Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin

This will be my last entry from Berlin. I leave the city for home tomorrow, and as with all vacations, though I've had a lot of fun and seen a lot of things, I am looking forward to getting back to familiar surroundings and the comforts of having "my" things around me, in particular to regaining access to my own computer. The trip has been all that I had hoped and more, and my time visiting Paul is a memory that will last a lifetime.

The break in my posting to this weblog has been due to our travels over the last few days, so some catching up is in order. On Tuesday, the 30th, we took a trip to Quedlinburg, an ancient city about 150 km to the southwest of Berlin. I was delighted to see another side of Germany and how much the countryside here looks like the countryside in virtually any state in my own country. And I was also pleased to have had the experience of traveling on one of the many Autobahns, even if the experience did provide a few heart-in-the-throat moments.

The Autobahn, as you no doubt know, has no speed limit in certain sections of its route. It does, however, have speed limits in many parts where the congestion or other conditions warrant it. (At points it is even as low as 60 kmph.) Riding on the Autobahn is pretty much like riding along any divided superhighway in the U.S. except occasionally when you happen to be on one of those stretches where the speed is unlimited. On our trip to Quedlinburg, we were on one such stretch riding along in the center lane at about 130 kmph or 81.25 mph (miles = kilometers/8 and multiply the result by 5) when a shockwave rocked our car as first one and then another Porsche blew by us as if were were standing still. It startled me since I as the passenger hadn't had the preparation of seeing them approaching through the rearview mirror. Whoosh! went one, then whoosh! the other flew by on our left, and the VW in which we were riding shook as if an earthquake had occurred. With no forewarning of the shockwave, my heart leapt into my throat and almost reflexively I exclaimed "Holy Shit!" as these powerful cars roared past us at speeds that must have been upwards of 200 kmph (125 mph). Our car shook like a parked car would if an 18-wheeler had passed immediately adjacent to it while doing 75 mph. My testosterone-afflicted younger friends would be in hog heaven to have access to the freedom to "open her up" on highways like these, I'm sure, but at my age, I have no need for that kind of speed. Interesting, but not enticing.

Once we left the Autobahn and got onto the two lane highways that led us toward Quedlinburg, I was struck by another uniqueness here in Germany. Everywhere here one sees wind driven electricity generators like the three near Oak Ridge. I have no idea what percentage of Germany's electrical needs are met by such devices, but it must be substantial because the number of groves of these things that dot the countryside is overwhelming.

The report on both Quedlinburg and Usedom and my last night in Berlin will have to wait until I'm back in the U.S. More to come from the other side of the Atlantic, once I get there. So for now Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin.

- posted by Perry @ 4:09 PM