Berlin! First Days and First Impressions

Finally! Break has come and is going so well! Christmas is all around as Cyrus and I sit in our room listening to Christmas music and chilling the Eierlikör (Eggnog) in our make-shift refrigerator (aka the space between our double-paned windows). I have made it into Berlin (obviously) safe and sound and Cyrus is now (obviously) with me as well! There has been so much going on these past few days I'm not sure how, exactly, I'm going to fit it all into one post. However, I will try and at least update you with all of the exciting things! I'll start with travel day.

Five AM wake up calls are never fun, especially when followed by hauling one large suitcase down the road and taking two tubes just to get to the airport. I had been nervous about actually getting over to Germany and had done everything I could have to make sure I was prepared for each stage. That being said, I was biting my nails when they weighed my huge suitcase, not wanting to go over the 24kg limit. I was shooting for 22kg, but the scale read... 23.4. Whew! 600Grams under!!! :D I breathed a sigh of relief, checked that off as my first win of the day, and headed to my gate. Security was a lot less impressive than I remembered it being 2 years ago... then again it was around the Olympics.

 I took another tram to my gate, snapped a picture of the sunrise, breezed past the customs lady (who seemed to care less that I was leaving her country), and took my seat on the plane. The flight was uneventful as I was sandwiched between two business people who seemed to be too polite to continue their previously engaged conversation around me. Boring. At this point it still hadn't set in that I was going to shortly be in Germany (blame the sleep deprivation), that is until I looked up and noticed that the screen scrolling through our flight time, wind speed, ground speed, ect. was in German. Something clicked then, and I realized that I was not going to be able to understand anyone and that I would be in a different country. *gulp* Finally the captain announced our descent and I craned my neck around the smart-looking woman next to me to get my first glimpse of my new gypsy home.

First impression: Every house had a red roof. Every single one. Now that I'm on the ground I don't really notice, but there was an obvious bias in the air. Red roofs and green fields! Oh how I've missed open space!

Finally, we landed! Berlin! I was all prepared to have to fight my way through customs (call it PTSD from my experience getting to London), but the angry-looking man behind the glass barely looked at me as he stamped my passport and I was IN! I didn't even see a station to stop and declare anything (not that I would have). And the baggage area was right inside the gate, quickly giving me the impression that this was a small airport. So I heaved my large bag off the belt and continued to try and navigate this whole new world.

Second impression: Silence. The airport, a hub of reuniting and happiness and shouting, was dead silent. People were there, kinda, and it was still eerily quiet. And it wasn't just the airport, everywhere is scary silent and devoid of people. Even the cars hardly ever use their horns- a far cry from the commotion of London.

Tram running through the streets with the cars (Inception!)

I did two whole laps around the airport before I realized that it was a circle and that my usual “fake it till you make it” attitude was not going to get me to the hostel. So I walked up to the most tourist-looking booth and asked (shyly in English) where to buy a ticket for the transport. I had done enough research to know that I needed a one-way and it would be valid on all forms of transport. I knew what to say and even which buses and trains I needed to take. So, I gathered up all of my courage, rehearsed what I wanted to say, walked up to the angry ticket man and squeeked out, “Ich brauche ein Fahrkarte für TXL, bitte.” To which he responded with a slightly condescending look, “One-way?” CRAP! I somehow screwed that up and gave away my true identity. Feeling discouraged I nodded and payed with a curt “Danke,” and walked out to my bus. I knew that I needed the TXL, but the ever-helpful transportation website never said anything about validating tickets, what to do to get on the bus or anything. No matter what country you're in, transportation websites seem to be just vague enough to give you zero information. So, I defaulted to London customs, walked on a showed the uninterested driver my shiny ticket.

Hostel Cafe/Restaurant/Bar

My Bunk at the Hostel

He looked at me with a face of slight confusion as I stared back at him, trying to pick up any hints of what I should do next, as I was pushed further into the bus. At this point I figured he didn't care enough for my ticket, and I was beginning to wonder why I had bought one at all, when I saw a man stick his ticket in one of (what I later found out was) the validation boxes, stamping the date and time. Later, I was told the eternally useful information (that you would never find on any website) that the tickets are valid from when you stamp them, not from when they're bought.... And the transport is RARELY ever checked anyway.... So, money saved there! I just bought a Tageskarte (day ticket) and keep it with me in case we are checked.

Gypsy antics aside, I arrived at the station before my hostel, and began walking in (what I thought was) the right direction. I have no idea why I thought it was the right direction. Looking back everything about it was wrong, but it did lead me directly to the trams! After a few missed trams as I tried to decipher these alien words (still wasn't fully convinced I was actually in Germany), I hoped on the correct tram and was whisked away to my first hostel. I finally made it after an already exhausting day and was, thankfully, able to check into my room early. It was nice and colorful and spacious! The front of the hostel was a cafe/diner/bar combo with wifi while the back was full of comfy beds and a kitchen for the other Berlin urchins like myself. It was extremely clean and comfortable compared to my experiences in London, and they even gave me my own locker!

Dog park

At this point I just wanted to sleep, but knew that I should explore my new surroundings instead. I looked up where the closest Gluten Free restaurant and set off. The place was only a block away, but the geldautomat (ATM) was a few blocks the other way and I needed monies. So I made a loop of the few blocks around my hostel to get a feel for where I now lived.

Third impression: Berlin is dirty! There is glass and trash everywhere and every inch of reachable concrete is covered with graffiti (which, if I remember correctly is actually legal here).

As I walked along I noticed how identical the larger buildings were and yet how brightly painted they were. As I kept going I also noticed an unused field near the hostel that had been taken over by the locals as a make-shift dog park (which is kinda strange since all dogs are always off leash here anyway). For some reason, everything about the area reminded me of pictures of old Soviet Russia and some of the newer images that I have recently seen from North Korea. However, I would occasionally pass a bright store and saw a huge mall by the train station. This lead me to the conclusion that:

Gluten Free Cafe!

Fourth impression: Berlin is a perfect combination of Eastern former soviet rule and Western ideals. This makes sense considering that Berlin is where The Wall was and that it has only been down for a couple decades. However, seeing the remnants of a time passed was still surreal.

I finished off my first day with a wonderful Gluten Free sandwich from a place called Aunt Jennie's which, luckily for me, had an English Gluten Free menu! I then crossed the street to a small store called Edeka where (surprisingly) they had Gluten Free bread and other small items! I quickly stocked up so I wouldn't have to eat out every day and could save the monies, and headed back to the hostel. I put my food away, said hello to the gypsy hostel dog who lived there (dogs are also allowed in stores and everywhere), and got spent the evening chilling in the front cafe/bar/thing since it was already dark and I wasn't brave enough to take on Berlin at night until I was a little more familiar with the place. On top of that, while I was sitting there, I heard a very close, very loud explosion go off. I still don't know what it was- probably some boys who got their hands on some fireworks- but it was enough to deter me from any more exploring. Welcome to Berlin. The sketchiest, yet nicest place ever (depending on where you are).

Well, I think I've set the scene well enough to give you an idea of where I am. Now, for the sake of my puppy dog's attention span (I fear I'm boring Cyrus to tears), and for the fact that daylight is limited, I will sign off now and promise to post more later of all of my other experiences so far. Merry Christmas I mean, Frohe Weihnachten!!! Bis später.

Cyrus laughing at the silly European smart cars!