Upon arrival at Tegel Airport in Berlin (Friday, the morning of May 13) – (a sunny, warm day) we took a taxi to our Hotel (Hotel Grosser Kurfurst) and since it was early in the day, we had to wait before we could check in.  Hella was trying to sleep in the lobby waiting for a room. It didn’t take long before the bar opened for us so we could all get some refreshments.

Once everyone was checked in, we met with Annette and Holger who gave us our package of goodies – passes for the U-Bahn and S-Bahn (transportation), tickets for the various events we wanted to see, and maps, booklets, etc. to help us get around.  We made plans to get together for dinner – walked over to a nice area off the Spree (river) where there were many picturesque outdoor restaurants, found a place with enough seating and had a wonderful time enjoying German beer, wine and fresh white asparagus and ham.  It was just delightful and the weather was super.

Then we went back to the hotel, and stopped at the lounge and spent several pleasant hours socializing with our Turner friends from New York and Chicago – and Rolf and Alma who flew in from the Philippines! Bruno Klaus made it from Pennsylvania and we were delighted to have Abie Grossfeld with us.  Both of these Turners are Gymnastic Hall of Famers!  Then it was off to bed to get ready for the big day tomorrow.

May 14: As an officer of the American Turners I was given invitations to various functions and one of the nicest ones was the opening ceremony at the Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Music Hall.  Annette and I attended this opening and we were delighted by a wonderful Chamber Music Recital and Dance Recital. Speeches were given by various dignitaries including the Mayor of Berlin, Mr. Klaus Wowereit and Rainer Brechtken President of the German Turnerbund (DTB).  Afterwards, there was a very nice reception and we enjoyed some refreshments.  We also spoke with various people from the Deutsche Turnfest Committee. Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Parade!

After a photo shoot in the lobby, we headed toward the parade grounds.  Although mass transit was easy enough to get around in, the volunteers running the parade were clueless as to where the International groups were to line up!  After walking in the rain for a very long time, we finally found our spot.  To complicate matters just a bit, we had “Big Foot” (Ferdinand Beinert), who had a huge cast on his foot, and “Gimpy” (Bobby Kersting) who had undergone knee surgery and was still walking with a third leg!  We tried to get wheelchairs – to no avail.  But both Turners were real troopers and marched with us in the rain, in the wind, but to cheering crowds.  Two of our American Turners dressed as American Indians (to honor the first residents of the United States).  Jerry Weitzenkorn was the “Chief” and Marion Oppelt was the “Squaw.” We were quite amazed that we got such a warm and delightful reception from the crowds.  Lots of Whoo-whoos and applause.  Thanks to the efforts of Frankie Wedl, we handed out wooden nickels as souvenirs.  Our Squaw contributed feathers, and scrolls containing a Mohawk thank you to Mother Earth (also translated into German).  After the parade, we gathered in the park by the Brandenburg Gate for a little while, but the weather was just too raw and wet and most of us headed back to the hotel to warm up, dry up and party up.

After dinner at Fischerkrietz, a nice place across the street from our hotel, Annette and I took off for the Opening Ceremonies at the Brandenburg Gate.  After navigating through mud and puddles, we arrived just as the opening was announced by Bundespräsident, Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler.  But again, it was raining, very windy and uncomfortable on the reviewing stand.  There was lots of enthusiastic entertainment and Turners with umbrellas danced around (most likely to keep warm).  After the fireworks, we hopped into a taxi and went back to the restaurant where our Turner friends were still socializing.

May 15 (Sunday): Well, the rooster crowed - and the weather was overcast and threatening, but after a good breakfast a bunch of us headed towards the Messe (Convention Center) to check things out, to look at some of the exhibitions, buy souvenirs, and then go back for some lunch and a little rest before the Turnfest Gala! The Gala took place in the Deutschland Halle.  The M.C. from the opening ceremonies at the Philharmonic had a seat behind us, and Annette gave him one of our American Turner pins.  He was most appreciative! After the very exciting show, highlighting athleticism, dance and singing, Annette and I were invited to another reception.  We spoke to some of the guests and Gertrude Pfister reminded us that we were invited to the New Jewish Museum for a reception on Friday.  Since we were getting tired, we took the U-Bahn back to the hotel and caught up with everyone else and partied a little more.

The Danish Exhibition was fantastic – with lots of tumbling, vaulting, etc. and so forth.  The team was energized and their enthusiasm was catching.  A young man sat next to us who originally came from the Bodensee…I knew Annette would never forgive me if I mentioned this to her and not introduced them.  So, I brought this young fellow (Michael Harter) over to her and they were like kids in a candy store – delighted to meet one another.  Then it was back to the hotel for some more socializing!

May 17 – Tuesday: Woke up to another rainy day.  Today was the day of track and field and swimming for most of our members and despite the rain, our Turners did very well.  Karl Grohn came in FIRST place in his swimming event. Annette Asmus, trying to follow the instructions for “pushing” the shot put, (and laughing too much) fouled twice and finally managed to get one good push.  She also did an excellent dash. And, Marianne Marcus threw great hurlballs – in bound! Peter Pfeiffer nearly wiped out (shades of Leipzig) – but managed to win his heat.  And from what I heard – everyone had a good time despite the nasty weather.   Booby and I opted to do a little sightseeing and we stood in line, for two hours, in the rain, to visit the Reichstag. Although Booby probably does not agree, I thought it was worth seeing and if anyone goes to Berlin – go see it!  It is remarkable. And the views are spectacular (even though the raindrops).  We also strolled Unter den Linden (a beautiful boulevard), visited the “Quiet Room” by the Brandenburg Gate, again visited the Alexanderplatz, and slowly headed back stopping to have some nice hot soup, and then back to the hotel for some rest.

Tonight – Badisches Fest. We found enough tables and chairs on Potsdamer Platz for all our Turners. After some eating, drinking and singing, it really got cold and most of us headed back to the hotel and the lounge where we continued partying and singing.

After we got back Annette found out that a reporter from the Frankfurter Algemeine (newspaper) wanted to interview us.  We arranged to meet with her tonight, prior to the Gymnastic Finals.  She caught up with us and Annette answered her questions and I added my 5 cents worth.  We’ll see if anything comes of it.  When we moved to our seats – Martin and Rosemarie Mildt found us.  Martin is Herbert Mildt’s brother (Long Island Turner member) and we’ve had the pleasure of meeting them several times.  Rosemarie and I had a glass of Sekt together and hopefully, we’ll see each other again in the near future.  As to the competition, the finals were better than those we saw in Leipzig but there is still room for improvement.  The events we saw were: Men: high bar, vaulting, and p-bars.  The women performed on beam, and floor.  Then it was back to the hotel.

May 20 – Friday: Had to get up early this morning to find our way to the New Jewish Museum for the “reception.”  There were lengthy speeches in German regarding the history of Turnerism (not at all flattering to Jahn), which most of our group did not understand.  After a nice concert, and a break for refreshments, some of us stayed for the balance of the reception and some left to pursue other activities.  Then it was back to the hotel for some rest before the Stadion Gala tonight.  Some of us started packing!

Annette and I attended another reception (Senatsempfang) at the Olympiastadion for some finger food and drinks and we met some more German Turners.  We met Gunter Fleishauer from TSV Jetzendorf whose team competed with us in South Bend at our National Festival.

Then it was off to our seats.  They were wonderful seats and the show was spectacular with lots of groups participating.  We saw a lot of gymnastics, there was a lot of music and of course it was topped off with a wonderful fireworks display.  It was a stunning end to a great week.

May 21 – Left for Kiel (Germany) where we will board a ship cruising through the Baltic Sea, visiting Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki, Finland, St. Petersburg, Russia, Tallinn, Estonia and Visby on Gotland, Sweden.