Our bus deperted on 6.30 and that meant we had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning (snooze half an hour and really wake up at 5). We had to walk about 10 minutes to the bus stop and queue at McD for our morning coffee. While we were waiting for the bus a bunch of kids also queue with us, turned out it's some kind of "early summer camp" from America and some from Denmark. They're heading to Berlin too and the bus was too full some of us had to be moved to another bus. Lucky us, we're transfered to the executive bus that compleeted with electricity plugs, spacier seats, leather seats, parket floor, well you get the idea.
To go to Berlin from Copenhagen required a ferry ride. Mia and I were so excited for this ride because the sun shone brightly and the sky looked really great for a cup of coffee on the deck. We were wrong. We still got the trace of Scandinavian wind and that was cold. So we went inside in a packed ferry for 2 hours until we're back on EU.
Berlin was a quite confusing city when it's you're first time. And a lot of Germans don't really speak English so I was a bit worry to ask for direction. But one lovely lady came to us when we're looking lost in front of the s-bahn station and offered us some help. Nice first impression to the city. We found our hostel and after a little too friendly chat with the hostel owner, he decided that he liked us and will put us in a more private room with private bathroom in it (original booking was 10 beds mixed dorm, and what we got 5 beds female only dorm with ensuite bathroom) without a penny added to our bills. Bless you New Zealand guy!
The original plan in Berlin was the Berlin Gate. Mia was hungry so we went grocery shopping and we made our own meals back in the hostel. Sayur asem for mia, potato soup and beef stroganoff for me. Then the berlin wall. If I have to give a review about the city I think it's a city full of power judged by the building. I've seen some building characteristics in some countries, London was rich and gentle, Paris was feminine, Amsterdam was humble and threatened, and Berlin was powerful. I remember Marco--the hostel manager in Copenhagen-- told us to pay attention to the building. He said "when you're in the gate, look! See the difference of the eastern part and the western part, you'll see the remaining fact that the city used to be seperated by a huge wall'" and he was right!
I got the shiver when I walked through the Berlin gate. Firt becausee usually I only saw it on NGC second world war series. secondly, I saw the postcards in the nearby souvenir shops and it was scary. Years ago people could get killed just trespassing the gate and now tourist from all over the world walk under it and take pictures with huge smiles on their faces.
Looked out for checkpoint charlie but didn't find it, the day's gotten dark so we went home. Hope to see more of Berlin tomorrow.
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