It was a whirlwind week in Germany and Italy last week! I went in order to attend the baptism of my godson, Benjamin (aka Benny), my friend Nadja's son, in Berlin. Meanwhile I also took the opportunity to jet down and see my sister Gillia and her husband John for a couple of days in Naples. My first afternoon in Berlin was spent relaxing with Nadja and Benny ...
... and eating some ice cream. (This was Benny's first taste of ice cream! Chance would be very proud.)
I spent the night at my cousin Jeff's apartment, which has this amazing balcony and a view of the TV Tower.
The next day, I flew off to Naples! Here's where my sister and her husband live, in the second floor apartment all the way to the left in this building with the green shutters.
They took me on a lovely walk of historic Naples, including a stop along the harbor (Mount Vesuvius is in the background).
We checked out the Castel Nuovo, among other things. This was built in the 14th century and has an amazing classical style triumphal arch sandwiched between the two castellated fortress towers. Very cool.
Of course, in Italy, there must be gelato. This was the point at which Chance was very missed -- he wasn't there to insist that we eat these tantalizing desserts!
We did have gelato later in the evening though - mmmmmm.
The next day we spent in Pompeii, checking out the ruins of the city. Here's John imitating Myron's Discus Thrower, very Greco-Roman!
:)
These are Pompeiian crosswalks, raised so that people didn't have to step in the open sewage that flowed in the streets.
Gil & John duked it out in the colosseum ...
and we ended our day at the forum, backed by a gorgeous view of the mountain that started it all.
Then we drove about an hour to Amalfi, which is a coastal town on the peninsula just south of Naples. The Duomo here is an incredible mish-mash of styles and eras, so gorgeous!!
After a lovely night in Amalfi, we finished up our Naples tour the next day with some Neapolitan pizza.
It really is totally different from any other pizza I've had in Italy or elsewhere. It's like thick Naan bread with the regular toppings ... extremely good.
Back in Berlin, I got to spend some more quality time with Benny and Nadja. Here Benny is learning to be a good German boy who eats sausage! (I had one too actually - it's much better than an American hot dog.)
Gil, John and I had dinner and drinks with Jeff and his fabulous fiancee, Debora ...
... and we explored Berlin, visiting (among other things) the Wall Park, where some of the few pieces of the Berlin Wall still remain.
Then there was more Benny time --
-- isn't he cute??? --
... and the week wrapped up with the main event, the baptism! Here I am with Nadja, the other godmothers, Kate (the blonde in the middle) and Nadja's mom Karin (crouching with Benny to the right). Kate's husband Jörg, their son Oliver, Nadja's husband (also named Oliver!), and Nadja's dad Kurt are also pictured.
What an amazing week, guys! Thanks so much for everything ... I miss Europe already, though I am happy to be home, too.
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