Berlin, Germany

Oh dear... I can`t believe how bad I`ve been at keeping up to date with this blog ALREADY!

So onto Berlin...I caught a night train to Berlin on 29th September, where I had to sleep on the top bunk... eek!

The journey was ok - I didn't get a great deal of sleep, but I arrived in Berlin the next morning none-the-less. I made my way to the hostel, and had a much desired shower. Bliss.

Then I went out and walked around Berlin. What a city. So much history... It was so interesting to see how East Berlin has improved since the wall came down, to see the sights, and to see how they remember the wars. Hitler, for example, was remembered only once in Berlin - the site where his bunker used to be (where he died) was made into a car park with grassy areas for dogs to go to the toilet on. Very fitting.

I went out with some people from the hostel (and another hostel) later that night. We had dinner and drinks, and I met a lady who fronts up a charity in Zambia, which I'm very interested in helping out with in a few years time. It's all about the contacts if I want to get into the NGO / charity sector!

The next day I went to the 'Tribute to the Murdered Jews of Europe' memorial. 

It was absolutely harrowing, and I shed quite a few tears. Then I caught the train back to Munich.

Just to update on the state of my backpack... the first bits of dirt have appeared:

I got in to Munich at about 11pm, and made my way back to Nick`s apartment for about midnight. After showering, internet etc. I was then able to get 2 hours of sleep before I had to be up to get a plane to Heathrow... 

I managed to get to the tram stop for 4.19am, with the tram to the station due at 4.22am. But the tram didn`t come! I waited for about 15 minutes, then bit the bullet and got a cab to the train station instead. Luckily for me, Oktoberfest afterーparties go on well into the night, so there were still plenty of taxis driving around at that time.

I got back to Heathrow at about 9am, and Mum was there to meet me. I spent a nice few hours with her, drinking coffee and chatting, and then I left her to get my flight to Japan...