So I’ve finally gotten more than 5 minutes to tell you all about the most awesomest, fantasticest, bestest trip ever. OK, so I may have invented a few words there. But I had a damn good time. I know I’m about a month and a half behind and a lot of my recounting will be a bit haphazard but honestly the whole trip passed in a big blur.
So, here goes…..
As I had booked a ridiculously early flight with air Berlin from Stanstead (NB. A big pain in the arse airport to get to from where I live in London) I had to leave ridiculously early from home to get there in time for my flight. I had a taxi booked for 4am I think. So rather than go to bed early and attempt to get to bed super early to be well rested for my trip I thought bugger that, I’ll just sleep in lots the day before I leave and then stay up, she’ll be right. Now it was a good plan in theory but after a 4am taxi, a one hour bus ride on a full bus, a few hours wait a the airport, a boring one hour flight on a full plane, a half hour bus trip to the centre of Berlin and finally a momentary loss of direction in finding my hostel that resulted in about a 25 minute walk with a full pack, …I was feeling a little huffy, very buggered, a trifle stinky (nice hot weather they have in Berlin) and in dire need of a bed. It was about 1215. So, I finally get to the damn hostel to be told, sorry check in is not until 2pm. I could have cried. Anyone who knows anything about me will know NADIA IS NOT A MORNING PERSON, and, SHE IS A LITTLE GRUMPY WHEN TIRED. So I sat there, for nearly 2 hours, with my pack. Too exhausted to be bothered to go out and explore. I think I may have fallen asleep on their nice lounge. So when I finally got let into my room I had a lovely nap. I think I deserved it.
Anyway, enough about that. I didn’t have to meet my tour group until 5pm the next day so I had some spare time to explore Berlin. After a lovely nap and meeting a cool Aussie chick who was also on the tour we went off to explore. Seeing as I had already been to Berlin once before and had spent about 4 days there I had a good idea of the things I wanted to see, and where most things were once I’d found the main drag. Mandy, my new friend had never been so I became a quasi tour guide trying to remember all the things that I had been told about the city the last time I was there. I imagine I was a pretty haphazard tour guide but she didn’t seem to mind. We spent the next day together as well and then met up with our tour group.
The group was a pretty big one, mainly Aussies, nearly all chicks. Looks like there was no man of my dreams on thins trip. There goes that idea hey! Anyhow, no dramas, off we went for a big welcome dinner. The food was, well…... bloody awful actually. I was kind of like, “would you like soggy vegetables and sloppy chicken gunk with your salt?”. Not impressive!
The next day we went on a walking tour of Berlin focusing on the War. It was really interesting. The guy certainly knew his stuff and the history nerd in me was in absolute heaven. The strangest thing happened on the tour. We were looking at the site of Hitler’s Bunker and there was another tour group not far from us. I looked over and did a double take. I thought I swear I know that couple over there! Gosh they look familiar. But seeing as they were a little away and I didn’t want to yell out and make an arse of myself I kept quiet. Right through the tour I kept on seeing them but they didn’t obviously see me so I didn’t say anything. Then, right at the end I smacked right into them! Bit of a shock. It was some very old friends of mine from Goulburn (Lauren Downey and her boyfriend Andrew for those of you who want to know). I hadn’t seen Lauren for at least 8 months. It was crazy, you go all the way to Berlin just to see people from home.
The rest of the day was spent exploring more of Berlin. I finally got to go to the Reichstag – the German Parliament building. I had wanted to go last time I was there but didn’t have enough time. I must admit I was kinda disappointed. I had heard all these stories about it and its see through dome roof thing. I had heard the theory was that the people can always watch over their leaders because the leaders should be representing them. So in going up onto the roof I thought you would be able to see down into the parliament and see all the ministers sitting. I thought it was a wonderfully symbolic idea. But very disappointingly, you can’t see in. I was really disappointed. There was a nice view from the roof. It just was not what I was expecting.
After that when we were walking back to the hostel we saw this big demonstration going on with all these flags and music and stuff. As it turns out the Dalai Lama was in town. There were heaps of people there to see him speak. I didn’t hang around though. I have never been a big follower of the whole free Tibet movement.
That night we went out to a German beer place. The food was ok, the cocktails were great, the karaoke was dreadful, and as it turns out I’m not too bad at darts. Me and a nice German guy who worked there played quite a few games, lots of fun!
So the next day we had to get up early to go to Denmark. That is the life!
