A note from Berlin

The time has come for us to separate from our friends for a couple fo days.  They have been great.  Shuffling us around Germany.  However, the next part of our adventure we will undertake solo.  

We finish our breakfast in Munich, and head to the Train stations.  Munich was a great city, our next stop is Berlin.  Before leaving home (the USA) we purchased our train tickets.  The ride will last about 5 hours with a few stops in between.  According to our host, the ICE trains have the fewest stops, which is why that is what we booked.  The upgrade to 1st class was not high, so we sprang for first class.  In addition, i signed us up for the quiet car.  Mainly to keep from having to listen to someone else’s phone conversation.  When they speak German, i don’t understand it anyway. 

The Munich train station was pretty easy to navigate. finding our train was a piece of cake.  Getting in the right car was also not that difficult.  With the newer train we were riding, everything was labeled on the outside, and i easily found our seats.

 After about 2 stops, which were very close, we presented our tickets without any issue.  Every hour or so, a conductor came by and provided us with chocolate or gummy bears.  

I finished reading a book on my Kindle.  Its an old-school kindle.  But it still works.  I brought along a couple of books to read on this trip.  With my Prime membership. the books do not cost anything, and some are the first in a series.  I will get to that later.  

Our accommodations in Berlin was the Motel One, directly across the street from the main train station in town.  Which was very easy to get to from the train.  Disembarking and navigating to the hotel only took about 10 minutes.  I immediately noticed how much bigger the Berlin station was compared to Munich.  The city itself, also seemed busier.  It was Sunday afternoon, and there were a lot of cars on the road, and people moving about.  I am not sure if this is normal, or just my observation this day.  Our room was cozy, with a bed, bath and desk.  Not a big room, but clean and well appointed.  All we could ask for in a place to sleep for one night.  We had some ideas of what we wanted to see, so we started our walk.

Navigating to the major sites in downtown Berlin is not very difficult.  The walk started around the corner from the Train station.  We headed toward the Brandenburg Gate.  Made famous many times over during the history of this city.  Stay tuned to see more highlights from the trip.