Note: This is an old post from a magazine I co-ran (Killer Queen). I’ve since lived in Berlin, so it’s interesting to look back at my first solo visit there!
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Last week, I was supposed to be going on holiday to Berlin for a few days with a friend of mine. We’d booked the trip last minute, literally the Wednesday before the Sunday we were going to go. I’d been in need of a holiday for a while, having not really had a “proper” one for quite some time and having had a hectic year.
Unfortunately, 2 days before we were due to go my friend came down with adult chicken pox. There was no way she could fly and despite our best efforts to get someone to fill her place — it was too expensive to change and too last minute. I faced the decision — cancel the holiday or go on my own?
I’d always loved Berlin and been fascinated with the place, and, although absolutely gutted my friend couldn’t enjoy it with me, was scared and excited about the prospect of going on my own, exploring and having a mini adventure. Berlin is a safe city so I knew I’d have no problems there, and we’d booked a hostel that had been recommended so I knew there’d be other people around. I took my Kindle in case I would need to fill time but in the end I barely needed it.
Setting off to the airport it didn’t seem real, until the plane set off and I realised I was really going. Now, to some people it might seem the most normal thing in the world to travel alone, to others, strange and unusual. I was worried about what people may think but more so it became a personal challenge and an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up, I’m comfortable enough in my own abilities to know that I’d be able to handle it and have fun. The city I live in can get very cliquey, so it was a huge relief to have some time away.
As soon as I landed in Berlin, I became too confident and walked straight past the Airport Express train I was supposed to get and hopped on a local train that stopped everywhere. I got off at the wrong stop, so got lost and ended up changing twice on the U-Bahn to get to my destination of Alexanderplatz.
I didn’t really mind all that much as I think it’s good to get lost somewhere to test your directional abilities! Upon arriving in Alexanderplatz, I was well and truly lost. I found it difficult to follow the Hostel directions and asked a local couple, who didn’t speak English. I was able to say ‘I speak a little German’, (I’d been learning a lot the previous weeks but lost all confidence when faced with native speakers!) and so hopped in a taxi, who, unfortunately for me, also didn’t speak a lot of English. When he realised where I was going he said it was 5 minutes away, but after seeing my exhausted demeanour agreed to drive me.
Arriving at the hostel, I was tired, down (from getting lost) and a bit dismayed — but was welcomed with open arms, a lovely room with a balcony and a free drink token. Not wanting to waste my first evening and give in to my fear of further experiencing a minor set back, I headed off to the hostel rooftop bar. Being able to connect to the wi-fi was a god send as it meant I wasn’t just sitting alone with nothing to do, but after 10 minutes or so I didn’t need it as I started talking to another lone traveller from Seattle. After an hour or two we joined onto a group of Canadians and Americans who had joined together and decided to go to a local bar. This was the first time I’d ever really felt old and out of place as they were all younger than me and backpacking round Europe but not once did they make me feel that way purposely, and I was determined to enjoy it. Once you get talking to people from other places, you realise that things aren’t so different. I got caught up in conversation with a girl from Montreal about her friends, and it could have been my own.
Meeting people came in handy, as we agreed the next day to meet up and go on a city tour.
Hungover and excited, we travelled together on the U-bahn to our destination of Brandenburg Gate. Stopping off in a Starbucks for breakfast (which was not my idea) came the obligatory ‘Do you have these where you live? How do you say this?’ questions. It was great. The tour was amazing — I got to experience a narrated talk of the city from places I’d already seen last time around but had no context but my own. We walked past the famous Checkpoint Charlie, museums, Berliner Dome, the stretch of the Wall, the University where Einstein lectured and many in between. The tour ended with the tour guide (who was lovely and from Sydney) inviting us all to the pub — being the only one from my original group going I didn’t mind, and again got speaking to even more lovely people I knew I’d never see again which made it all the more enthralling. After an amazing lunch (sausage salad and fried potatoes) I bounded off to explore on my own and found myself at the historical museum.
One thing I must note about Berlin is it is a city unafraid to show its chaotic past. It’s seen so much sadness, and yet it’s one of the happiest places I’ve been. It’s got such a free spirit (does that sound cliche? I bet everyone says that about Berlin). It’s new to me because I went there as a history-buff, I didn’t expect or know about it’s arty/post-wall coolness until I was there.
I thought I’d test my German skills and headed off to a supermarket to buy cigarettes. In the UK we get 20 cigarettes a pack, so that’s what I asked for, in German, ‘zwanzig Malboro Lights bitte’, to which I was greeted with confused faces and after 5 minutes a lady bringing me 20 packs of Malboro Lights. Apparently you only get 19 in a pack there. The staff were lovely about it and found it pretty sweet, but I’ll know not to get ahead of myself again and just ask for one next time!
Walking back to the hostel the same way we came as a group, knowing my way was great — I didn’t once feel lonely, I felt safe and excited to explore the sights around me. And I managed to fit in some Kindle reading on my balcony (greeted by other people waving to me from theirs!)
Thinking I was just going to have an early night I went off to find some food — this was again the first time I’d eaten alone but it was actually therapeutic, and nice to be able to sit without talking. Going back up to the hostel bar to use the wi-fi I ran into two women from the UK who’d just arrived, and, despite being exhausted, decided to make the most of my last night and go out with them. As much as I’d enjoyed meeting people from other places, it was nice to have something in common and become friends with people I knew I’d hopefully see again. We set off to the district we’d heard had the most bars, Kreuzberg, and found a tiny bar with no one in (but great cocktails!), called CAKE. After this, we merged with a group of Icelandic chaps and happened upon a little gay bar, which was one of the best places I’ve ever seen. The walls were a fluffy pink, there were items sellotaped to the ceiling, chandeliers with disco balls and sparklers for the punters to light, and more. To top off the night, the friendly taxi driver explained about where the Berlin Wall was all the way back to the hostel.
My last day I had semi-reserved for some alone exploration time. I first visited the DDR museum (which shows life in East Berlin) and then I settled myself in a little cafe with some cake and my Kindle. I headed off to the Holocaust Memorial for the second time of the trip, having arranged to meet people there (who unfortunately ran late, but it was OK), so I went down into the information center. Giving a detailed insight into the Holocaust, it had 6 rooms. Very silent, each person on their own little journey, it was incredibly moving. The room that got to me most was a room with lit up floor panels showing excerpts from letters written by prisoners. One particular written by a mother, writing to her children, knowing she was going to die, it was written in a way that my own mother would have written it and was something I could then relate to. That was the key with this place — even if it didn’t directly affect you, you could find some familiarity in the way that humans communicate and therefore it spoke to you in it’s own way. I definitely would recommend anyone to go there.
Time to head back to the airport, and get the correct train this time. In Berlin, there are no turnstiles or ticket barriers, and I’d not once seen a ticket inspector until this train. He was seemingly undercover, and spoke to me in German. Assuming he was asking me for information or money, I politely turned my head and said ‘Entschuldigung’ (‘sorry’ in German), to which he replied in an irritated tone, ‘TICKET!’, woops! He was lovely once he realised I was actually just an ignorant traveller and not thinking I wasn’t in need of a ticket.
Flight delayed due to lightning and thunder, I was stuck in the airport with the most annoying passengers ever. One woman with unruly, loud children and a couple next to me eating loudly and chatting about how much they could party. There was a brief moment on the plane with turbulence where it turned into something similar to the plane scene in Almost Famous, but we were all good in the end.
As soon as I landed, I wanted to go back. I suddenly felt like in just 3 days I’d experienced so much in somewhere that felt like home that Leeds had somehow changed and I’d grown. Maybe that’s what’s supposed to happen.
So, first holiday alone done, I now feel like a certified adult. I’ll definitely be going back to Berlin with some friends/family next time, but I wouldn’t ever rule out travelling alone again.
