Berlin - Day 1

Germany. For me, the country was always was synonymous with rough, crude, grim and grey place with boors for people and a rough language. And I grew up and read more about it and saw happy looking things like Oktober Fest, and it was all fine.

And then, when five years ago, when accidentally, flipping channels, I saw a documentary on a cable TV channel, it became synonymous with another misery - The Holocaust. And this memory stayed above all other Oktober Fests and anything nice. World War II, Auschwitchz – the Nazis, visuals of gaunt, emaciated, naked people being rescued from the Auschwitz concentration camp – and it numbed my brain.

But when we booked tickets for Berlin, I hoped it would change my mind and instead replace all the grimness with better images of regular tourist place with all festivities in place etc.

After half a day of work in office and packing etc and a grueling 8 hours train journey, when we reached, we were tired, cold, and hungry. After roaming three cities of Europe in different countries, you would think one gets pretty smart to find out stuff. But when you are tired and sleepy and hungry and cold at the same time, it is a pain in the ass to find out how to buy a ticket for the local subway to get to your hotel. And it doesn’t help when you have such conversations:

‘Can you speak English?' - I asked an middle aged woman

'NO' - replied a girl who looked like her daughter and put a protective arm around her mother's shoulder.

I was desparate, so I said -

I just want to know where can I get the tickets?’

‘I haf my tickets’ said the woman

I rolled my eyes like 'forget it!' and started to search for the platform number in a complicated looking time-table.

Two police officials also do not help and instead just point to a random elevator and look away.

And the biggest station of Berlin was deserted and it looked as if we are the only two stupid people who decided to travel to Berlin that weekend.

And after all this time trying to find information desks and helpful looking people and ‘english-speaking looking people, guess who helped us? – A sweeper. If you look closely in the pic, he is right there – at the end of the alley. God bless him!

So, we finally took a subway to our hostel and reached a little before 1:00 am. Yes, it was a hostel this time -a little more backpackish and little less 4 starish this time. Frankly, I would not be surprised if it were a crummy place with a musty bathroom that had a leaking faucet and cracks in the walls – or graffiti at least. In short – low expectations.

But it turned out to be good – Neat and tidy. Basic, but nice. Clean sheets and a warm bathroom with everything perfectly in order. Clean bathroom and clean sheets is al i ask for -

Look at the sheets, so white and clean and inviting.

Aaah… I almost wanted to throw my bags and get some sleep, but the stomach was sending stronger signals to the brain.

The hostel is in almost centrally located there was a Burger King right below the hostel and other smallish eating joints. The subway station was also right under the hostel, so, it was pretty busy. At 1:00 am, it looked as if it was just evening.

CK had the good fortune to find her falafel and I had my bad fortune to first get the worst pasta with beef and then when I trashed it, I tasted the worst burger ever – it also had beef and bacon– which I usually very fervently relish but I guess german pigs/cows taste pretty….........puky (for want of a more disgusting word). Somehow I swallowed the bread and salad without the beef cutlet and straight hit the bed.

And that’s how we were welcomed in Berlin. Bad entry, I would say.