Monday 28.05: Berlin day 1

Today we had to get up fairly early to catch our train to Berlin. We were out the door of the hostel around 8:45 and heading to the train station. I was sad to leave this wonderful town, it was beautiful and relaxing. First part of this trip that truly felt like vacation!
The train ride was about 4 or 5 hours long, which isn't too bad. I worked on journals while Becky watched a movie, which I may or may not have paid much more attention to than I should have...
As we approached Berlin I got excited. I couldn't wait to see how much I actually remembered from when I was here 5 years ago! I was surprised to be honest. I remembered a lot, but at the same time, I wish I could remember more. It was only 5 years ago and it is already so fuzzy. There are things I remember like yesterday, but our Berlin trip is not one of them.
We hopped off the train and walked to our hostel. We had to walk through some sketchy areas to get there. All of us were thinking the same thing. We didn't know where Anderson was taking us or what he was thinking. Once we were there the area was a little nicer, a little less scary. Becky and I had decided we would share a room. Anderson told us we needed to meet back downstairs in 2 hours.
Becky and I went to our room, unpacked, settled in, and she took a shower. As she was showering Vanessa and Courtney invited us to go get some food with them. I told them that we would come but it would be about 20 minutes, which they said was fine. So Becky gets out of the shower, throws on some clothes and we go to meet the others. Low and behold, they are not there. I call Courtney and she doesn't answer. I call Jason. He doesn't answer. Finally I reach Nick who says that they had already left and we ordering food.
Alright.....
So Becky and I walk down the street that Nick tells us, and after a little confusion and a 15 minute walk, we find the rest of the group at this nice little Italian place. Well at this point we don't have nearly enough time to order food and we are madder than a hornet, so we just sat down and attempted to be kind. Jason's friend Simon was with all of us so we got to meet him too!
Once everyone was done eating we headed back to the hostel to meet Anderson. He took us back down the same road the restaurant was on and to a subway station. We hopped on a train and headed into the city. We went to Alexander Platz and took a few pictures. From there we took a bus that drove us through Berlin. There were a lot of things I either clearly remembered or at least looked familiar to me.
The bus ride ended near the zoo. Anderson had something to do and left us to do whatever we wanted. We decided to stay together as a group and head back to the hostel, finding food on our way. If only it ended up being that simple. I was starting to feel faint. I hadn't eaten or drunken anything for hours. Others were starting to feel the same way. We got on a train we thought would take us where we wanted to go. Well it only went between 4 stops. After going to the same stops 3 times in a row, we got off and saw the sign saying there was construction on the tracks so it only went to 4 stops. Great. On to the next train...
Eventually we found our way back to the road the hostel was on. There were a lot of places to eat on this street. The rest of the group went to a nice sit down place to get burgers. Becky, Evan and I didn't want to spend that much money, so we headed back to a not so nice place and got pretty good food for cheap. They got two burgers and I got a burger and currywurst plus fries and a drink, each of us paying under 5 euros. It was good. Once I had food in my stomach I was a much happier camper. Walking back, Becky and I stopped at a mini-markt and found ice cream. It wasn't just any ice cream. It was Ben & Jerry's cookie dough. Yes it was expensive, but after the day we had, it was worth it. Then we had to search for spoons. I ended up walking into a shop and just asked them for spoons, and they dug up two disposable ones.
As soon as we got back to our room, we opened the ice cream. After one bite I was in a great mood. It was exactly what we needed. We were going to watch a movie, but I fell asleep.
All in all a decent day!

Happy: Ben & Jerry's ice cream
Crappy: being left behind

Lots of love from Germany!