Europe 2003 - Part 10: Stuttgart to Berlin

Hey fellow crazy mystics! I met Sybren/Vanessa in Stuttgart yesterday - did the PORSCHE museum (small but mega-delicious with a showroom next door). We then plodded into where Vanessa works at a Hausbrauerie and beer garden and the always charming Vanessa served us “house” pizzas and beer to our heart’s content. After her shift finished, we three had a good tram ride to the TV tower, at the top of which you can view all of Stuttgart, etc. all alpine and foresty. Following a traditional city centre snack, I said goodbye to them and boarded my excellent overnight DieBahn train carriage to Berlin Zoogarden. It was a joy to see Sybren and Vanessa and I wish them top luck.

Berlin is a fabulous cosmopolitan city, majestic with history and fame. The people are very free in their values, it seems like they are entire world’s think tank for all international violence, the pacifist view looks way strong here. Young Berliners (major hippy tribes) seem extremely well-read and intelligent. As a result, they have been interacting like great people - easily approached and intelligently analytical. Sounds perfect doesn’t it? Well I don’t know properly yet, it’s only been a day of being local here! lol! But so far - it looks like that - the changing, moulding city reacting to world affairs with individual opinions, in that fine German tradition of meticulous detail and foresight.

I moved my goodies into the main Berlin hostel and did laundry, showering, mosquito-bite checking, nose-picking, etc. Having a big hunger, I roamed around for late lunch and ate the apple that Jochen’s mummy gave me yesterday! I called David, whom I met in Florence not so long ago (see my journal entry from Florence - David is the German guitar man!) and he said to come down for dinner tonight at his place in Berlin - since he was baking pizza for his sisters. Anna Pusch (from Mexico) featured today - I got in touch with her at last through Vanessa’s mobile for her in Stuttgart! I shall meet her for a Berlin afternoon sight-seeing trek tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, I take the overnight train to Karlsruhe and then Lyon. My grape-picking job will start there for one or two weeks, and I hope to meet my brother, Gaz and Mark there to head to the farm that same day arriving in Lyon. So, it’s going to be away from the travelogue and into some serious manual labour for yours truly! But until then I’ll post. After the grape-picking, I plan to visit Sandrine in France and then stay in Amsterdam a few days and try 2 meet Anna the Dutch from Florence!