One last day in Slov

My last day in Slovenia started off at such great heights. Literally.

As a special surprise for me, Mat had organized a flight over the Slovenian Alps in a little 4 seat passenger plane with his pilot friend Blaž driving. I was so nervous that my parents would kill me for flying with a new flyer, but I've broken the news to them (figured it'd be best not to do so in a public blog post), and I haven't been disowned, so that's good.

Our little plane!

Look at me! Such a boss!

Other than the worry for my life upon arriving in Vancouver, the trip "up in the air", as Mat kept calling it, was so awesome. Amazing views of the luscious Slovenian scenery that I never would have seen otherwise. My favourite views were when we flew over Lake Bled, with the sun sparkling over the water.

Flying over the "Slovenian Alps"!

Slovenia's highest peak.  We gave those mountain climbers a little wave with our wings.

Beautiful blues and greens

Lake Bled

After our flight, which was just under an hour, we drove to Lake Bled at ground level, and had the famous regional treat-invention of Kremčnita- literally translated as "cream slices". Basically two papery thing pastry layers with a big thick custard layer and a slightly less thick whipped cream layer tucked between, all dusted with icing sugar. Oh em gee. So yummy. And the beautiful lake backdrop only made it better.

SO GOOD

Me and Mat at the cafe

Blaž had joined us for dessert, but left shortly after, and then it was just me as the Mali brothers (Jakob had joined us for the flight). We spent our afternoon strolling along the lake shore, which was beautiful in the sunlight, surrounded by mountains, a quaint little island in the centre and ducks quacking all over the place. Really pleasant. Pleasant is the perfect adjective for that part of the afternoon.

Kathaumixw 2010

A recreation of the photo that started our friendship <3

 Back in Domžale, Jakob suggested we play in the yard with Mat's bow and arrows. In a splash of luck, coincidence and hilarity, I got a bullseye shot. To prove it was a fluke, Mat set an apple from a nearby tree on top of the target and bid me to hit it if I was so good. And I did. And then died laughing. The boys were both impressed, and I'd wager a little bit perturbed.

Just call me William Tell

After our dabble with archery we were joined by Mat's musical friend Neže (a classical guitar student at the Mozarteum in Salzburg) for lunch. Blaženka had made the kneudel soup again, salad from the garden, and a main course of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fried potatoes, and a breaded meat dish that she made with sesame seeds instead for my portion, which was so thoughtful of her!! Home cooked meals man. So good.

After dinner, Mat's parents went out, Jakob went upstairs to study, and Nat, Neže and I had some homemade tea and watched a video of a community star production Mat had starred in a couple years ago (the same summer we met at Kathaumixw, actually). It was sort of an epic, telling the story of how the salvo people's conquered the Romans. I got a sweet live English translation and quite enjoyed the play.

Later that night, after Neže had gone home to practice, Mat and I drove to te medieval town of Kamnik for a night walk. We climbed a hill to an old old castle, sat on the ledge and gazed out over the city, listened to the church bells to every quarter hour, and talked about life. It was such a nice way to wrap up my weekend.

On the drive back home Mat showed me a couple more sights, and then I said goodbye to his family, who would be gone to work/school when Mat and I woke in the morning. It was really great getting to stay with such a kind and friendly family. Made me miss home a little bit less!

The next morning Mat drove me to the airport, where I had to kill about 4 hours thanks to a delayed flight. Easyjet. You suck. It meant I had to forgo my original London plans, but also that I made some fun other ones. More on that later!

Caves, castles and coasts- oh my!

Saturday in Slovenia was packed with awesomeness. Mat and I had breakfast with his mum in the morning- I enjoyed cheese and prosciutto on my rice crackers, and we had fruit and poached eggs as well. I also had a delicious cup of Blaženka's homemade tea with flowers from her garden. Mat and I left the house around 8:30 and headed to Postojnka Jama- one of Slovenia's largest cave systems (of which they have nearly 10,000! And they're such a small country!!).

Mat and me on the train, entering the cave system!

It was a brand new experience. I've never seen anything like it- save for in movies and faked caves in Disneyland. We took a 20 minute train ride through tunnels and big open spaces, and then walked around the cave for 40 mins with an English our guide. We learned all about how the cave was formed, saw loads of stalactites and stalagmites- some of which resembled animals, objects, and famous buildings. We saw "galleries" of brilliant sparkling white features, and others turned red with iron. We climbed to the highest point of the cave and walked over the lowest. It was seriously incredible. The great hall where the walking portion of the tour ended had a reverb time of 6 seconds. And was huge. And kind of unreal. Just woah.

Me outside the cave

After the cave, and after a coffee fuel-up, we visited Predjama Castle, a 12th century fortress built into the mountain side. We did a little self-guided walk that took us up old stone staircases, through the rooms, to balconies with beautiful views of the valley below, and even deep into the rocks. It was super cool.

Predjama Castle.  Very cool

The water made me feel at home

Next up, we had about a 30 min drive to the coastal town of Piran. We listened to choir music, which was obviously sweet. Slovenian folk music is so good. Bok Daj Bok Daj!!!!!!!

Piran was just lovely. The sea is so my heart's friend. We just wandered along the shore, enjoying the sunshine and pretty harbour views. We were there for a couple hours I think, and then drove to the nearby coastal town of Pontorož for dinner. Afterwards, Mat popped us over the Slovenian/Italian border into Trieste, so now I can say I've visited 10 countries besides my own. Double digits baby!

Quaint Coastal Town of Piran!

That evening, after Mat had a quick snooze back home in Domžale (he did a lot of driving. It was totally deserved), we met up with his sister Urška, and Blaženka drove us all into Ljubljana. We went to a wine bar in the heart of town where you can sample over 700 wines from the region (of which I tried 2). We were joined by Sanja, and Urška's fiancé Žiga. We had some great conversations, both fun and philosophical, shared some laughs, and got a little drunk. We parted ways with Urška and Žiga, and Blaženka picked me, Mat and Sanja up and brought us back to the house, where we got to bed by 1:30.

All you need is sLOVEnia

Dragon Bridge in the heart of Lljublana

Well. I had a fantastic weekend in the beautiful country of Slovenia. Can't believe that London and a brief stop in Amsterdam are all that's left in my epic Euro-adventure!

I arrived in Ljubljana at about 2:30pm on Friday afternoon. The station was a bit bigger than I'd imagined it would be (good for you, Ljubljana!), and I had a brief "oh shit" moment of thinking I wouldn't be able to find Mat, but it all worked out. He had a car at the station- what a luxury, not having to cart my stuff around on a bus- and our first stop in Slovenia was a department store where I finally found a replacement for my dilapidated combat boots. And only 15€!!

Then we drove to Mat's home in Domžale, where I met his parents, Matia and Blaženka, and his younger brother Jakob. Blaženka had made us a lovely lunch. First the classic "comfort food" of soup- perfect for after travelling- with these little dumpling like things called "kneudels" floating around inside. Then we had some chicken and rice and I broke the news of my annoying gluten allergy. Blaženka immediately went out and stocked up on rice alternatives- the first of many kindnesses I received from this wonderfully sweet woman.

One of the rivers running through the town

This fountain represents the 3 rivers that run through Lljubljana

The hotel we stopped in for a drink at

After lunch/dinner, Mat drove us in to Ljubljana (only about 20 mins away. You can drive across the while country in 2.5 hours) to the music academy he takes voice lessons at. I was in for the treat of hearing Mat and fellow students give a short informal concert. It was lovely and Mat sounded great. At the end of the concert I met Mat's girlfriend Sanja, and the three of us took to the streets of the capital city, both locals pointing things out to me as we went. We crossed many bridges- my favourite the "dragon bridge", decorated with the city's animal mascot of sorts. We saw lively squares, beautiful churches, and ducked into the Art Nouveau styled "Union Hotel" for drinks. There was a Slovenian story-telling performance happening, which Sanja graciously translated for little old English me. (Have I mentioned how stoked I am to be headed to a country where my language is also their's? I won't feel like such a North American jerk anymore).

A little Ljubljana model!

Sanja had to duck home then for a quick study sess (med students. Just as busy in Slov as they are back home), but Mat and I had a bit more time to explore. He showed me some beautiful churches and a little mini model of Ljubljana where I attempted to get my bearings. Then we walked to his car, picked up Sanja and drove to the hockey rink in Ljubljana where Mat was reffing an evening rec league game. Sanja and I so enjoyed each other's company in the stands that I must admit we missed most of the action of the ice.

We chatted about all sorts of things, including Sanja's experiences singing with the World Youth Choir, which is something I'm really interested in checking out for myself. The game ended around 11:30, we dropped Sanja home, and after Blaženka checked that we were happy and had had a good day, we went to bed.

So much Salz

I succeeded in packing my day to the brim today.

View from a fortress tower

Alex and I got breakfast together at the buffet downstairs, and set out at around 9am- so right on schedule. We walked across the bridge to old town, and the fog had let up enough today to allow for some nice mountain views! The first thing we did was take the funicular up the cliff to visit the Salzburg Fortress. The views from up there were amazing!!!! Definitely worth it. We did a little audio-guided tour through the fortress and that was neat too.

Up on the roof at the Salzburg Fortress

We took the funicular back down, walked a little ways and then took the Monsburg lift up through the rocks to the Modern Art Museum. There were 3 floors to the exhibit. One called "open spaces, hidden places" that was mostly photography. Another that was really sparse and I can't even remember what it was, and a third that was "portraits" and had some really cool creative takes on the subject, like a woven tapestry portrait and a portrait made of thumbprints.

After our short visit to the museum, Alex and I headed back down to the street and went to see Mozart's birthplace together. It was a nice little museum- well organized and with good descriptions of what you were seeing, as well as authentic artifacts from the Mozart family. My fave was an original manuscript of "Dies Irae" from the Requiem. I was all- I've done that piece!! And just imagine standing in the room where freaking Mozart was born. Unreal!

Mozart's Birthhouse

We grabbed a quick coffee and then Alex had to leave to catch a train to Munich. I then headed to the Panorama Museum, where they had a special "The Real Von-Trapp" exhibit, as well as one that showed all the different adaptations of the story, in writing, in film, on broadway, and in all different languages. My favourite part was a little audio station where you could listen to "Favourite Things" in 12 different languages. Japanese was the coolest. After visiting the museum, I think I'd like to read the real Maria's autobiography, who was, btw, a second soprano. Holla.

Right next door was the Salzburg Museum, where I learned about the history of the city, looked at some paintings of mountains, and was introduced to Austria's first feminist.

Then I broke up my museum stretch with some shopping. Still no luck on new shoes, and my current ones are quite literally falling apart. My only hope is London, or that they last the next 6 days without crumbling off my feet.

My final destination was Mozart's residence, where along with wandering the rooms, you got an audio guide and listened to Mozart throughout. That was really nice.

I had dinner at the Heart of Joy cafe again. I know the food is good, and the prices are decent, so why not.

Gluwein with my new friend Kate!

At 6:00 I met up with Kate, and a new roomie, Jan, and we hit up the newly opened Christmas markets!!!! First we visited the smaller one at Mirabellplatz, and then made an evening of it at Salzburger Christkindlmarkt- the largest market in Austria. 100 stalls! We enjoyed a cup of gluwein (mine flavoured with apple and cinnamon- yum!) and then wandered through the stalls selling ornaments, spices, food, and enjoying the trees and beautiful sparkling lights. It was the perfect way to wrap up my time in this lovely city!!

Christmas Market!!

Sup Salzburg?

So Tuesday morning Beate extended her awesomeness and drove me to the Berlin-Tegel airport for my flight to Salzburg.

Foggy Salzburg

I arrived in Austria at around 2:00pm, and I must say, the surrounding greyness wasn't doing much for my mood. I caught a bus from the airport to the train station and on that ride I told myself, no sense in being gloomy, and was awesome instead. Really though. I just forced myself to smile, and soon I was just smiling! Try it sometime.

I got to my hostel and checked in and settled in. My room is so nice, and has a big ensuite bathroom with a real shower that I'm pretty excited to use. (Simple pleasures, people). I set out right away to it in some exploring before it got dark. I didn't have a purpose other than getting my bearings and killing some time really.

It didn't take long for me to realize that I loved this city. I think it has a whole lot to do with how much they love Christmas. Honestly, there is a wreath above every door, a display in every window. And I don't just mean retail shops. There were Christmas trees with glasses-ornaments at the optometrists. Salzburg goes all out my friends! I also caught an ad with the freaking brilliant news that the Christmas Markets open Thursday, which means I just catch them!

So much Christmas!

I stuck in "New Town" my first evening (the same side of the river as my hostel) since getting lost my first night in a new place wasn't something I wasn't interested in and was something that probably would have happened. I discovered a lovely little shopping street and hit up a few stores. It was my first time hearing Christmas tunes! Joy!

After my mini shop I found a little cafe for dinner called "The Heart of Joy" with, get this, G-Free specials!!!!! Dang! So I had the daily special, which was curried lentils with rice and it was delicious. It was also a huge amount so I was able to take some back to the hostel for lunch the next day. I had a Mozart Café, which was with caramel and organic whipped cream and slivered almonds, and came with one of the "Mozart Balls" that Salzburg is famous for.

Mozart Cafe

I got back to the hostel around 6:30 or so and met two of my roomies, Alex from Sidney, Australia and Gina from Seoul, South Korea (if only I was from Ottawa). We decided to all go downstairs together and watch "The Sound of Music" together in the "Amadeus Room" downstairs. T'was a lovely evening. We were joined by a couple other gals and we all sang along and had a lovely time.

I woke up at 9am this morning and squeezed in a few sites before my organized SoM tour. My first stop was the Salzburg Dom, or cathedral. I must say I was more impressed with the one in Berlin, but it was still opulent and lovely. I walked down the Getreidegasse- Salzburg's main shopping street. I slobbered over many an Xmas ornament, but so far I'm holding out for the "real thing" at the markets tomorrow night.

Back over the bridge, I visited the Mirabell Gardens and was particularly giddy to visit the little dwarves and Pegasus fountain that feature prominently in the "Do-Re-Mi" scene from SoM. At around 12:30 I went back to my hostel for a vote to eat, and met another Aussie named Kate in the lounge. We made plans to meet up in the evening, and then I headed out to meet my tour group.

They race through here during Do-Re-Mi!

Pegasus Fountain

Me in the Mirabell Gardens

In what is explained most accurately as an odd situation, I was put in a mini van with a family of 6, and just me. So Gma, Gpa, mum and dad, 16 yr old sister, 5 year old brother, and me. Haha. Weird. But our guide, Naomi, was cool and fun, and I was sitting up front with her, so it was all good.

Where the kids and Maria fall in the lake!

16 going on 17!

I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN ME!

During the tour we listened to the SoM soundtrack and sang along. We drove past many of the sites the movie was filmed at, and got out at some key ones to take pictures. My fave spots were the lake where Maria and the kids tip over in the boat, the gazebo where Leisel and Rolf sing "16 going on 17", and the lane that Maria runs down while singing "Confidence in Me". After seeing all the central Salzburg sites, we drove out to lake country to see where the picnic scene was filmed. We also visited "Mondsee" to visit the church where Maria and the Captain were married in the movie. I had a "crisp apple strudel" at the cafe across the street. I couldn't resist.

That was our last stop. We sang "So long, Farewell" and then Naomi was kind enough to drive me right to my hostel so I didn't have to walk back by myself in the dark. I met Kate in the lobby and we's meant to go to a museum, but my Frommer's book lied, and the 2 we had to choose from actually closed at 5 and not 8. Lame. So we just went for dinner instead, at a restaurant in Old Town called Zom Morhen that Mozart and Schubert used to eat at. Bam. I had a supremely delicious veal goulash. The meat was so so tender. I stayed away from the spätzle and schnitzel since I'd already cheated today. The goulash was so good though.

Tomorrow I am going to do EVERYTHING else on my list. It's a big one. It's gonna be a big day.

Salzburg by night- walking back into New Town with Kate

Ich leibe dich

Me at the Berlin Wall

After our morning nap early Sunday, Pauline and I set out to see the Berlin Wall before her shift started at "O2 World". We saw the part of the wall that has been turned into a gallery of sorts- that is, the remaining part of the wall has been reclaimed by artists and is like a series of murals. It was neat to see how different artists decided to use the space allotted to them. Seeing the wall up close also really cemented in how freaking crazy it was that that thing was running through the city for so many years.

Me and Pauline (repping Canada!)

When Pauline went off to fulfill her duties as an "O2 Angel" I explored the nearby area and eventually found my way to a little bakery/cafe where I enjoyed a mocha while catching up on my last France days in my journal. Pauline was off at 5pm, and we went back to her place for dinner with her parents before she had to head back to Leipzig. We had a yummy vegetable dish with zucchini and squash and stuff, and some seriously amazing lamb. It was really sad saying goodbye to Pauline!! We had picked up right where we left off, really enjoying each other, and it sucked to have to part ways so soon. Summer 2016 may be our next opportunity to hang out. She's a busy girl!!! Maybe I'll have to get back to Germany before then if she can't make it to Canada. ;)

Last night my schedule finally linked up with my bestie's. It was super excellent chatting with Kirst. Also had a good chat with my mummy. I got to bed by midnight, but still wasn't able to wake up at 8:30, like I meant to this morning. Luckily I still found time to do everything on my list even though I didn't leave the apartment til 10am.

My day started off with a wild goose chase in search of a post office. Despite early frustrations I was eventually victorious in shipping my Paris souvenirs off to Lisa in Amsterdam. I'm gonna have so much more room in my bag now!!

Berliner Dom

Next I successfully negotiated the transit system and reached "Museum Island". My original plan had been to go to the Neues Museum, but admission was quite hefty, so I instead hit up the slightly cheaper "Berliner Dom" and I was so glad I did! It was a beautiful cathedral, and I had the opportunity to climb the 267 (whew!) stairs up to the roof for a pretty sweet view of Berlin, fog and all.

Beautiful Dom

After the Dom I walked to Brandenburg Gate and took that in. Right near by is the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe- grey concrete slabs of differing heights. It's a different memorial from any of the others I've seen so far, and I think the idea behind it is that when you walk through the headstone like rows they just seem to go on forever forever, and they loom above you. Thought-provoking, to be sure.

Brandenburg Gate yo!

Jewish Memorial

I made my way to the "Topography of Terror", a free exhibit in the former SS headquarters detailing Hitler's rise to power, as well as his fall. This exhibit featured not just Jewish, but other ethnic political and otherwise victims of the Holocaust more so than any other exhibit I've seen. I think that's important, and I'm glad they gave that care in creating the exhibit.

Checkpoint Charlie

After walking through there, I made my way to "Checkpoint Charlie"- the most famous checkpoint from the times of divided Berlin. I also visited the Mauermuseum- the wall museum, that intriguingly was inaugurated before the wall even came down, and was a constant source of information for various events conserving the wall, from demonstrations to escape attempts. Probably the most interesting parts of the museum were the ones that detailed how people made it out of the GDR, or campaigns put on to reconnect families split up because of the east/west split. The English translations were kinda shitty, but other than that it was a neat place to visit.

It was dark when I left the museum at 5:30ish. That's definitely the crappiest part about traveling in the fall. I killed some time at Starbucks, and found a place I wanted to eat dinner at right near Pauline's place.

My farewell to Germany dinner at Mecker-Etz

"Mecker-Etz" is one of the oldest establishments in that area, and it's been family owned for 4 generations- which is a pretty big deal when you think about it. I got a harsh stare down from a table of old beer-drinking German men when I walked in. Not the most tourist friendly place, I gathered quickly. The waitresses were fine though. I had a Berliner Pilsner (so authentic) and off their Pauline-approved German food menu I got a meatball with fried potatoes that was to die for. Served with a yummy mustard and little side salad too.

I got back to Pauline's place around 8:30, which is right when Beate and Hagen were leaving to meet a friend for dinner. So I had the place to myself, and spend the evening catching up on journalling ad watching "Inglorious Basterds" for the first time. What a good movie!

When Pauline's parents got home, we had a farewell drink together of "Cuba libre" which is what they call rum and coke. It was so nice to just hang out in a real living room and have some friendly conversation. Before we knew it, it was 1am! So I said goodbye to Hagen, since I wouldn't be seeing him again, and we all went to bed.

Berlin Baby!

I've finally made it to Berlin to see my lovely girl Pauline. We realized it was the summer of 2011 that we first met, so not really that long ago-but with so many failed Europe trips under my belt, it feels like this one was forever in the making.

Sweetheart that she is, Pauline picked me up at the airport and we trained into Berlin together. Apparently people don't live in houses much here, but rather really lovely apartments, and Pauline's place is no exception. So cozy and so cool! It's got all these neat geometric angles in the white walls, built in bookshelves, and clever shoe hideaways. I seriously love it.

I joined Pauline and her parents, Beate and Hagen, for their "Friday Night Dinner" (a la Gilmore Girls) at "SoHo house" a fancyshmance club where Pauline's dad is a member. Pauline's family, with intense generosity, treated me to dinner and to drinks up on the rooftop bar afterwards. It was so nice to hang out in a family-type setting. Pauline and her mom are super tight like me and my mom are, so while it somewhat made me homesick, it also made me happy to see that daughter/mother bond in action. Pauline's parents are freaking cool. And so friendly.

I had a really interesting chat with them at the bar about what it was like to live in Easy Berlin, and how their lives changed when the wall came down. It's pretty crazy that just one generation away from mine and Pauline's experienced all that. They had some very intriguing things to say, some of which I'd never thought about.

After hanging out a bit longer at the bar, Pauline and I trained to another area of town to meet her friend Sophia and Sophia's bf Manni.

It was an adventure finding the place- a couple of the gate entrances were locked, so we had to go around the block to get in. It turned out that we were at a part art exhibition part bar space, and it was quite hipster and cool. The beginning of the exhibition was a projected video of a black guy in a white linen suit rolling around in a room with a floor entirely covered in white cups and saucers. Just rolling around on dishes. Then, eventually, he starts pouring coffee into the cups, across the walls, all over himself...then does some more rolling. Modern art man. Kevin and Walter would have peed their pants.

After checking out the exhibition we went into the bar area, which was kind of a grotto/maze like building, with worn down walls and skinny hallways and staircases leading to little rooms and cubby holes. The whole place was lit with candlelight. We had a drink there and danced a bit, and then trained home together and got to bed at 2:30ish.

The market near Pauline's house

Me and Pauline with our Gluwein

The next morning, Pauline and I joined her dad for breakfast. He'd made me a poached egg (Pauline is vegan right now) and the table was laid with bread, meats and a variety of different spreads and jams and things. When I asked if that was a typical German breakfast, Hagen told me it was "well, a typical Boßdorf breakfast". Pauline and I took our time getting ready, and eventually joined her parents at an adorable farmer's market right near by. Pauline explained that her neighbourhood is really in to organic living, and that showed in all the families it together buying produce for their dinners. Hagen treated the gals to a steaming mug of gluwein (mulled wine) that hit the spot on that crisp autumn day (have I mentioned how cold it is here? Negatives man. It's all about the layering).

Pauline and I continued our afternoon with a stroll through the area, popping in and out of stores and both buying "stirnbands" to protect our poor ears from the cold. They're apparently very trendy in Berlin right now. Check me out.

Love Berlin!

That evening, we met Pauline's friend Sebi for dinner in Kreuzberg, and went to a Mexican place. I had the peanut chicken with rice (more Thai than Mexican, no?) at Sebi's recommendation, and it was delicious.

After dinner, we met Sophia at an "off theater" to see a modern dance performance by a company she had recently joined. Oh Karley, be jealous. The theme of the show was "rebellion", and 3 distinct pieces explored the idea in equally neat ways. We three girls agreed though that the last dance was or favourite- and it also happened to be the one choreographed by Sophia's new teacher. There was a DJ'ed after party following the show, so we grabbed drinks
and got our dance on. People were being pretty modern and crazy in their movements, so that was super fun.

Our next stop (after a quick food stop) was Pauline's friend Anna's place, where a gang of her friends were together "pregaming". They were playing "boxi"- King's Cup. Gotta love the internationality of drinking games. They were all speaking German, but with the exception of Pauline's translating the "never have I ever's" I mostly got on just fine.

Because there were so many people there, there wasn't a lot of English being spoken, but I was totally content to just sip my machi-vodka and soak up the fact that I was hanging out like a real Berliner.

We left Anna's place around maybe 2 or so, at which point the night was still far from over. We made another stop for food, and then headed to "Suicide Circus" to meet Manni. We then made our way to "Watergate"- a club that would make Stefon from Weekend Update proud. Pauline said it was like, one of the coolest club ls in Berlin and definitely not easy to get into.

The view from Watergate

Except when you have mad connections that is!!!!! A friend of Manni's was friends with the DJ- or something- and had a list of fake names that were on the guest list. So amidst a bunch of German that sounded like complete gobbledygook to me, I was told "you're Mykke" and herded past the 2-3 hour lineup of people, exempt from the 15€ cover charge, and into the club with one of the best sound systems in the country (maybe in Europe? I can't recall) and a dynamite floor to ceiling view of the river.

We got in to the club at around 3:30am. Pauline was all "it's early...so the music isn't very good...it'll get better". Excuse me, it's early? Oh yes. So. I thought Amsterdam was crazy what with their bars being open til 4am. Sophia and Pauline couldn't even figure out the German word for "closing hours". They don't exist! The clubs open up on Friday night and JUST STAY OPEN. They just never close!!! Apparently one of Watergate's beat features is its Eastern facing windows, and everyone just dances the night away and then watches the sunrise fill the room with light.

Pauline and I in the wee hours

Well. The sunrise wasn't scheduled until 7:33 for Sunday morning, and Pauline had to work the next day, so we couldn't so that. We did, however stay until 6:30am, which means I went TO BED at 7am. Berlin man! It's frickin' crazy! It's frickin' awesome!