Days 12 and 13: Ich bin ein Berliner

For the most part, on Saturday, we did things that a Berliner might ordinarily do. We started off with a breakfast at a leisurely pace at a small cafe. Like many things in Berlin, the food was inexpensive and very good. Called Cafe Butter, we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet with nicely-presented pastries, fruit, potatoes, fish,…

Day 11: Road Trip to Berlin

Like I mentioned last time, day 11 was a driving day, from Vienna to Berlin. We justified “giving up” a day of our trip behind the wheel for three reasons: it was somewhat en route to returning the car in Brussels, it was mostly unrestricted autobahn driving, and it was MOSTLY UNRESTRICTED AUTOBAHN DRIVING!!!!!

Days 8-10: Vienna

So getting to Vienna was what the original trip plan revolved around. Never mind that the first 7 days of the trip were gone already. We arrived late Monday night, welcomed by John, who stayed up super late despite having to be at work Tuesday morning. In the morning, we started a little less early,…

Day 7: Cologne to Vienna

Remember last time how I said it was just a quick overnight stop in Cologne? I lied.  The our hotel room and the view from it was pretty nice.  We were just off of a narrow strip of bakeries, coffee shops, and other establishments ready to feed a couple of hungry guys.  After walking a…

Day 6: From Amsterdam to Cologne

In our original plans, this was the day to finish the drive to Vienna.  We’re behind that schedule though, with a somewhat lazy morning in Amsterdam.  After checking out of our hotel, we headed back downtown for a Dutch pancake breakfast.  Instead of the tram, we tried the metro system.  That train dropped us off…

Day 5: Leaving London for Brussels, Amsterdam, and a Rental Car

Day 5 started with getting up early.  Fly to Brussels, pick up the rental car, and drive to Amsterdam.  We left the apartment at 7:44 London time, and considering we were in Central Time just a couple of days prior, it felt like we were getting up at midnight.  Nevertheless, the early sunrise did a…

Day 4: More sightseeing in London

Day 4 started a little slowly. We didn’t leave the apartment until after noon!! But we still managed to do a lot of sightseeing, a little bit of shopping (there are some things you just can’t get in the USA…), and of course, lots of food. At this point in the trip, I was starting…

Day 3: Tech and Sightseeing in London

We didn’t get up early.  Well, at least I didn’t get up early.  I was out cold, and didn’t wake up until after 10:00.  Good thing we didn’t have morning plans, right?  We needed to get our tech situation resolved, in full LTE cellular data glory.  We’d researched the international offerings from domestic carriers, and…

Day 2: First Evening in London

Our first evening in London was pretty short.  It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at the apartment where we’d be staying, and we were obviously just a little tired.   Of course, being tired was secondary to being excited.  We got cleaned up, into fresh clothes, and chatted with our host Rahul about our plans.  I…

European Road Trip. No RV.

Seven countries, six airplanes, five public transit systems, four airlines, three bags, two guys, and one dog waiting patiently for us to return.  So why is a European road trip, without the RV, of interest here? Well, it’s travel.  Sightseeing.  Driving (about 3,000 miles of it in total).  It’s seeing other RVs, lots different that…