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A View From the Hovel
Nice picture though, right? Due to the World Cup and all that, pickings were slim when it came to finding lodging in Berlin. Devan eventually discovered the Eastern Comfort Hostelboat floating in the river just on the western side of what remains of the Berlin Wall. Very cool. As you approach the boat you wander down along a stretch that runs along the river bank. Unlike the more touristy sections of wall, this one hasn't been picked down to the rebar by souvenir hungry tourists (Interesting note: the sections of wall that are most commonly seen have actually been themselves walled off to keep tourists away. Ironic?). Eventually you come to a breach in the wall through which you can see the psuedo-beach bar surrounded by a picket fence (our neighborhood tavern which due to their choice of music, we never visited). Directly behind that was our boat; a large 3-level thing with a lounge/bar (More frequented by staff than guests) on the top floor, the reception and dining area (frequented by us more for showers than food) on the second floor, and then the rooms beneath that (with water-level portholes of debateable efficiency).
Now for the pros of the hostelboat;
1) You are
Our Front Yard...
...As it were. Oh, and that is "the wall" by the way. Yeah, we lived right behind it. But on which side, eh? on the river directly behind the wall. You get fairly amazing views of the trees on the riverbank.
2) There is a boat cat. A black saucy thing named Minke that is easily befriended during breakfast.
And now, the cons;
1) You are living in a boat on a heavily trafficked river. Please enjoy your pilsner in the lounge accompanied by the rocking slosh boat wake.
2) Breakfast is weak and cost 3 euro. In spite of the title "cafe" the only food in the lounge/bar seems to be that of the staff.
3) You have two portholes in your room. It is a tiny, tiny room with 4 people in it and so it gets hot, thereby requiring that you open exactly 2 portholes to get any ventilation. This would not seem a problem except that, as I was curtly told at 2 am when I went up to the bar/lounge to escape the nightmarish heat, "we only put one screen in each room," "Okay," I calmly reply while wiping sweat from my forehead, "but do you have any extras that we can use? Can I borrow one from an unoccupied-" "We only put one screen each room."
Reichstag Baby
Seat of all things German. Plus it's got bullet holes. Kinda makes it seem more "street" than our capitol, huh? "No, I know. I get that, but I need 2 windows so that I don't suffocate and only one-" "We only put-" "Goodnight."
Now, only having one screen wouldn't really be the problem that it was except for the spiders. You see, a stationary boat floating on a slow-moving river is an ideal spider hangout simply because of the abundance of flying insects. Now, I am no expert, but I do have some experience with boats and so far as I know, they will withstand the occasional hosing down. Spiders tend to get washed off by the intense pressure of, oh, say your average garden hose, and the boat, regardless of age, generally has the structural integrity to survive the onslaught. Then again, those are Californian boats... Regardless, the spiders were there and were kind enough to build us a screen in the empty porthole whenever we felt like opening it. This solved the problem of the flying insects but left the problem of owing a favor to cold-blooded spiders who like nothing more than to cuddle. Not being willing to violate my values a share my body-warmth with a spider (and Stacey on this topic, felt even more
A Grand Building.
German's have a long and illustrious history of harpooning buildings. I don't know, it's just a thing they do. strongly than I), we had no choice but to suffer the absurd heat; knowing the entire time that less than an armslength outside our non-ventilating porthole was the cool and gentle river.
4) "Hey, I don't mean to be a pest but we don't have any cold water in our room." "Vas?" Eventually leading to al four of us taking our showers in the reception office and a promise to fix it that day. The next day... "Hey, our shower still doesn't work. Can I take one-" "Is fixed. I have note says is fixed. Too many people want shower up here. You go check." "No, I know. The water is fine now. It doesn't work because it doesn't drain." "I don't understand you. I have note says is fixed." "Right, but-" "I don't understand you. You show me now." This is followed by disgruntled German muttering, the eventual discovery that lo and behold, I do know what I'm talking about and the phrase "Every time you come..." being mumbled at me as disgruntled German heads out for a plunger.
So that's why you probably don't want to stay on a hostelboat.
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Brian B.
non-member comment
Ahhhh Boat Life.....
Pinche Germans. No seriously. I think this is the perfect time to embrace our All-American Arachniphobia. They're just spiders.....eewwww.