Monday, August 6, 2007
At six in the morning I rolled my sleeping bag in its cover and loaded my luggage on the GoldWing.
I wanted to get the nine AM ferry to Rostock so a few minutes past seven, I gave Lars the key of
my cabin and left Sakskobing for Gedser. I was in Gedser before eight so plent of time to buy a ticket.
The "Prins Joachim"
While I was waiting to board the ferry, a Suzuki GSX750 stopped behind me with a Danish rider.
While we were waiting we chatted and when boarding started, we parked our bikes in the front of the boat.
After a while, all the cars were on board too and we left the harbour of Gedser for our voyage to Rostock
in Germany. On the boat we had a coffee and something to eat and then we walked around on the boat
The harbour of Gedser
Offshore windmills for electricity
Michael, the Danish Suzuki rider
The trip took less then two hours so around eleven AM, we were waiting with the bikes to leave the ship.
Soon we were riding again and Michael left in the direction of Poland and I had my Tomtom lead me
to Berlin on scenic roads.
That's me
After I left the ferry terminal, I first looked for a gasstation. With my tank filled I left in the
direction of Berlin, avoiding the Autobahn.
Typical East German road (nice)
Old church, not far from Rostock
Abandoned villa
It is nice to ride here. Nice old buildings and a lot of open farmland. A few ruins from the DDR time too.
Interesting to see the difference with the West of Germany.
This too is an East German road (nice too)
A lot of farms here
I passed a nice lake
East German appartment buildings
Nice old street
Empty building next to a railroad crossing
Ruin of a farm
Around four o'clock I arrived in Berlin. I had an idea about Berlin, that it was a "grey" city but I was
very wrong. Berlin is a colorfull, friendly modern and living city. I know I'll come back here later.
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
The Potsdamer Platz is a very modern neighbourhood while some other parts of Berlin have very nice old
buildings. The people in Berlin are very relaxed. It is easy to ride in Berlin. Much easier then for instance
in Paris or London.
At Checkpoint Charlie, I parked the bike right in front of that street and made a picture. No problem.
My GoldWing at Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie
The Holocaust Memorial is BIG. Hundreds of concrete blocks. Rather strange for a memorial but I'm sure
some people will like it.
Holocaust Memorial
Other sites I visited were the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, very close to the Brandenburger Tor
and the Siegessaule on a roundabout in the Strasse des 17 Juni.
Brandenburger Tor
Der Reichstag
Siegessaule
Then I started looking for a hotel. In the ANWB guide to Berlin I had seen that hotels in Berlin
were not very expensive. After visiting a few hotels that were not cheap or had no safe place for
the GoldWing, I found the IBIS hotel next to the Messe. It was not expensive and I could park
the bike next to the main entrance, 24 hours a day supervised by the hotel receptionist.
Hotel Ibis in Berlin
After I parked the Wing and put my luggage in my room, I left the hotel for an evening walk in Berlin
and to get something to eat. It is a nice city to walk around, nice buildings and a nice park close
to the hotel. I had a hamburger for dinner (I was not very hungry) and bought a soda at a night kiosk.
When it was getting dark, I returned to the hotel.
Berliner Messe
Twilight is setting in
In the hotel I went to the bar and had a nice cappuccino before I went to my room.
From my hotel room window, I had a nice view on the "Funkturm" (radio tower) on the "Messegelande".
A very special sight.
"Funkturm" on the "Messegelande" by night
My original plan was to go from Berlin to the South of Germany but on the news on TV, I saw they
expected rain, hail and thunderstorms in the South so I decided to drive West, in the direction of home tomorrow.
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