Turkey - part 6

Life is pretty good these days. I've
made it to Berlin, at last, and have already realized
why I wanted to come back here so badly. Meanwhile...

I got out of Turkey just fine. I made the ferry to Kos
just fine and was able to get a ticket to Athens for
that night. That just meant I had a mere 10 hours to
occupy myself before heading off on the boat. And what
a long 10 hours it was. Kos Town was dead. There was
nothing to do at all. I wandered around for a bit but
mostly just felt like an inconvenience as the only
tourist in a place where everyone just wanted to close
up until April. I figured the best thing to would take
a walk along the coast, find a stretch of beach and
read but my attempt was ruined by a string of ugly,
closer up hotels and restaurants that went on for
miles. The day was a total writeoff.

The night was as well. I had a snorer in my cabin and
ended up having to sleep on a bench in the restaurant.
It really was mindboggling how loud he was - even on
his side. But I did make it Athens and had a great
time there. I checked it at a very overpriced, yet
clean and comfy hostel right in the centre and went
straight out to check out the Acropolis and other
ruins. Despite the hostel being 5 minutes away, I
managed to take a wrong turn and it took me an hour to
get there. But it was nice, as I made my through the
twisting streets beneath the Acropolis. It was
definitely worth the effort. I thought I may have been
ruined-out after Turkey, but the Parthenon and
surrounding temples were the most impressive yet,
despite the ongoing restoration blotting the site.

I got back to the hostel, and, for the first time in a
week, there was actually people where I was staying.
Too many Americans doing the European pub-crawl
circuit for my liking, but still a good time. The beer
was cheap and Pass the Pigs was played. Then I made
the mistake of going on a night-walk of Athens, which
was more of a "here's a shitty bar, good luck" type
thing. So I dranked an over-priced beer and headed
off.

The next day worked out pretty well. It was warm and
sunny, so I spent the day wandering around with a few
people I had met. We climbed up to the highest hill in
Athens and admired the smog, then sat at an expensive
cafe on a nice side street. We were entertained by a
very funny street performer, who felt it necessary to
pull me out of my seat and dress me up in balloons.
All in good fun. That night involved more drinking
with too many Americans studying abroad and spending
the weekend in Athens to drink and be hungover. But I
did meet some good, fund people and we wound up at a
house party at one of the hostel staff's place.

Saturday I woke up hungover and without tylenol, so it
was pretty much a write off until I caught my flight
to Berlin. My plan was to head straight to Leipzig
(where I was going to see Dead Moon) but the hostel
said they were booked up so I decided to spend the
night in Berlin. Berlin hit me in about two seconds. I
got off the S-Bahn at Warschauerstrasse stop and right
away broke into a big grin. The walk up to my hostel
was only ten minutes but that was enough. There was a
group of skater punks drinking beer on the sidewalk,
some 80's styled rockers walking about, and the women
were oh so stylish and good looking. It was nice to
see signs of alternative culture after spending a
month in Turkey where everyone seems pretty much the
same. I didn't do anything crazy that night though, as
I was still recovering from the night before. Just a
beer, some reading and bed.

Sunday morning I woke up early to get to Leipzig.
Alas, it took far too long to get there and
essentially my day was wasted. I did go to the Stasi
Museum, but it was all in German, aside from a few
very brief English descriptions. But it was free, and
besides I was going to see Dead Moon. I was a little
hesitant about going on my own, but I thought there
wouldn't be too many people there and maybe I would
meet someone. Turns out I was wrong - the show was
packed with all sorts of people, and was much livelier
than a comparable show in Toronto. People went nuts
and the band was great.

I spent yesterday in Leipzig, which was nice enough
but there wasn't all that much to do. I was pretty
much the only tourist around, which was a little
awkward. I did my usual walk around, ate some chinese
food for the first time in over a month and then spent
the evening doing laundry in a bar near the hostel.
The machines must of been from Communist times, but it
took almost four hours to do one load. But they had
good food and Weissebeer on tap.

And that was Leipzig. I was up bright and early to
catch a train back to Berlin. I got off the train at
Potsdamer Platz. Last time I was here it was still a
big construction zone but now it appeared mostly
finished. After checking into the hostel I went for a
walk (how surprising). Strolled through very cool
Prenzlauer Berg, down to Museum Insel and on the
Brandenburg Gate. I don't know what it is about this
city, but it has a vibe unlike anywhere else I've
been. It was rainy and cold though, so I decided to
call it a day. But on my way to the U-Bahn station I
passed by the Holocaust Memorial and decided to check
it out. It was very moving and well done, but I have
to say that its not exactly the first thing one should
when arriving in Germany. The museum is underground
and the exit leads you into a grid of large blocks of
varying sizes, with the biggest ones right in the
middle. The ground is very uneven and the effect is
very awkward and disorienting.

Right now I'm back at the hostel. Its a very comfy,
homely place where I can sit back in the common room,
cook dinner and basically pretend I'm home. Except for
the fact that there's 5 people sleeping in my room and
I'm in Berlin, which, so far, is about as good it
gets.