riday, July 19, 2013
Day 5. Hamburg to Berlin.
I set off bright and early to the hamburg fish markets. Not technically fish markets anymore, true you can buy fish there but they are really just generic multi purpose markets. Pretty good ones though.
Also I have to say that so far the coffee here has been okay. One that I had in Copenhagen wasn't real great, but the ones at the hostel were spot on and the one I had at the markets was good as well.
One of the features of the markets are a live band, and it was a kind of hard rock band, loud bass-y and angry. That area was full of people drinking beer. Even at 9am it looked like things had been going for a while.
One of the most interesting things was German vendors. They are loud. Nothing like an angry German phrase yelled out across the way. There were so,e that even made a big spectacle of it all. They scream and slam their fists on the bench. I obviously had no idea what they were saying, but big crowds were gathered around watching. It was pretty funny.
One big thing I have noticed about Hamburg is that it seems to be less of an international tourist destination. There are a lot of Germans staying in the hostel and seemed to be a lot of Germans out in the city. Also, everyone that comes up to me starts off speaking German. Whereas in Copenhagen they tended to start off right with English. Ever when I have my backpack on and camera and map in hand, people still assume I am German apparently. So I think that means that this is more of a place that Germans visit. Maybe because of the red light district.
Back to the central station area where I spent quite a lot of time flanning (a French word for wandering and looking) and searching out a patch from hamburg. I am collecting patches which I am sewing onto my pack. So one day it will be a patchwork of city badges. I have already stitched on my Copenhagen one and am looking forward to adding.
The way the Eurail pass works is that you buy the pass and have the right to ride anywhere, each time you board a train you write it in a log book type thing and a ticket inspector checks it. You have the option of reserving a seat for a small fee. I did this from. Copenhagen to hamburg, being my first trip I really didn't want to risk it. Bt today I decided to give it a whirl without reserving. I got on the train alright and started sitting on the floor between carriages, but several people told me there were lots of spare seats so I moved. Yay for saving the booking fee.
I was treated by an alive and energetic city, Berlin from first impressions is pretty cool. I found my hostel with minimal trouble. A little help from the information desk at the station about metro connections and a little help with a lovely American ex pat who looked up the actual address on his phone for me. It amazes me how generous people are with their phone credit. I guess I would do the same to help out a lost tourist at home. But it still is a lovely surprise.
The hostel, while not quite as cool at the Copenhagen one, was great. My room wasn't ready yet so I got a locker and bought a ticket on the hop on hop off bus. After the first few stops I realised that these tours really aren't much fun when you are alone. All you can see is the horrible touristyness of the place and the people along for the ride with you. But I got a bit of an overview of the place and circled a few things on the map that I liked the idea of going back to have another look at again. Then at one stop I saw a flea market so dived off the bus and had a look see. There was some very cool stuff, but nothing I wanted that I could justify the weight of. And there was lots of food, but I wasn't hungry enough to justify buying any. So I did a good whack of window shopping and then jumped back on the next bus. Then a few stops on I saw some kind of festival, so on a whim I jumped off and went on in. It was some kind of food, music, beer and wine festival. Not terribly big, but still offered a lot to choose between and a decent crowd. I bought myself this delicious smoked salmon roll and a small bag of dried fruit and enjoyed that a lot. As I started eating I noticed a performer winding up. He was a clown. But not the gaudy circus clown we all know and hate. An old school fool really. Wearing overalls and a stripy shirt, not motley or anything. Bt he was pretty fun. He got a kid up on stage, and the kid was a trooper, putting up with a lot of pressure and a laughing crowd like a champ. The performance was mostly mime, but a little in English which was good, then I knew what was going on.
From here I went back to my hostel. I had missed the last hoho bus loop so had to walk blindly (having no idea where I was) and find a train station then find my was home. Which I did without any drama. I also listened to a history podcast about hitler and how on earth what happened ever came about which was interesting it say the least.
Back at the hostel after setting up my room and doing some washing in the sink I set on down to the common area where I joined some Aussies, then a girl from California joined us and we had a fairly late night just drinking and eventually chatting to almost everyone in the hostel. One of the boys brought back a dinner kebab (Berlin has a huge Turkish population so they do a damn nice Kebab here) and split it with me, which was bliss.
My room mate who I met briefly earlier was conked out when I got in and at some point during the wee hours of the morning. My newly checked in roomies arrived (something like 4am) and clumped down on their beds.
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