Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Good-bye, Berlin; hello, Velburg...

Well, we are back at Dave's in Velburg.  Berlin is awesome but a much faster pace than Bavaria.  I guess with 3.4 million people you have to move fast or get run over.
I noticed on the way home today that the autobahn was more congested and more of a pain because the trucks are back.
Have some random ramblings I want to share...
Michael, our walking tour guide, referred to America as the "new world."  I never thought about it that way but I guess we are.
I noticed in Berlin that since everyone walks and uses public transportation, there is a rash of sensible shoes on women.  No 3-4 inch heels will work well on the damned cobblestones since you may end up with a sprained ankle or worse.
The Germans are big into recycling everything which is great.
At one of the restaurants we went to in Berlin, not only are dogs allowed but they brought out a bowl with water for them.  Neat!
I saw a black BMW 630 on the autobahn that I thought is an absolutely gorgeous car.
Smoking is more prevalent here than in the US but it is not allowed in the restaurants and most clubs.
People are in the "U" with a bottle of bier and no one bats an eye.
The grounds at the Tiergarten (Zoo) were used to plant potatoes and cabbage after WWII and the trees were cut down for firewood.
Fashion on the street in Europe -- anything goes.  Scarves and hats are a must, however, to ward off the cold - for both men and women.
We saw a motorcade yesterday in Berlin that we think had Angela Merkel in it.  Right now she is extremely busy dealing with the euro crisis.
The Mercedes S350 that I saw on the autobahn -- also black -- is a super nice car also.
Furniture stores carry more than just furniture.  The larger ones have a restaurant and kitchenware.
Christmas markets are being set up in all of the major cities right now -- they open next week.  Damn.
120 kilometers or 75 MPH is the posted speed on the autobahn when two highways are merging.
Hitler's bunker in Berlin is now a filled in and covered with a parking lot.  His and Eva Braun's bodies were dug up, cremated and flushed down the sewer to assure that there would be no hero-worship by the crazy neo-nazis.
Lots of wind farms close to Berlin.
The hotel we stayed at in Berlin had a master light switch to assure that you turned off everything when you left your room.  Germans are very energy conscious since it is so expensive to produce.
There is a very tall, skinny TV tower in what used to be East Berlin that was built during the Cold War that is like giving West Berlin the bird.
"The world's best cars being driven by the world's worst drivers." Quote from Dave after being on the autobahn for a while.
Bookstore in Germany has "50 shades of Grey" -- all 3 volumes -- on one of the main displays in the store.
Grocery stores here -- Kaiser, Aldi, Netto and Norma.  Great variety of liquor, fresh meats and bread.
The Saturn store here is comparable to our Best Buy.
Gluhwein is a hot spiced wine sold on street corners here to take the chill off and is pretty damned good.
This is all I can ramble about for now.  Later...

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