Berlin: Land of Freezing Cold

Made it to my next hostel, which is in Berlin, Germany. It was a LONG train ride today from the Munich/Augsburg area, about 7 hours, but I made it. More on this later, I must describe Oktoberfestivities!

Went on Wednesday afternoon to that drink zone. Was alone at first, and wandered around the huge area for a good while. . .and it was PACKED full of drunks. Think the MN State Fair, but instead of barns full of animals it's barns full of people drunk and acting like animals. . .I guess, really, it's the same thing! A liter of bier was between 8 and 9 euro, and usually came in an epic stein. Didn't keep one, as innate no room in my pack, nor really at my house for one either. Anyhoo, the Fest was contained in a park about 9 blocks square, and there were 30 (?) beertents. I ended up
having about 3 and a half liters of delicious beer during the course of the evening, and it was a stumbly time getting home. No worries, parents and girlfriends and generally worried people; I was definitely safe and knew my limits. This drinking spree started alone, which felt pretty sad, actually. I had one beer, and enjoyed it while writing in my journal, but felt pretty lonely at the Fest with no one else to hang out with, and was planning on get some food and
wander around until I got bored. . .but as I stopped to pick up my 1/2 meter hotdog (yum!), an Aussie next to me told me to try some Sudden Death hot sauce on my 'dog. I did (it was hot!) and started chatting with the guy and his group of friends. I ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night, about 7 hours. I think they enjoyed having a new face to chat with in strange Oktoberfest. It was a fantastic time, and I know I wouldn't have had as much fun on my own. I'm half surprised at how easy it is to meet people here, and half not surprised at all. . .I'm a people person, and fairly friendly (I think), and just chatting up random strangers isn't too hard for me. Good skill to have here traveling along, I must say.

After my adventure in Oktoberfest, I decided to take a rest day, and sleep in and relax a bit. I was in Augsburg and not Munich, so I could avoid the crowds, and that turned out to be a very good thing. I had an excellent time wandering the beautiful streets of Augusburg, and seeing some German culture instead of smelly Italian culture. . .yeah, I said it, smelly.

To make things short, after I spent the day wandering, and eventually relaxing on a couch with a free ebook (Dracula), I went to bed and prepared for my trip to Munich. Was lucky at the train-station, as I caught the early train from Augusburg instead of heading to Munich and waiting for a later one. Again, about 7 hours. . .and those seats get uncomfortable after a while. The Munich area was covered in mist and rain again, and while annoyingly wet, it was very beautiful. Green farmland, forests, and villages being swallowed into the morning mist. . .it's the stuff written about in books and put into movies. All in all, after I made it through the frigid Berlin air to my warm hostel (and I do have a cup of coffee as I write; ahhhh!) it's been a good day. Didn't spend much, either; my room is €9 per night, and I bought a little food and drink. . .pretty cheap day, which is good for the 'ol bank account. Money is a little tight, as many Italian hostels didn't take payment for about two weeks, and out Comcast bill was for two months instead of one (damn your one month lag-period on automatic payments!); Kristi and I will be fine, though. Parents and grandparents of both Kristi and I: thank you. Financially, this woulda been tough w/o you guys.

So I have two nights in Berlin, and just one full day tomorrow. I'm thinking Reichtag and the other historical things in Germany's capitol city. Then its off to Prague for 5 days. . .at €7 a night which includes breakfast, I think I can afford it! I've also heard that beer is cheap in the Czech Republic. . .should be nice.

-Dyl

P.S. - There are billions of Aussies around Europe. Just about every other person I meet in the hostels is from the land down under, which is cool; however, I do keep hearing about their school loan repayment system, which is very nice. Once they reach a certain pay threshold ($40k or so per year), the government takes about 4% of their income until the loans are payed off. . .no interest, just a skid amount that dwindles. Dammit! That's awesome! Just thinking about loans makes me cringe. . .$25,000 starting to go back in December. . .maybe I should hide here in Europe. . .