B bop

For our last morning in Kassel Helmar and his daughter Rebecca went all out and had a massive breakfast spread for us (just to have us gain a few more pounds before we head back), the meats (olive wurst is the best!), breads, cheeses, and spreads were just magnificent and if I actually spent some real time in Germany I am sure I would be obese! We had planned to get some things for friends and family and for me to get some bubble wrap for my giant bottle (the word for bubble wrap in German is about 75 letters long!) After getting everything we got back to Helmar’s house and I had to figure out how to pack everything up so it could be airplane ready. This was going to be quite a feat since ... read more

It was a bit of a downer day as today we had decided to make the trip out to the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp. I was hoping to have gotten up earlier so that I could fit the alternative tour of Berlin in as well and hopefully the Pergamum museum (wow I was ambitious!) but I had gotten up too late for that, so concentration camp it was. Derrick and I ate a quick breakfast while trying to figure out just how to get all the way out there, we would end up having to take a few trains totaling just over an hour then walk about 20 minutes the rest of the way out there. We made it to the camp and it was free to get into which surprised me. They had done a fabulous ... read more

Derrick and I were packed and on the road early since it was going to be 7 hours by train to Berlin (good thing Derrick loves train rides as much as I do!) and it was just the prettiest day ever! We were very sad not to have had this weather the past two days but I must say I have been blessed to have some great weather for most of my trip (we all have to pay our dues). The 7 hours flew by and we arrived to the train station in Berlin without any problems. We were waiting for the bus to our Hostel when a lady in a house dress and head covering came up to me and asked me if I spoke English. I told her I did and that’s when she ... read more

I woke up in Kassel the most rested I had been in a while and I had even dreamt! I was running low on clean clothes so I asked Helmar if I could wash a load in his washer. He is such a kind fellow and proceeded to get the washer ready to be used, I had no idea it was such a long process or I would have thought twice about asking! He had to find the cables, then run them along the hallway, and then find the right plug and plug it in. Luckily I already had my laundry sorted into “everything in the bag goes . . . including the bag” so that made it a little easier. I was going to be so happy that I had a backpack full of clean ... read more

I made an early start of it this morning since I wanted to spend the day in Munich. It was a decent train ride (7 hour round trip) and I wanted to have as much time as I could there. Upon getting off the train in Munich I stumbled upon a mini art gallery that was set up in the middle of the main area of the station. It detailed things happening in the world through artist photographs. It was a very moving exhibit with some extremely graphic photographs. Some of the photographs included a man setting himself on fire and jumping off the Chain Bridge in Budapest, a 6 photograph sequence detailing the final years of a woman’s life who was diagnosed with AIDS, photos from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, ... read more