Hi there and welcome back!
Long time no see. The last weeks were a bit complicated for me, but I'm back in business on full throttle. The first half of March 2016 meant a lot of premiers and would like to tell you about them.
Long time no see. The last weeks were a bit complicated for me, but I'm back in business on full throttle. The first half of March 2016 meant a lot of premiers and would like to tell you about them.
Back in the day, when I was in Romania, the tourism fairs were among the most interesting experiences, places where one could find out about the newest trends in the industry, network with various actors from the field or even buy the next vacation, with discount. In Romania most of the fairs are still general, meaning that travel agencies, hotels and city halls come to promote their business: diversity.
Since I've arrived in Germany, I haven't had this pleasure anymore. Here, most of the fairs are specialized: cycle-tourism, camping and caravan, yachts and boats, etc. The only general fair, which is also the biggest in the world, remains ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus Börse Berlin).
So, this year I decided, at the last second, to participate. What do I need? Transport, accommodation, entry ticket. Cool! Recently Ryan Air introduced the route Cologne - Berlin so cheap, that you can't say no. I've paid 20 € for both ways, buying the ticket a week before the flight. I've never been to Berlin before, so I didn't know what to expect. And because I wanted to fit in the picture and discover the city as a local, I decided to try couchsurfing. My profile was pretty weak, no recommendations, 4 days to find something. The chances were not too high. But, in the end, I received one positive answer. Oliver, a young man with a passion for languages and foreign cultures accepted my request on the condition that we spoke only in Romanian. Perfect! The last thing: buy the fair ticket online, 35 €. Easy!
Since I've arrived in Germany, I haven't had this pleasure anymore. Here, most of the fairs are specialized: cycle-tourism, camping and caravan, yachts and boats, etc. The only general fair, which is also the biggest in the world, remains ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus Börse Berlin).
So, this year I decided, at the last second, to participate. What do I need? Transport, accommodation, entry ticket. Cool! Recently Ryan Air introduced the route Cologne - Berlin so cheap, that you can't say no. I've paid 20 € for both ways, buying the ticket a week before the flight. I've never been to Berlin before, so I didn't know what to expect. And because I wanted to fit in the picture and discover the city as a local, I decided to try couchsurfing. My profile was pretty weak, no recommendations, 4 days to find something. The chances were not too high. But, in the end, I received one positive answer. Oliver, a young man with a passion for languages and foreign cultures accepted my request on the condition that we spoke only in Romanian. Perfect! The last thing: buy the fair ticket online, 35 €. Easy!
8th of March came soon enough, the luggage was packed and the fair preparations finished. In Germany, you can download an app, which tells you when the next bus is coming and when does your train leave. It's very convenient, especially when it works. At 12:55 my airport gate was closing, so I left home, like a normal man at 11:30. At 11:34 I had, according to the internet, my bus for train station. When I walked out the door, the 153 was already driving away... wtf? 15 minutes later, I take the next bus. From there I could have taken a train that would have left me at the airport precisely at 12:05. But the message below appeared on the screens. That's not a good thing, trust me. That means that the train is not coming anymore. OK, I took my time, I could have missed 2 buses and 2 trains and I would still be in time at the airport, right? Wrong! The second train failed to come as well. The platform was already full with angry people, that kept asking questions. I was already thinking that this would be the first time I miss a plane too. That was not on my plan. Finally, a train came out of nowhere and took me to the airport. It was 12:55. I ran through the people, checked in through the magnetic gates, ran with the belt in my hand and reached the boarding gate. Fortunately, Ryanair waited for me. For me and probably 30% of the passengers. The flight was smooth and soon I was landing with a jerk, to acknowledge that we are in Berlin.
Berlin seen from the plane is huge. Berlin seen from the ground is even bigger. I landed at Schönefeld Flughafen, which is in the southern part of the city. From there you can take an S-Bahn, S46 to the center. I was planning on visiting the city, so I bought a one-day-ticket, which costs 7.60 €. An hour and a half later, I was barely in the southern part of the center... In Berlin, they have a Ring S-Bahn, which makes laps encircling the center and each lap takes precisely one hour. Sweet! From there you can take U-bahn, Ms or Buses in any direction. Berlin is packed with railways, concrete and red-brick buildings. Or at least, that was my first impression. Because I had some time until my meeting with a good high-school friend of mine, Miruna, I took a walk to the Technisches Museum. Strolling along with my luggage, I noticed another difference in comparison to Cologne. Here, they don't have rolling stairs, so I did some physical activity that day. Sadly, the museum was closing in 30 minutes, so I had to leave it for the next time. The exterior looks quite interesting.
I took another stop at Alexandersplatz, where I witnessed a nice sunset, surrounded by people from around the globe, from Turks walking around in masculine groups, to Asian tourists and teenage rockers, listening to loud music.
Afterwards, a cool experience followed. We were the first clients of the evening at the Buck and Breck bar, near Rosenthaler Platz. Here, I had a strong rum-based cocktail, which lasted for 75 minutes. Alongside the cocktail, you are served with ice-water with continuous refill. All you need now is a good conversation and luckily I had it. :) |
The cherry on top of the cake came in the evening. My first couchsurfing experience. I introduced the address in my GPS and soon I reached the place of my host. I rang, pouf, the door opened and I was greeted with a very correctly pronounced "Bună seara!" (Good evening in Romanian). Oliver is a cool person, which impressed me through his language skills and his hospitality. Romanian is a though language and yet we tackled all night various topics in my mother tongue. You cannot get bored. I would also like to thank him for the culinary recommendation, an Arab shaworma from Gilgamesh, which reminded me of Bucharest, but also for the walk tour through the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood.
Soon it was midnight and because the next day the tourism fair was starting I went to a good night sleep. I'll write a brand new article about the ITB tomorrow.
What was the last thing that you did for the first time?
R.C.
Soon it was midnight and because the next day the tourism fair was starting I went to a good night sleep. I'll write a brand new article about the ITB tomorrow.
What was the last thing that you did for the first time?
R.C.