Berlin

Berlin, I have finally visited you..

On Tuesday the 2nd of September at a bright an early 6:30am Gaby and myself took off on our next adventure to Berlin.. By bus. Not that it was at all a bad thing, it in fact reminded me quite a bit of Euro Tour and I sat in the same spot on that bus that I did on Euro Tour. But after a good 2-3 hours on the road my eyes lit up as they saw Berlin. There we stayed with Gaby's son Frank and his family.

Day 1 - Arrival and city tour

 The train I used and the stops.

 Poseidon

 The radio tower

 The British Embassy

 The Jewish memorial

 The Embassy for the United States of America

 Brandenburg Gate

 The Presidents of Berlins Estate, there was a welcoming party for a foreign King or Minister

 The entrance to the Zoo

 The first traffic light in Germany

 Checkpoint Charlie

 The famous Currywurst!!!!

 Karla and myself

Day 2 - Karla's new school

So we went in to pick Karla up from her new French school and had a lovely brunch at an adorable restaurant/cafe called the Einstein. 

Later that night the whole family and the two of us went out for dinner and had doner and it was delicious!!

Day 3 - A day with Nathan

And so I met up with one of my plane buddies Nathan (Australian) and he took me around Berlin, exchange style hahah. We walked and talked and went to and Australian shop and then found some food and a park and relaxed.

 The Australian Shop

 True Blue Aussie Hats

 Leni, the dog that found us in the park. He just sat with us for about an hour and then we read his collar and rang the owners. They were quite happy to find the little guy.

 Poseidon the God of the Seas

 Berlin Bear

 First slushie in 8 months :D

The oh so traditional selfie with Nathan

Day 4 - Chocolate Factory day and Souvenirs

Now just to explain the Berlin bear thing, the bear is the symbol of Berlin and throughout the city there are these bears and each one has been decorated differently. Moving on. So today Kuno, myself and Gaby went through Berlin to find the oh so magical Ritter Sport chocolate factory!!! MAKE YOUR OWN CHOCOLATE! And that's exactly what we did. So whilst the chocolate was setting we went upstairs to their cafe and had our selves a little treat. Then we were off for souvenirs.

 Kuno and a bear

 The Ritter Sport bear

 Chocolate milkshake, chocolate muffin and a tiny chocolate

 Gaby and her tea

 Another Bear

 Brandenburg Gate at sunset

Where the old Berlin Wall was once

Day 5 - And we're on the road again

Saturday was my last day in Berlin and I spent it with Karla. She took me around and we visited a few different places close to where she lives. One stop was an adorable little sweet shop. Yes I did buy something there. We headed towards her old school, Kuno goes there and it's not too far from the house and we went to cute little craft shop.

Coolest sign ever. Converse for life!

We headed home late afternoon and it was a scary ride home. We drove in a rainstorm that was full of lightning, although it was quite a lovely show. Overall my week in Berlin was pretty awesome, seeing all that history was epic. Thank you to Gaby for taking me places and looking after me, I really, really appreciate that. But I must say the bed was calling to me after the week.

Kassel

Germany, you are beautiful. Kassel was absolutely no exception to that rule.

So onWednesday the 27th of August, myself, my host mother Gaby (at that time) and her granddaughter Karla headed down to Kassel to visit Gaby's daughter and her family. Upon arrival I met Hannah and Ellen, Gaby's other granddaughters and Marcel, her son-in-law. We ate a lovely lunch and then headed for the Schloss Garden's.

I must say the gardens surrounding the castle itself were actually so beautiful but the real treasure only happens every Wednesday and Sunday at a certain time during the Spring and Summer. After a 45 minute trek up the hill using the many dirt paths we arrived to the top where the statue of Hercules rest atop a building. Now at said time on these days a massive amount of water is released and travels down the hill, over waterfalls and down streams until it gets to the bottom where the natural pressure pushes it into a huge fountain and it is amazing. 

 The Hercules resting on his club.

 The 100's of people gathered to see the waterfall.

 The waterfall.

 One of the many waterfalls that you could see come to life.

 The Devil's Bridge.

And finally the main fountain. 

Now the water took about 40 minutes from the get go to travel to the base and final fountain. It really is remarkable the the park itself was built by man but the gradual pressure built up from the natural downwards forces is enough to make a fountain that reaches about 25-30 meters in the air.

So that was the park and then we went home played in the backyard and then ate one magnificent dinner cooked by Marcel. This dinner was one beauty of a steak, chips and cooks pears. And my Lord was it delicious, not only did I eat my own steak but the rest (3/4) of Karla's and extra sides. Coupled with Australian Sauces and overall one of the best meals ever.

 Gaby and the Sauces

And finally the STEAK and pears.

We only stayed the one night and the following morning I went into town the the girls and they did some shopping and anyone who knows how I am will know that I just browsed and walked. No shopping was done by me that day. The drive home Gaby took me by the river instead of the Autobahn and the scenery was spectacular.