Dan Bridge Shabbaton

The End

2006-08-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

It's August 6, 2006 and I've been back at work a week. If this week is any indication, I might be doing a bit more than 1/4 time. Will Berkovitz and Lelach Rave had a second baby boy - his name is Idan Shalom (era of peace). The bris was Friday morning, so I left a bit late for my Seattle to Vancouver bike ride. In order to catch up with the group, I cheated and got a ride to Mt. Vernon (75 miles of the 180 mile trip).

Now I face the summer-camp-challenge of figuring out how to bring the lessons of my sabbatical home to real life in Seattle. I learned to better face what life brings my way without trying to control it all. I learned how to deal with so many different kinds of people. I learned how take a few more risks. I learned how to make coffee. I hope that I'll be able to bring all of these lessons into my life instead of leaving them in my sabbatical travels.

I look forward to connecting with old and new friends.

Thanks for reading this.

Dan Bridge

My sabbatical's ALMOST over...

2006-07-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but my sabbatical officially ends tomorrow. I'm going to be back in Seattle on Monday and should be starting my part-time Hillel duties then. Seattle's Jewish Community has been living through a nightmare - a hostage and murder situation at the Jewish Federation building. Pam Waechter, a longtime Seattle resident, a wonderful woman, and a Federation employee, was killed. Five others were wounded. Things like this usually happen somewhere else. This time it happened right here. Pam will be missed.

Dinner at the Sunset Grill with (l to r) Michele, Dan, Merrily, Anson, Sim, and Stan

2006-07-26T12:23:00.001-07:00

Sunset on Shelter Island

2006-07-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Back in New York

2006-07-26T12:10:00.001-07:00

I arrived on Thursday night. Friday was at B'nei Jeshurun and dinner with Sim. Her sons, Asaf and Eliav, came over for dessert. The next day we had dinner with Irwin and Annie Zeplowitz in town. Sunday was a LONG walk to the Whitney Museum through Central Park - the Whitney has a 75 year exhibition from the permanent collection - lots of Edward Hopper - then dinner at a great Mexican restaurant (Rosa Mexicana) and another LONG walk home (from 1st and 56th to 96th and Broadway). On Monday, I got on Sim's bike and headed down the bike path in Riverside Park (on the west side of the Island, on the Hudson River). It took me about 45 minutes to get to Battery Park (at the south end of Manhattan) and back up to Sim's office at 26th and 6th Avenue. I spent the afternoon painting her office while she worked. The hardware store mixed it wrong and it turned out to be a pretty hideous green. In addition, two walls didn't take the paint well and I have to return for a third coat (I'll have to buy more paint) on Friday. In the middle of the project, the airconditioning went out in her office...

On the way home, we raced. I took the bike up the wrong way on the one-way cross-town streets and she took the subway. I arrived sweaty and tired... about five minutes after she got home.

Tuesday morning, we went out for coffee at Goergia's on 89th and Broadway. Then we picked up a rental car and drove out to Amagansett in the Hamptons. We're staying a couple of nights with Stan and Michele Rosen (and Penny, their dog) in a house they rent every year. Anson and Merrily Laytner are here too. We had dinner at a place called Sunset Grill on Shelter Island - you have to take a 6-car ferry over to it.

This morning, Stan and I went for a beautiful bike ride - I'm TRYING to get in some saddle time since I've committed to doing the RSVP (Seattle to Vancouver, BC) on August 4-5. I think I'm gonna be really sorry and sore at the same time! We're swimming, sunning, talking, and doing computer stuff...

The view from Simcha's stairwell on 96th and Broadway

2006-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Zach took this at sunset

2006-07-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

Guest bath

2006-07-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

My bedroom and bathroom

2006-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

The secret door to Zach's room

2006-07-17T12:32:00.001-07:00

Zach's room/den

2006-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

Jake's room/my office

2006-07-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

My library and view

2006-07-17T12:30:00.002-07:00

The living room and kitchen

2006-07-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

Back home and on the mend

2006-07-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Our dinner at the Inn at Langley was quite an event - it took three hours! There were seven courses and six wine pairings. In between the last three courses, my eyes were rolling back into my head because of both need for sleep and too many 1/2 glasses of the wine (we're both alcohol lightweights). The first course was Rainier cherry stuffed with foie gras on a bed of Sauterne jelly - innovative, but since I'm a vegetarian, mine was simply a Rainier cherry in the jelly... and I mean ONE cherry. This is a course?

Sim left on Sunday morning and I've been sick for the past five days. Brad Harris, my internist, prescribed both antibiotics and antiviral medicines. Evidently, a cold sore got out of hand (weird immune system) and made my entire mouth swell up. After a full thirty six hours straight of sleep, I've been making a slow recovery. I ran an errand yesterday. Tonight, my mouth had healed enough to allow me had my first non-egg/pancake/yougurt meal. It was paid for by Rick and Susie Block, who are staying in Jake's room while they're here on family business from Cleveland. The news is that they had an automobile accident tonight - they wound up messing up a brand new rental car and receiving some pretty ugly bruises from the airbags, but they're still in good spirits. This infection is wreaking havoc with my bicycle training - I'm supposed to be riding the RSVP (Seattle to Vancouver ride) in three weeks and I've only had about 2.5 hours of actual saddle time during the past year! Uh-oh... it's weird that I waited to come home from my sabbatical to get sick. Hmmm...

Shabbat dinner with Jake (Zach will join after work), Roxie, her mom, Jan, and the Blocks will follow a day of cooking with Jake - he's planned out an entire menu of new dishes. Shabbat shalom.

Fort Casey on Whidbey Island

2006-07-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

Jake likes a cool dog - Zelli in shades

2006-07-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Flowers in the Pike Place Market

2006-07-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sim arrives!

2006-07-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

It took three days to unpack the whole place with lots of help from Jake and some shlepping help from Zach. I gave away another 20 boxes of stuff - clothes, books, tsachkes. Everything fits well and there's still empty storage space. I'll try to put photos up.

Sim arrived on the 29th and we've been going non-stop ever since. Lunch with Jake and his girlfriend, Roxie Kritzer, Friday night dinner with Paul, Bim, my niece Katie, Philip Yoo, Roxie, Jake, and Zach, a weekend on Whidbey Island with my family (parents, Jon, Bobbe, niece Becky) with a night at the Inn at Langley. We had a seven course gourmet dinner there with a six-glass wine-tasting side. The first course was a cherry with foie gras on a bed of Sauterne wine jelly... emphasize a cherry... and because I'm a vegetarian, my first course was ONE Rainer cherry standing in a small pool of jelly on a very pretty plate... it was good food, but because of the wines, we almost fell asleep between courses during the three HOUR meal!

The 4th was spent preparing for about 100 guests - about 80 were still here for the fireworks, including lots of Jake and Zach and Katie's friends. It was quite a happening - I'm pretty exhausted - now to work out and then clean up!

Sim at the Pike Place Market in Seattle

2006-07-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Lee and Judy Snitzer at the 50's car show in St. Paul

2006-07-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

St. Louis Park

2006-06-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

After a long walk around the neighborhood, we went into Dinkeytown (really!) to check out a bar that was having salsa dancing. It was quite the scene and we were the only grey-hairs in the crowd. The next morning, Lee and Judy took me to the Fairgrounds for a 50's and 60's car show - pretty amazing automobiles - my little red Valiant paled in comparison to moset.

The trip home was uneventful and Jake picked me up at SeaTac Airport. We went up to my new condo - it looks pretty sterile (nothing up and around), but it's spectacularly beautiful. After all the unpacking, I think I'll be happy here. The bedroom is FULL of boxes - I stayed up until 0315 unpacking and got up to start again at 0730 - Ralph and the construction guys arrived at 0800.

St. Louis Park, MN

2006-06-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

I had dinner with Howie and Amy Neistein and their three kids, Gabe, Max, and Zachary. We reminisced, talked about life and futures with the kids, baked cookies, and watched a video about one of Amy and Gabe's Israel trips.

I flew to Minneapolis on a stormy Thursday - the travel time (through Chicago) was 7.5 hours! Judy Snitzer picked me up in her Buick LeSabre - she calls it 'beige,' although it's really gold. We stopped at the Mall of America to see the Ben Bridge store and have a doughnut and coffee in the amusement park there. What a temple of materialism! We talked about not needing any more 'stuff' in our lives... that is, until we walk into a mall and see all the things we could have... and we're tempted to buy... it's a tireless consumerism that highlights the worst of our culture. Then we went for more, stopping at the Ben Bridge at Southdale before going to the grocery store. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant in Uptown with Jonathan, Lee and Judy's younger son (he's 20 and a student at UW, Madison). We had some great conversation about friendship, loyalty, Judaism, old times, etc.

Friday was spent with Judy running errands - we hit the hardware store, bought an ironing board, went to the Farmer's Market for produce, and saw an exhibit at the Wiseman Museum, a small building designed by Frank Gehry on the U Minnesota campus.

Services were a block away in someone's house - the new synagogue is Darchei Noam. Then dinner at Hayyim Herring's and Terri Krivosha's house. He's a rabbi and she's a lawyer who is related to me (another small-world occurence) through marriage on my dad's side. In Minneapolis, it's krih-VO-shah. In Seattle, it's KRIH-vo-shay. They gave us ponchos so we could stay dry on the walk home.

This morning was with Lee at home, drinking coffee and talking about life and future. Lee and Judy went to Darchei Noam for services while I went to the Conservative synagogue across the parking lot - the rabbi is Rob Kahn, who's originally from Portland - his wife, Cami (Blumenzweig) was one of my Hillel students back in 1988 - they have three kids! Talked to Cami about their sabbatical in Israel.

Lunch was a relaxed wonderful time on Lee and Judy's deck overlooking the beautiful grounds of the Catholic school next door. Lee took a nap and Judy and I tried to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict - no solutions and little agreement came out of it. If anyone has a solution, let me know... better yet, call Kofi Anan.

(l. to r.) Max, Zach, (me), Howie, Amy, Max Neistein

2006-06-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

An evening with the Neisteins

2006-06-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

I met my friends Howie and Amy (Dover) Neistein for dinner last night. We headed over to Birmingham, a neighborhood of shops and walking. The area was filled with teenagers and young adults - there was a two hour (!) wait for an outdoor table at a restaurant named "220." We had Thai food, a long walk, and some great talk. We were good friends back in 1979-81 while Howie, Amy and and I were at at Hebrew Union College, getting a variety of degrees in Jewish letters, Communal Service, and education. We got one another caught up on kids, extended family and career. We talked about how we pictured life 30 years ago and how it actually has turned out. We reminisced about friends who have died and realized and unrealized life goals.

This morning there were strong thunderstorms as I drove over to Grosse Point on the shore of Lake St. Clair to see the home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford. It was a beautiful setting and home, with a background of black sky and the sea-size Lake like a pot of boiling crude oil. A cotswald 'cottage' of 60 rooms, the house was designed by Albert Kahn and the surrounding 125 (now 87) acres were planted by Jens Jensen. Jensen, a Danish landscape designer, once told Ford to watch the maturation of the garden. He put it this way:

"It will be interesting for you to note the changes that will take place as things now in youth grow into maturity. It is really first in maturity that life is most beautiful - - when it has run its journey and speaks its journey complete."

As someone beginning to feel that growth into maturity, it's a picture that sings out life-metaphor.

Photos from the Edsel and Eleanor Ford house on Lake St. Clair in Grosse Point Shores, Michigan

2006-06-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

The lights and desserts of Lalo's Coffee

2006-06-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

John Paul, John, Will Francis, and Nancy Hanlon

2006-06-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Motor City

2006-06-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I left NYC this morning and boarded a plane for Detroit. I'm staying in Southfield and am visiting old Hebrew Union College friends, Howie Neistein and Amy Dover Neistein. Their wedding was my first - it was an entire weekend affair at Camp Jacobs in Utica, Mississippi. They now have a kid entering his second year at Michigan State University, and two others - Gabe, Max, Zach.

Last Thursday, Zach, Ryan, Sim, and her son, Eliav, and I went to Cirque du Soleil - although it was the second time in a week for the parent-types, we enjoyed watching the younger generation watch it. Friday was my last piano lesson - James took me out for a deli lunch (Zach and I have been enjoying fried-egg sandwiches on rye with cole slaw [he like sauerkraut], Russian dressing, mustard and tomato) and played his new concerto for me.

Friday morning, we got up early and took the S Train cross town to Rockefeller Center. I'd read that Earth, Wind, and Fire was playing the 0830 segment of the Today Show out on the Plaza. We arrived just in time to see Matt Lauer cross the street and greet the band. We stayed for one song (they then went to commercial) and Ryan took me out to a fried-egg breakfast at Lindy's with Zach's help. We then went our separate ways until late afternoon. The boys arrived home exhausted. Zach, Sim, and I went to B'nai Jeshurun for services and then came back home for a lasagna dinner (Zach's choice). They packed and then went out to meet their friend, Charlie Davis, who is in New York for a summer job. My alarm went off at 0400 since Zach's car was to come at 0430. I called Zach to find out where he was... "we're just coming out of the subway now, Dad." He got home in time for the ride to the airport. I cleaned up a bit. Ryan left at 0700. I slept until 1000. John Francis, Nancy Hanlon, and their boys, John Paul and Will, came in about 1430.

Sim took me to the 42nd Street Library, someplace I hadn't been in years.

Dinner was a bit of a rush at the City Diner - we had to get to Midtown for Drumstruck! It's an African-themed rhythm play. Although it was fun to beat on the drum at our seats, the play dragged a bit.

Sunday was full of walking... Soho, Canal Street, Chinatown, Little Italy. John Paul started asking questions about vegetarianism when confronted by a barrel full of live and squirming frogs for sale. He also remarked that we were walking through areas that were definitely not the regular tourist stops... as he put it, "real life." I think he might be an anthropologist in the making. Will was a trooper in the heat.

We repeated Zach and Ryan's adventure riding the Staten Island Ferry round trip and joined Sim at a Tapas restaurant on Amsterdam for dinner. We then went to Lalos Coffee - part of You've Got Mail was shot there (had I seen the movie, I might have known that). Too much dessert!

Monday was a trip to Leo Schachter Diamonds and Goldberg Diamond Cutters. My dad had set it up for John and Nancy. Unfortunately, John Paul got sick during the night and Nancy missed it. We saw diamonds sorted, set, and sent. Then we watched them being cut - and even got to hold a beautiful pear-shaped finished diamond that was probably about 20 carats!

Sim, Eliav, and I had a fancy going-away dinner at a French Restaurant on Amsterdam and 85th and I packed up... the days of my sabbatical are slipping away...

Times Square - yes, we met on Jdate

2006-06-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Zach waiting for the ferry to Cirque du Soleil's Corteo

2006-06-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Zach's photo of John Lennon's memorial

2006-06-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Zach on the way to Staten Island

2006-06-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Pretty obvious what this is...

2006-06-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

2006-06-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

A view from the Staten Island Ferry

2006-06-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Zach's grafitti photos

2006-06-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Back out to Port Washington

2006-06-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was lunch at Niko's with Ryan and Zach. They then went out to Queens to check out Nas' Queensbridge housing project (he's a rapper, I guess). They came home with plenty of stories and great photos of graffiti. They then went to the Yankees/Cleveland game and Sim and I went to our salsa lesson - the lesson was pretty confusing, but the dancing wasn fun.

Today was my second-to-last piano lesson. I learned a bit more about chords and how to use them. After that, Zach and Ryan and I went down to the Lower East Side. We had lunch at Katz's Deli and then walked down Wall Street to the Staten Island Ferry. I'd never been on the ferry - it's a free 25 minute ride on what Hank Jasen calls a "Washington State ferry in a prison jumpsuit (it's orange)." The veiw is spectacular (Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty).

We then hopped the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) to Port Washington - we had to run to catch it as the doors tried to close on us. Irwin met us at the train and we spent the evening with the Zeplowitzes and the Schickler-Effrons along with Annie's Mummy. It was Italian food and dessert at Lucy and Stan's.

Home now and we have to get to bed - we have an 0830 breakfast with Rick and Susie Block, friends from Cleveland, although he's originally from Seattle.

Zach, Dan, and Ryan at Katz' s Deli

2006-06-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Zach's New York photos - a different view - the last one is a 'shoot' from the new Spiderman movie

2006-06-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

A walk over the Brooklyn Bridge

2006-06-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

a beautiful day...

2006-06-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sim, Zach, his friend, Ryan Bartlett, and I met Vicky Stein, her daughter Shira, Shira's boyfriend, Justin, and Hank Jasen, to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a perfect day - great weather, good conversation. When we got across, we walked over to Grimaldi's Pizza. Hank's wife, Terry, had stood in line to get us a table when it opened at 12 noon. The pizza was spectacular; thin crust, fresh mozzarella, salty olives, crushed tomato and garlic... then we walked down to the pier and bought ice cream at Brooklyn Ice Cream - only six flavors. There we watched Japanese brides and grooms get their pictures taken with the East River as a backdrop and teddy bears hooked to the fronts of their limousines! It was quite a business - six limos at a time.

We walked the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to the Jasen's beautiful apartment and then headed home exhausted. Dinner was at my place - burritos with Sim, her son, Eliav, Zach, Ryan, and me. Zach did some Hebrew homework and they watched an NBA game on TV.

This morning was another piano lesson and the boys watched the USA lose their first World Cup soccer game. Then they went walking through Central Park to find Strawberry Fields.

Sim and I went to see my cousin Lisa Peter's exhibit at the Spanierman Gallery. I walked home through the Park with Lisa - talked family and old times. Sim went to Arabic class.

Tonight we hit the Lenox Lounge in Harlem - Patience Higgins and Sugar Hill Gang. Indian food first.

Zach's arrived!

2006-06-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Friday morning I had breakfast with Ben Kleinman, an ex-Hillel jconnector who is living in NYC. Then a piano lesson, Indian lunch in Hudson Heights with James, my teacher, and then home to cook dinner, stopping at about four different places to pick up food. Barney Greengrass, The Sturgeon King, had great fancy food items. I ran over to B'nai Jeshurun for services (ran into Ben Kleinman there) and then home to have Sim and her son, Eliav, for dinner. One of Eliav's friend's from Bard High School came over for dessert. His name is Romi and he's from Sri Lanka - taking time off before college.

Today was a lazy day, writing an article on Jewish views of suicide for Anna in Berlin, practicing piano, drinking coffee at Georgia's at 89th and Broadway - the waiter was Daniel this time, not Caesar, who usually brings me my macchiato. I met up with Daniel Linver and Dave Basior for coffee - they both work at Hillel at the UW. They wanted to meet Sim, so we went up to her place for an impromptu meal.

It's 0038 and my son, Zach, his friend, Ryan Bartlett, and I just got back from another dinner at the 91st Street Diner. They just arrived for a week-long visit.

Time for bed - we walk the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow...

More NYC

2006-06-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

I went out to 190th again for my piano lesson. James is developing a musical and writing an orchestral piece. I gave him a copy of the book Anson Laytner and I did (The Animals' Lawsuit Against Humanity) and he is encouraging me to turn it into a children's book and then a musical play/animated film. He's even put me in touch with a production friend of his. We'll see if it goes anywhere.

Last night, Sim attended the second of her beginning Arabic classes at Hunter College. While she was there, I headed over to the Jewish Community Center on 76th and Amsterdam to listen to a Conversation on the State of American Jewry. The panel consisted of two of my friends; David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College (Reform), and Richard Joel, president of Yeshiva University (Orthodox). The moderator was Professor Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust professor at Emory who, years ago, was the first Jewish Studies professor at the University of Washington. She also has been in the news for winning a lawsuit (she was sued) in the British courts - she had charged a Holocaust-denier with historical revisionism - he sued her - she won the case. The conversation was personal and enjoyable - not lots of new territory, but very interesting to see the new generation of Jewish leaders and how willing they are to communicate with one another.

Dinner at a Mexican restaurant - I'm eating WAY too much and not exercising enough!

Tonight is Coleo, Cirque du Soleil's big-top event on Randall's Island. We'll take the ferry over from 34th Street on the East River.

At the Fountain

2006-06-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sim and Dan in Central Park

2006-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Simcha is her name - it means 'joy'

2006-06-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't been writing much because I've been so busy. I met a wonderful woman on Jdate. Her name is Simcha (Sim) Shtull. She's a website designer who has four children (Itamar, 26; Hadar, 24; Asaf, 21; and Eliav, 19). She lived in Israel for 20 years and has been in NYC for about three. She's beautiful, smart, and fun - and is in a life search that is similar to mine. It seems like a very good fit.

We met for a walk in Central Park two weeks ago, went out for jazz and to gawk at Times Square, and then we decided not to see one another again (long distance and other complications). We were both pretty miserable, so we gave it another try and haven't been apart since. We're living in the moment, but hope it will keep going. I hope you all will have a chance to meet her. We've hit the Upper West Side, bike riding in the Park, and the new Zaha Hadid exhibit at the Guggenheim. I now need to focus some on sleep and piano practice - I was so distracted during a lesson last week that I forgot my music book at the teacher's house!

Memorial Day

2006-05-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

I started out with a workout at Equinox on 92nd Street. James agreed to a piano lesson on Memorial Day. After the lesson, I met with a friend and then travelled out to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to have lunch with Alexandra Greenawalt, a young design/fashion woman who lived with Cab, Ari, and me, in Haleiwa, Hawaii, for a week in February. "Willy-B," as Alex calls it, is not our father's Williamsburg - it's very young and funky and getting more expensive by the day. She lives a block from the Bedford subway station (the first one in Brooklyn). After an organic vegan lunch, she showed me the neighborhood - we had coffee and dessert.

After Brooklyn, I trained up to Penn Station and out to Port Washington, Long Island, for a Memorial Day dinner with Irwin, Annie, Abby, Deena, Nathan Zeplowitz, and Stan, Lucy, and Ari Schickler... and Annie's "Mummy" from Barbados. We laughed and ate too much good food - both are a theme for these visits.

Today was workout, piano, lunch, and then dinner with my cousins, Lisa and Julie Peters, Jerry, Josh, Zach, and Kaia. Lisa and Julie are from Portland and have lived here for years - we haven't seen one another for a LONG time, but it felt very comfortable.

Dinosaurs! at the Natural History Museum

2006-05-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

A Memorial Day weekend afternoon in Central Park

2006-05-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday in the City

2006-05-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

I got up and went to the cafe on 89th and Broadway for my macchiatto. They make them with WAY more foam here, but that's OK - I just spoon it out and slurp it down before I drink.

I spent some time watching people, climbing Belvedere Castle, reading, walking in Central Park. Later on, my cousins Brad and Dveera arrived from Philadelphia - we went back to the Park and then to dinner at Niko's (predictable or what?). I then subway-ed Downtown to a 27th birthday party for an ex-student, Brian Bensky - his sister, Miriam, came out for the occasion. After a beer and a walk to get the cake, I left to meet Brad and Dveera at the Lincoln Center (Movie) Theatre, to watch the 2315 showing of The DaVinci Code (the 2220 one was sold out). The movie held my interest, but seemed quite different from what I remember of the book - I'd give it a B-.

It's 0300 and time for bed.

Shabbat Shalom

2006-05-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Got up and headed out to Equinox, my gym. I decided to go to the one 14 blocks down on 76th and Amsterdam instead of the one on 92nd and Broadway. On the way, I bumped into an old friend/rabbinic colleague, Jackie Koch Ellenson. We sat down for coffee on 89th and Broadway, discussed life, her 50th birthday, families... and she invited me to Shabbat dinner with her husband, David (another old friend) and three of their kids. First I went to services at B'nai Jeshurun (BJ) and then headed over to their place on Central Park West and 85th Streets. It was a lively dinner - lots of fun. I came away with two books (one by David) and a couple of articles he wrote. On the way home, I was DRENCHED in one of those warm Hollywood-type downpours, the kind that gets you so wet, your clothes stick to you and turn translucent. Tarik, the evening doorman, instructed me to take and shower and change immediately so I don't get sick.

My folks called from Hawaii - they went out to Haleiwa and the Coffee Gallery - Carolyne, John, Rene, and Monica took care of them. Brad and Dveera show up tomorrow to stay with me for a couple of days.

Jazz, man!

2006-05-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

I had my second piano/voice lesson yesterday - evidently I made a bit of progress. I learned how to practice one-bar at a time - not my usual way of living but, if I can do it, I think it will work. Then I had lunch at a nice little restaurant called Seven (350 Seventh Avenue) with Herb Tobin, a longtime friend and fundraising consultant for Hillel International. Last night I hit Iridium, an underground (it's in the basement) jazz club on 51st and Broadway - decent food, cozy atmosphere. We met Kevin, the manager, who came over to answer my question of why 'Iridium.' He said it's a rare metal on the Periodic Chart that was, at one time, used to coat the inside of saxaphones (fact for the day).

James wrote to cancel my piano lesson tomorrow. I have the whole weekend now to get ready for the next one. Dinner tonight is with Lenny and Linda Thal at the Saigon Grill down the street - Lenny always knows the good and interesting places.

My apartment at 110 West 90th Street, apt 3N - not fancy, but BIG (for NYC)

2006-05-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Only in NYC (live advertising); Dinner with the Zeps at Niko's; DC Hillel Conference

2006-05-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

New Yawk City!

2006-05-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Friday was spent practicing piano a bit - the Roland 88-key keyboard I bought on eBay was a bargain and a very nice thing - James thinks another one of his students will want it for the price I paid... eBay has redeemed itself in my eyes since my 1964 Valiant debacle, but I'm feeling a bit warmer toward it... I bought flowers for Shabbat (beautiful red lilies)and food for appetizers for Irwin and friends before Shabbat services at B'nai Jeshurun a few blocks away. I bought a pair of black shoes for the upcoming Hillel conference (Michele Rosen said one of the meals would be dress-up, so I brought a suit and realized that the Saloman's I've been wearing for 7 moths wouldn't work for this) - I found a pair of black boots made by an Israeli-owned NY store I'd frequented a few years ago. I also joined Equinox, a fancy fitness center a few blocks (actually 13) away. They have shaving cream, razors and Qtips in the locker room... plus a steam room (much better than a sauna - it clears out the sinuses).

Unfortunately Irwin was late coming into town for his birthday Shabbat - the appetizer time was cancelled - I met them at BJ for a chanting/singing/dancing service - a nice way to begin. Then wen went Downtown for dinner at Carmine's.

Saturday was a beautiful day - did services on my own and spent a couple of hours in Central Park before heading out to Port Washington, Long Island, on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad from Pennsylvania Station). Irwins' family and friends were there for a celebratory 50th birthday dinner. My friends Stan and Lucy came in from an honorary dinner for their son, Carmi, in DC, although they only live 5 minutes away from Irwin and Annie. It was a fun a beautiful affair. His kids made a video of his life... very touching.

Back 'home' at about 1030, I was up on Sunday morning to return to Penn Station and head to Washington, DC, on the train. Took the Metro to the Omni Shoreham Hotel for ther conference. I roomed with Will Berkovitz - our room was enormous... saw good friends - Michele Rosen, Michelle Blumenberg, others... UW Hillel was featured in a number of sessions - two young adults, Steven Singer and Jessica Spiegel, did a presentation. Michele introduced the whole thing and came up with a creative program fair in the hotel garden. The weather was perfect.

I also saw my friends, John Francis/Nancy Hanlon, John Paul and Will - they came in for dinner and we hung out at their place in Silver Spring before I took the train back to DC. The conference highlights were seeing friends AND a speech by Thomas Friedman this morning that had nothing to do with Hillel or students. It was an inspirational talk based on his book, The World is Flat. He says that energy must be the topic of our world into the future and reframes the issue in political and new marketing terms - I wanted to buy one of those ugly Prius cars when he was finished!

Back home after taking the train with a Rutger's Hillel development person, Barbara Cohen. We swapped stories. I practiced piano and am nervous about tomorrow's lesson. Then I think I'll hit the town tomorrow night.

My first day in NYC

2006-05-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Oy, am I forgetful... as my brother-in-law was driving me to the airport at 0630 yesterday, he asked if I had my apartment all arranged. I thought for a minute and said, "sh--. I forgot to bring money for the rent!" At the airport, I withdrew some money and called Barbara Dahy Finkelberg, the person renting me the place. She was very nice and said I could give it to her later. On the plane, I sat next to Joel and Marcy Migdal. They're back here for their son-in-law, Ethan Tucker's, graduation.

I met Barbara - she was sporting a cast from a recent surgery and was on her way to the Opera. The place is great - two large bedrooms, two bathrooms, a washer/dryer, jetted tub... it's not designer decorated, but it's fine... and in such a great location - you can reach me at 110 West 90th Street, apt 3N. I walked the 14 blocks down to my favorite diner - Niko's on 76th and Broadway. It's fitting that I finish my sabbatical here, since I began it here back in October (you can check the November photos). Garlic bread dipped in hot gorgonzola sauce - mmmmm....

Today, I got up, went to the bank to get money, found a great bakery/coffee shop on 106th and Broadway, wrote the owner a note (I want to meet with her to talk about her place), got on the #1 subway going Uptown, transferred to the A Train at 168th Street and got off at 190th Street. This is right by the Cloisters where my ex-mother in law grew up. By the time her mother left the apartment, it was a scary neighborhood, but in the past 20 years, it's gotten nice again. My piano/voice teacher, James Behr, is a Julliard and Northwestern grad who is teaching and composing. He's trying to teach me a bit of music theory and the correct way to sing - I want to BEGIN to learn how to play by ear.

Since I forgot my shorts and sandals in Seattle, I hit the Salvation Army on 8th Avenue near 23rd Street - spent $20 on two pairs of shorts and five shirts. Then I met my friends Irwin and Annie Zeplowitz, their daughters, Abbie and Dena, and their Chicago friends, the Eccles. They so nicely schlepped in (from Port Washington, Long Island) the keyboard and books I'd had sent to their home. Where did they want to eat? Back to Niko's for another round of gorgonzola garlic bread and a portabello griglia salad. They went off to a Broadway show and I came back home to practice piano and do some laundry.

Mother's Day Dinner

2006-05-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Jake, Luke and Zach - three boys with their girls (Kylie and Zelli)

2006-05-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Luke's 17th Birthday - r. Paul, Bim, Dan, Zelli, Luke, Jake - f. Jan, Rusty, Don

2006-05-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Back home

2006-05-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

I quickly revert to routine here in Seattle; up in the morning and to the gym to talk and do a little exercising, coffee at Pat's on the Ave and more talking, to Hillel for pre-marriage and other meetings, to my condo to see progress and try to make final decisions, family time.

I saw my mom on Wednesday and both of my folks yesterday - showed them the condo. Jake and I had lunch on both Thursday and today. It still feels a bit weird to be drinking beer with my kid - now when did he get so old?

I also hit my second doctor, this one to freeze brown spots off my head. Yesterday was my nephew Luke's 17th birthday - we had dinner and cake. I picked Zach up at the airport and delievered him to Jan's home for Shabbat dinner. I made Shabbat dinner for Luke, Paul, and Bim. Then we took their dog, Kylie, out for a walk around Queen Anne Hill. When we got back, Zach stopped by to say hello - I'll see him tomorrow.

Back to the ole schedule

2006-05-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

I worked out in the morning - saw some friends at the gym. Then out in the Valiant to buy new Chaco sandals (I lost my special-order pair somewhere in Berlin) at REI and to my physician. He says I have a pinched Ulnar Nerve and that, with Aleve and the avoidance of heavy weights and perhaps even a massage, I should have complete feeling and use of my hand within 2-4 weeks. Next stop was the convertible top place for some samll-fix items and then to see my mom. Jake and I went out for a late lunch at the Pike Place Brewery and then I did some Mother's Day shopping before going over to my ex in-laws house. Rusty is paying my bills - she had things for me to pick up. When I got into the Valiant, it wouldn't start (AGAIN!). I left it there and Luke took me home... actually, we went out for burritos and then headed home after I showed him the condo...

Tomorrow is full of meetings/events.

Indonesian Rijstafel with Lissa, Joey, Jack, and Lucca; Lissa and the boys in the garden

2006-05-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam

2006-05-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

I got into Amsterdam early Sunday morning. My room wasn't ready, so I walked around and drank a cup of coffee (really, I didn't drink it - it was awful) sitting on one of the canals. The Tulip Inn at Damm Square is right in back of the large New Church. My room overlooked a small square with a coffee house. I spoke with my ex-Seatle friend, Lissa Roberts, who is living in Amsterdam and teaching the history of science. We decided it would be best if I rented a bike - evidently there are 1 million bikes for just over 800,000 residents and approximently 200,000 of them are stolen each year! The rental place gave me three locks! We rode all over, thorugh the Vondelpark and had coffee and beer and met one of her friends, her kids, Joey and Lucca, and her husband, Jack Spaapen. I love the fact that people travel all over on bikes, that it's not a sport that one has to dress for, but is transportation - you see men in suits and women in high heels. The next day, we picked Lucca and his friend Milon up at school. Milon rode on the back of Lissa's bike... she was driving "car"pool and it was so normal for them...

Ajax Amsterdam won some national soccer title that day, so people were out celebrating. We ate at an Indonesian restaurant and then went back to their house for a drink.

The next morning I woke up to find a HUGE crane filing the sqare in front of the hotel... and the workers were loading it as people passed under it - certainly not like the USA, where the whole area would be sealed off lest someone have an excuse to sue.

Took a flight back to Seatle sitting next to an Alaska Airlines pilot named Jack Hinz - nice guy - he's going to be a father for the first time in June.

Back home, picked up my Valiant, saw the condo... I'm tired, but I HAVE to stay up a few hours more...

Photos from the going-away dinner

2006-05-09T03:26:00.000-07:00

Havdallah with Shalev, Aaron, and Emi
The table

Itzik Sheffer and (below) serving spaghetti to
Oren Roman

My last Shabbat day in Berlin

2006-05-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I heard a Danish jazz trio at the B-Flat Club. Interesting... a Danish bass player, a Serbian accordian player (he danced with the accordian), and an Italian piano player.

I got up this morning - so what did I do? Anna, Wolfgang, Aaron, and I went to the Market at the Kollwitzplatz. We bought fruits and vegetables and salads for dinner, and then we went for coffee and cake. We rode our bikes home and then bought the rest of the stuff we needed at the grocery store - the late afternoon was spent cooking spaghetti sauces. Anna had already baked a cake and made gazpacho.

The group totalled 14; the Fischer-Ohls (Wolfgang, Anna, Maria, Aaron), Pefi and Evi Fischer, Frank and Simone and Emilie Fischer, Itzik and Mimi and Shalev Sheffer, and Oren Roman. The food was great and the company equally so. They asked me to lead havdallah, a daunting task with two opera singers/cantors in the crowd. It was fun - we used vodka and the kids lit it on fire.

Wolfgang and Anna bought me a FIFA soccer ball and had everyone sign it, even the Israeli doctor, my physical therapist, and a barista from Caras (I was wondering why he was laughing while he made my macchiato this morning!). They also gave me a copy of a Max & Moritz book in Yiddish and English. They've done so much for me and I've learned so much from them... like the importance of taking time to breathe over a coffee or beer, the value of placing oneself somewhere where a "chance"encounter with a friend might happen, the importance of life-quality over status or money, the willingness to change and, at the same time, accept what life brings. They are such warm people.

It's hard to leave - the weather is just getting to be wonderful and people are sitting out in cafes all over the city. AND I've had such a terrific welcome here...

I have to be up at 0400 and out the door 15 minutes later for my taxi.

To a good week.

Photos from my going away dinner

2006-05-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Shabbat in Halle

2006-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Coffee with Wolfgang and Anna at Caras is becoming a ritual. After that, I went over the Geiger College on Kantstrasse to meet Sam and Dori Joseph - Sam's on faculty at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati and he's teaching at Geiger. After walking around Berlin's Design Center, called Stilwerk, looking for a light fixture for my dining room (I didn't find one, but got some other ideas), I headed over to the Zoologischer Garten train station to meet Oren. We took the train down south to Halle (near Leipzig) and finished Bontshe Schweig on the way. I still have lots of trouble remembering certain sounds - Oren thinks rapping my knuckles with a ruler might help. We were driven over the the synagogue president's house. He's a 68 year old architect who was born in Halle and lives on a large plot of land right on the River Spree. We didn't go inside, but when we arrived, a table was set for coffee and cookies outside. We drank and talked about Halle, about Herr Sommer wants me (or any other rabbi) to come to Halle and set up a beit din (rabbinical court) to convert non-Jewish spouses of Jews in the community so they can be buried in the Jewish cemetery. He showed us his garden and fed a beaver-like animal swimming in the River. I think it was called a Nutrier or something like that - if anyone knows this animal, let me know - it's a beaver with a short skinny tail.

Oren led services - there were about 20 there, almost all former USSR residents. There was a sizeable group of teens, presumably because they pay them to come! The service was in Hebrew, a little Russian, and a touch of German. The people were very friendly and chatty - after services, Oren asked me to lead Kiddush and then we sat down to a meal of Russian eggs, open sandwichs, and herring (no, I'm still a vegetarian). Usually they have vodka too, but it was missing tonight. It's pretty amazing that they've been able to recreate a Jewish community here... there've been Jews here for over 1,000 years.

Back on the train, I taught Oren how to play Gin. Now I think I'll go to the B-flat Club to hear some Danish jazz on this, my last night out in Berlin. Tomorrow, Anna and I will shop at an outdoor market, and buy and cook food for 14 for my going-away. Then my flight leaves on Sunday for Amsterdam and my friends Lissa Roberts, Jack Spaapen and their kids.

Shabbat in Halle

2006-05-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

Dan and Oren at Herr Sommer's home on the River Saale
The River Saale
Oren and Dan pictured on a software company storefront
screen on Rosenthaler Strasse

Only two days left

2006-05-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

I spent a good part of the day in the garden of the original Cafe Einstein... it was beautiful AND I finished the Yiddish story... that's not saying I understood it all, but I got through it once... tomorrow I'll go over it with Oren on the train to Halle, where he is a cantor.

Wine on the balcony with Anna and Wolfgang... then a bit more studying. The weather is finally like spring and I have to leave - oh, well.

More new adventures

2006-05-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Wolfgang made an appointment for me with his Israeli doctor; I'd told him that my left fourth and fifth fingers were numb. He announced that he'd take me there in the afternoon. Oren walked up right then and said that he was still feeling sick - Wolfgang told him to come with us.

After my lesson (I was impatient and remembered almost nothing from previous lessons), I went to KnoepfPaul, a button shop Evi had told me about. I orderd cufflinks for the boys and me with our intitials, made out of old German typewriter keys. I'll pick them up tomorrow.

I had dinner with Wolfgang and Annna and a friend, Ziggy. Then Anna and I went out to check out the Berlin Israel Independence Day party. It was pretty quiet, so we went next door for a drink. Our downstairs neighbor, Christian, was having a beer with friends; he decided to join us - once again, we were the oldest there, and we all danced to bad Israeli and American music. I love the way people run into one another here - there are gathering places, concert posters plastered all over - there's a real sense of community - something we just don't have in America. We need to have places people bump into one another and then just hang out... it's so obvious and so much lacking in our American cities.

This morning, I made it through most of page four of Bontshe Schweig - I want to finish before I leave - only two pages to go! I then had Apfelschole with Wolfgang, Anna, and another friend, before Anna took me through the Oranienburgerstrasse Jewish Museum and gave me a backstage tour of the Synagogue and grounds. After a quick Thai lunch (yep, we're either eating or drinking), I hurried off to meet with my first housemates, Funmi and Javi(er) at Caras. Since we last talked, she's quit her job - they leave for three days in Helskinki tomorrow, staying for free off a home hospitality website.

Aaron is staying with Christian, Sophie, and Orlando (downstairs) tonight. Anna, Wolfgang, and I biked over to the Hochschule fuer Musik - Hanns Eisler. There, our other downstairs neighbor, Brigitte, was holding a recital for her students. Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Prokofiev, Chopin... after the recital, we all went out with some of Brigitte's students to a brewery on the Spree (Mark Brauerei) and talked until after midnight.... another spontaneous get-together facilitated by local gathering spots... then we rode home under the spot-lit Berliner Dom....

Dan, Funmi, and Javi at Caras

2006-05-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Wolfgang's Candid Camera - the bald guy in front is me; I'm trying to study Yiddish

2006-05-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Dinner at Evi and Pefi's in the Weissensee

2006-05-02T03:51:00.000-07:00

Frank, Simone, Emilie
Pefi, Anna, Evi
Evi and Dan in her garden

A bike trip to the Jewish Cemetery and Pefi and Evi's house in Weissensee

2006-05-02T03:42:00.000-07:00

Anya and I went for a jog in the Gruenewald. Wolfgang and Aaron came along and played soccer. In the Gruenewald there are sports clubs (the Maccabbi Club is one place I had Passover seder) and small garden houses. The garden houses are tiny, with small plots of land. It's a phenomenon particular to Berlin. People could get away from the noise and grey of the city by renting a place with a small garden - they could tend it, live the house on weekends or the whole summer, and feel like they're in the country. Still, the size of the homes (more the size of garden sheds) and the plots, make it all feel fairly claustrophic for me. The run was beautiful, complete with trees, a lake and birds singing. The birds here seem to sing more and louder than those in the PNW... truly beautiful songs.

Oren was too sick to teach me, so I studied some on my own. Then Anna and I took bikes to go to Pefi and Evi's home in Weissensee. We stopped at the Jewish Cemetery and walked around - it's huge! Her Great-great-grandparents are buried there. There's also a plaque for her great grandparents and a great uncle who were killed in the Holocaust. After the cemetery, we met Frank, Simone, Emilie, Wolfgang, and Aaron, at Evi and Pefi's for dinner. I saw her beautiful garden, their home, and we talked until about 2130... then home to bed.

Pictures from the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe (Berlin)

2006-05-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

Yiddish, a flea market, bike riding, coffee, and a birthday party

2006-04-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

I got up and had a lesson with Oren at Caras across the street - I got through another page of Bontshe Schweig... four more to go...

Wolfgang rode bikes with me to Gold's Gym... we had fun. Then we rode over to a flea market in the Prenzlauer Berg. Anna got some sunglasses. Wolfgang and Aaron some pins and comics (for Aaron). Then we rode to a street on Weinbergsweg (Volkspark am Weinberg) for coffee and cake with Anna and Wolfgang's friend's. People were out on the street getting ready for Walpurgisnacht, the night one-half year after Halloween. People dress up, there are lots of parties (street and other) and some riots in the poorer areas - nothing in the Mitte. Police were out though.

I had coffee again with Pefi and Efi and Maria (Anna and Wolfgang's daughter) and dinner at their house. Later (2145), I met Frank and Simone (Pefi and Efi's son/daughter-in-law) for a birthday party of a friend. It was held at Cafe Einstein's roasting place, in a warehouse on the Spree River. Other than the parents of the b-day boy (Rafael - he owns two coffee houses called I Love Coffee and he's 30 years old today), I was probably the oldest one there. I danced, drank two beers and two vodka shots (way too much for this lightweight) and was home by 0100 so I can study a bit and get up early for jogging tomorrow in the Gruenewald, the Green Forest...

Between 150,000-300,000 were buried in this Jewish cemetery between the 12th and 18th centuries!

2006-04-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Sephardic Synagogue/Jewish Museum

2006-04-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Springtime in Prague

2006-04-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

A building in Prague's Jewish Quarter

2006-04-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

In the Exposition garden

2006-04-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

Roma Concert at Palast Akropolis

2006-04-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

More eating, drinking, and music before Shabbat

2006-04-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

A good coffee house

2006-04-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

Stopping for lunch with a view of the Elbe and five bridges

2006-04-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

A trip to Prague

2006-04-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few days. Wolfgang Fischer-Ohl (my next-door neighbor) decided to join me on my trip to Prague. Instead of the train, we drove into the Czech Republic. Our hotel, U Tri pstrosu, was right next to the famous Karls Bridge. We walked into town, had dinner, went for coffee (to a great coffeehouse on teh Unglelt Place named Ebel), and then went to a jazz club, the Ungelt Club.

The next morning, we were up for a long walk around the city. We went into one church, saw the Palace, and had lunch/coffee at a pavilion built for an exposition in 1905 - it had an amazing view of the Moldau River and five bridges. Wolfgang took a photo of me with a Happy 23rd Birthday Jake sign and we walked around looking for an internet cafe that had a cable for my camera. We found it and sent the photo. By then it was time for coffee again - travelling with Wolfgang was definitely a different pace for me - plenty of time sitting and watching, drinking beer or coffee. Back to Ebel - we asked the waiter for a music suggestion. He heartily recommended a Roma/Sinti (formerly Gypsy) concert at a place called the Palast Akropolis in a non-tourist neighborhood... what a scene - mostly young Czech folks - great music - the Czech's didn't dance much, but that didn't stop Wolfgang or I (two older guys) from moving...

The next morning, I'd booked a tour of Jewish Prague with Sylvia Wittman Tours. Rabbi Ron Hoffberg was our guide. The tour started about 1030 and was supposed to end at 1330 - we left it at 1500! It was very good, but we were freezing (it was very cold and rainy and we didn't have appropriate clothes since the previous day was so nice). We saw the Jewish Museum that houses the Judaica ritual objects Hitler was preserving for his own museum of an extinct people. We learned about a Jewish Community that dates back to 1104 and has almost 1,000 years of history that has seen both reasonable and terrible treatment of Jews.

The weird thing is that Maccabi Tel Aviv was in the Final Four of European basketball and the tournament began Friday. Because of Shabbat, we didn't go, but the town was FULL of Israelis - over 12,000 of them! I heard more Hebrew than any other language.

We drank hot coffee and took warm showers after the tour - just to take the edge off. Then we went out for more coffee, cake, Czech pine-nut liquer, and a vermouth. We sat for about 1.5 hours, ate and drank, people-watched, and listened to light jazz music (our third music event in so many days). The cafe was beautiful - art deco - an next to a concert hall.

I received an email from Rabbis Mark Hurvitz and Debbie Prinz - they would meet us at the Jerusalemska Street synagogue at 2000 for services. It turns out that these services had no Czechs - only Americans, most of whom were on a singles tour of Eastern Europe. Not only that, but Sylvia Wittman came in and announced that they had no rabbi. She asked us to help out. Mark and Debbie led and did an admirable job - I helped out a bit. It was pretty strange - since it was impromtu, it didn't really feel like a service, but it was an honour to help lead services in such a beautiful synagogue with such great acoustics. Afterwards, Wolfgang and I went out for dinner to Divini, an Italian restaurant owned by a Sicilian guy and an Israeli guy (who also owns a clothing line called Kenvelo [ken v' lo or 'yes and no']. It was delicious food and good wine - we tried to order an Israeli wine, but he'd given the last bottle to his Israeli partner that day.

Back in the car this morning, we crossed the border and drove to Dresden. There, Wolfgang showed me the restored buildings and the ones he worked on (he's a stone mason). It was freezing and wet. Then it was back to Berlin for another hot shower and a wonderful dinner that Anna made. I have Yiddish homework, and then I'll go to bed.

Our hotel (U. Tri pstrosu - Under the Three Swans) and the gate to the Karls Bridge

2006-04-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

My neighbor, Wolfgang Fischer-Ohl on the way back from Prague

2006-04-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of cafes in the old Jewish Quarter

2006-04-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Central Jewish Organization building - was Hochschule for die Wissenschaft des Judentums

2006-04-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Tiergarten Biergarten - this is in the middle of the city!

2006-04-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

Shopping anyone?

2006-04-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

Springtime in Berlin

2006-04-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I felt terrible - I messed up the time and was an hour late to ride bicycles with Anna to the Holocaust Memorial program at the Jewish Center. We rode anyway and got there just a few minutes late. Today was the first Spring-like day and riding through the Tiergarten and along the bank of the Spree River was a real thrill - I loved it! The town is so bike friendly - bike lanes everywhere, and no hills!

The morning was spent with Oren reading Yiddish at Caras Coffeehouse across the street. Anna and Wolfgang joined us for a time. Then I headed over to the KaDeWe, Europe's largest department storee. It's especially known for it's 6th floor, a huge conglomeration of foodstuffs to take away or eat there. It was interesting, although I didn't buy a thing - travelling with just a carry-on and a small backpack for nine months requires restraint. Then I checked out the local vegan food and clothing (yes, there's vegan/no animal clothing and shoes!) store - pretty darned small. A vegetarian Doener, coffee and a Bayrischer Butter Bretzel followed for dinner. The Doener was filled with sauces, veggies and cheese and only cost 1.80 Euro.

Wolfgang stayed home with Aharon while Anna and I rode bikes to the Jewish Center - the program was OK, and I got to hear Itzik Sheffer sing El Malei Rachamim (a prayer for the dead) for the 8th time in three days. Then Peter, Anna and I rode to a Biergarten on a small lake in the middle of the Tiergarten. On this, the first spring-like day, the place was packed! How come we don't have places like that in the States - places where communities know to gather? Pefi gave me a tour of Jewish Berlin, including the school his mother went to and his office which, before the War, was the Hochschule fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums (The University for the Science of Judaism). He rode home and Anna and I went to a to a sidewalk cafe for dessert, coffee, and wine. It also was packed - we set a couple of chairs up in the middle of a dead-end street untder a flowering tree that had a strong, Jasmine-like scent. I had Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce and an Eiskaffee (with ice cream and whipped cream). I have to get back to the gym pretty darn soon. We talked about life and kids and work and I'm finally home, ready to pack for my trip to Prague tomorrow with Wolfgang.

2006-04-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

High school participants in the Schipau
Memorial

2006-04-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

... but it's so beautiful in Troebitz...
EuroSpeedway (Lausitz) - where we ate lunch

Another heavy day

2006-04-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Peter picked me up a bit before 0700. We drove over to Itizk's house and then headed south on the Autobahn. After a nice coffee and Kuchen stop in Doberlug-Kirchhain, we arrived in Troebitz. This is a small town that never had a Jewish population, but one that has a Jewish population. As the Red Army was closing in on the Third Reich, the Nazis tried to empty out the camps. They sent three trains from Bergen-Belsen. One, filled with 2500 starving Jews, many with Typhus, stopped in Troeblitz. Some townspeople brought food. The train remained there and became the Lost Transport. When the Red Army opened the doors, the townspeople took in the survivors and buried the dead in a new Jewish cemetery. The town takes good care of the cemetery and holds a yearly commemoration. Two school classes attended. Lunch was with the organizer, the State representative, and others at restaurant at the Lausitz Eurospeedway, a two-mile racing track. Then we went to a small memorial in Schipkau, a stop on the railway, for another ceremony - high school students participated in this one. Both were less formal/official than yesterday's ceremonies and more meaningful.

Itzik told the story of a white haired woman sitting next to him at the Ravensbrueck ceremony. She said she had spent time in Ravensbrueck and was then sent to Auschwitz. When the camp was liberated, she was in a line for gassing - evidently her time hadn't come (but just barely) - that was 61 years ago.

Tonight, Wolfgang, Oren, and I joined Peter and Evi at a Judenrat screening of the movie, Ghetto, a fictional account of a Lithuanian ghetto in 1942-3. It was a very hard movie to watch and, besides a horrific reminder of the cruelty of the Holocaust, there wasn't much worthwhile in it.

Tomorrow, I may go to a reading of a Holocaust book by a Hungarian author name Imre Kertesz (if I can do more of this). Afterwards, I think I'll join Anna and Wolfgang in a public reading of the names of the 55,000 Jews deported from Berlin... they say readers are always needed.

Grave of an "unbekannt" (unknown) in Troeblitz, Germany

2006-04-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm with Anna and Wolfgang Fischer-Ohl

2006-04-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Dan, Anna, Wolfgang

Wolfgang, Aharon (8), and Anna
Fischer-Ohl

The space between the walls was for shooting people

2006-04-23T10:14:00.000-07:00