Snow is possible. The pizza was 2 euro and the tastiest I’ve tried for years. Ice wet roads make riding the bike difficult but if this sun keeps up, tomorrow we’ll head over to one of the Berlin forests. The Black Forest, we’re saving for a little later in this trip. The German language is infectious and few speak English readily so practice is inevitable fun. I have my PONS to learn some verbs and a few other German books that I was able to purchase using a Christmas gift voucher, one of the best gifts to receive, before leaving home. The trains here are yellow, quick and snug: inside lovers fall asleep all over the space and lots of drunk Christmas party folk still spinning from the 24th. Big, hairy, scary dogs ride the trains too. At night, because our legs are tired from wall walking or exploring the secret lanes, the sofa becomes a movie house. Tonight it is Sunday and after the hot bath my cousins, E and I will get under the blankets for the second half of the story of a submarine adventure. The film’s American overdub is nauseating and hysterical and tomorrow there will be more laughing and probably other expressions of distress which, due to history, accompany wherever you go.
Here, in Berlin, the people and the family in Sydney seem not to exist as though I have forgotten them and they me. This anonymous but acceptable act of vanishing is the one of the most wonderful and confronting aspect of travel.
