no rush today, we need to do about 400 kilometers from Lübeck to Kassel. even taking into account the expected roadworks and traffic jams we have plenty of time to take it easy. up at eight, breakfast around nine: since this is a big business hotel the buffet is extensive. we enjoy it to the full and plan to skip lunch. we take a mini walk to the Holsentor for a picture. we didn’t visit the town center at all, it will keep for a later visit.
I take the first shift behind the wheel, it’s fun to see how fast we can go on the quiet stretches. around cities and busy stretches of highway the speed limit is 120 km/h, but otherwise you are allowed to drive as fast as you like. the GSP warns us of some traffic jams, so we take a 45 minute detour through the country side to avoid it, it’s a nice rural area with fields, forests and old brick farm buildings. it’s scorching hot, the car indicates 33°C and the sun is burning even through the car windows, we’re thankful again for the good airconditioning and seat cooling!
we arrive in Kassel around three thirty and upgrade our reservation to a more expensive room to get air conditioning. the hotel is situated right in the Wilhelmshöhe park next to the castle, though it’s too hot today to go out on foot and visit any of the sights. instead we head down to the spa and sit in the garden next to the pond, with a great view over Kassel and the surrounding hills. we’ll wile away the time until dinner in the hotel restaurant, doing nothing more exhausting than writing a blog post and occasionally looking up to enjoy the view.
Febe writes 