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| Berlin Wall |
I was still in the grip of Prague-o-philia, that made me feel bit dizzy
when I got down at Berlin bus station. I sat there in the bus stand for some time, had a
slice of pizza for €1.5 and had lots of water but nothing could really help me
to come out of that weird feeling. I spoke to my host in Berlin and he told he
will be late that I can only go to his place by 11pm. I sat there as if I lost
the direction, thinking where to go observing the people moving around me.
 |
| Alexanderplatz |
‘’
Do you know where is the locker facility?’’ the voice came from a guy standing
next to me. I got up with a smile on my face, as I could recognize that he is
from India. I guided him towards the locker facility and we got introduced each
other on the way. A Punjabi engineering student came to Germany on a student
exchange program and that was his last day in Germany. I lend him some coins to
keep the luggage till midnight. This is a good option if one is not planning to
stay in a city and need to keep the luggage safe so as to move around
comfortably. In Berlin they are charging €4 for a day.
 |
| @ Turkish Market |
 |
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
|
 |
The Brandenburg Gate
|
We explored the city rest of the day together; the day-pass for €7
was very comfortable as one can use the same pass for metro, tram and bus. I
reached Epstein’s (my host in Berlin) by 11:30. He was all set to sleep but
then cared enough to provide me a coffee. I slept in the living room where he
had arranged everything for a comfortable sleep. I didn’t get much time to
interact with Epstein, I left his place around 10am and I took all my
belongings with me. My flight to Riga is at 8am the next day so my plan was to
reach the airport late in the night. I kept my backpack in the locker facility
in Alexander Platz Metro station. From this station it is easy to reach the
airport.
 |
| Grosser
Tiergarten |
 |
| Victory
Column |
Moving around in Berlin is quite easy with a day-pass, I resorted myself
to the public transport instead of walking long distances. I joined Milton from
Canada whom I met through the hangout option in couchsurfing. We started from
the Turkish market then to Brandenburg gate, Reichstag, and Tiergarten. Once he
left around 5pm I continued my journey; visited places like East-side gallery,
Berlin wall and Museum Island. Unlike other cities, in Berlin I
got to see people from almost all parts of the world. The evening drizzle and
the walk through Tiergarten were quite mentioning. They have put some real
effort in maintaining the garden and parks inside the city and the efficient public transport system. This reminded me of the pathetic condition of the cities
in India where the roads are clogged with private vehicles and the greenery
depleting day by day. Are these third world countries mere a market for them to
sell off all crap? By late night I picked up my backpack from the locker and
boarded the bus to the airport, the validity of my day pass was up to 3am.
 |
| Metro on Eastside Gallery |
I wonder why infra-structurally advanced countries like Germany have the
airports with just the basic facilities. My eyes were searching for a
comfortable seat to sleep for some time and what I found was disappointing. There
were only a few seats, with people even sitting on the floor. I sat on the
floor near a charging point and got my phone and power bank charged. The guy
sitting next to me left his seat so I moved to that seat next to Jack, securing
my things under it. Jack the guy from Hong Kong currently on a trip in Europe
covering the major touristic cities started talking to me. We had a lengthy
conversation which lasted for more than an hour. My eyes stopped listening to
my mind, I secured my bags and fell asleep; I did reminded Jack to wake me up
by 7am and keep an eye on my belongings.
 |
Museum Island
|
‘’They measured the size of my bag and asked to leave them in the
luggage and I ended up paying extra as a penalty and the luggage charges’’ it
was the words of Jack who just flew in Ryanair from Barcelona to Berlin. I woke
up from my sleep thinking of these words, my backpack does look big for a cabin
bag. I transferred some of my things to my side bag, tightened the straps of my
backpack thus made it look small. My efforts finally paid off as I reached Riga
without any issues. Traveling in Ryanair is worth for the money one spends but
it is better to follow certain points for a hassle free journey. Do the
check-in at least a day before your journey date, don’t carry any excess luggage
if you have not paid for it, make sure your bag size is in compliance with
their standards and finally take something with you to eat while flying…lol…
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| Free Hugs |
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