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mirevolver · 01-07-2005, 07:13 PM

Ran a search on this and got no results. So tell us a story of your travels whether it be good, bad, interesting, amusing or whatever.

_______________________________

So to start, here's one of mine

The Night in Berlin:

While I was in Germany last summer, I decided to take a weekend trip to Berlin. I was able to work the trip out rather well because I have a cousin who has lived there for the past 20 or so years. So I was able to stay at his apartment and not have to pay a hotel for my stay and he was also my personal tour guide for the first day I was in Berlin.

So it came to the last night I was there and my cousin wanted to do his usual thing and hang out at a bar across the street from his apartment. I on the other hand wanted to go out and have some fun. Unfortunatly for me it was a sunday and not much was open. But I decided to head over to Potsdammer Platz and see if something was open.

When I got there, I found that a movie theater which played OF (Origional Format) movies. So after having spent the past two weeks speaking German, listining to people speak German, and watching German TV, I was quite excited to be ableto see a movie that was not dubbed over in German.

I walked into the movie theater and bought a ticket to the next movie showing. Unfortunatly the movie was Harry Potter 3. But I really didn't care about that, all I really cared about was that it was in English.

After the movie was over, it was 12:50am. Normally this would not have been a problem, except tonight was sunday night and I needed the U-Bahn (subway) to get back to my cousin's place. And the U-Bahn shuts down at 1:00am. So I quickly made my way out of the theater and out of the Sony center. Then I ignored a red crosswalk signal (I figured the German drivers would stop anyway, plus I was not the only one to ignore the signal). I dashed across an open area, crossed a smaller street and made it to the U-Bahn station. At that point, I and a couple of German girls also heading to the station, inconveniently noticed that the station had closed it's gates.

I thought, no problem, I'll take the S-Bahn (elevated train). So I went to the S-Bahn station. Now have used the U-Bahn the entire time I was in Berlin, I did not know exactly which S-Bahn to take. After looking on a map, I figured I should go to Fredrich Strasse so I would be on the main S-Bahn line, and then figure out where to go.

But first I needed a ticket. I walked over to the nearest ticket machine and went through the process of getting a ticket. I got to the screen displaying the fair, 2 Euros. I pulled out two 1-Euro coins and fed them into the machine; they dropped into the coin return. I grabbed the coins and put them back into the machine; again they dropped into the coin return. At this time a train entered the station, and as my luck had it, it was going to Fredrich Strasse. I hit cancel on the machine and then flew through the screens to get my ticket again. I once again returned to the fair of 2 Euros. Once again I fed the coins into the machine, one went through and the other dropped into the coin return. Determined not to miss the train, I grabbed the coin and slammed it into the machine. It was accecpted.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity of looking at the machine, then the train, then back at the machine, then at the train again; the machine finally printed my ticket and gave it to me. But I still could not get on the train. I had to have my ticket stamped by another machine. I ran over the stamping machin and stuck the ticket into it; nothing happened. While using a mixture of English and German to curse at the machine, I pulled my ticket out and put it back in. It stamped the ticket and I ran onto the train with the doors closing right behind me.

I got off at Fredrich Strasse, it's now 1:20am and I look at the train map to figure out where I should ride the next S-Bahn to. I narrowed it down to two stops, and then selected one since the U-Bahn runs through there, and therefore I was familiar with that station. The next train headed that way came and I got on it and rode it to the station I had planned on.

I walked out of the station and did not have a clue where to go from there. So I decided to go back into the station and take the S-Bahn back to the other station I had narrowed it down to. I made my way up to the platform only to find that I had just gotten off of the last S-Bahn of the night. At this point the exact words going through my mind were, "Ach, scheiße!"

The time is now 1:40am and I'm wandering in the area around the station trying to figure out where to go. Fortunatly, I have a cell phone that works globally and I figure that this would be a good time to pay the $1/minute international roaming so I can call my cousin and figure out where I need to go. After looking through my pockets for his phone number, I realized that I left the paper with his number in my bag which was in his apartment.

It's 1:45am and I come across a sign in English that says, "Tourist info center, 5min. walk." and on the sign was an arrow. I took off in the direction of the arrow figuring that they may not be open, but they might have a map of Berlin in the window.

It's 2:00am and I still have not found the info center. At this point I realized that it's 6:00pm in the US where my dad is and so I'll use my cell phone and call him thinking that he would have my cousin's number. The phone conversation goes like this:

(ring)
My dad: Hello
Me: Hi dad, you wouldn't happen to have (cousin's name)'s phone number?
My dad: Actually, I don't. Aren't you supposed to be in Berlin this weekend?
Me: Oh, yes, I'm in Berlin.
My dad: Is there a problem?
Me: No, no problem, it's 2:00am and I'm lost somewhere on the streets of Berlin, but other than that everything's fine.
My dad: What do you mean by lost?
Me: Well, I'm not exactly lost. I know exactly where I am and I know exactly where my cousin lives, I just don't know how to get from where I am to where he lives.
My dad: Can you take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn?
Me: They shut down for the night. The next U-Bahn runs at 4:00am.

At this point I found the tourist info center and just as I had hoped, there was a map in the window and on the map was a red arrow with the words, "Sie sind hier." (You are here). So I told my dad that think I've found a solution and that the call was costing me $1/minute, then I hung up and turned off my cell phone.

After breifly looking at a map I plotted a course which I later realized took me through an area with no lighting, and began walking. I arrived at my cousin's apartment at 2:45am.

01-07-2005, 07:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
mirevolver Inspired by the mind's eye. Location: Between the darkness and the light.	Tell us your travel stroies Ran a search on this and got no results. So tell us a story of your travels whether it be good, bad, interesting, amusing or whatever. _______________________________ So to start, here's one of mine The Night in Berlin: While I was in Germany last summer, I decided to take a weekend trip to Berlin. I was able to work the trip out rather well because I have a cousin who has lived there for the past 20 or so years. So I was able to stay at his apartment and not have to pay a hotel for my stay and he was also my personal tour guide for the first day I was in Berlin. So it came to the last night I was there and my cousin wanted to do his usual thing and hang out at a bar across the street from his apartment. I on the other hand wanted to go out and have some fun. Unfortunatly for me it was a sunday and not much was open. But I decided to head over to Potsdammer Platz and see if something was open. When I got there, I found that a movie theater which played OF (Origional Format) movies. So after having spent the past two weeks speaking German, listining to people speak German, and watching German TV, I was quite excited to be ableto see a movie that was not dubbed over in German. I walked into the movie theater and bought a ticket to the next movie showing. Unfortunatly the movie was Harry Potter 3. But I really didn't care about that, all I really cared about was that it was in English. After the movie was over, it was 12:50am. Normally this would not have been a problem, except tonight was sunday night and I needed the U-Bahn (subway) to get back to my cousin's place. And the U-Bahn shuts down at 1:00am. So I quickly made my way out of the theater and out of the Sony center. Then I ignored a red crosswalk signal (I figured the German drivers would stop anyway, plus I was not the only one to ignore the signal). I dashed across an open area, crossed a smaller street and made it to the U-Bahn station. At that point, I and a couple of German girls also heading to the station, inconveniently noticed that the station had closed it's gates. I thought, no problem, I'll take the S-Bahn (elevated train). So I went to the S-Bahn station. Now have used the U-Bahn the entire time I was in Berlin, I did not know exactly which S-Bahn to take. After looking on a map, I figured I should go to Fredrich Strasse so I would be on the main S-Bahn line, and then figure out where to go. But first I needed a ticket. I walked over to the nearest ticket machine and went through the process of getting a ticket. I got to the screen displaying the fair, 2 Euros. I pulled out two 1-Euro coins and fed them into the machine; they dropped into the coin return. I grabbed the coins and put them back into the machine; again they dropped into the coin return. At this time a train entered the station, and as my luck had it, it was going to Fredrich Strasse. I hit cancel on the machine and then flew through the screens to get my ticket again. I once again returned to the fair of 2 Euros. Once again I fed the coins into the machine, one went through and the other dropped into the coin return. Determined not to miss the train, I grabbed the coin and slammed it into the machine. It was accecpted. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity of looking at the machine, then the train, then back at the machine, then at the train again; the machine finally printed my ticket and gave it to me. But I still could not get on the train. I had to have my ticket stamped by another machine. I ran over the stamping machin and stuck the ticket into it; nothing happened. While using a mixture of English and German to curse at the machine, I pulled my ticket out and put it back in. It stamped the ticket and I ran onto the train with the doors closing right behind me. I got off at Fredrich Strasse, it's now 1:20am and I look at the train map to figure out where I should ride the next S-Bahn to. I narrowed it down to two stops, and then selected one since the U-Bahn runs through there, and therefore I was familiar with that station. The next train headed that way came and I got on it and rode it to the station I had planned on. I walked out of the station and did not have a clue where to go from there. So I decided to go back into the station and take the S-Bahn back to the other station I had narrowed it down to. I made my way up to the platform only to find that I had just gotten off of the last S-Bahn of the night. At this point the exact words going through my mind were, "Ach, scheiße!" The time is now 1:40am and I'm wandering in the area around the station trying to figure out where to go. Fortunatly, I have a cell phone that works globally and I figure that this would be a good time to pay the $1/minute international roaming so I can call my cousin and figure out where I need to go. After looking through my pockets for his phone number, I realized that I left the paper with his number in my bag which was in his apartment. It's 1:45am and I come across a sign in English that says, "Tourist info center, 5min. walk." and on the sign was an arrow. I took off in the direction of the arrow figuring that they may not be open, but they might have a map of Berlin in the window. It's 2:00am and I still have not found the info center. At this point I realized that it's 6:00pm in the US where my dad is and so I'll use my cell phone and call him thinking that he would have my cousin's number. The phone conversation goes like this: (ring) My dad: Hello Me: Hi dad, you wouldn't happen to have (cousin's name)'s phone number? My dad: Actually, I don't. Aren't you supposed to be in Berlin this weekend? Me: Oh, yes, I'm in Berlin. My dad: Is there a problem? Me: No, no problem, it's 2:00am and I'm lost somewhere on the streets of Berlin, but other than that everything's fine. My dad: What do you mean by lost? Me: Well, I'm not exactly lost. I know exactly where I am and I know exactly where my cousin lives, I just don't know how to get from where I am to where he lives. My dad: Can you take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn? Me: They shut down for the night. The next U-Bahn runs at 4:00am. At this point I found the tourist info center and just as I had hoped, there was a map in the window and on the map was a red arrow with the words, "Sie sind hier." (You are here). So I told my dad that think I've found a solution and that the call was costing me $1/minute, then I hung up and turned off my cell phone. After breifly looking at a map I plotted a course which I later realized took me through an area with no lighting, and began walking. I arrived at my cousin's apartment at 2:45am. __________________ Aside from my great plans to become the future dictator of the moon, I have little interest in political discussions.