The Arrival

So, where do I begin? It was a long trip. I took the picture above while we started making our descent into London. It was really quite neat to see the sunrise from above the clouds. But by this time, I was ready to get off the plane and be done with travelling. The entire trip took around 14-15 hours and by the time I reached Berlin it was 11:35 the next day (making it only about 4 am in Minneapolis). So as you might guess, I was really tired the entire first day in Berlin. But I remember the first thing I noticed about Germany, or at least Tegel Airport which is where I flew into, was that the airport was very organized and fast. I got off the plane and was practically already at customs. I waited maybe 5 minutes before my turn came. The guard looked at my photo, then at me, then at my photo, then me once more before stamping my pass and allowing me into Berlin. Then, the amazing thing was that my baggage claim was just around the corner and had already begun running. My point is that what normally might have taken 30 minutes to an hour elsewhere only took maybe 15-20 minutes in Tegel.

From Tegel, I walked outside and attempted to figure out how to get from the airport to my hostel. There were a lot of taxis waiting just outside the entrance, but the line n

ever seem

ed to end. Every time I thought I could get in one, the entire line moved, S

o I kept walking around the corner until I found the end of the line. After asking around as to where I needed to go, I was finally directed to an open taxi. By this point I was just glad to be heading to where I needed to go. The ride was only about 15 minutes long and 10 euros.

The picture above was my room in the Baxpax Downtown Hostel. It was my first stay ever in a hostel. It was quite a neat experience. I've heard that people have a lot of hit or miss experiences with hostels, but I think mine was a hit. It was very clean,

secure, well-run, and the people were friendly. The people who ran the place were very helpful as well. My room wasn't ready when I got there, so the receptionist gave me a map of a good place to walk and inexpensive places to eat. So, I ended up just exploring the streets of Berlin (at least around the Hostel in Mitte) which proved slightly difficult. Coming from America, I am used to the grid system as a layout for the streets. I quickly found out that Berlin is not aligned in any kind of order. The streets all twist, turn, curve, and randomly stop or become others. But I didn't stray too far from Ziegel Strasse. I ended up eating at a fairly inexpensive "Brot Bäckerai" which is a bread cafe. It was quite delicious. After I was done, I made my way back to the hostel.

By the time I got back, I still had a few hours to kill before my room was ready, so I sat on a sofa and dozed in the lounge. I decide

d sleeping was a bad idea, so I got up and tried to find someone to talk to. So, I walked up to 2 guys sitting close b

y and started a random conversation with them.

These were the 2 british guys I spoke of before, Their names were Russell and Phillip and they came from Newcastle England. After I got settled into my room, Russell, Phillip, another guy from the hostel and myself all decided to go to a pub crawl that night. So at 8 we walked to the meeting point and shortly thereafter walked to the first bar. Being that I was still jet lagged and exhausted, I decided not to buy the wrist band which would have allowed me to drink free for 45 minutes, get a free shot of jag with every other drink bought, and free entrance to the club at the end. I ended up drinking a couple beers with Phillip and Russell and a shot of jag (just to see if it tasted any

better in Germany) and then calling it quits. We all went to the 2nd bar, but the Brits and I stayed behind and talked about music and such. We didn't want to follow the huge group of mostly Americans because they were drunk and loud. In fact, while in the 2nd bar, Russell asked who I thought was the loudest, "the Germans, Brits, Yanks, or Ossies?" I laughed and replied that it was probably the Yanks. Anyway, after a little while the Brits and I walked back to the hostel, decided we should have breakfast the next morning, then went to sleep. The next morning we met for Kaffee, where we chatted and had a great time. I told them I'd find them on facebook and write "spot on" or "rubbish" on their wall (which I did). I will miss those guys, but I am truly glad for the experience we had although it was short.