Wednesday, March 10, 2010 A Day of Travel from Kassel to Berlin

(Sandra) A Day of Travel from Kassel to Berlin, approximately 3-4 hours. Gaby’s ‘gemoglich’ kitchen was a great place to have a relaxed breakfast and visit. She showed us her camera and a four-leaf clover. We tried to send Karannina and Alexander’s homework files, but were unsuccessful – we’ll try tonight with Dieter’s email, which can contain heavier loads to send.
Travelling in the Picasso car was enjoyable – great travel weather conditions and no slow congested stretches of traffic. The dashboard button panel required some time to figure out. The panel is in English and the handbook is in German. The car is made in France, but no French could be found. Finally, I was able to connect an ipod with the stereo system and a big smile came to Alexander’s face, as we enjoyed familiar music such as camp songs and Jesse Cook and Rick Steves information regarding Berlin. We enjoyed eating snacks that we packed from Tante Karin: apples, dried fruit, and taco chips. 150km was the highest speed we travelled. It did not feel too fast – surprisingly! Other vehicles sped past us, making it seem that we were travelling slowly. Time passed quickly as we travelled – so many new things to see from the highway. Numerous loaded trucks from Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, etc filled the right lane of the autobahn – the artery of nutrition and other supplies for Europe. We saw the East/West checkpoint tower from the highway, which had divided Germany for so many years. Many wind turbines dot the land on either side of the highway. ‘Mistletoe’ clumps which look like bird nests, make their homes in many large trees. Thanks to the GPS, we were able to find our way to the heart of Berlin easily. We checked into our hostel, rested for a bit and looked for a grocery store. We found one easily, called, The Hit. The entrance is tiny, but once inside, it is a labyrinth of aisles and has an escalator for an additional floor underneath. We have discovered this pattern in a few other cities as well. After a delicious evening meal of bread, cheese, meatball and salad, we ‘crashed’ – completely exhausted!