This is a very basic summary of my flight over to Berlin. Notice how there is very sleep involved? That’s because I didn’t sleep for about 30 hours, with time changes accounted for. It was quite possibly the most exhausting trip I’ve ever been on.
I met up with Mo in SFO, said good-bye to the parents (was confused that Muth didn’t cry, because she normally does at things like this), and made our way through security. It only look about 10-15 minutes to get through, and then the waiting game began. We had about 2 hours until our flight departed, so we sat at the gate, reading each other random German phrases from our respective phrase books (hers, something helpful like grocery items. Mine, the Dirty German book that awesome Isabelle got for me). A few minutes later, we heard these three people talk about classes, and one sounds exactly like the class both me and Lana are taking, so our ears perk up, and we finally ask if they are also going to study abroad in Berlin. They were, and that’s how we met L, B, and J! (I so hope someone gets that obscure history reference)
The first hour of the flight went by super quick. I read about 40 pages of Homo Faber, which was finally beginning to pick up… but then I did something stupid. I checked the time. Having realized that an hour had passed, I managed to convince myself that the rest of the flight would go by wicked fast. Why is it that the delusions we tell ourselves are always the hardest to face once their entire falsehood comes to light?
Three and a half hours into the flight, the lights turned off and people shut their windows. Darkness. No more reading. So, I turned to the TV and watched Invictus – which was incredible, both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were spectacular, though Matt Damon seemed to have a hard time sticking with a South African accent, and occasionally sounded British and/or Irish. The movie was made worse by the fact that the woman in front of me had leaned her seat back, however I could not lean my seat back for some unknown reason, so I had to scout down in order to see the screen. Alas, two and a half hours passed, and I could see the sunlight peaking out from the windows, though no one was opening them. I got irritated by this lack of light, and opened the window on the emergency exit. Being surrounded by people sleeping soundly, and not being able to sleep yourself is quite frustrating. Eventually, the lights came on and we were served breakfast. At that point, it was about 18 hours since I had slept, and I started to feel nauseas, so I skipped the airplane breakfast (and rightly so according to Mo). We made a rather shaky landing a little over an hour after that, and had finally arrived…. In London.
Our layover was only supposed to take 2 hours. And we were not prepared for having to take a bus to our terminal, or having to go through a very hot, sticky room to go through security again. We met up with B in security, but had no idea where L and J were. The three of us went to a pub and I ordered a real English breakfast. As Mo can attest to, I was thoroughly enjoying my meal. At one point I was so immersed in the delicious foods, I completely missed about half of the conversation. This was also the first time the three of us had legally ordered alcohol – which was thoroughly unexciting. I got a Blackthorne Cider because it was the cheapest drink by volume, and it was British. It was also one of the most delicious things I have ever had to drink!
Unfortunately, after our meal, we discovered that our flight was delayed, and that no matter where we went in the terminal, we would have to pay for internet. So we rushed to try and get all three of our parents/loved ones emailed before rushing off to our gate – our flight decided to arrive about three minutes after we discovered the 10 minute computer stations. On the flight from London to Berlin, I had probably been awake for about 26 hours, and so I was able to sleep. And by sleep I mean surreptitiously pass out for minutes at a time, while still being alert enough during moments of consciousness to assure my German neighbors that I would be able to move out of the way should they need to leave the aisle. At one point, I woke up and everyone had sandwiches. When I woke up again, all the sandwiches were gone. Perhaps the sandwiches were just a figment of my delirium.
We were able to find a cab at the airport, though he didn’t speak any English, so it was a rather awkward cab ride. We were driving through a pretty industrial part of Berlin, so there was nothing too exciting to look at. Though I do think that my favorite part of Berlin, so far, is the vast amounts of architectural styles. Every building has a different style, from a different era. Almost all the buildings are either disintegrating, being remodeled or are brand new and modern. It’s fascinating. As I learned from the cab driver the next morning, this is because the war ended for Berlin in 1989, and they are still trying to rebuild the city from then. However, the tale of the incredibly awesome cab driver will have to wait… Until next time…
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