10 Hours on the Bus

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Pretty much all of today was consumed by the very long and relatively boring bus ride to Berlin from Amsterdam. On one amusing note, at departure, our guide repeatedly stressed that The Netherland's liberal attitude towards various substances doesn't extend across borders. Hence, she made it very clear that we had one service stop before the border, and that any substances onboard had better be disposed of either in the trash bin or the stomach. Only having had one night, this wasn't an issue. If I had more time, I would have been a bit torn. My personal policy is pretty much no mind altering substances simpliciter. On the other hand, wtihin reasonable limits, I also like to keep an open mind and will try just about anything once. Now pot, I consider old news. Vancouver is one of, if not the pot capital of the world. So called "magic mushrooms" on the other hand, I've never so much as seen. If I had stayed longer, I would have seriously considered trying some at a reputable coffee house. Oh yeah, the distinction between coffee houses and cafes is quite important in Amsterdam. Both usually serve coffee, but the former specializes in more...potent drugs than caffeine.

We got into Berlin at around 6:30pm, and I've gotta say that the accomodation is one of the best I've been in. The place is very new, access control is via RFID tags, lights are motion sensor triggered, and the mattresses are blissfully comfortable. To top things off, the person at reception apologetically informed us that the lounge are and bar are only open 23 hours a day: alcohol and snacks are unavailable from 5-6am...

I decided not to eat at the hostel though, and ventured out to get an intro to the city via the S-Bahn, going from Alexanderplatz (right next to the hostel) to Tiergarten station, which brings us (myself and a fellow traveller) through all the major sights. We ate in a very cozy hole in the wall (with the S-Bahn running directly overhead) called Tiergartenquelle. It was highly recommended by local guidebooks, and it delivered. The food (Schnitzel in my case) was absolutely massive. It was served in a plate that was wider than my body! The whole lot, including beer, came to €10.

That's it for tonight. I'm tired from three nights in a row of 4 hours of sleep followed by a long bus ride, and typing on a German keyboard isn't helping. Not as bad as the French AZERTY keyboard, but QWERTZ (Y and Z switched) is still surprisingly difficult to use.

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Photos

Wind Power
Prior to my wanderings through Europe, I've actually never seen a wind-generator in person. They're all over the place in The Netherlands, Germany and Spain though.