Our train left at the very leisurely time of 12.30pm today, so we heaps of time for sleeping in and lounging around. We got to the train station and found out train easily, as usual. The more trains we’ve taken, the easier it become to figure out how it works – even when we are in a new country. It’s been completely smooth sailing sorting out the trains – high five us!
The first class carriage was very comfy, with in-seat waiter service. Very nice! The trip from Berlin to Frankfurt was about 5 hours, so plenty of time to consume some more Heroes as I watched the countryside whizz by at approximately 230km/h. The trains in Germany are a bit faster than Italy, but slower than the French TGVs.
I was sad to say goodbye to Berlin, I really enjoyed being there. I will definitely go back again. In fact, I think I’ve enjoyed Germany the best out of Europe. It has surprised me that I’ve found Germans the most helpful and friendly – more so than the French, Swiss or Italians. It probably helps that everyone speaks impeccable English in Germany.
I was completely charmed by Berlin. It is such a strange place – so much history packed into one place, so much pain and suffering and grief and loss, and yet it’s still there, thriving away. We had a great time walking all over the place looking at buildings. There are so few old buildings, and lots of construction going on. So different to every other European city I’ve been to – this place was completely decimated by English bombing. Looking around, I thought that this is what Christchurch will look like in 60 years – a mish-mash of buildings of different styles, but very few that are more than half a century old, and most of the ones that are older are partly reconstructed. So fascinating.
Anyway, on to Frankfurt. It has a reputation for being a modern, wealthy city- well-deserved. I love the mix of giant skyscrapers and old-style stone buildings here. They seem to sit together comfortably.
It’s much smaller than Berlin, so very walkable. We dropped our bags at the hotel (which is just across from the train station) and walked into town for a look. It was nice just to wander and look. Of course we found an Apple Store first up, and then a Haagen Dazs. After some ice cream, we decided to save the best stuff for tomorrow, and headed home to bed once it got dark.
The Secret Life of Bebe 