My Trip to Berlin

Hi! It's been a while since my last article, I know! I have a good excuse though, I was planning for my vacation, studying and then at Berlin. I've always wanted to go to Berlin to make use of my not-so-advanced German. I liked it very much, beyond the language part, so let's get started!

A selfie in front of the Reichstags Building. This was the sky's colour by the way.

Planning Phase

Shortly after I decided to go on a vacation during spring break, I searched for a European city that a) isn't far and b) interests me. Berlin was the ideal option. Few days before leaving Paris, I had to do some research: museums, transportation passes, food, weather.... I've never been a museum and history enthusiast, but I tried to change this by forcing myself to try.

I downloaded Google Trips app which is really useful to organise your day, where you save the places that interest you and get the directions for them easy peasy lemon squeezy. Some bookings and purchases were done and I was ready to go.

Huge Mistake

Since I decided really late to go to Berlin, I had to go by bus as the plane tickets were almost double the normal price. But the bus was a terrible idea, especially for someone with car sickness, the irony. I bought some pills in hope to reduce the sickness and I tried to convince myself that they were working. Also, I had no time to pack some snacks and I forgot my water bottle in the big backpack so I was starving and thirsty for some hours until we stopped for thirty minutes in Belgium. My planning was kilometres away from perfection, but I survived the bus trip of 20 hours (?!).

Day 1

It began at 6 am on the 11th of April, after my arrival at the main bus station of Berlin. I was supposed to go to my host's home, I had the directions and everything. I had to buy the bus ticket from the machine, but unfortunately  it didn't accept credit cards for some mysterious reasons. And also because I had no time, I haven't had any cash. So I went on a discovery trip to find the nearest ATM. I was praying the whole time that I'd work. It did, thank God! After being lost for some time, I made it back to the station. I waited for the bus for 20 minutes and then it passed me without stopping! I was perplexed because I was sitting in the station waiting.. I learned the hard way that they only stop if I stand up at the edge of the pavement. (Which is not the case at Paris by the way). The ride was almost an hour!

When I arrived home, the host, Ela, welcomed me with a warm smile and asked me what took me so long (three hours) to reach home. I explained the whole thing while we had breakfast. I took a shower and changed and then took off to go sightseeing a bit. Even though I was super tired. But, I don't get to visit Berlin everyday, so..!

The fountain.

I went to Checkpoint Charlie where I felt like being somewhere else. Then I went to the Berlin Cathedral Church but didn't go inside, because it wasn't free, which is weird. The Cathedral was so beautiful and I adored the light blue domes and statues. Then I went to the Funkturm, the fountain that has Triton (I hope) and I don't know its name. The weather was cold by then but the sky was blue and the sun was shining so I decided to sit on a bench and read a little while having a snack (a sweet nutty German thing Ela helped me pick). I was too happy then.

I brought some souvenirs from Alexanderplatz and then went home. We cooked dinner, also something "German": asparagus, boiled potatoes and Hollandaise sauce, I really liked it. Even thought it was so weird eating whole boiled potatoes. I chilled at home a bit then I went to bed. It was of course early, but since I hadn't slept well in the bus I had to.

Day 2

Reconciliation statue.

I woke up relatively early, we had breakfast and then I took off. Bernauer Straße (street) was my target. During Berlin division, the windows of the buildings in this street were used to escape the western side. Also, some short tunnels were dug. Of course, there were fatalities during these escape missions. There is a reconciliation statue few meters away from the street's famous buildings. Next to this, there's a small chapel: Die Kapelle der Versöhnung (The Chapel of Reconciliation), small and simple but warm and beautiful. 

Reichstag Building.

I took the S-bahn and went to the Reichstag Building. A mixture of modern architecture (the glass dome) and the 19th century architecture (the rest of the building). Brandenburg Gate is a walking distance away. It used to mark the start of the Berlin- Brandenburg road. I visited next the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.

It was lunch time by then, so I ate at a vegetarian Asian restaurant. (I should've packed lunch with me instead, but totally forgot)

East Side Art.

A trip to the eastern side took place then. I really enjoyed the East Side Gallery, which had tons of different street art/ graffiti.

Computerspieleinmuseum
Selfie!

What I visited next has to be the coolest museum ever! Computerspieleinmuseum! (Museum of Video-games) It showed the evolution of video games, from chess to Xbox. Even though it was super small for a museum, but it was a unique experience to be honest. I strongly recommend!!

Then, I returned home and had a light dinner then stayed in bed till I fell asleep, I can't remember really. I was exhausted anyway from all the walking and wandering!

Turkish Breakfast!

Day 3

I woke up relatively energetic and decided to have breakfast with Ela at a café nearby. The weather was good enough to make me want to eat outside in the semi-sunny weather. 

A Time-line of Germany, Historische Museum.

I then headed to the Historische Museum. Ela warned me of how big it was. But I wasn't expecting it to be this big! Germany's history turned out to be impressively long, guys! I spent around three hours, even though I didn't read the descriptions thoroughly in the last exhibitions. I had to have many pauses and an apple pie break in the middle.

Since I was exhausted from standing for so long and my back was hurting so bad, I didn't visit any other museum that day, even though I wanted to. I went to the Mall of Berlin, I enjoyed the walk in the sun to get there but didn't buy anything at last. Except for a sweater from a shop somewhere with "Berlin" on it, I'm sorry, but I had to! 

There was a beautiful cathedral nearby (with a splendid light blue dome as well) so I thought maybe I can go to the mass. But then my host told me it'd be for an hour long at least so I took off. 

Dinner: Spätzle.

I returned home, replaced my banana bag by a normal handbag and Ela and I went to eat at a small restaurant at a walking distance. We, as usual, chatted during the walk, about almost everything. We had Spätzle which is a pasta (that looks like weird French fries) and some stuff on it: lentille for me and cheese for Ela. We drank some German soda/ jus drink. End of day 3.

Day 4- Last Day

I was really sad leaving Berlin...

Neues Museum.

Charlottenburg Schloss.

My bus was at 8 pm so I had so much time on my hands.  The Neues (new) Museum was my first destination; it had an Egyptian exhibition and Nefertiti's head statue. I didn't visit the other exhibitions because they were similar to the ones I've visited in the Louvre. 

I met up with two Indonesian girls from Couchsurfing, Sarah, who was visiting as well, and Rima, who's studying in Berlin. We had lunch together, Turkish kebab for me and a burger for Sarah I then went to the Charlottenburg Schloss (castle). And again, the light domes never failed to amaze me! 


I waited for Rima to drop her friend off and then we had dessert and coffee at a cosy homelike café. A cherry cake with decaf black coffee and a cheesecake and cappuccino for my new friend. 

Cherry cake and coffee!

Rima insisted on helping me go to the bus station and long story short, we ran A LOT and changed transportation a couple of times. The good news is that we arrived half an hour early! Which is a victory for your fashionably late blogger (I'm trying to change I swear).

Final Thoughts

I did it on my own! I DID IT, I DID IT! A year ago, the idea of travelling alone and couchsurfing seemed deadly to me. It seemed as something impossible, but here I am, a beginner solo traveller.

I did it despite every single unadventurous soul that doubted I'd enjoy it alone. Well, having company is great but being alone is also good. I got to do what I wanted when I wanted. I got to stare at the paintings that interested me without someone yawning next to me. Most importantly, if you wait for someone to be available to come along you might end up not going at all. Bottom line: don't depend on anyone to travel.

Credit: germanyflag.facts.co

As for Berlin itself, it's great! I was afraid it wouldn't be much different than Paris, but thank God it betrayed my expectations. I'll definitely go back for more local spots or something.

Also a huge thank you to Ela for welcoming me and being such a great host in general and Rima for helping me go to the bus station on time! Shout-out to that friend who kept encouraging me to go beyond my boundaries but also yelled at me for not telling anyone prior my trip.

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I Grew Up - 20.1

On my birthday, I wrote an article about what I've achieved so far, read it first in case you've missed it, click here! During the few following days, I remembered even more important information and skills I've learnt. So here we go again!

Celebrating my birthday with my paternal family, 2002. I'm the girl in the middle, in case you didn't know.

After receiving a big order
from Amazon

An Egyptian friend would understand the struggle of buying anything online. From the expensive shipping fees, to the different currencies and finally the lack of a credit card to use, I've been there, I did that. There was a time that I asked an older friend to place an order for me because I had no credit card (or even a bank account). But now, ordering online is even a cheaper option! I'm now able to buy used books that are like brand new ones which cost much less than buying them from stores, even considering the shipping from England (because I order English books only). So glad I have my own bank account...! 

Speaking of bank account, I can do money talk now. My parents taught me that talking about money is impolite and wrong, but I grew up to need to discuss money. Sorry mom! Money is important, whether you're applying for a job or have a roommate who shares cleaning products with you! I try not to believe that we live in a pragmatic world, but we kind of do...

My organisation skills grew a little. Every single task even if it was just printing a paper at college is documented in my calendar with several reminders. Important events that I'd never remember on my own such as renewing my residence papers in 22 weeks and that project due after the holidays are documented twice, on my Google Calendar and on my college agenda for maximum organisation. Hundreds of to-do lists were made, even only mental ones. Example: When I Get Home To-Do List: Take a shower, do laundry, cook, revise, do the dishes... That's how I'm trying to get over my goldfish memory and attention deficiency. 

Some adult stuff: original documents. Never hand in original documents. That was a tough lesson to learn. And, always carry a scan of the important documents with me on the phone, it's more than enough in most cases. 

Giving compliments was discussed in the previous article, I'm aware of that. But what I need to add here is that criticizing people instead of giving them compliments says a lot about your self-esteem... Spoiler: you have none! Always give a warm constructive feedback. 

After a long time of reflection at my life events, I came to the conclusion that an abuser was once a victim. And in order to fix the victim, we need to fix the abuser first. Nevertheless, nothing gives a human the right to harm another human. Physically, morally or sexually.

Another conclusion I came to after thinking and reading and researching was that sacrificing too much is harmful. As I said before I decided to put myself first, but being told to make sacrifices for others, when I don't want to, is annoying and insensitive. Also, here's a serious question, why are people who put too much pressure on themselves, neglect their own needs and go too far in sacrifices, so pissed at people who are living their lives healthily and normally? Unfortunately, I've not only met such people, but I still know them...

In this "Me, Myself and I" situation I'm living, with no "adults" to back me up, some people tend to find me an easy target, they talk trash, expecting me to shut up and nod. But hell no, this will never happen! Not here, not in Egypt, not in Mars! If I was right, I'd defend myself in the most polite way possible. I'd write some bullet points with evidence! Witnesses could be called in as well. I'm not the kind of person who accepts such treatment because she's alone or shy to defend herself. If I was wrong, God forbid, I'd acknowledge committing a mistake, ask for forgiveness but then state that I'd prefer a better way of speaking! Adulting...!

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Things I hate about Travelling Solo

When someone says "travelling alone", what comes to your mind is backpacking, meeting locals and a real adventure. However, the experience I'm describing here is only the journey from A to B: bus, train, boarding, overweight luggage and strong coffee. And here's what I hate about it. 

1) Work, work, work

And by "work" here I mean "carry the luggage". Alone. It's terrible. And exhausting. In Paris, there are many stairs in the metro stations and honestly it's energy consuming to carry them up and down at least a couple of times. And if I have two heavy bags, I have to carry the first down the stairs- while keeping an eye on the one on top- then repeat. Fortunately, many gentlemen and even women offer to whether help with one handle or even carry a bag all alone. Shout-out to all the friendly Parisiens out there!

2) I'll be there for you

I know I said in the title "alone". But here, I'm also talking about the luggage. Wanna grab a cup of coffee from the vending machine? I have to take all of your bags and go. Going to the bathroom before boarding is like the worst of them all because there's no room for the big bag inside the stall. If you're feeling adventurous, you can leave it outside, ha ha...no...And that takes us to the next point.
ALSO THE BAG CAN BE DEMOLISHED OR CONFISCATED IF YOU LEFT IT UNATTENDED.

3) Dehydration

As a creature drinking about three litres of water daily, and can't reduce the amount while being healthy, the lack of water for only a day affects me. I'm not talking about something dangerous but my face just decides to copy the desert's landscape and I look terribly sick. To be normal again, it takes me at least three days. My body is a sponge.

4) Self-trust= zero

No matter how many hours I slept and no matter whether I'm travelling in a completely normal hour or during the evil 1-7 am period, I can't trust myself to sleep in the airport. Even if I set an alarm. Those who sleep in the airport must be really confident or something.

5) Easy target

I'm a woman travelling alone and many middle-eastern men get the wrong idea... And yes you read it right. I am a chatty person and I appreciate a nice conversation with people even strangers in the airport. Talking about cultures, our differences and similarities, travelling. But what I don't appreciate is them giving email adresses and/or numbers so we "keep in touch".

6) General Fear

I overthink everything, every single day. At least two days before my journey, I start panicking. "I have the feeling that I'm forgetting something", "Why didn't they send me the boarding pass by email like the previous flight?" and the classic "What will happen if I lose my passport?". This fear increases ten times when actually something worth being scared happens, like going to the wrong gate, twice, and almost missing the flight. Yeah, I waited in a gate then noticed it has a different destination, checked my boarding pass, "It's B8 not B6!!". Half an hour later, I checked a google notification about the flight, the gate is different from the pass, "What do I do now? Which one to believe?!"...Yeah, that was fun. The best part is worrying about being kidnapped, good times, good times.

What if I fainted and no-one helped me, then I missed my flight? What if I died and it took them days to discover my body?

For the description of my first trip alone, though, click here!

If you liked this article, give it a +1 and share it with your friends! Follow me on +Google for more!! You can also be notified by email, click here.