I don’t usually encounter a lot of young people when I am travelling. My hotels are full of older people, Starbucks is quiet and empty when I visit in the morning, and of course driving around doesn’t lend itself to encountering new people. But, I have realized that the bike tour is a place of common ground between myself and some of today’s youth.
I did a bike tour of Berlin yesterday and it was excellent. Fat Tire Bike Tours, also setup in London, Paris, and Barcelona. A bike tour is a great way to “do” a city in a half-day. I really like them because you get your own personal guide, and riding together helps to form a personal bond between everyone. The bike tour is now my go-to thing (I have done them in Munich, Prague, Madrid, and Berlin).
That and Starbucks. It is critical to locate the nearest Starbucks locations when visiting a new city. And notice that I say locations, plural. This morning I tried to go to my nearest location only to find it closed; luckily I had in mind the next closest location and have made my way here.
I will be visiting the Berlin International Church this morning. It feels really great to be attending a worship service two weeks in a row! I cannot wait for returning to service regularly. Sadly, this will be the last service I will attend whilst living in Europe. I have been blessed enough to attend services in London, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich, Prague, and now Berlin–and in some places more than once!
Last evening I ran, even after a day of lots of walking and some cycling. I only ran about 15 km and it was quite slow. I can feel it only a little bit today but it certainly heightens my concern about the marathon. I will still participate and expect to take between 4 and 5 hours to finish. I would be very surprised if I finished on the better half of 4.5 hours; to finish at all will be a real achivement.
So this week will be all about eating reasonably, taking a couple of short-ish runs, and otherwise prparing for the run. I hope to get a couple of gels to have on me for the run, which I will have to get, but I also must prepare a playlist. I think I will try to combine buying gels with having dinner in Karlsruhe.
One final point: the nearby Nike Town is advertising a hoodie–the AW77–as the world’s best hoodie. It was all I could do to avoid going in (I would have, obviously, bought one) so my curiosity is still unsatisfied. What makes it the world’s best? Can Nike really make such a claim?
That’s all that’s on my mind this morning.