Day Nine - Berlin

It's hard facing a 7 hour drive, even harder when that means leaving a city as lovely as Amsterdam. If I had the chance to plan this trip again I would steal one day from Berlin to give back to Amsterdam. But the clock is ticking and we need to get on the road in order to make it to the much celebrated Berlin Mauerpark Flea Market before it closes at 6:00pm.

Crossing from the Netherlands into Germany you notice the change. Everywhere in Europe people drive fast, but not German fast. You can look in your rear view mirror, see nothing, then within an instant a car is passing you as a blur within a blink. Cars will pass you so fast you can feel them pull your car backwards as they approach.

There is a delicate dance that motorists participate in on European freeways that is a thing of beauty. Their cooperation, a necessity at these speeds, is inspiring. The left lane is for passing and that is how it's used, always. You want to go a normal speed? Cruise in the right lane. You want to go rocket speed, move over to the left, gain your speed and when

you're happy, move back over to the right to let the maniacs that want to go even faster than you have their turn. It works beautifully.

The drive is smooth and easy, aside from needing to pay at least 1 Euro per bathroom break, it was delightful. We listened to podcasts, gasped at the beautiful countryside and old towns we would pass along the way and I couldn't help trying to picture how all of this land looked during WWII.

We arrive in Berlin, park on the street, walk into the hotel only to hear "I'm sorry I don't see a reservation". I can't think of a worse thing to hear after 7 hours on the road. But fear not, it turns out there are two hotels in Berlin name Amano. We, of course, were at the wrong one. So back in the car to drive across town. We arrive at the right Amano. We're relieved to see our room is modern and most of all spacious. After 2 days in the closet that was our Amsterdam hotel room this feels like a palace.

But we gotta move, we want to make it to the flea market as it's only held on Sundays. Luckily our hotel is right next to a major transportation station so we plot our route and hop on the train. Unlike anywhere else we had ridden public transportation, there is a coin operated ticket machine actually inside the S-Bahn, so after much fumbling we figure it out and we are on our way. Although we will soon discover ticket validation is not really enforced in Germany.

We arrive at Mauerpark and see rows and rows of vendor booths peddling everything from vintage cameras to dirty stuffed animals. There were vintage clothes and brand new screen printed shirts. I was thankful my suitcase had no more room, I could have spent a lot of money here. At the back of the flea market the were food vendors selling sausages and sweets, beers and warm wine. We grab a bratwurst on a roll and top it off with some beers.

After a day of driving and evening spent walking the flea market in the cold, we were ready to call it a day. We make it back to the oasis of a hotel room and proceed to drink everything in the minibar before falling fast asleep.