Warsaw and Berlin

Ah, once more through the Russian airport gauntlet. Wasn’t as bad as arriving, actually. And, due to time zones, our flight landed in Poland just 15 minutes after it took off in Russia. El Guapo and I almost didn’t get our luggage though. See, our next flight, leaving Warsaw for Berlin, was less than 24 hours from our arrival, so the stop was treated as a layover by the woman checking us in at the Moscow counter. We almost spent our few hours in Poland with no fresh clothes. However, we realized the mistake and convinced a porter to pull our bags. No worries.

We were on the bus for the hotel by 10pm. We were all checked into the hotel by about 11pm. After watching another episode of Lost (getting close to the end now), I was in bed by 12am. We were all checked out of the hotel and on the bus for our school appointment by 8am. What we got to see of Warsaw consisted of everything on the ride between said hotel and said school. I guess I’ll just have to watch The Pianist again. The school visit was nice – the provided plenty of coffee.

Déjà vu, back to the Warsaw airport, and then Tegel airport in Berlin, where just a few short weeks ago I adopted by pet rubber duck. I considered leaving him on the luggage belt for someone else, but just couldn’t part with him. Our hotel was right downtown again. The Anglo-Czech and I got the name and directions to a “typical” German restaurant and bar from the concierge. However, in the three lefts she gave us, she forgot to mention a right. We ended up walking quite a ways before coming to grips with this. An hour later than planned we found the Republique Berliner. It was worth it. Good hearty food and beer priced by demand, on a sort of stock-market system like I’ve seen once before at a place in DC. I had the Curry Wurst. Fusion cuisine at its best.

The next morning, yet another school visit, seminars, and a college fair. It was the best attended of the lot, and actually quite fun. Good students. Afterwards I said goodbye to the rest of the group. They were continuing directly to the airport to go to Nice and the ECIS conference. I was staying one more night in Berlin and flying to Oslo the next day. Back at the hotel, I used my solitude to get some catch-up work done, then went out to dinner. After that I joined a walking tour of the city that was recommended on WikiTravel. A group of about 40 walked to four consecutive bars and then took the train to a club. I met many interesting travelers – mainly the budget type, backpackers. Boy, if looks could kill, when I told them what hotel I was staying in for work…

The club at the end was exactly what you’d think of when you think “Berlin Nightlife.” They might have shot scenes from xXx there. Despite my reluctance to do so, I left my new friends early and took the bus back to my hotel. Actually two busses – the train was no longer running. I still don’t know how I managed to navigate that one with no mistakes. Sometimes I amaze myself. After some sleep, I was packed and off again to a new city.