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Published: July 28th 2006
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Sunset at the love parade
This photo comes close to capturing the feel but it really is something you need to experience- best day ever! The first leg of my European adventure started in berlin. I got there from new york after an overnight flight and was stuffed by the time i got arrived. By the time i got there at midday however, Blake and Luke were waiting for me in the lobby of the hostel and ready for some beers. After an hour or so of catching up and telling stories about what each of us had done in the last 7 months, Tristen joined us. We spent the rest of the day hanging around the hostel and it was really good to see a few mates again. The hostel was huge with a capacity of around 900 people I think and was full practically every day I was there. First night, Luke had grand plans to go see a decent house event at a club in downtown Berlin, but when he and I got there it was cancelled so had a quiet night at an outdoor club catching up. Second day i was there the Germany vs Portugal game for third place in the world cup. Of course no one had tickets but we all went to the fan fest together which is a
designated area two kilometres long roped off between two very impressive monuments- the brandenburg gate and the victory monument. There was probably close to a million people there and was so good to see germany win the match. The whole of berlin was in such a good mood because of the win. Tried to go to a great techno club that night but only luke got in, courtesy of his cunning plan to distance himself from us- the rowdy group of blokes. Me, tris and blake found a small club on the river not far away and had a decent night. The day after was the final and Italy beat France. I wasn't particularly interested in either team winning but was with Luke who was keen on an italy win. He was ecstatic when they won. Unfortunately couldn't get into contact with blake and tris due to a phone number stuff up but again the atmosphere at the fanfest was amazing and everyone had a great day. After the match was over i went with Luke to a club filled with Italy revellers and saw Basement Jaxx and some good techno until the wee hours.
The next few days were
Hitlers Bunker
This is me standing in the spot where hitler's body was burned at the end of the war fairly uneventful and mainly involved hanging around the hostel with Luke, Tris and Blake and seeing bits and pieces of Berlin. Had a good bar at the hostel and with 900 travellers there made for a pretty decent crowd. The Australian presence was very noticeable and I was honestly glad to get away from all the aussies by the end of the week.
Thursday, after a particularly messy night, Luke and I attempted to go on a walking tour of berlin. Unfortunately for me, the lack of sleep and water, a terrible hangover and excessive heat resulted in me passing out on the train and falling head first onto the floor, breaking my fall with my forehead. When i came to, i had about 15 people gathered around me and a substantial amount of blood coming out of my face. I had to go to hospital in an ambulance and spend 4 hours waiting to get a bunch of stitches in my forehead. It really ruined the day. I now have a nice scar to remind me Berlin.
The next day we successfully took the tour, despite being a bit wary of a repeat incident. It was great and we
had a terrific tour guide who showed us all the main historic sites associated with the third reich such as hitler's bunker, the reichstag, the berlin wall and SS headquarters. After we met up with a german/australian girl luke knew and had a few quiet drinks in a bar made to look like the beach, including a sand covered floor.
Saturday was the Berlin Love Parade which i can honestly say is a contender for one of the best days of my life. The estimate i heard was that there was 1.4 million people, in the same place as the fanfest which was only a two kilometre long stretch of road. People lined the street while trucks carrying sound systems, DJs, and party people drove up and down, each with their own flavour. When the trucks came near each other and both could be heard, they competed for the attention of the crowd and played louder trying to win everyones attention. The line up was huge and the music was probably the best i'd heard all year. The parade went on for about 11 hours. There were a few after parties but decided to take it easy after learning my
lesson from pushing myself too hard a couple days earlier.
Next day me and Blake got on a train to Krakow and left berlin and a fantastic week behind.
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blake
non-member comment
hello
good photos darcy, just so u know iwokeupin leeds hospital yesterday,with needles in my arm,police took me there haha