hello snowflake,
i am in Germany...it is much nicer here than i thought it would be.....the food is good....the wine not so much...and i am sick of beer....but at least the beer tastes good....
i haven't seen much of the city...i am staying downtown,  next to the shopping area on one side and on the other side is the gay neighborhood...there are a couple monuments and a large church....most of the city is new and not very charming.. ..looks a lot like any Midwest city...they boast having more canals and bridges than any other city.....maybe true but they are not very pretty... you don't go walking around this city snapping pictures and feeling like you're in a fairytale movie....
i am in what i think is a classic German eatery/bar....long communal tables with groups of people drinking very large beers and the occasional Jager shot....lots of us are watching the Olympics....cheering on the athletes....some are eating...i can't speak a lick of German, but everyone here has been friendly and welcoming to me...everyone speaks some English and are happy to talk with me...
the service is great here, friendly....i recall how stressed  i was in Paris....i didn't eat....
i had the wrong idea about Germans...i have known a few in my life....of friends from another time...very nice people.....but my impression of Germans overall  was one i felt i wouldn't get along with...i feared a rigged judging culture....maybe there is as bit of classicism in the culture but i must look OK here....everyone has been nice.....i like it so far....
i wasn't excited about this leg of my trip....i am hopeful for Berlin now... who knows maybe you are German....some of the women here are exceedingly beautiful....
whoever you are, wherever you are....i look forward to writing you real letters.....with love, your ?