Driving the Streets of Berlin

One of the things we have done a lot of over the past month is to drive to and from the airport here in Berlin.  I find the streets to be interesting as the buildings are colorful and obviously very Euorpean in style.  Most cars are very small as compared to American type cars and they drive fast and quick.  Bicycles are everywhere and always have the right-of-way.

 

 

 

We thought we would share some of the average street scenes which we see as we drive through Berlin.  Cliff is the designated driver and Carol with the help of our little GPS "nuvi" is the navigator.  Together we manage to get from point A to point B, most of the time without getting lost.

 In addition to the busy highways that wind their way through the streets there are several types and speeds of trains, from the local, stop every few blocks, type trains like the ones shown in some of these pictures to the very fast trains that only make a few stops in major cities.

 With 3.5 million people living in Berlin it is a big city.  However there are very few buildings of the type we would call skyscrapers.  The majority are the 3, 4, 5 level buildings, because they do not require elevators.  The majority of the buildings shown here are apartment buildings  Most apartments are between 50 and 100 square meters.

 About a mile or so from our office is a busy train station for local commuting.  In the pics below the train is just pulling into stop.  In the background you will note our friendly McWurst stop.  Yes, on the menu in addition to the chicken mcnuggets, and big mac, one of the main features is a McWurst meal.  You will also note a Kaufland which is Germany's answer to Walmart.  They also have Bauhaus which is a European version of HomeDepot.  The Bauhaus colors, signs, and floorplan is almost exactly HomeDepot.