A yen for the U.S. and Key West

October 13, 2009.  Garbsen, DE

We are in the town of Garbsen, Germany in a small, comfortable and pretty gasthaus.  We arrived here last night after spending Sunday night and Monday in Berlin where we took one of those bus tours that are offered virtually everywhere that there are large numbers of tourists.  (You know what I mean if you've ever been on the Conch Tour Train.)

The temperature here is 36º F, a reminder that it is close to winter, and that our tour is coming to an end.  I'm missing Key West, because I know that it is still warm there.

We drove for a few hours yesterday afternoon and evening, part of the way on the Autobahn where there are no speed limits.  It's our habit now to begin looking for a place to stay in late afternoon or early evening.

The GPS is now our principal means of finding a hotel and it seems to work out well, at least so far.

Our little Opel Agila isn't exactly an Autobahn kind of car, although we've managed a few times to push it to 150 kilometers per hour (93 MPH).  Even at that speed we regularly have to move over for bigger cars, Mercedes, BMW, Audi and the like, that pass us at speeds up to 50 kph faster than us.

Yesterday in Berlin Cam and I explored the intricacies of the Berlin underground (subway) and made our way to the heart of the city for our bus tour and what to our wondering eyes did appear but a Dunkin Donuts!  It's the only one we've seen since leaving the U.S..  We took a break, went inside, and enjoyed a cup of real coffee, unlike the sissy lattes and cappucinos that the Europeans seem to favor.  And a genuine Dunkin Donuts muffin for me, an everything bagel for Cam.  Then, to make our day complete, at a highway rest stop, I snagged a bag of peanut M&Ms to munch on as we drove.

We'll be in Amsterdam tomorrow to return the car.  More from there.