Last night, some of Leo’s friends stopped by to say goodbye. They all have been so wonderful and remind me of my friends…kind of makes me miss them. Leo’s dad drove me and Leo to Stuttgart where we’d be ride sharing to Berlin. We went early to have a lunch and see some of the city. We ate lunch at this entirely organic restaurant. Everything from the food and drinks, to the toilets and walls were organic. It was pretty neat. Leo’s dad was born and raised in Stuttgart which is like 35 minutes or so from the village he lives in now. It’s a medium sized city and very pretty. It was a relatively nice day, so after lunch we walked through the park in the middle of the city. It was pretty cold in the shade but I was amazed at the number of people walking, biking, jogging etc in this weather. To warm up, we went to Leo’s dad’s favorite café and had some amazing cake and coffee. Cake and coffee is a very German thing. They have some of the best cakes…all kinds and usually in the afternoon, sometime between 2-5, cake is eaten and coffee is drunk. It was really good.
We killed a little more time before having to meet up with the ride share and then said our goodbyes. It was pretty difficult to say goodbye to Leo’s dad. He has been so amazing and reminds me a lot of my own dad. Such a sweet man…I felt kind of bad because I’m really bad at saying goodbyes and expressing my gratitude, but I have the feeling he knows how much I appreciated it all.
We climbed in the 9-person van and were on our way to Berlin. It was only 4 in the afternoon, but it was already getting dark, so that ruined all possibilities of a scenic route. About 6 hours later, we arrived in Berlin…and it was FREEZING. No snow, but cooooold. We took care of a few things and then grabbed the tram to Leo’s apartment. Berlin’s public transportation amazes me. The trams run all night. The subways almost run all day and night. There are busses and it’s so easy to get around. We got to her place, which was freezing as well since no one had been there for more than a week. She has a cute, little one-room flat with a coal-burning oven, no central heating system, so it took quite a bit for the place to warm up. We went to a nearby kebab place and grabbed some dinner…so hungry! So tired too. I’m sure we’ll fall asleep without problems…aka hypothermia.
G’night,
Maribel