Last full day in Berlin

I'm sorry I have been blog-delinquent, but it's definitely more difficult to find time to write when you're traveling with another person...who isn't in the hospital. ;)  Quick recap of the trip so far:  I met Mel at her departing gate at Heathrow on Friday. I couldn't get on her flight but we had time for a quick hello and to make it clear to her flight mates that we are American, rather than British. Two hours later I caught my flight and we got in and out of the Brussels airport without a hitch. There were soldiers in the airport and two cops on the gangway(? is that what you call the thing that connect the plane to the airport?) when I boarded the flight to Brussels, but no problems. We drove to Cologne and then Hannover the next night. These were just two spots on the map that appropriately broke up our drive to Berlin but they were great!  There was a Christmas market outside our door in Cologne and a gorgeous one a block or two away in front of the Cologne Cathedral, making it a lot easier to stay away the afternoon and evening of my first day in Europe. In Hannover, there was another market right outside our door (and we got free parking for the night!) and the coolest two things I had ever seen at a market. First, we happened upon a giant thing they call a Christmas pyramid. Bars on the first two levels, manger scenes on a few more increasingly smaller levels, and a big propeller on top. All festively decorated!  It was awesome. Then we stumbled upon a man-made pine grove. The trees on the outside were decorated with white lights and inside there were little huts serving drinks and pub tables scattered along the windy path. It was sooooo cool. And the pine smell (and glühwein, of course) was fantastic. Free breakfast the next morning and then we headed to Berlin with 6 Christmas mugs each tucked into our luggage. I'll write about Berlin in a new entry - this blog freaks out when I add too much. Also, it's not letting me add pics...yet. I'm putting more than usual on Facebook to make up for that for now. Two-stop shopping!