Our flight via Northwest began from Detroit and carried us just under 8 hours to Frankfurt overnight. I still couldn’t sleep — even with two pills. After a short airport shuttle ride to Thrifty, we picked up my
rental car AND proceeded to be upgraded to an Audi A3 Sportback… much improved from a
reserved Ford Ka, eh? Thankfully, I still remembered how
to drive stick (and received glorious reviews of my driving skills, courtesy of my back seat driver).
Let me reflect a moment on the thrill of travel life that is The Autobahn. Drivers speed in excess of 100 (that’s
translated to miles for you Americans, and my TomTom told me how fast
it really was in our measurement system). I was coasting at
100, but being passed WAY over 130. The recommended speed for the Autobahn is about 80 (our measurement, mph). The highest speed I consciously
accelerated to was about 120. The Autobahn doesn’t make you think this
is fast — it’s smooth and straight and practically construction-free.
Guess what else? People know how to drive. I mean, REALLY know how to
drive — you know, get in the right lane if you’re not passing or
driving fast AND trucks are required to stay within the confines of
their own speed limits and NOT drive in the passing lane. Ah, how sweet
it is — I finally found a nation of drivers similar to myself. So we
drove to Berlin… with all my fun German techno radio obsessions. So much for Esteban’s iTrip.
The German countryside was green (but temperatures were still sort of
chilly), and I was drawn to the excess of large wind turbines
continuously nestled between mountains and highway for majority of our
driving adventure. Upon arrival in Berlin, we settled into our hotel (and I marveled again at the lack of screened windows),
showered up and walked around the city center for a bit, gazing up at
the massive Fernsehturm (TV-Tower)
–which I believe now is the fourth tallest structure in Europe — and
through Alexanderplatz, with nighttime views of both the Marienkirche
and Berliner Dom (a simply AMAZING cathedral). We enjoyed a German feast at Kartoffelhaus No. 1.
I was really excited to see a cucumber salad soaked in vinegar and oil
on the menu… and of course, potato-anything. The freezing rain
started during our umbrella-less walk to the remains of the Berlin Wall and the
Brandenburg Gate (which we viewed via cab window), but we were able to
see some interesting old parts of the capital, save only for post-war rebuilding.
While taking pictures at
the Berliner Dom, we snuck into an open door and proceeded to be yelled
at in German ("JA? ja!"). Of course, mid-way back to our hotel, the
rains stopped, but we capped off the night with some biers at
this cute little tavern out front of our two-star get-away. Some
seated Germans — including a business type from Egypt — befriended us
with a free round of brews amidst settling in and the run-of-the-will
"Sprechen Sie English?" introductions. After exchanging much in the
information of travel and surnames, we received a fruit-based shot from
a German-labeled bottle, that tasted of oranges and vodka. (I’m STILL
trying to find the liquor name online!). Whatever it was, my travel
anxiety was curbed for some brief moments to allow some sleep for
continuing (driving) adventures…
