Inside Student Blogs

So it turns out I couldn’t resist the temptation to drive across the country on a last minute road trip to Berlin (which is arguably the raddest Germany city, naturally next to Freiburg). Ricky and Shawn recommended Trish and I meet up with them because there was going to be a Paul van Dyk show (famous DJ, day glow, 80s, 90s, still makin music) on Sunday. We jumped on board quickly thereafter, and I’m happy to report it turned out to be a wonderful 4th trip to that wonderful city.

We decided to make use of a convenient service offered here in Germany called Mitfahrgelegenheit. It’s basically a website that allows people to post a message online whenever they plan to drive to another city in Germany so they can get other people to ride with them. The price of gas is then split between the passengers, everyone gets to where they’re going…happy times. That is, unless you get stuck with such a person who would drives 240 kmh (150 mph) for large stretches of the trip, speeds along the shoulders of the road at times, bounces off of curbs every so often, almost rear-ends numerous cars, or get so close to hitting semis he clips his rearview mirror on that back metal step that hangs down from the cargo area. We drove to Berlin with such a person.

I sat shotgun, and was very tired at the time, so in some ways it was a nice keep-me-up tool, but also a bit freaky, because there were a hand full of times when I thought we actually were going to careen into some embankment, car, or semi. I don’t mean to speak negatively of the entire Mitfahrgelegenheit system as a whole. I’ve heard plenty of good stories from other students that make me feel like our experience probably was an exception to the normally comfortable trips. In any case, it was an exhilarating ride.

Once in the city, we met up with some Berliner friends I’d gotten to know last semester who just moved into a new apartment near Neukölln. We didn’t need to see all the sites, as we’d done that a few times before. So instead, similar to the Winter trip, we sampled local victuals, wandered the streets… and spoke of nothing in particular, and everything in general. To top it all off we got to go to a fun show with Ricky and Shawn. It’s a bummer I won’t be able to visit that city again before leaving. Wenn ich doch nur ein Berliner wäre!

On the way back to Freiburg we rented a car of our own (*cough* a Mercedes Benz *cough*), to experience what it’s like to actually drive on the legendary autobahn, not just sit passenger. I hadn’t driven a car since last July! We got to Freiburg safely (much safer than on the way in. I promise.) and are now faced with the prospect of getting back into the swing of things. No more breaks. No more long bike trips. No more Berlin. So isch’s Lebe ebe.

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