Boats and Culture

After lunch with our hostess at a typical "worker's lunchroom" in the city hall for a mere 3 euros, we boarded one of the many excursion boats on the Spree River.  Great way to see an array of architecture, both new and old. There are more bridges in Berlin than in Venice!  Because so much of Berlin was bombed at the end of WWII, there are many structures displaying innovative design.  In the evening we took the U-Bahn (subway) to the Deutsche Oper for an evening of music with the permanent orchestra of this opera company (there are 3 in Berlin). On the program was Schubert's Symphonie h-moll, D759 and Gustav Mahler's Song of the Earth.  We were impressed by the attentiveness of the audience as well as the sheer perfection of the performance.  We continue to struggle with staying awake; we tend to nod off in the afternoon and evening whenever we sit down!