Travel Time: Gartz to Poland to Berlin

Entering Gartz (Oder), Germany

Frankfurt (Oder) (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊɐt]) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polishborder directly opposite the town of Słubice which was part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants. The number dropped below 70,000 in 2002 and was just above 60,000 in 2010.^{[2] -WIKIPEDIA} 

My husband's work requires him to travel all over Europe. Sometimes I feel like I am married to a pilot. There are times that he needs to fly three times a week for his assignments. I am getting used to it now. It was May last year when their company assigned him in Gartz, Germany. I am glad when he told me that he will ask their company if he can take me and Burt there. I am thankful, their company granted his request. Burt was eight months old that time. Their company arranged the hotel where we are going to stay. We traveled by car.

Pension Am Zilberberg, where we stayed

                                                                                                                                                                         

It was nearly nine hour drive. I enjoyed sight seeing along the European Highway. We stop for coffee, to eat, to pee, and to change diapers. It stays in my memory, when we stopped and my husband spread a blanket on the grass and he let Burt played there for a while. 

The view along the way was just breathtaking. From the road, I can see the roofs of the houses down the valley. The colors of the hills change as we go along. Sometimes they are green, sometimes they are color wheat, but since it was spring time, we were surrounded by the color yellow. 

We were almost in Gartz before sunset, our last stop was in a gas station. I stepped out from the car, and I get a few minutes to make photos of the beautiful farm. It is all yellow! Finally, we arrived in Gartz. The owner of the Pension House, where we stay welcome us. The place is peaceful and very quiet. The house is old fashion, inviting, looks restful. 

We stayed in Pension Am Zilberberg. We have wifi and free breakfast. They don't dish up lunch and dinner. Our first dinner was a take out from McDonald's. The following day, my husband took me and Burt to Schwedt to have dinner there, 20km away from Gartz.

Starter at Jagerhof 

Jagerhof is an old restaurant in Schwedt. Its structure is old but classy. They serve fast, the food is delightful, very German, affordable.

My husband and son in front of Jagerhof

Just sad, my husband got sick the day we arrived in Gartz. Even he is sick, he managed to push through to finish his work and in the afternoon to tour me and Burt around the town. We were also able to a have a short visit to Poland. Have made some photographs there and watched the Polish sunset. It was an experience of a lifetime. 

Hello, Poland!

We have our last complimentary breakfast. The owner of the pension house was there, she bids goodbye to us and wishing us a safe travel back home. She does not speak English but she is very warm to me, motherly. She reminds me of the character of Marina at Anne of the Green Gables.

Family picture in Berlin

On our way back home, we went first in Berlin.

One of the photos I made in Berlin

I do not expect that I can also see this very historical place. It was a really cold day, raining, and my husband is sick. In a very quiet town of Gartz, I have seen the difference between Germany and Poland. From Gartz all the way to Berlin, I have seen the difference between the two. If Gartz is like a ghost town, Berlin is very crowded. You can see many reminders that it is a remnant of the Second World War. So many tourists and I can see many jaywalkers. 

As I think of those days, I keep the memories in my jar of my fondest memories. Every now and then, I open it and happily recalling our family moments. In such a short period of time, I was able to see and visit beautiful places. As what I posted on my Facebook that time, it is an experience to see beautiful places in the world. Places that before, I see only in the movies, in the books, and in the cross-stitch.