Spent my first day in Berlin on a fantastic free walking tour. Met a great couple from Wellington, NZ, Graeme and Margaret, on the tour and they made me promise to look them up if I ever got to NZ. They were both well researched about Berlin (I was not) and so whatever facts our guide missed, they filled in. Loved Graeme's abbreviations...said he was done with ABC's..."another bloody church!" Too funny! We saw the usual sites including Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, Humboldt University, Hitler's bunker (which was creepy as hell to stand over), Checkpoint Charlie, The "Deathstrip", Reichstag Building, Jewish Memorial, Bebelplatz, Nazi Air Ministry, Nikolaikirche, and Potsdamer Platz.

Next day a nagging medical problem that started shortly after I left home (trouble swallowing, tightness in my throat like something was stuck) finally got to the point that it needed attention. Found my way to the hospital but they wouldn't run the tests (easy outpatient ones at home) unless I was admitted. Felt completely ridiculous being in the hospital for a malady that didn't even hurt (but was scary as I was easily choking on food) but I felt I had no choice at that point. Found out after being admitted that the tests couldn't be performed until Monday (it was Friday) so I was stuck without my backpack (just the clothes I came in wearing), nothing to read (except a "Lonely Planet Mediterranean Europe" which I was done with), and nine channels of German T.V. without English translation! All I could watch that I could easily figure out what was going on was German cooking and gardening shows and a lame reality show called "Joko vs. Klaus." Oh, and a Paris Hilton movie that I don't know the name of or do I care. I had sunk so low. The first test was inconclusive so I had to wait two more days for two other tests. On the fourth day, two kindly ladies came in wheeling a library cart that contained a small selection of English language books. I almost hugged them. Read "Remains Of The Day" even though I had already seen the movie. That took up one day. I will NEVER, EVER (and I hope the occasion never arises) complain again about the scrumptious and utterly delicious American hospital food again. I will savor every luscious bite of it and be sad when each tray is taken from me, plate licked clean of every morsal. I ate two slices of dry brown bread with two slices of mystery meat and a slice of tasteless cheese (no condiments), wilted brown salad with tasteless vinegar dressing, a piece of unripe fruit, and tea for EVERY meal for five days! Oh, I got a pudding cup a couple of times. I cherished those pudding cups. Tests found nothing conclusive but a small tracea abnormality which was not serious enough to cause my condition. So I left after five days with the same symptoms, five pounds lighter, a hospital bill that I hoped my travel insurance would cover, and feeling rather foolish. Nothing against Berlin, or Germany for that matter, but I got back to my hostel, paid the bill, picked up my pack and took the first train to anywhere...Poland it turned out...as fast as I could.

Almost three weeks and three countries later I returned to Germany. The Autoban was a thrill! Cars zoomed past at 160 mph! Not average cars of course but Ferrari's, Maserati's, Aston Martin's, BMW's, Porsche's, etc. It was crazy! It was as if we were standing still doing 90 mph! Drove through Dresden (with my new travel partner, Dutch), Leipzig, and Weimar. All beautiful little towns, so quaint and tidy. The German countryside was beautiful, green, and dotted with cute farmhouses and small villages. I would love to go back and actually probably will since Germany is so centrally located!