BootsnAll Travel Network



No More Walls, No More War

Written at 8:34 PM on 10-15-06 in Berlin, Germany

Note: I’m still on a computer without a good writing program, so the apostrophes are all messed up.

I’m still sick.

Just thought I’d throw that out there—you know, so I can be showered with sympathy or whatever. Actually, in all honesty, I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered. My sinuses seem to be waging a war of vengeance against my face, but between the orange juice, antibiotics, and mint tea, I’m doing okay (and a lot better than Julie was).

And I’m certainly not going to let the sickness keep my spirits down, even if it does keep my body down.

So where were we? I had just gotten on a train bound for Berlin. Little did I know, but I was in store for one of the best train rides of my European tour. At first I was stuck in a compartment without a window seat; that’s wasn’t so great. I occupied my time listening to music and occasionally giving vague glances out the window. When the people sharing my compartment started smoking, though, I quickly vacated to a smoke-free environment. It would have been bad enough without my sinuses already being out of whack.

I found a compartment to myself, and now that I had a window seat, I could enjoy the spectacular views. To anyone traveling Europe, I highly recommend taking the Prague-Berlin train route if only for the scenery. For at least half of the journey, the train follows the Elbe (?) River. Yeah, well so what—it’s a just a river, right? Wrong. The rivers slices through the densely forested countryside, cutting through dirt and rock alike. There were amazing cliffs, carved from centuries of the river’s passage. And at the edge of these forests, beneath the cliffs, were quaint little German villages. I had reservations in Berlin, but if I hadn’t I might’ve considered just getting off and trying to find accommodation at one of these little cities. I don’t imagine they had much more than bed and breakfasts, but the beautiful view and (likely) fantastic hiking would’ve made up for the extra expense. Alas, though, with my two-night reservation and little time to go in my trip, I was forced to continue with my original plans.

Berlin was not a disappointment, though. First (and perhaps most importantly!), I was able to find my hostel without any trouble. When I can get off at the international terminal for a train station, and find my way to the subway and navigate it (without error) to the exact location I need to go, then I know a city has good public transportation. Aside from a lack of large metro maps (which was a bit irksome), the system was flawless. I was at my hostel only fifteen minutes after my arrival in Berlin.

Only, there was no one at my hostel, or rather, no receptionist. And the door was locked I must have neglected to notice that there was a very limited check-in time. All was not lost, though, for a girl let me in. At first I planned to wait; I remembered putting that I would arrive at 5pm, and it was just about five, so maybe the hostel’s owner would come. When a couple more people arrived, though, we decided to call him to come down. Apparently he lives nearby I bikes down to check people in whenever they call. Strange system, but I guess it works.

The owner, Matt, was a chatty fellow. Quite nice. The Easterner Hostel was small, only five rooms, including two privates rooms, a 4-bed, 6-bed and an 8-bed dorm. After the Czech Inn, this quiet and quaint hostel was nice.

I unpacked and got a shower, but I didn’t really feel like doing much else. Since I was feeling under the weather (which, by the way, was quite cold!), I decided to get some food, make some dinner, and chill out here at the hostel. Dinner consisted of salami, cheese, and tomato sandwiches—mmmmm—back to the usual. Most of the rest of the evening was devoted to writing the last blog, as well as getting to know the people in my hostel. I met a young Australian couple. The girl was living in Paris and the guy had just come over to visit her. I also met an older guy named Danielle, who was also from Australia. He worked as a nurse back in Brisbane, but he had recently taken six months off to travel. He had some pretty great stories. There wasn’t really the opportunity to meet a lot of the other backpackers. A couple Australian girls, who I’d talked briefly with, were going out on a pub crawl. (Given how I was feeling, I wasn’t about to do that). And most of the other travelers were Asians, who kept mostly to themselves. It was all good, though. I was looking to keep things pretty mellow anyway.

The evening, for me, ended quietly and with little adieu. I did a bit of reading before going to sleep at about midnight. And, given the general condition of my body, I slept pretty well. I slept in until ten o’clock, telling myself that I was sick and damn well deserved it! But at that point, I had to get up and get ready. I was going to meet my friend Anna, who was going to take me around the city. I met Anna in Australia when I was in Glebe Village (part of Sydney) for about two and a half weeks. I spent a good deal of time with a group of about four German girls while I was in Australia; Anna, and another girl, Anita, were the only ones I’d been able to contact. Anna is from an area just outside of Hannover (I think…), but she’d been studying in Berlin for the past year. I was excited to get a more local perspective on things, so after breakfast, I met up with her outside my hostel.

We walked around the city for about four hours, save for an interlude at starbucks (I was desperate for a mocha, I’ll admit it) and lunch at a Turkish restaurant (where I got this enormous kebab-like meal for two euros!). We talked a lot. Anna speaks English very well, so there wasn’t any kind of language barrier. She answered my questions about the city, but mostly we talked about what we were doing with ourselves—studies, jobs, living arrangements—that kind of stuff.

We passed by a lot of museums and state buildings. During the course of our walked, we passed the line of bricks that marked the former wall. We went by the Reichstag, which is one of the main museums here in Berlin; I’ll probably go there tomorrow. We visited Checkpoint Charlie, which, I understand is the only remaining checkpoint leftover. Mostly we just walked around and talked a lot about Berlin’s current cultural, education, and music scene. And that was fine by me. I’m probably going to take a walking tour tomorrow, and then I’ll get all the historic information. It was really nice to see a different side from the tourists, though.

We ended up at the East Side Gallery. This was a huge walk from my hostel, but it was good. I’m glad I actually took the time to go through Berlin instead of just taking the subway everywhere. The East Side Gallery is a part of the wall that was left standing as a reminder of the past, as well as a place to express themselves. People paint on the wall, depicting scenes representative of past and present. Some of the artwork was beautiful and quite impressive, and it was unfortunate that people felt obliged to graffiti over it. But then again, perhaps that’s part of what the wall represents. I’m not sure. It was really powerful, though, seeing something so entrenched in recent history. I haven’t been to see the 9/11 memorial, but I’m sure the effect would be equal. I can actually remember seeing stuff on the television about the wall coming down, even though I would have only been seven at the time. I remember it was a big deal. It’s amazing to see that remnants of something like The Wall, something so lodged within half a century of history. Dachau and the D-Day battle sites had a similar effect on me, though I felt more of a stretch to connect with those. They were further in the past and it takes a more vivid imagination. Still, it’s great to see such symbols of history.

Anna went back to her apartment and I returned to the hostel. I’ll be going over there for dinner with her and her roommates tomorrow, so that should be fun. When I got back to the hostel, though, I was exhausted. Between walking and being sick, I was ready for a nap. I did a bit of reading but soon slipped into unconsciousness. This lasted until about 6:30 when I managed to raise my Lazurian self from the dead. I made some food—the same exciting dinner as the previous night—and then when out for a wander. I went to look for a café that Anna said her friend liked, but it was quite far away and I didn’t really feel like staying after I got there. I have a very specific quality I look for in a café (I can’t say what exactly it is), and I didn’t find anything in the area that was to my liking. Most of the cafés were more of restaurants, so I would have felt a bit awkward going into them and plugging my laptop in for a bit of writing.

At this point, I’d been out in the cold for a while and my sinuses were beginning to wage their war. I decided it would be best to return to the hostel for warmth and a bit of tea. Daniel is still hanging around; he ate a bad kebob and was feeling a bit under the weather as well. Otherwise, things are pretty quiet here, and I’m happy with that. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be through the worst of this.itten at 8:34 PM on 10-15-06 in Berlin, Germany

I’m still sick.

Just thought I’d throw that out there—you know, so I can be showered with sympathy or whatever. Actually, in all honesty, I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered. My sinuses seem to be waging a war of vengeance against my face, but between the orange juice, antibiotics, and mint tea, I’m doing okay (and a lot better than Julie was).

And I’m certainly not going to let the sickness keep my spirits down, even if it does keep my body down.

So where were we? I had just gotten on a train bound for Berlin. Little did I know, but I was in store for one of the best train rides of my European tour. At first I was stuck in a compartment without a window seat; that’s wasn’t so great. I occupied my time listening to music and occasionally giving vague glances out the window. When the people sharing my compartment started smoking, though, I quickly vacated to a smoke-free environment. It would have been bad enough without my sinuses already being out of whack.

I found a compartment to myself, and now that I had a window seat, I could enjoy the spectacular views. To anyone traveling Europe, I highly recommend taking the Prague-Berlin train route if only for the scenery. For at least half of the journey, the train follows the Elbe (?) River. Yeah, well so what—it’s a just a river, right? Wrong. The rivers slices through the densely forested countryside, cutting through dirt and rock alike. There were amazing cliffs, carved from centuries of the river’s passage. And at the edge of these forests, beneath the cliffs, were quaint little German villages. I had reservations in Berlin, but if I hadn’t I might’ve considered just getting off and trying to find accommodation at one of these little cities. I don’t imagine they had much more than bed and breakfasts, but the beautiful view and (likely) fantastic hiking would’ve made up for the extra expense. Alas, though, with my two-night reservation and little time to go in my trip, I was forced to continue with my original plans.

Berlin was not a disappointment, though. First (and perhaps most importantly!), I was able to find my hostel without any trouble. When I can get off at the international terminal for a train station, and find my way to the subway and navigate it (without error) to the exact location I need to go, then I know a city has good public transportation. Aside from a lack of large metro maps (which was a bit irksome), the system was flawless. I was at my hostel only fifteen minutes after my arrival in Berlin.

Only, there was no one at my hostel, or rather, no receptionist. And the door was locked I must have neglected to notice that there was a very limited check-in time. All was not lost, though, for a girl let me in. At first I planned to wait; I remembered putting that I would arrive at 5pm, and it was just about five, so maybe the hostel’s owner would come. When a couple more people arrived, though, we decided to call him to come down. Apparently he lives nearby I bikes down to check people in whenever they call. Strange system, but I guess it works.

The owner, Matt, was a chatty fellow. Quite nice. The Easterner Hostel was small, only five rooms, including two privates rooms, a 4-bed, 6-bed and an 8-bed dorm. After the Czech Inn, this quiet and quaint hostel was nice.

I unpacked and got a shower, but I didn’t really feel like doing much else. Since I was feeling under the weather (which, by the way, was quite cold!), I decided to get some food, make some dinner, and chill out here at the hostel. Dinner consisted of salami, cheese, and tomato sandwiches—mmmmm—back to the usual. Most of the rest of the evening was devoted to writing the last blog, as well as getting to know the people in my hostel. I met a young Australian couple. The girl was living in Paris and the guy had just come over to visit her. I also met an older guy named Danielle, who was also from Australia. He worked as a nurse back in Brisbane, but he had recently taken six months off to travel. He had some pretty great stories. There wasn’t really the opportunity to meet a lot of the other backpackers. A couple Australian girls, who I’d talked briefly with, were going out on a pub crawl. (Given how I was feeling, I wasn’t about to do that). And most of the other travelers were Asians, who kept mostly to themselves. It was all good, though. I was looking to keep things pretty mellow anyway.

The evening, for me, ended quietly and with little adieu. I did a bit of reading before going to sleep at about midnight. And, given the general condition of my body, I slept pretty well. I slept in until ten o’clock, telling myself that I was sick and damn well deserved it! But at that point, I had to get up and get ready. I was going to meet my friend Anna, who was going to take me around the city. I met Anna in Australia when I was in Glebe Village (part of Sydney) for about two and a half weeks. I spent a good deal of time with a group of about four German girls while I was in Australia; Anna, and another girl, Anita, were the only ones I’d been able to contact. Anna is from an area just outside of Hannover (I think…), but she’d been studying in Berlin for the past year. I was excited to get a more local perspective on things, so after breakfast, I met up with her outside my hostel.

We walked around the city for about four hours, save for an interlude at starbucks (I was desperate for a mocha, I’ll admit it) and lunch at a Turkish restaurant (where I got this enormous kebab-like meal for two euros!). We talked a lot. Anna speaks English very well, so there wasn’t any kind of language barrier. She answered my questions about the city, but mostly we talked about what we were doing with ourselves—studies, jobs, living arrangements—that kind of stuff.

We passed by a lot of museums and state buildings. During the course of our walked, we passed the line of bricks that marked the former wall. We went by the Reichstag, which is one of the main museums here in Berlin; I’ll probably go there tomorrow. We visited Checkpoint Charlie, which, I understand is the only remaining checkpoint leftover. Mostly we just walked around and talked a lot about Berlin’s current cultural, education, and music scene. And that was fine by me. I’m probably going to take a walking tour tomorrow, and then I’ll get all the historic information. It was really nice to see a different side from the tourists, though.

We ended up at the East Side Gallery. This was a huge walk from my hostel, but it was good. I’m glad I actually took the time to go through Berlin instead of just taking the subway everywhere. The East Side Gallery is a part of the wall that was left standing as a reminder of the past, as well as a place to express themselves. People paint on the wall, depicting scenes representative of past and present. Some of the artwork was beautiful and quite impressive, and it was unfortunate that people felt obliged to graffiti over it. But then again, perhaps that’s part of what the wall represents. I’m not sure. It was really powerful, though, seeing something so entrenched in recent history. I haven’t been to see the 9/11 memorial, but I’m sure the effect would be equal. I can actually remember seeing stuff on the television about the wall coming down, even though I would have only been seven at the time. I remember it was a big deal. It’s amazing to see that remnants of something like The Wall, something so lodged within half a century of history. Dachau and the D-Day battle sites had a similar effect on me, though I felt more of a stretch to connect with those. They were further in the past and it takes a more vivid imagination. Still, it’s great to see such symbols of history.

Anna went back to her apartment and I returned to the hostel. I’ll be going over there for dinner with her and her roommates tomorrow, so that should be fun. When I got back to the hostel, though, I was exhausted. Between walking and being sick, I was ready for a nap. I did a bit of reading but soon slipped into unconsciousness. This lasted until about 6:30 when I managed to raise my Lazurian self from the dead. I made some food—the same exciting dinner as the previous night—and then when out for a wander. I went to look for a café that Anna said her friend liked, but it was quite far away and I didn’t really feel like staying after I got there. I have a very specific quality I look for in a café (I can’t say what exactly it is), and I didn’t find anything in the area that was to my liking. Most of the cafés were more of restaurants, so I would have felt a bit awkward going into them and plugging my laptop in for a bit of writing.

At this point, I’d been out in the cold for a while and my sinuses were beginning to wage their war. I decided it would be best to return to the hostel for warmth and a bit of tea. Danielle is still hanging around; he ate a bad kebob and was feeling a bit under the weather as well. Otherwise, things are pretty quiet here, and I’m happy with that. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be through the worst of this.



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