Sunday, July 31, 2016

Day 17: July 27, 2016- Research, Research, Research

Today I Berlin was a slightly slower day. I kinda of slept in and had breakfast. After breakfast, I wasn't in a rush to go anywhere or do anything. Today was mostly a work day, just being able to get some things done since I had the time. I also needed to get some interviews done since I have yet to have the time!!! So, I headed out, but as soon as I did, it started to rain. I take that back. It started to POUR!!!! I was running in and out of buildings with the goal of making it to the U-Bahn and out of the rain. I had planned to stay in the stations until the rain stopped, and it all worked out because there were pharmacies in the stations.
Finally, I had made it out of the rain and underground and hopped on the first train I saw. I just wanted to be out of the rain. I didn't have an umbrella and it seemed like nobody else in Germany did either. The U-Bahn was beginning to carry more water than I would have liked. So, I decided to get above ground and travel on the S-Bahn to Hauptbenhoft. I knew there was good food there as well as a pharmacy. As I was riding past friedrichstraße, which is our stop to get to our hostel, I saw the street flooded from all the rain. I take it that they had never experienced anything like this because there were cars stuck in the flood waters and people looking frantic. Of course, back home, we deal with flash floods quite often. But for a country that doesn't experience rain to the degree, it could have and did cause a great deal of confusion and fear.
Approaching the stop to Hauptbenhoft, I realized I was in safe keeping, out of the rain and in a place that I could actually be very productive. I went and grabbed something to eat, which was very tasty, and decided to see if I could get an interview from the 24-hour pharmacy, which turned out to be a success!!
After, I had to head back to get ready for the river cruise, but not without first stopping to two other pharmacies I saw along the way. It seemed that the flood had hit everybody as one pharmacy had partially flooded and the other one was closed.
Once I got back, we headed back down to the river for our final river cruise. I didn't know what to expect from this cruise, but I knew I didn't feel the same about this one as I did the others. More of me longed to go home, so seeing Berlin just wasn't on my radar today. Either way, I'm still grateful for every single experience.