Berlin (Copenhagen and Brussels)

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I've been in the UK for just over 2 weeks and I've already had my first taste of what I call 'backpacker's travelling'. I booked an EasyJet flight from London to Berlin with the intention of staying for 3 nights to see the people who were with me on the Scandinavia tour. I got there, checked into my hostel (which was in a seriously dodgy area) and then prepared to do some sightseeing while I waited for my friends to arrive.
Of course, I had arrived on the day when Germany was playing Italy so the place was full of excited drunk Germans! But it also meant that there was a colourful array of vendors selling everything from sauerkraut to World Cup souvineers. At about 8.30pm I headed to the hostel where my friends would be staying (The Generator - 'where the hangover is included') and proceeded to wait for them in the resturant/sitting area where a large crowd of tweens had gathered to watch the match on a large screen. Luckily the Contiki bus carrying my friends saved me from this insanity and soon we were catching up on what each had been doing over the last 2 weeks. Once rooms had been sorted out and clean clothes had been put on we congregated in the bar for cheap drinks and to watch the match. Right up to the last moment none of us believed what would happen next - ITALY WON?!? Surely it was a mistake? But no, so we were forced to party in the bar of the Generator assuming that it would probably be too dangerous to venture out. But we partied in true Contiki style and at 3am I stumbled upstairs to my friends room where a crashed on a corner of her bed.
I was awoken the next morning by Brandi shouting 'What time is it' and was forced to open my eyes to look at my watch and discover that it was only 7.20 - 40minutes until our alarms would go off. But we couldn't get back to sleep since we had left the curtains open and the full sun was blaring down on us.
I arranged to meet up with the guys around mid day after they had finished their walking tour of Berlin, and off I went to change my clothes and get another 2 hours of sleep. At about 11 I got up, showered and, feeling more human, looked at my map and decided some buildings that were quite prominately marked on it were a good place to head.
I went to Berlin on my first trip to Europe in 2005 and had done the walking tour that my friends were doing now. But that was about all I had seen, and the only place I really remember was Checkpoint Charlie - which was where I had arranged to meet everyone. So I was greatly surprised when I got out onto the street, turned around and saw that it was a street that looked greatly familiar. As I walked around, more and more sights started coming back to me - the Opera house, the palace, the building with the creeping monument to the men who died in the world wars. And so I realised that this was where we had done our tour and it was a possibility that this group would be somewhere around here too. So I started walking down the shopping street and came to Checkpoint Charlie and so I walked along the line that marks where the Berlin Wall once stood and I came to the last remainder of the wall and then over to my left what did I see? but the group milling around listening to a guide talking about one of the escape attempts. So I slowly walked over, trying to stay out of the guide's line of sight and stood behind a pillar and waited for them to finish.
When they finished Brandi, Ryan, Jeff and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe which was a ritual for Brandi, who collects the shot glasses. The only problem was that it was on the other side of Berlin. So by the time we got there it was at least 2.30pm. But we had lunch and then walked around a bit. The World Cup stalls were still out in full force and Jeff was set on buying a T-Shirt but most of them had sold out of his size. Anyway, not a lot of sight seeing was done since they had to head back at about 5 to get ready for dinner. I was going with them but since all my stuff was at the other hostel I decided to stay in town for a while longer.
I meet up with them at the Gen at about 6.30 and we headed off for dinner and a pub crawl. We caught the trains to somewhere near the Reichstag and then proceeded to walk for about 20mins unitl we discovered that we had walked in a circle and should have gone straight instead of turning left! But the meal and company was good and the drinks were semi-cold (it had been about 36oC). After eating we meet our guide that would take us on our pub crawl. After one more train ride and a lot more walking (much to Jeff's dismay) we arrived at the first pub.
Unfortuately it was very hot and sticky inside but fortuately we were given a free shot - as we were in the other 2 places. By the time we got to the last pub none of us were complaining about walking - we were too busy concentrating on not falling over! Then it was off to a night club. I left with Steve around 3am and when we got back to the Gen we discovered that we were some of the last people out. The last group arrived soon after us and amongst them was a girl who was complaining that she was part way through picking up some majorly hot guys and was not ready to leave, so on a spur of the moment decision I said that I would go back with her to the club and see if there were still there. So we made sure we knew where we were going and hopped in a cab that had just dropped off some other people and off we went. Tanya (as I discovered her name was part way through the cab ride) and I soon found ourselves in unknown part of town, but after getting our bearings we found the spot where the guide had left us and off we went in what we thought was the right direction. After walking around the block a few times we finally made the right turn and found the club, but by this time it was almost 4.30 and there was hardly anyone left (let alone the hot guys) so off we went.
Now, somewhere along the way I had made the decision that if possible I would hitch a ride on the Contiki coach back to Copenhagen (since a number of people were staying behind in Berlin there would be room, it was just a matter of insurance and legalities etc) so Tanya and I decided to head to my hostel to pick up my stuff and check out. We made it back to the hostel at about 5 but as we were walking in we ran into some random guys from Australia and stood talking to them for about 20 mins, so we only got to bed at about 5.30. The next morning at the bus I asked what the verdict was on me coming to Copenhagen and the answer was fine, but if the bus crashes I'm not covered by insurance.
And so I was off to Copenhagen with no accommodation booked and no known way of getting back to Berlin or London! After a reasonably uneventful trip to Copenhagen I arrived with the group at the hostel and managed to get a bed in one of the girls' rooms. We then went into Copenhagen for dinner and then back to the hostel for one final party. All the while I was semi-stressing about how I would get back to London the next day.
Finally we went to bed around 3am and the next morning I was woken up by Brandi saying her final good byes. The night before I had arranged to go into town with some of the guys to see if I could get a bed in the hostel where they were staying since I had booked a flight from Copenhagen to Berlin (the cheapest option available and I figured I'd easily find a flight from Berlin to London) for the day after. So we left the hostel around 9.30am and arrived at the hostel to discover that there were no beds available. So we went into the central train station where they had arranged to meet up with some other people who weren't leaving until later that day or the next. And so the panic started (and one of the main reasons I was panicking was that I had interviews for jobs in London on Monday and so I had to be back by then (this was Friday).).
There were no cheap flights to London and nothing from Berlin to London (by cheap I mean nothing under $500), the Eurostar was fully booked from Brussels to London and there were no hostel beds available. Finally I had an idea - if I could catch the train to Brussels, maybe I could find a flight to London or at least a bed until there was a flight (at least I would be some what closer to London). And so I managed to find a flight from Brussels to London and was managing to book it but then they asked for my VISA verification number and every number I tried was wrong.
I phoned a cousin in England to see if she knew of a travel agent, which she did and after a bit of a wait I got a phone call from them saying they had found me a flight and could take payment over the phone. And so I ran back to the train station (we were having lunch on the main street by then) to book a train from Copenhagen to Brussels - which I did and I finally had a way home!!!! You have no idea how relieved I was!!
And so a group of us walked around the city (in 35 degree heat and humidity) to show the sites to a guy that had joined the tour late. And at 1740 I was on the train to Brussels (via Hamburg). So it took me 2 trains, a plane and 2 days to get to London. I arrived at 7.30pm and there was no way I was going all the way back to Salisbury (where I was staying with family) just to have to come back to London on Monday (this was Saturday) and so I managed to get into the Generator and I'm glad I did cause as soon as I walked into my room I meet 2 guys from Australia and we were soon in the bar buying each other drinks and having a good time (God, I sound like an alcoholic - I'm not, I was just still in Contiki mode).
Sunday night I watched the Italy v France game and had a good laugh at that French guy headbutting that Italian and I meet some more people from Australia and watched some arrogant South Africans get beaten at pool buy some girls. Monday I went for my interviews at the nanny agencies and there are a few possibilities but I'm thinking now that I want a job where I'm not going to be tied down and I can make a bit of money and then travel and then come back and make a bit more. But we'll see what happens. And so that's what I've been up to the last week - I've been to Berlin, Copenhagen, Brussles and London. I've been on 2 trains, 2 planes and a Coniki coach and I've meet numerous Australians (and getting sick of it) and I've drank way too much. But I loved every second of it! I cant wait for the next adventure.

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