June 20, Berlin Germany. Last night I was getting off the train and when it came to an abrupt stop and I was bumped into one of the vertical metal hang-rails. I was carrying my camera in my pocket, it bumped the metal and -- yes again -- the LCD screen broke. When I got back to my room, I looked for the receipt to no avail. So, I've decided that the camera manufacturers are going to have a splendid year. I think their sales will "spike" for the month of June!!

So, it was back to the store this morning for a camera. I was lucky, though, I found the last "floor model" of a nice Panasonic camera that I was able to get inexpensively. So, all is well. And, yes, I am now using my camera case. Twice is quite enough, as far as I'm concerned.

If you read yesterday's blog, I mentioned I would be taking a day trip to either Dresden or Potsdam. Going to the store for the camera, and the train timetable, made the decision for me -- I went to Potsdam. I boarded an 11:30 a.m. train and was in Potsdam by noon or so. It's a suburb of Berlin, whereas Dresden would have been a 2 hour journey.

While I'm not sure what Dresden would have been like, I did find Potsdam boring, very touristy and commercial. It is a very nice city, but not much to see, unless one likes castles, churches and official-looking buildings. I did ask about the building in which Churchilll, Stalin and FDR had their famous meeting held on July 18, 1945. I was shown where the building was on the map and told that not much public transportation goes there. I did walk around Potsdam for a couple of hours, enjoyed an outdoor market and sat in front of a nice pub and had a beer. But, all in all, it was a waste of time.

When I returned to Berlin, I decided it was time to move along. So, I went to the train station and purchased a ticket for Amsterdam. I'll be there tomorrow, a day early. I called the hotel and made sure they had a place for me to sleep and I'll get into Amsterdam around 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. Jennifer arrives on Monday, so I'll have a day to get the lay of the land, find out about the transportation system and how to get to the airport (to pick up "J"). I plan to relax much of the day and hold off sightseeing until Jennifer comes in.

'Til later, then......