Just a few updates on our Thursday outing. Our first stop was to the offices of Andrew Purvis, Berlin Bureau Chief for TIME magazine. He talked to the group about the magazines vision and the ups and downs of foreign correspondence. His intern, Laura Laabs, grew up in Berlin and gave the group tips on story lines and her own insight into life in the city. She said that Berlin was a city of space - mentally as well as physically - a city with space for ideas.

The Mercedes Benz museum was actually the biggest car dealership I have ever seen. Four floors of models not available in the U.S., with a full-service restaurant, florist and day care center inside. The price for a CLK 280 was about 30 percent higher than in the U.S.

The trip to the Helmut Newton exhibit was a no-go as the museum is closed until mid-June. Instead, we split into groups with the Megan T., Robyn and I opting for a trip to the Zoo Berlin where we caught up with Bao Bao the giant panda having a bit of lunch.
Unfortunately, Knut the polar bear was not available for a visit, but we did see a lot of other animals there. I'll post those pictures and more from East Berlin in the morning. Good night and be well my friends.