Herr Langton said to go to Dresden and Leipzig...

Be excited, be very excited--a train directly from Prague to Berlin! Not like the three trains from Krakow to Prague! We could set our bags down on the train once, and we would be whisked away to Berlin. At least that's what we thought. It would not be a typical travel day for the Antioch group if something didn't go wrong.
Initially, our train to Berlin was half an hour late, but at least it came. I settled into my window seat, looking forward to five hours of pure relaxation and silence. Even though I had articles to read for Germany, the only thing I wanted to do was write. And so I wrote for an hour and a half straight, and if you want to read the scenery-fueled nostalgic mess, see the next post. Anyway.
As soon as our train crossed the border into Germany, I became so excited! I was back in Germany! I was back in Germany! My countdown to Berlin was nearly over! For those of you who I got to talk to online while I was in Prague, you also knew what the countdown was, because I told you each time I talked to you. That was also when they stopped having the announcements in Czech and English. Soon after we crossed the border, the conductor came over the loudspeaker and said (in German) that the train was stopping in Dresden and not continuing on to Berlin. I went to the next compartment and told Iveta what the conductor had said, and she would not believe me, "No, our tickets say that this train goes to Berlin, we are not stopping." After I tried to reiterate that I was not making this up and that the train really was ending in Dresden, she still would not believe me. Fast forward five minutes. The conductor comes on again and says "Deutsche Bahn is striking today, and therefore this train will be ending in Dresden and then going back to Prague." I translate again, and this time another girl goes and tells Iveta, and Iveta listens to her. Between Iveta and I talking to the conductor, we learn that lo and behold, the train is stopping in Dresden, but there may be a train to Leipzig, and from Leipzig we may be able to get to Berlin. I take the blame for the Deutsche Bahn strike and for our travel plans getting so screwed up, because whenever I travel, someone goes on strike. It happened with Aer Lingus, so it was no surprise that it happened with Deutsche Bahn! And I had been so excited to get to Germany and start trying out my German, but we hadn't been in Germany twenty minutes, and I was burned out from using my very rusty German to translate between conductors and the group. I was not ready for this! But of course I was still crazily excited, trying not to sing and dance in the train. I was in Germany, on a train that was going on strike, I could *somewhat* understand what people around me were saying, and I would eventually be in Berlin--what could be any better!?
Once we got to Dresden, we basically ran to a train that would take us to Leipzig. Once we got to Leipzig, we had no idea what to do next, but we would be in Leipzig, which was supposedly one step closer to Berlin. This train was a regional train from Dresden to Leipzig, and was not ready for the passengers of a large international train to come on at the last minute. So everyone going to Berlin piled onto it--baggage in the aisles, people on top of baggage, people on top of people, it was beautiful. We had about ten people plus our obscenely oversize luggage crammed into the entrance of the car. But as we were pulling away from the station in Dresden, we went passed the opera house in Dresden, which was all over our German textbooks. I got really excited, and people laughed at me. Once we left Dresden, the scenery was still rather beautiful, and I didn't have to look out the windows...I mean there was a gorgeous guy who was crammed into the entrance with us, and he spoke perfect English and was incredibly nice. The problem with being where we were was that anytime the train stopped, we prayed that no one would want to come on because that would mean we would have to rearrange all of our stuff and cram even more people into the already overcrowded space. I groaned whenever they said "Austieg rechts" (right, my side of the train) and breathed a temporary sigh of relief when it was "Austieg links" (the left side). After another part of the car cleared out, Joanna and Ashley took their stuff and ran to the other part when we pulled into a couple of stations. I eventually found myself holding some of Mahina and Ashley's stuff, as well as trying to corral my swivel suitcase, and I just jammed myself into the corner and put my sweatshirt against the wall and slept. I had not been able to eat anything since breakfast, I was on three hours of sleep, and I was tired of translating. Feed me and I'll translate, darn it!
Once at Leipzig, we ran to another train that would take us to Berlin, and we still haven't figured out why these last two trains were running if Deutsche Bahn was on strike. I don't remember much of the last train. I was tired, and the floor was the most comfortable train floor ever. I was a little irritated at this point, because I just wanted to relish being back in Germany and savor the moment, but instead I had to deal with grouchy train attendants and other grouchy people. We were all grouchy. But my mood soon changed...
Oh BERLIN!!!!!!!! I kind of like Berlin right away! Despite the fact that we had to take three more S-Bahn trains to get to the restaurant where we would have dinner and meet our host families. The restaurant was an Indian restaurant called Assam, and it is my new favorite Indian restaurant. I looked at the menu and realized that I could read it! And then I had no problem ordering in German! And they had Spezis! My first time having a real Spezi in Germany!!! Oh my gosh, what could be better?! Even more excitement! A Spezi is a German drink that is basically Coca-Cola and orange Fanta, and is the only way I will ever drink Coke. Danke, Herr Langton. The food was amazing, and even though I can't remember what was in it, go to Assam and ask for #17 and a Spezi, and you will have found happiness in Berlin!
On the other hand, I was rather nervous about the homestays; or rather, choosing my homestay. Our site coordinator, who is totally amazing and does things her way, has us choose our homestays. She has a list of families, their neighborhoods, how many students they take, and the vegetarian/pet/smoking situation. At this point in the trip, I kind of wanted to stay in one of the few one-student homestays, mostly so I could practice German and explore and experience Berlin entirely for myself. There was one homestay in particular that was in Kreuzberg, was a single woman, wanted one student, was a vegetarian, didn't smoke, and had a cat. Perfect. So I chose Sabine.
As I was getting my luggage together, the waiter randomly asked Sabine if I was American, when I shocked him (and Sabine too) by answering in German. He kept asking questions, and wouldn't let us leave until the general story had been established that yes, I was an American student, I was from Chicago, I speak a little German, and I will be in Berlin for two weeks.
Sabine had plans for the evening, so after she left I collapsed and had the apartment all to myself. I basically have the front of the flat to myself, with my room (which is her son's room) and the living room with the t.v. Oh the television! I have not watched t.v. since coming to Europe, so I just spread out on the couch and watched t.v. It felt so, so good just to sit in front of the one-eyed monster and let my brain... Zack, you can watch Nickelodeon here, but you might not like it because it is German and has SpongeBob. Everyone else: remember the awesomely bad '90s shows like "Pete and Pete" and "Clarissa Explains It All"...I never thought that my first night in Berlin would give me flashbacks...in German...