Pick-A-Day

April 2007
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I made it to Berlin last night—with two insults added to my injury. First the flight was delayed, arriving 45 minutes later into Berlin than scheduled due to mechanical problems. Secondly, my bag was not on the belt—so after finding the missing bags office (not easy at Tegel), I was told that my bag had been on the earlier flight and that I had to claim it through the customs office, which was located outside, down an elevator and in a ramshackle building.

Needless to say, I wasn’t in a good mood at that point—not only was it now dark out in Berlin but had I been on the same flight as my bag I could have been in Weimar last night.

Still somewhat grumpy, I headed to my hotel, checked in, and took a shower.

Can I just say that a shower after 30 hours of wearing the same clothes is one of the most awesome experiences on the planet?! Plus it was a German shower—complete with removable showerhead. It felt so good, so refreshing, and so wonderful that after I dried off, I headed out into the incredibly warm and pleasant Berlin evening. It was 20°C and I was looking for dinner—which I found: pizza with mushrooms 4€, with a Coke.

My idea had been to eat dinner and then go to one of the bars that I like in Berlin—but by the time I finished eating dinner, at 10:30, I realized two things. First, 10:30 was way too early to go out in Berlin so I would have to kill time; and secondly, I was tired—jet lag was setting in and had I gone out, I would have found myself falling asleep in a loud bar after one measly drink, something not particularly wise to do.

Instead I returned to my hotel and promptly fell asleep.

I woke up twice: midnight when the alarm clock in my room went off (I hadn’t noticed that it was set for midnight!), and second at 5 in the morning when I promptly answered the call of nature before returning to the comfort of my bed and that state known as knocked out.

At 8:30 I woke up, grabbed a quick shower, ate a small breakfast and went for a walk. I was 5 minute from KaDeWe, but since it didn’t open until 10, I did not shop, Instead I wandered for a bit before grabbing my suitcase and checking out. The bus to the train station picked me up a few minutes after 10 and I headed home.

And, I was a bit sad to do so: Today would have been a perfect day to wander around Berlin and enjoy the city. However the call of laundry and the certain knowledge that I will want to take an afternoon nap and that the supermarkets close at 8 tonight compel me to depart.

At least I’ll be in Lisbon soon—something to look forward to.

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