and Guinness (John discovered that they were serving it in 1.5 litre pitchers. I have rarely seen him happier.) We then made our way through the transit system home, to sleep.