Remembering History in Berlin

Tiara

Berlin was great for many reasons – art, food, cooler weather (wearing pants again!), seeing an old friend – but one thing that really stood out to me was the variety of ways the city remembers its past.  By comparison, the US is pretty lousy at this, especially when it comes to taking responsibility for our actions.  There are more museums and monuments in Berlin than a person could possibly visit in one trip, but here are some that stuck with me:

The Topography of Terror recounts the establishment of the SS and Gestapo in extreme detail.  There are so many stories you can tell about World War II and the Holocaust.  I thought this was a really interesting point of view.

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French Cheeses: 3 to Try

Tiara

We ♥ fromage.  Cheese featured prominently in all of our dinner picnics in France and we’ve learned a few things about our cheese likes and dislikes.  We are all about the runny, unpasteurized cows-milk cheeses that can be spread like butter and that used to be banned from public spaces because of their odor.  We’ve listed our favorites below.  Word of warning: keep these cheeses in a tightly sealed container or else your house will smell like feet!

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Monaco Day Trip

Tiara

We took a day trip from Nice to visit Monaco and pretend we were billionaires.  Or Bond.

The drive along the coast was stunning and if we’d had more time we would have explored any of the coves and beaches along the way.  I think if you’re looking for a quieter and beautiful South of France beach experience, that stretch between Nice and Monaco (Villefrance sur Mer, Eze, Cap D’Ail) is probably the place to be.

Our first stop was the Monte Carlo.  Because we were internationally renown secret agents, we figured they’d let us right in.  Not so much.

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