Berlin Berlin wir fahren nach Berlin!
The time had come for me to begin my adventure. After checking my overweight luggage, I bid my farewells to my overanxious parents. I boarded my flight (Lufthansa of course!) and took my seat, to begin a trip which is bound to end up being one of the best of my life. After flying all through the night I arrived in Berlin at 12pm local time... it's funny how flying works.
That's when it finally hit me, I am really going to be in Germany all summer. I also quickly realized that I hadn't spoken German in over a month, let alone with native born speakers. I had reached my first of many hurdles on the trip; where were all the buses? Looking everywhere all I could find were Taxi's, and I didn't want to spend 30 Euros when I could spend 2 on a bus. I was faced with the classic male dilemma; ask for directions or continue being lost for the sake of pride. I asked for directions, of course, and quickly found the buses.
Whilst fretting about where I was supposed to get off to reach my youth hostel, I noticed two others in a similar predicament. I asked if they were going to the same hostel... and after barely deciphering their thick Australian accents I found out they were. At least now if I got lost it would be with other english speakers (or something close to english haha). We arrived at the hostel with surprisingly little difficulty, only to find out that we would actually be sharing the same 4 person room. We decided to embark on a short journey about Berlin, including a stop for some currywurst (which I would have liked if not for the myraid of ketchup-which I dislike- on it), while we waited for our room to finish being cleaned.
We came back to find a nice room with high ceilings and large windows. After a break for a quick nap and some more exploring, we headed out for a late dinner at an Italian restaurant near the Brandenburger Tor. We went back to the room and met our 4th Mitbewohner, who also turned out to be an Auzzie (which I learned should be spelled with a Z, along with some other interesting things like who a Kiwi is). Who would've thought I came all the way to Germany only to learn about Australia.
The next day I moved on to the Etap Hotel for our orientation seminar. This was a great time, and allowed me to befriend some of the other participants. After a trip inside the American Embassy to meet the head of the embassy, we all went back to grab some dinner. I ate with my roommate Greg at a small German cafe, and then conversed for a while with the owner. This was my first opportunity to really speak and listen to good German, since our group mostly spoke english when together. That 5 minute conversation may have been the highlight of my trip to Berlin.
After dinner we all met up and went out for the night. Eventually all 25 of us couldn't agree on what to do, so me and 4 others split off and headed towards Berghain- the best club in Berlin and arguably all of Germany. It is 5 stories tall in an abandoned warehouse, and is quite difficult to get into... foreshadowing. After a series of questions by the bouncer we were deemed Americans and not good enough to get in. Our pain at getting denied was alleviated when we realized nearly 80% of people were getting shot down. Also we honestly weren't dressed to fit the hardcore German techno scene, so we called it a night and went back to get some sleep.
After a visit to the Reichstag building, Berlin wall, and Brandenburger Tor, as well as another day of orientation, I was headed to Hamburg.
I had little trouble catching a train, and opted to take a taxi to the hotel since I had little clue to where it was (later I would find out I was only 10 minutes walking from the train station). The first night in the hotel was nice enough, I was finally able to get more than 5 hours of sleep :-p which was a plus.
The next morning I set off to find the student dorm where I would be living for the summer. After taking about 5 subways and trams I found the place, and will go there again tomorrow to sign my lease. I also went out to find where Lufthansa Technik AG was located, so I wouldn't be lost on my first day. Which brings to where I am currently, sitting in my hotel room anxiously awaiting the first day of my Internship with Lufthansa...
Good luck!
ReplyDelete