We'll start this one off with joy: As I said, I got my suitcase no problem once I landed, and I know I was grinning when I set those wheels to tile again.
I had already decided I was going to take either an Uber or a taxi to my hotel - I was incredibly tired and in need of rest. I downloaded the Uber app (accidentally downloaded the one for drivers first, which I'm still getting notifications about, I should really uninstall) then as I walked outside, I saw they had a sign for "legal" taxis. That made me wonder if there might be an issue if I called an Uber to the airport... so I hopped in one of the taxis.
I maybe should have taken the Uber. It was more expensive (around $70-$80 CAD for a 13-minute ride), and I also feared for my life a little the entire way - he drove very fast, and very close behind other cars on the highway.
In the moments where I relaxed enough to look out the window, I made an observation: Berlin - or at least, the part of it I was in - looked and felt an awful lot like Ottawa. Or Toronto. I couldn't help thinking "Did I travel across the globe to find Toronto 2.0?" (for context, Toronto is not my favourite place to be). Though that said, I was only in Berlin for the one night, and only saw a very small chunk of the city.
Anyway, that night, I stayed in the Bellman Hotel on Karl-Marx-Strasse. It didn't actually hit me until a couple of days later about Karl Marx... which is embarrassing, really. To make up for my ineptitude, I'll share a good quote about love from Karl: "The cloak of love is only a shadow – the naked empirical ego, self-love, the oldest love, remains at the core."
It has a lot of layers to it, one could easily go psychoanalytically deep, but my chosen take-away is that all love begins in the self. And self-love is something I believe we should all be nurturing and maintaining before we even think about giving love to someone else. You can't give what you lack inwardly without depleting yourself.
The Bellman Hotel had a really nice view of a building across the way, one that gave me a good glimpse at European architecture. I'd already known I loved it, but it was a good confirming incident all the same.
This hotel is also where I started learning just how conscientious Europeans are in regard to energy conservation. Each outlet has a little switch on it, which when flicked off, also turns off the power supply so there's no waste in passive consumption. Then on top of that, the lights in the room itself only worked if I put my room key card into a specific slot by the door (to prevent lights being left on all day when people leave or go out) and the lights in the hallway were motion sensor-ed. A lot of these touches have carried through my cross-continent traipsing, and I'm honestly quite impressed by it. I hope Canada takes steps in that direction as well.
This room was also my first usage of the power converter plug adapter I'd brought with me, so I could plug in my Canadian electronics. I wish the world could all agree on universal plugs... is that when we would achieve world peace?
Anywho, I opened it, plugged it into the wall, and... my stomach dropped. I didn't see a 3-pronged plug inlet on it.
I immediately looked up nearby electronic stores where I could maybe buy one - I would need it in order to use my laptop - but guess what... A lot of German businesses are closed on Sundays. Likely tied in with Germany having a plethora of churches - the majority of which are in use, unlike in Ontario, where many churches have either fallen into disrepair, or have been converted into beautiful homes.
But back to my point. Panic. Unsure of what else to do, I went down to the front desk to ask if they have adapters because "mine doesn't have a 3-prong Canadian plug-in." The clerk was very kind, and showed me one of the ones they loan out, and he pointed out the 3-prong spot. I felt like an idiot. I had the exact same one on mine, but because it's so strange-looking, I thought it was some other country's weird plug-in.
I thanked him for teaching me, and went back to my room to try my own out. It worked just fine. Make-believe crisis averted.
A friend of mine from Ottawa, Kim, was also in Germany at the same time (she'd flown in a days before me), and originally we'd planned to meet up for dinner that night. We were, however, foiled by logistics and travel fatigue. Our hotels were about 40 minutes apart on public transit (which would include two trains). On top of that, there was also a severe lack of authentic German restaurants at even the halfway point between us.
With such a great many factors working against us cue tired, dramatic sigh, we opted to stay in our respective hotels and order in while doing a video call together. Honestly, looking back with the knowledge I have now about the German transit system... I'm glad I didn't try braving it my first night in Europe - travel exhaustion/jetlag notwithstanding.
I ended up ordering room service - I tried ordering through their provided tablet (which was also pretty cool, kind of like when you go for sushi), but it didn't work. I ended up making my first ever call to a Europe phone number, to the front desk (I'd showered and was in pyjamas and didn't want to go out of my room...). They sent someone up to get my order which I did feel lazy about, but I was also really tired. ANYway, I ended up ordering a margherita pizza (they didn't have German food on their menu either, not even schnitzel was available), and a big bowl of tiramisu. That's right, I said bowl.
Meanwhile, on the "other side" of Berlin, Kim got poutine. Or at least, the Europe version of it. Though apparently it's tough to find cheese curds in Europe (I've read Sweden has them), but halloumi cheese can be a good substitute.
So Kim and I chatted over our "German" dinners, exchanging our experiences - i.e. I'd complained my plane ride was hot, but for Kim it was cold - and talking about our next plans before saying goodbye. It was a nice slice of home for a stranger in a strange land.
As I worked on a few things before bed, I noticed that about every ten minutes or so, I heard an ambulance siren, or possibly Polizei. It seemed like it was a pretty common occurrence. Others might think, "Wow, there are a lot of people needing emergency services tonight!" But my thought was, "Wow, they have a lot more emergency vehicles available than we do." Depressing thought, I know, but it is what it is. Isn't it?
After giving in to temptation and eating a minibar bag of chili chips...
(I never did look at how much they cost in the end, probably for the better) I crawled into bed, dead tired but excited to go to Erfurt the next day to stay at my friend, V's, place. And to meet her in person for the first time since we'd met online 5 years ago. With that, I drifted off to sleep.
Sweet dreams, Berlin.
The next posts will have a LOT of pictures. Be warned.