So I've just returned to normality after one of the most amazing weeks of my life - seven night in Berlin with a girlfriend.
Everyone that I've spoken to about travelling to Berlin for my first time all the said the same thing "Oh my god it's so amazing you're going to want to live there" and I would smile and move on but MY GOD - I need to live there.
After a long and sweaty (we arrived in the middle of a heatwave) trek to find our hostel, we open the front door to our new week long home and breathed a sigh of relief. The hostel room itself was the best room I've ever stayed in - including hotels. Instead of the tiny dim lit box room with two twins beds I was expecting, we opened the door to find a double height original windowed bright and spaceous room. Still as basic as a hostel should be but lovely, large enough to find around 20 people in! The first thing E and I said as soon as we walked in was "we need to have a hostel party".
We get showered and dressed along with a few G and T's and a couple of Timberlake classics and we were ready to go out. Our original idea was that it would probably be a relatively quiet one as we didn't know anyone and we didn't know any of the places to go out so we thought we'd just do a little bit of bar hopping to check the city out. We decided to walk through the hostel bar on our way out to check for potentials and within two seconds we found ourselves introducing ourselves to group of Australian guys.
All of them lovely. One of them h o t.
A few drinks (and several shots) later and we've found out they're on an all around Europe trip and that it's their last night in Berlin. Their next stop is Prague, and then they're off to London the day after we fly back to London. Convenient.
"Well if it's your last night tonight then we have to do it big!"
"And when you arrive in London we have to take you out and show you the rights places."
After several more shots, a few long island ice teas and an australian lingo lesson (my earrings were described as "bloody rippa mate!" - what that means is anyone's guess) we were on our way to our first night out. After a quick Jack Daniels stop on the way, we were in queue for what can only be described as Berlin's version of Oceana. I deliberately don't go to Oceana so I knew I had to expect a night of chart hits and euro bangers but E looked at me, laughed, and said the sentence that soon became our week's motto - "think YOLO, it's Berlin".
After spotting the poster behind the bar - !2 4 1 DRINKS ALL NIGHT! - I started thinking maybe the night wouldn't turn out to be so bad. Several drinks and an equal amount of paint stripper shots later and the night was turning out to be fantastic. After blagging our way into the stage cage - there was actually a stage cage - and I was loving life (and one of the Australians).
The next few hours were a mixture of shots, dancing breathlessly and avoiding foreign men who thought our firm "NO!" was the drunk version of "yes please". Hot Aussie saved me a few times though so I suppose it wasn't all for nothing.
Finally at 8am and we stumble back to our hostel, but not before attempting to start aother party in the reception. After the receptionist manages to shoo us away for the last time, I go up the stairs with E to our room, all the time slurring "why didn't I get off with the hot guy?"
Oh well, there is a whole week of opportunities ahead of me.
Back in our room and E's just got in the shower. Someone knocks on the door. "It's probably one of the staff coming to tell us off for being too loud" I laughed. "Oh... Is this your room? How strange.. I thought it was my room" The hot Australian guy was stood outside my door, smiling and lying through his teeth.
I didn't mind though. Day one of Berlin was turning out alright.
