German Hospitality

Hi all, well, of course I'm in Vienna (posted in Bratislava) now, but it's time to talk about Cologne and Berlin. I was really only in Cologne for less than 24 hours so I can't really say much about it. After a sobering ride on the train back up through Brussels and across the boarder, I arrived in Cologne tired, smelly and slightly hung over. This called for a quick nap and lots and lots of water. After which I awoke to the sounds of one of my hostelmates. She was this cute young Canadian girl in Germany to teach English for a year in some town in the north. At any rate, she seemed normal enough to share a meal with and knew the area so she could navigate us somewhere better than the tourist places next to the cathedral, which is the only major building to survive WWII, and the plethora of kebab (or kebap) stands. We ended up at a relatively nice cafe by the river where we enjoyed some wiener schitzel and pomme frites. All in all it was a good meal, but the conversation was kind of strange. She was very eager to hear about my Catholic upbringing, because she wants to convert to Catholicism, and is a huge fan of Bush's foreign policy. When we got to the latter topic, I filled my mouth with fries. Needless to say, we returned to the hostel where I promptly got ready for bed!
My morning in Cologne was kicked off to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. Excellent facility. Not only did it have comprehensive English guides, but I received 4 samples of chocolate along the way. Totally worth my 3.50 euros. After that, I walked along the river, and back to the Cathedral for some photos opps, then it was off to catch my train to Berlin.
The trek across the middle of Germany was beautiful. I had a great time watching small towns pass by from my seat. I arrived in Berlin in the late afternoon and found my hostel with ease. It was called "David's Little Backpackers Hostels" in the western part of the city. When I walked in I thought I had entered one of those really cheesy Indian shops with cheap handicrafts from around asia plastered around the place. In the kitchen, which was really just a section of the common room/check-in area, there was a picture of "David" circa 1950 and it was encircled by tubes of various different colors of neon lights. The rest of the place had a very bohemian feel. Matresses were on the floor, simple bedding, and shower curtains separated the large bedroom into smaller sections. There was only one toilet and shower for all of the occupants to share, but this place was clean, staff was friendly, and I didn't see any spiders or other small insects, so I didn't really care.
One of the other major bennefits to this place was that there was an internet cafe around the corner and they only charged 0.80 per hour and allowed users access to the CPUs so I could potentially upload my photos. While we're on that note, I did try to upload my photos, but it was a nitemare which only ended after the third technician called to the internet cafe was able to remove my digital camera memory card from the computer. After potentially losing all of my photos from this trip, I think I'll be slightly more careful about chosing which machines I trust.
Anywho, Berlin is awesome. The culture of the city is driven by all of the events of the past 70+ years and the young adults who are working so hard to make the city their own. It's an amazing blend of motivations that create an incredible environment. It was really overwhelming. Well, I started my site seeing in Berlin with a long walk through the middle of the city, and then, you guessed it, another bike tour by the same guys I used in Paris. My guide in Berlin was great and conveyed the history of the city in a way that really made you understand how it has developed. The only drawback to this one was that I had to pay for the alcohol and that there were 20 australian kids along for the ride. They were very annoying in several different ways, but my guide, Randall, who also happened to be an Aussie, was amazing and made up for it. We had dinner in a beer garden in the Tiergarten, the major park in the west end of the city, and rode along the Spree at night with the lights of the parliament and other government buildings guiding our way. It was a great start to my time in the city.
My second full day in Berlin didn't start out great. I'm constantly fighting a cold, so I decided to take it slow. Walked around a great flea market and had a light lunch/dinner again in the Tiergarten. On my way back to the hostel, I ran into the manager, a greek guy named Adrien. He was headed to the movies and invited me to come along with him. We settled on "Friends with Money" and got a bite to eat at one of the many little cafes inside this huge Sony complex that hosts something like 30 movie theatres. It was great to see a movie filmed in LA. Saw a lot of places I remember well from my childhood on the west side since most of it was filmed in Santa Monica. Afterwards we walked through the former French occupied region and Adrien filled me in on his life story.
My third and final full day in Berlin started out with a great breakfast at a little cafe around the corner from my hostel, another flea market, a picnic in, you guessed it again, the Tiergarten, and a random walk through the city with Adrien. Another great, simple day on the road. I loved it.
Next it was off to Prague!