Day Two - International Refugee Tribunal Against Germany

It`s the first official day and I`m wrecked.  I got hardly any sleep last night and when I finally got into a dep sleep it was time to get up. Not a good time.

I liked our hostel (review coming later) and wouldn`t have minded staying longer. But Trudie had aranged for us to stay with a friend so we were off to find her.

We got the tram to the centre which is called Alexanderplatz (something to do with a TV tower or something like that.) We wandered around and I foolishly missed a step and got laughed at by some Germans. Its a gift to be able to embarrass yourself no matter where you are. Silly clumsy me.

Eventually we found Ruth and she took us to her house where we had lunch then it was off to the Trubunial.
The tribunial was called the International Refugee Tribunial Against Germany and Ruth was preparing food so tagged along. Trudie is more into the activist way of things but I found it very interesetzing and some of the stories were verty sad. Looks like ill be more grateful for my life from now on.

http://rassismustoetetkampagne.blogsport.eu/files/2013/06/tribunal.png

After the tribunial we went on the hunt for Falafle and I found a Sushi plce (nom). Then it was back to the house for sleepy time.

Day 1: The good the bad and god damn confusing!

So today was a roller coaster  not literally but you know what I mean. I barely slept with either excitement or anxiety of the bad kind I'm not sure which. Either way today was the day. I was finally heading to Germany!

There is a list of things that went wrong.
1: Like all trips I had that "There is something I am forgetting to pack" feeling.
2: My bus was late which made me almost think I had missed it which would have been slightly imposible since I was there freakishly early. As I always am.
3: I got an email from the hostel we had booked in Berlin telling us they had made a mistake and over booked us so no private rooms were available so we had to get a dorm. Not the end of the world I know but still we would have had rathered not  to be waking people up with our late arrival.

And all that was even before we got to the airport!

We got to the airport and did all the la de da dossing around the lounge until our gate opened, and what do we find? Our flight was delayed and everyone was having a mini freak out. I didn't mind the extra wait really. But according to the flight attendants we were heading to Brussels when we boarded. No I didn't get on the wrong flight! I got the window seat!!! Seriously Trudie didn't understand my excitement.

I love the window seat I get to see the towns and cities as just little dots and I feel free (not safe but free).

We even made some friends on the plan, Northern Ireland people headed to Berlin for a few days of drinking. He even invited us out with them but we refused we were so tired all we wanted was our beds. After 2 hours of talking with the guy and laughing and smiling at an adorable toddler who loved our attention, we landed in Berlin. Trudie clapped >.<

It was dark and we were lost, we got our bags and followed the crowd. The Metro is similar to the Dart back home and the Tram is the LUAS, so It was pretty handy to use except when the ticket machines were in German and we just pressed random buttons not realising there was an English function.

Hallelujah for Google Maps! I turned the internet on on my phone even though it would cost a bomb but we were a tad bit lost after getting off at the wrong tram stop. Nearly walked past the hostel too, whoops. The guy in the hostel was so nice, He had stayed in late until we arrived, he booked us into our room and then sent us off in the direction of a supermarket. Damn food here is expensive, or maybe we just aren't used to it.

So we ate and had a chat with an Australian guy who is doing 11 months travelling, he was so nice and suggested we visit Poland while here too since its not too expensive to cross the borders. Maybe we might, you know "crazy magical adventures" in Europe and all.

Finally it was bed time but the bloody 24hr tram line was right outside our window and because it was 23 degrees.......I didn't menton the heat did I? Holy crap 23 degrees at 11 at night :O We were boiling!....the window was open so it was full volume so I got barely any sleep.

Anyway on to day 2!!

What is Helpx??

After making the decision to start this blog I got the infamous writers block. What do I write about? Where do I begin? So I decided to tell you about Helpx before my adventures and experiences with it begin.

I had never heard of Helpx before my friend Trudie mentioned "crazy magical adventures" in Europe, her exact words, (yes she's a bit mental and I'm sure there'll be a lot of that on this trip.) As unemployed students I was wondering how we could afford to travel and thats when she mentioned Helpx.

Helpx is a website community where "Hosts" post profiles about what type of work they need help with and "helpers" reply and arrange to go help them in exchange for food and a place to stay. Fair trade right?

The majority of people who use Helpx live on farms or in old houses that need restoring, which they as a family do themselves and with helpers. Along with helping out the families you get to explore the surrounding areas and because it's mainly farms that means the countryside away from the big touristy city areas, so its pure culture.

Obviously I was a bit apprehensive about going to stay with strangers in a remote location in a country that I didn't know the language of but knowing that I would be with Trudie made it sound so amazing I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to do it. We decided on Germany, mainly because neither of us had been.

Using Helpx is easy, we searched through the Host's profiles and added some to our favourites and then  went through them together deciding who to email and who just weren't for us. Almost immediately we had a reply from a Host we contacted, a family in a place called Lychen. A friend of Trudie's had already stayed with this family so it seemed like a good place to start.

So our adventure planning had begun......we were going to Germany!!

www.helpx.net/‎