18.7.2010: Adventures in Berlin....

I've only been here.... well, I guess it's coming up to the week mark, isn't it?

It's been a small little adventure, I must say.

I've been trying to do, well.... not much. But there's still stuff you can do with a budget that.... well, has no income and that you're going to have to pay off later.

The IC train from Hamburg to Berlin was an hour late. Instead, I took the next ICE train, which, I don't know, maybe I wasn't supposed to take. Even still, this train wasn't any faster. Stopped becuase of the heat, we arrived in Berlin about 3 hours later than I originally should have.

Off to find lodgings.... There was a Meiniger around the corner, unfortunately they didn't have any openings for the night, but were helpful enough to let me use their wifi to find somewhere I could stay.

Even though it's a little out of my price range (at least for a long term stay), Motel One was gorgeous. For 49Euros I got a small, but clean, beautiful room and bathroom. The wifi worked (which some places.... that I've paid more for.... can't even say that) and the breakfast was traditional German.

I would highly recommend Motel One to anyone looking for a decent hotel. The staff was extremely nice and helpful, and even let me use the wifi in the lobby for a duration of the next day, even though I wasn't going to be a guest there that night.

Tuesday morning I got right up and headed to find the US Consulate.

IT IS NOT BY THE BRANDENBURG GATE. It is in the middle of no where.

About a half an hour (or more.... I don't have a watch; my $3 one broke the first week of work....) and three UBahns later, I was finally there.

Since I hadn't changed my flight yet, there wasn't really much that they could do for me. So I got the papers and my pictures and headed back to the hotel to wait for STA travel to open (darn time difference).

In the meantime, I emailed Bill Nolting and Kalli Federhofer to see if by chance there was a way that I could reasonably stay in Germany. Between talking with my mother and Kelly Nelson, I decided that I was going to stay, rather than come home.

My goal has always been to improve my German this summer. Going home, well, the only thing I would succeed in is boredom.

After Tueday, my days have consisted of researching, planning and walking around.

So far, two guys have asked for my phone number, many beggars have asked for money.... which is especially hard now, since I have very little money myself, though I still have more than they do.

Yesterday (Saturday), I went to Media Markt in order to buy an iPod cord (it's one of the only non food or shelter thing I am going to allow myself to put on my credit card).... Unfortunately, even being a big chain store, they do not take credit cards. So no iPod cord for me.

I actually ran into this issue a few times.... So, no iPod cord and no fan for me.

Luckily it's actually cooled off a bit here in Berlin. Gees, it's been such a warm summer so far.... It didn't seem like that long ago that I was complaining on how cold of summer it was....


And yesterday, I ran into my first hostel drama in Berlin.

Yes, hostels are cheap (and this is the cheapest one I've been in yet on this trip- only 10Euros a night!). You get what you pay for.

Sometimes you get cruddy showers (like in Paris). Sometimes there's no lockers and stuff gets stolen. Sometimes there's one shower for ten people, all trying to get up around the same time and use it (like in Frankfurt).

Okay, and sometimes, if you're not staying in a youth hostel.... there's some interesting older people.

And you could be living, again, next to a WOS (World of Sex) and other stores (or museums??) of the like.

You share a room with up to nine other strangers, a great way to meet people.

However, you're more likely to run into people who speak English, than speak the language of the land. Definitely not a good way to practice your language skills if that's what you've come here to do.

I was rooming with six girls from Finland, a brother and sister from Spain and two people from England. English was our only common bond.

Sometimes you get annoying people who won't shut up at night.... why can't they understand that we're all hot, but saying it over and over doesn't help anyone get to sleep.

And then you get those who think they own the place and come storming in at 4 in the morning.

Now, I totally expect those coming in late at night after a night of partying and drinking. But I've never encountered people as rude as I did last night.

They came in hootin' and a hollerin' and all in all, just being as loud as the possibly could. I asked as nicely as I possibly could if they could be quieter or go to the lobby area and talk.

I must have been talking to thin air. They completely ignored me and just became louder and louder. Most people at least attempt to quiet down after asked....

I don't know....  maybe their English wasn't as good as it was sounding earlier....

To say the least, I'm glad there was an empty bed in another room I could switch into.

Oh, and I probably should mention the interesting guys that came to my room (when I was alone) and insisted that I ordered a pizza. Repeatedly I told them that I hadn't, perhaps it was someone else that wasn't in at the moment. After harrassing me about the junk that is outside the window, they finally left.... Ugh.... interesting people.