I'll Be There Dreckly: Exit Germany

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Exit Germany

Berlin, Germany to Amman, Jordan, via Gatwick, England!

So last time I let off at a point where my brother and I were about to exit Germany - him to go home, and me to fly to Jordan, but it was to be a little drama filled...

Waiting for the train that didn't arrive

The last morning in Berlin we looked up the train times to the airport for later, to allow Chris to get to his flight home in plenty of time, and knew we had to be back at the hostel by 3.30pm to catch the train there. At around 3pm a little way across town, we went to get the subway back to the hostel, only to find it wasn't running on that route due to maintenance, so had no option but to walk back instead and therefore missed the first train to the airport. No problem we thought, plenty of time still. He got his bag from the hostel and we then went to the station, but once on the platform, despite it clearly showing 'airport' on the screen the train simply didn't turn up. A problem. We went to the ticket office to check, who told us another train was due in half an hour and where to go, which was pushing things tight but he could just catch the flight if he ran. And low and behold, despite doing everything right, that train didn't turn up either. It was very strange, and we couldn't seem to get an explanation from anyone for it. But that was it - Chris missed the flight - a bad end to a good week. He eventually got to the airport, and had to pay £70 to catch the next one.

In the meantime, my passport was ready for collection in the Indian Embassy - I'd had to leave it there for a few days to apply for a visa to visit, and you can only collect them between 4.30 and 5.30pm. I was flying later that evening so HAD to get it back. But because I couldn't have just abandonned my brother amongst the problems, I was now running very late. Two subway trains later, and a half mile sprint later, I got to the embassy at 5.25... Phew, disaster just averted.

I managed to get to the airport with plenty of time, to find my brother was on the same flight as me. Which might sound odd since he was going home, but the reason for this was that the only sensibly priced flight for me to get to Jordan was via Gatwick, England with easyJet - everything else was nearly twice the price. I was going home, but not going home!

The flight was fine bar a very sketchy landing, and after collecting my bag I said my goodbyes to Chris and went to wait for my connecting flight in the morning. After nearly four months away, I was on English soil - It was a very strange feeling I tell you, partly because I was only there for nine hours. I had mixed feelings about whether I should have left a gap between my next flight and gone home for a few days, but rightly or wrongly decided not to. It would interrupt the flow of this trip, and wouldn't feel right. If I'm away, I'm away. My consolation was a splurge in the airport Marks and Spencer for a taste of home. I then found myself a row of seats and settled down for the night... for I was sleeping in the airport!

Gatwick Airport, a very odd view. Looks like I'm wearing a skirt. I'm not.

Final thoughts on Germany

I got thinking about my time in Germany. In all I've spent just over a month there on this trip, and it's been fascinating. Whilst I've met and chatted to many Germans, I've not felt I've managed to get under the skin of the country as much as I'd have liked to, to really understand the people and culture. I think I was spoilt in that respect in Sweden. But I've seen enough to realise that the Germans are really not as different to us Brits as you might think. The country isn't as over organised, serious, and expensive as the stereotypes say. The people are friendly and have a sense of humor. Germany being expensive is a bit of a myth - German products we see at home are often expensive, but that's because they're of a superior quality. With normal stuff, I felt the costs were pretty similar to the UK, though supermarket food and beer is cheaper. Of course in terms of common backpacking places, it isn't by any means cheap.

I only found a few areas where the scenery was particularly interesting, but there is a real depth of history, and loads of interesting stuff to see. The weather has put a bit of a downer on things sometimes though, with some of the cold and wet spells and I must say it made me question why I was doing this trip the odd time. Which looking back really meant, questioning why I was in a cold country similar to home, when I could be somewhere hot and different. No regrets though, it really has been great.

Anyway, back to the airport. I managed to sleep surprisingly well for five or six hours, given that I was lying across a row of seats. I was pretty paranoid about the security of my valuables whilst I slept, so put everything in my pockets, got inside my sleeping bag liner, and it all ended up fine. The next morning I went to departures, and boarded the plane - next stop, Jordan. We flew back over Germany, then down over Slovakia, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus and Israel, and finally started descending over very different scenery - the scrubby desert of the Middle East.