Trip cancelled, now the second great escape begins
Welcome to Berlin, this was meant to be one of my resting stops mixed with a ton of history in a city well known for many things. I had a ton of exploring planned out, some possible day trips and other things planned. I had a great little Airbnb sorted that was a small apartment to myself. The set up was perfect, but alas, everything went to shit overnight. I woke up that Saturday morning in Hamburg ready to go to Berlin and woke to a world suddenly in chaos. So once I arrived in Berlin, I ended up spending most of my time there trying to cancel my trip, on the phone to airlines and then staying in the apartment avoiding people as much as possible.
So, arriving Saturday, I spent that day and Sunday on the computer and on the phone. By Monday I was sick to death of it and went out to try and at least see some of the city and managed to get on the Big Bus Hop on and Off tour. Again, I had a great guide who was conducting the tour and it was only 3 of us there. I managed to get a great overview of the city and had a battle plan to see places the following day. This was not to be as that night, all tours were suspended and I suspect most of those lovely guides and organizers I met on Monday probably lost their jobs (2 already had at the end of the day on Monday) With everything basically closed, I resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to really see anything more of this city and that the next few days I would just hide in the apartment.
The good thing about the area that I was staying in was that there were 3 or 4 mini supermarkets nearby and my apartment had decent cooking facilities so I could save money by cooking and avoid going out to eat. It also had a washing machine, so I was able to wash all my clothes as well. Netlfix and the ability to battle in Go Battle League plus having a Pokestop right where I was staying kept me occupied for the next few days. I even managed to start sorting through my trip photos. I did take a small walk down to the park and to Brandenburg Gate but apart from that I didn’t go out much at all.
With Berlin being the point of my trip where everything halted, I didn’t really get much time to reflect, again being to busy trying to secure passage back to NZ was my main goal and then just forgetting about everything and zoning out while watching movies or playing games. My trip back to NZ begins by getting back to London, then flying to Korea, Japan and finally Auckland. The great escape 2.0 indeed.
Marcus Powell has been living and working in South Korea since 2010. He is now on the road before returning back to NZ. Aside from writing his own blog, he is also a popular Club DJ, Gamer, Community manager, esports fan and anime enthusiast.
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