Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Gutentag Berlin!

I head to the train station early and start the first part of my journey to Berlin - a short trip to Hilversum, where I'll make my connection. It's a beautiful sunny day, so I'm sitting outside the train station with a book and some music. As I was leaving the hostel this morning, I found a small bag of weed that the German guys in my room had left behind...if only I wasn't leaving the country too!

I've had an amazing time in Amsterdam; it's a really cool, vibrant and tolerant city. Diverse, super-chilled and absolutely stunning. And the people are not only genuine, but ridiculously attractive; inherently well-dressed and oozing cool. You can't help but feel a bit inadequate really!

There are a few other people sitting outside catching some sun too, and I am suddenly acutely aware that the 2 guys sitting across from me appear to be talking about me in Dutch (the staring and indiscreet pointing were a dead giveaway). Reassuringly, I have absolutely no clue what they are saying. Eventually they strike up conversation.

"Are you French?"
"No, I'm Scottish. I live near Glasgow."
"Ah! Glasgow! You have a religious war there between Catholics and Fenians?"

Eh...something like that boys! Eventually I catch my train to Berlin, but in typical dis-organised Charlotte fashion, I have no food, no water, no phone battery and no i-pod battery left. Excellent. Luckily a train attendant brings everyone some free chocolate coated nuts - the most nutritious of dinners!

With less than an hour till we arrive at Berlin Hautbanhopf, I am befriended by a rowdy group of football supporters (although they look a bit more like Hell's Angels to be honest...) Turns out there is a big game on between Duisburg and Schalke, and fans are descending on Berlin for it, so it should be pretty chaotic!

Just as the train pulls in to the main station in Berlin, a rather foreboding looking black thundercloud descends upon the city and there is a huge downpour of rain. Hopefully my hostel, which is in Kreuzberg, is not too far a walk from the train station....

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