No Apology Required

The plan was to rent a car and drive around the Mosel river valley and check out some of the beautiful sites on offer there.   First thing, our original transportation option broke down leaving us with the dreaded option of renting.  We arrived to the car rental place only to find out that our reservation could not be met as requested and we would be upgraded.  I have rented before and the upgrade is not the biggest deal until this black beauty came zipping around the corner and the keys slid in my direction.  My friend could hardly contain his excitement so he got first dibs on the wheel.  After getting the full insurance package, we rocketed off onto the local Autobahn.  You have to test the car, right?

We were off to Metz to see the cathedral and its famous Chagall windows.  Next came a night in Saarbruecken and a trip to the wine country.  I am not a big wine fan, but going to a wine producing area does tend to take you to very beautiful places.  Trier was nice but packed with tourists on this practicular day.  Next was Thoernich and the real wine producers.  Was a lot of fun to stay the night out there and I could not imagine any place like it in America.  We managed to come home in time to see the brilliant football of FCS as they managed to power their way into the top rung of amateur German football (the soccer kind).  Unfortunately, my time in the Saarland was limited and I had to get home to meet some other friends for a Swedish excursion. 

In the Middle of Everywhere

Berlin was such an amazing place to finally see.  I have been to Germany numerous times but can only say I have seen the small corner near France.  The fact that I had only three hours of sleep before my arrival was dragging on me until we got out of the airport and the excitement hit me.  The bonus of going to Berlin, especially from Copenhagen is that everything was so cheap that it might as well have been free (except for that pair of Dunks).  

We managed to book an apartment run by some hippies specializing in organic foods and yoga instruction.  Free classes were available to all but after watching the class exit late one night I knew it was not for me.  Since I forgot my guidebook by the door in Denmark, I had to go on memory alone to check off what I wanted to see before my flight out.  I lack the words to describe the awestruck feeling that I was repeatedly overcome by in the city.  The Pergamon Museum was a special treat as I was really taken by a two story marble facade.  

My time there was short but I will be back.  

Vikings

So I purchased a pack of empty batteries and could only snap a few picture of the famous Roskilde Viking ships.  The museum also had an interesting film covering the annual 4 month trip in a reconstructed Viking ship across the North Sea.  The other reason to go to Roskilde is the cathedral which happened to have a concert in it at the time so I could not go in.  The trip did start with the bright spot of a drunk Dane wanting to start a fight with me.  I guess you could say some trips are just not meant to work out.

So I Went Places

Which left me with little motivation to post new entries to this blog.  I will try to spend some time my last week here (already) with a chronological series of postings.  Here we go...