After over 90 days, it finally happened to me ....

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Geo: 46.948, 7.44815

I've heard stories about it ... horrific stories. It lurks everywhere when you travel in hostels. It's all around ... you can't escape it ... it hides in dark corners .... in shadows ... in bathrooms .... sometimes it's even right next to you while you sleep. You can try to avoid it, but eventually somehow, someway .... it finds you. I'm talking about .... hostel sex!!!

I was awoken in the middle of the night by people stumbling into the room. "Drunk bunkmates" I thought. Then they crawled into bed together ... and the festivities began. I don't know how far it got or how long it lasted, because I turned over and tried to sleep. I only know that some bunkmates went in and out of the room numerous times, so there must've been some interruptions. All I can say is thank goodness for earplugs. At least it wasn't as bad as a story I heard about a hostel in Lagos, Portugal. "Disturbingly loud and disturbingly long" was how it was described to me.

Almost died in the shower this morning. After finishing, I stepped out through the shower door opening and banged my head on the upper part of the doorway. I tried to regain my balance by stepping down onto the rubber mat on the floor outside of the stall, but it shifted and I almost fell. That would be an embarrassing way to die. The only thing more embarrassing than dying in a hostel shower? Getting flung out of the top bunk of a hostel bed and breaking your neck, because two other hostelers were getting it on in the bunk below, and shaking things a bit too much.

Off to the train station. On the way I noticed a poster for Stone Sour - I didn't know they had gotten back together. I'm not a huge fan anyway, so I can't say that I care all that much. Chatted with 2 older couples from the UK while I waited for the train.

I tried reading more of "A Tale of Two Cities", but I am finding it quite boring and difficult to get into. What to do? Keep going with it or ditch it? I suppose I haven't given it much of a chance - I've barely started it.

Arrived in Bern - I dropped off my backpack at the hostel and went for a walk. Grabbed lunch at an awesome-looking salad place. Ended up paying 13 Euros for a small plate - it's all done by weight. Though it was good, it definitely was not worth the price. I had some caprese salad, roasted peppers, chick peas, eggplant, various fried things, pineapple, and fruit. That's only what I tried - there's much more selection available.

Bern is quite nice - very unique (and ubiquitous) fountains, nice shopping arcades, and has an Austrian feel to it. There's a little bit of Cesky Krumlov too, with a river running through town. Very charming with a nice ambiance .... not very touristy, either. But perhaps due to this, it is a tad quiet.

Saw the famous Bern bears. Supposedly, Bern is named after the first bear that some nobleman killed way back in the day. I also saw some people playing chess on a giant chess board in town. Bern is a pretty cool town.

I just remembered something that I needed to vent about. Some North American girl was complaining that the Sagrada Famiglia in Barcelona was a waste of time, because it's still under construction. I agree that a finished cathedral would be much nicer, but it's kind of the point, no? Most cathedrals took hundreds of years to build and were finished long ago, so that you can see the results today.

But with the Sagrada Famiglia you are WITNESSING history!!! In the making!!! One man's vision is coming to life before your eyes ... historians are doing their best to guess what Gaudi wanted (after he died, the blueprints were lost in a fire). They say it will take another 50 years to complete it. Before I die, I hope to go back and see the finished cathedral.

Back to the hostel to check-in. I guess everybody decided to check in as soon as reception opened back up, because the wait was terrible - probably close to an hour. I relaxed and tried to sleep at the hostel. I'm still very sick and need to recuperate. I wanted to go for dinner at a deli that I had seen earlier. Great-looking roasted pork, chicken wings, sausage, stews ...but I decided to go to the grocery store instead, as I thought it would be cheaper.

They also had some tasty-looking food when I was there earlier - ribs, roasts, etc. But unfortunately, it was mostly gone by the time I arrived. I settled on a bland spinach quiche, roast chicken leg (very juicy and flavourful), salad with shrimps, and some fruit cake (cake good, but fruit topping was very sour). I was stuffed afterward ... I better be, considering the 10 Euros I spent!!!

Watched TV as I ate at the hostel - MTV's "Date My Mom" was on. Bizarre, but funny. A man dates three mothers who try to sell him on their daughters. After, he chooses a daughter based on how his dates with the mothers went. There was an "ugly duckling" in the bunch and of course, that's who he ended up picking. I laughed my ass off.

I walked around a little bit after - Bern is definitely home of the cute Swiss Miss! They are everywhere! But still not Spanish quality .... Bern is pretty quiet both day and night. Went back to the hostel - it's another good one. Clean, with good facilities.

There was a group of Spanish-speaking ladies staying at the hostel. I need to go and see a psychiatrist. Every time I hear anything that remotely sounds like women speaking Spanish, I instinctively snap my neck around to look for them. It's not even funny how bad it is!!! I have a problem! I need help!!!

Hung out with an Aussie couple and Chung, a guy from TO. He's another guy who quit his job and is traveling for an extended period (more than 6 months). We all watched "Life" (an Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence comedy) from the hostel's movie library. It was better than I thought it would be ... I went to bed shortly after.

I woke up an hour later to use the bathroom. I saw Chung in the room when I returned. He thought I hadn't slept yet so he kept talking, and talking, and talking .... he finally stopped, and I fell asleep.

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Photos

a
Ahhh ... companero - a Spanish word with special meaning for me. Vicky might be the only person that understands what I'm talking about. That's unusual, because usually nobody understands what I'm talking about!

b
59 Swiss Francs for an ugly shirt? I agree with the sign - the preis is shit.

c
I think I've just decided on the name for my first born child - "Beef Wong". Doesn't get any better than that!

d
One of the many cool fountains in Bern.

e
e

f
I thought this church looked like a giant sand castle.

g
Downtown Bern has a lot of these cellars - usually, they lead to restaurants or bars.

i
The Bern bears.

j
Though this was my first trip to Bern, I've been to this street MANY, MANY times! By the way - you wouldn't believe the trouble I went through to get this picture. I saw the "Badgasse" street on the map and HAD to get a picture of it. It probably resulted in a twenty minute detour.

l
The parliament building was under restoration. At least they didn't stick up a false facade like a lot of other places have done (like Siena!).