Three young men arrived at 7:30 this morning. The temperature was in the mid to upper 80's all day; the humidity almost as high... all in a day's work!
Thursday morning, we toured Berlin with our host, Ambassador Pakowski. We saw:
the outside of the Mercedes Benz building, (What does the left picture look like?) 
the very modern Sony complex, 
statues to Friedrich Wilhelm, the King of Prussia and the first emperor of modern Germany. We drove around the lovely Tiergarten (park) and past many of the foreign embassy buildings. The American Embassy was within walking distance of our hotel. No pictures allowed and guarded!
On May 10, 1933, just a few months after Hitler came to power, university students throughout Germany launched an 'Action Against the Un-German Spirit' by burning books written by Jews and leftist intellectuals. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda and public information, spoke at the book burning in front of the Opera House, the Opernplatz, in Berlin, of the intended 're-education' of Germany. This memorial commemorates the event with a translucent panel showing empty bookshelves below ground level; the Bebelplatz Memorial . "where books are burned, in the end people will burn" was written by poet Heinrich Heine in 1820. Mr. Heine attended Humbolt University which overlooks the square.
We went inside Tempelhof Central Airport to see the display of aircraft and jet engines. In June 1948, Russians cut off all traffic to West Berlin. Hundreds of American and British planes delivered supplies daily to Tempelhof to the people in West Berlin. The airlift continued until September 1949.
Then to Schloss Charlottenburg, one of the oldest palaces in Berlin, built for Prussian Empress Sophie Charlotte.
The site has been prepared for the Toy House. This is the northern part of our original garden.
Tuesday morning two large trucks brought the lumber for the toy house and the backhoe/digger. Work is scheduled to begin Thursday. Yet another adventure!
A news magazine,OURTOWN, is being published for the communities of West Chester and Liberty Townships. The May/June issue is the premiere issue. There is an intersting article about bicycling in the Fitness section.... check it out!
Click on the 'short cuts' link at the top of the page; click on 'table of contents'. Scroll to the next page; click on the 'Fitness' article. Enjoy!
Did I mention that today is also the 133 running of the Kentucky Derby? K.K. has on her birthday/derby finest. 
The best birthday present of all: a two-wheeled bicycle! Where is your helmet, Kiddo? 
K.K., Morgan and Noah. 
And finally, the birthday cake. Lighting the candles, singing the song and blowing out the candles. Happy Birthday, to you. Oh, and, the birthday girl gets the first piece of cake... 
Happy Birthday, to you, Kaitlyn!
By the by, best wishes to Fritz and Patricia. They were married Saturday, May 5 at the Yosemite Falls in Yosemite Naional Park.
