Berlin Day two

Well before I start to tell you about 'Berlin day two' ... lets go back 24hrs.

It's 8pm last night and I have just finished posting my blog on here. I have a couple of things left to do ...

• Most importantly book my hostel for Vienna
• Check my emails
• Upload all 36 pics I had taken that day to Flickr

Now my mum will tell you that if I've planned to do something I will do it come hell or high water. However yesterday, for some reason, the Internet kept failing after 5 mins ... I kept trying to get my hostel booked but as I got to the payment form it just died ... each time. Looking to the window, and thinking of throwing my netbook through it, I'd finally finished doing all the tasks ... after 4hours (the time as now 1am)... I'd had no tea; (which after reading my sisters email I might get into trouble) I snuck into my room, put my stuff away (without waking anyone ... or at least I thought so), and went to sleep alittle annoyed.

MP3 track of the day: Band of Brothers suite 2

At 8am the sun was shining through the windows and I got up and got ready; all my room mates were still asleep. I had a shower and got dressed and they were ALL still asleep. I went and had my break fast and they were all still asleep. It was 10am and I was ready for the off and they were just stirring (why bother going travelling?). Anyway I went on the underground and followed the same route I would have to take tomorrow for my train to Vienna (so I knew where to go).

Once in Berlin I went around the central park for the first hour; I just wandered in and out and around and it was beautiful ... oh one thing I forgot to mention is the weather. Both days have been scorching hot and it's been lovely here ... it's just like summer. Anyway as I was saying, it was beautiful and I could of stayed in the park all day. However I went out and through the Brandenburg Gate and walked all the way down the main high street ... I then just wondered through the city (which is ace ... getting lost in a city is so much fun) for another hour finding a subway (the fast food place) to have something to eat. Due to the lack of food yesterday I made an effort to make sure I pigged out ... 12" sub for me please ( sis - I had lettuce with it). I don't know what it is but, so far, Ive never really felt hungry; but i know that I do have to eat so, like I said, an effort was made.

It was around 12:30 and the 'Third Reich' tour was to start at 1pm ... so I went back to the Brandenburg Gate. The tour wasn't with the same guy as yesterday, it was with another history graduate from Glasgow. Again she really knew her stuff and the tour was excellent. We did some of the sites I did yesterday (Hitlers bunkers etc) but we also went to the SS HQ (or the site of it) and others like that ... I cannot recommend these tours enough, they are so good and unfortunately this company don't run tours in Vienna. :(

After this I headed back to the hostel as I new I had to get ready for tomorrow. I went back to my room and packed ready for a 6:00am start (I bet my room mates can't wait for me to leave). When I was in their I met another guy called 'T' (I think) from Stuggard. The funny thing was when I said I came from the Midlands in the UK, he asked if it was Derby ... It turns out his company have contracts with JCB.

Anyway in my dorm there are 8 people: me, Nick (South Korea), 'T' (Germany), Jessy (Oz), a couple (South America), a Chinese girl and someone else ... It's weird to think that almost all the corners of the globe are in one room ... getting along when political nations cannot ... there is something brilliant about backpacking and sharing a room in a hostel as it brings people together (now that's an idea for the next world leader summit ... let them stay in a dorm).

Still my next stop will be in an individual room. I need to do some washing (So I need somewhere to hang my washing) and all my electrical goodies are out of juice ... I need the security to recharge them.

Well I think that's it from me ... I wish I was staying another two days in Berlin, I've fallen in love with this city and urge you all to go ... what are you waiting for?

Toodle Pip!

P.S. Sorry if my spelling isn't up to scratch ... the PC is having a hard time keeping up with my typing ... also, as shown above, sometimes not all goes to plan and I could be in a rush.

Berlin Day one

Mp3 track of the day: Du Hast by Rammstein



Before I go on ... I now know why my hostel is call 'the generator'. It's marketed to the young and all it's rooms are named after generator parts; for example the food place is called 'the engine room' there is also room called the 'turbine' (which I am situated in at the moment) ... it's all abit weird with it's metal floors and furniture.

Anyway today has been ace; I did go on the free tour and it's was brilliant. Our guide, Paulo, is originally from Bath and studied archeology and history in Durham ... his main subject area was architecture and the history of Berlin in the 20th Century ... and boy did it show. We went to the Brandenburg gate, Reich stag, the Holocaust memorial, Hitlers death site, part of the Berlin wall and many many more places. When I say it's free that is quite true ... the guide doesn't get paid, but he does accept tips for a good job (one way to get around tax I suppose) and he was so good I gave €10 which seemed to be the average amount each person was giving him ... 26 people quids in!

The holocaust memorial is a very strange design with 2,711 (or something like that) pillars in lines ... It gets deeper the further you walk in. Some say each stone represents graves or concentrations camps. Others say it's a bar chart of death i.e. the stones are the highest in the middle (the height of the 3rd Reich's power). In contrast Hitler's death place isn't remembered at all ... it's a car park. This was deliberate of the German government to show it's turned a new direction.

There are so many great buildings, re-built after WW2, that were first erected hundreds of years before. There are three main squares (which I have forgotten their names) which these brilliant and mighty buildings are situated. One square is where the famous 'burning of books' occurred. There is an excellent memorial to this; it's a glass square in the floor which, when you peer into it, you can see book shelves with no books on. The room is sealed with no way in ... this is to represent the loss of knowledge that is impossible to get back. There is also the famous quote written into the floor

"... When one starts burning books, they end up burning people..." or something like that. Very true!

Loads of pics of Flickr

Berlin is ace ... there is so much to do in a fairly compact area in the east part. I love this city, so much so I thought of staying an extra day. However I decided against it as time was short ... But I am looking forward to tomorrow and I would love to come back here (though I would prefer to stay nearer the city centre).

Tomorrow the plan is to get up really early and head into Berlin; I plan to get lost around the city until 12pm in which I will have lunch. At 1pm is a Third Reich tour run buy the same company as today's tour (sadly though I don't think it's the same bloke). It's €12 but should be worth it ... hang on, this trip seems to have a strong military theme so far, ah well.

Toodle Pip

I'm still alive!

MP3 track of the day: Band of Brothers suite 2

Berlin ... made it!
If you can't believe it neither can I:

• Walk from the hostel to the train station
• Brussels to Kolin
• Kolin to Berlin Central station (which is unbelievable ... it's amazing)
• Central station on the underground to the first stop
• Underground first stop switch and onto another train for 4 stops

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. In the morning I had breakfast ... for the last time! And set to find a post office. I sent off an envelope home and a postcard.

After I'd been thrown out of my hostel I found my train and boarded. What do you do in seven hours of travelling? Well I listened to classical music, read my guide book and 'War Stories book' (thanks dad) and did allot of thinking ... is this travelling lark for me? A question I still found hard to answer.

When I got to Berlin (and got off the correct tub stop) I looked at the surrounding area trying to locate my hostel (not noticing the massive blue sign behind me). Once I arrived I thought ... oh my god. To greet me I saw a pub all in blue lights and hundreds of children (yes children not young adults) ... however it got better as I went in and I saw people of all nationalities and ages (though anybody below 20 was certainly in the majority).

I then went to my 8 bed dorm and was very pleasantly surprised. It is fantastically clean with lockers that ... kind of work, and a fake wooden floor. In there I met a South Korean chap called something ... but he said I could call him Nick (hello Nick!). I also met Jessy ... shes from Oz and has been travelling for around 4 months. She's just been to London and left her friend there as her friend ran out of Euros (so she has to find work). She told me that there was a free tour of Berlin tomorrow so I thought it would be a good idea to hop onto that.

Well that's it from me ... I only have 2 hours max of time so I need to be quick.

Speak to you (hopefully) tomorrow