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12/2/2014 Tuesday
Intentions: Drive to Cumming GA and stay with in-laws Don & Marilyn

12/3/2014 Wednesday
Intentions: We’ll look around in Atlanta then go to the airport and fly to London on one of British Air’s 777-200’s.



What happened:

20141203 Atlanta

We had a nice drive from Jax Beach to Cumming, Georgia. Don & Marilyn were at the shop so we met them there and chatted a while. They let us go to their house and recover from the drive. Then we met at Casa Nuovo (Maria & Tony's place) for a really great dinner. Three of us had veal oscar which was just wonderful. We went through a whole bunch of wine and had dessert.

We adjourned back to their house and chatted over glasses of this and that. Finally we just had to give up and go to bed.

We slept in. When we got up, Marilyn was still there, so we all went to Waffle House for a light breakfast and coffee and more chatting. We went to the shop and talked some more. Finally we said goodbye and left.

We found a used bookstore on Google and went there for a few books for the plane. No problem, they had lots.

Then we did the Georgia Aquarium. This is a huge facility in downtown Atlanta. It has huge tanks and exhibits all sorts of marine life. They also do research there and at their facility near St Augustine. They put on a great dolphin show (photography prohibited). We watched the sea otters being fed and other things.

We left then for the airport. The traffic was terrible, which is normal for Atlanta rush hour. We arrived at the airport, then drove for 15 minutes to get to the rental car checkin. Then a little train to the domestic terminal and a shuttle bus to the international terminal.

We checked in with British Air and went through security. For the first time, I kept my shoes and jacket on, since I just turned 75. There are few privileges for aging, but that's one.

We paid for day-passes to The Club, a nice facility with nibblies and wine and power plugs for the electronic devices. Well worth it, since we would have spent more outside at the restaurants and received less.

So now we're doing our computer things and getting ready to head to the gate for boarding, feeling much better and ready to fly.



12/4/2014 Thursday
Intentions: Overnight flight from Atlanta to London Heathrow, wait a while, and board the flight to Berlin. There, we’ll check into the hotel. We don’t plan on doing much in Berlin this date, since we won’t land until 1715 local time.

Actuals:

20141204 London

Landed at Heathrow, parked in a pasture far from any terminal, took bus to Terminal 5, went through security and now (1100) we're waiting for our 1435 flight to Berlin.

Weather here is fog and mist, 39*F, ceiling 500'. They must be accustomed to this weather, since there are no delays.

I got about three hours sleep on the seven-and-a-half hour flight. D says she slept through Harry Potter and part of another film. I read and listened to classical music.

The World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy on other lines) is a good thing. The cattle car economy gives me claustrophobia with its 3-3-3 seating and no leg room. WTP is 2-4-2 with sufficient leg room and seats that recline about 40*. Easier to nap, and almost comfortable.

The little breakfast snack was enough for a while, and we wanted to get accustomed to CEST (Central European Standard Time), so we chose to skip lunch.

Later, from Berlin:

We arrived at Tegel Airport and were very efficiently processed out into the city. Great organization; the baggage claim is in the gate area and the immigration folks come to the gate area as well. Clear, calm, 40*F.

The cab took us to the hotel through godawful traffic for €20.70, but we survived. He may have taken us a few extra miles to build up the fare. On the way, we passed the Hauptbanhof or main train station that we'll use to go to Prague.

After checking in, we went up to the Hotel Melia restaurant and had a very good dinner while seated next to a window overlooking the Friedrickstrasse and the Spree river. Several dinner cruise boats went past. We also saw a huge gingerbread house in the lobby. The room is compact, but quiet and enough for our needs.

Dolores crashed after dinner, but I took a 1-mile hike up and down Friedrickstrasse to look at the area. Lots of restaurants and some bars, a few 7-11 type stores and a couple of department stores (which closed at 1800). Up and down this street is supposed to be one of the major shopping districts. We’re also in the theatre district.

So now we can start exploring tomorrow. Hotel Melia photo from their website: