Up this morning, breakfast was nice in the common area. We intended to catch the number 11 bus to the station, but it turns out it does not run on Saturday morning, so we had to walk into the station. Luckily we built enough time into the schedule for such a problem, and we made it just fine.

The train ride from Copenhagen to Hamburg was by ICE, which was really nice.  And an unexpected surprise was when the train rode directly onto a ferry boat to cross back to mainland Europe.  We all left the train while it was on the ship.  I went on deck with the girls, where it was sunny but cool blue skies.  We then changed to another train from Hamburg to Kassel. We mostly played cards on the train, and I caught up on my journal.

The hotel in Kassel -the Intercity Hotel – was nice, if pricey.  After checking in, I basically pestered everyone to head into town. Turns out that there was a festival, so everyone got to eat what they wanted, including crepes for the girls, bratwurst for Phyllis and me, and pretzels. I also tried a crepe with Nutella, which brought back memories.

Actually, everything brought back memories. The street cars were all the same. The names of the stops and squares. The buildings. The parks. After the festival, I took everyone through the park by the Orangerie, by sunset. It was just exquisite. Lawns, trees, paths, lakes, ducks, gazebo. Just a perfect evening, at least for me, seeing everything as I was through the prism of memories. Everyone else may have been tired, although Kaitlin seemed to be enjoying the evening. There was one moment where the sunset was filtering through the trees that was just sublime. Fun to think about so many people who have enjoyed the same sights in the same park over the decades.

We caught the street car and came back to the room. I then walked back to my old place at Kohlenstrasse. So many memories. My first night here, the same little eating place is still there. My 21st birthday, and the party they threw for me. The party in the basement. And Hercules up on the hill.

Tomorrow we climb.