The train from Amsterdam to Berlin was easy going, as all of my long distance train rides have been but as I entered Berlin HBF Station I was met with lighting and thunder …a premonition for the issues to come as I entered Germany’s Capital.
I have now navigated the metro in London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam but none of that gave me the knowledge necessary to deal with Hauptbahnhof. The signs are intelligible and the station a labyrinth of escalators. I spent far too much time walking in circles looking for the tram to my new place. Exhausted and irritated with walking in circles I found the tram but that was not to be the end of my long day. The rain was coming down in sheets as I made my way out to the tram station across the street when a misstep and a slip retched my left knee and took me soaking to the ground, already an injured knee on the mend it now sparked with pain. Now standing in the tram, soaking and in pain I try and navigate the ticket system. I’ve found that, at least in Berlin, knowledge of the German language is a must, there is little in the way of instruction in English. Gazing at the hieroglyphics I simply buy a ticket that I hope pays my way to my destination. But the day wasn’t over, the final stroke for my knee came as the tram made a sharp turn and I stupidly was in the cross section of the tram, so as the tram turned the floor rotated on my left side opposite to my right twisting my knee once more.
I did make it to my new room, limping up 6 flights of stairs but I’m afraid that I may be a bit limited in movement over the next few days. I hope that Berlin isn’t too big and has a lot of elevators and escalators.
Going East 