July 19, 2014
Day 14 of 21
Travel day to Berlin, Germany
Today is Saturday and it was not a day of leisure.
The group was packed and down in the lobby of the Stayokay Hostel by 7 am. I am
thankful that we were allowed to eat a little breakfast before striking out on
this leg of the trip. We had the usual breakfast, sliced sandwich meat, cheese,
boiled eggs, and cereal. Some people might grumble at this meal, but at least
we had some meat. We did not have meat in Paris at Aloha Hostel only hard bread
and some type of cereal with warm milk.
Anyway, we ate our breakfast and began our journey
to Central Station in Amsterdam. We rode the tram to the station. This was a
very uneventful ride. We arrived at the station, bought our tickets, and off we
went on a train to Berlin, Germany. We got on the train and it seemed like it
would be a great trip. Suddenly, it was HOT!!! Yes, the air conditioning
stopped working. We rode on the train from 9 am until 5 pm without air
conditioning. Whew! We all took naps and woke up sweating. This is the topic of
today - modern conveniences.
Air conditioning and cold water are two conveniences
that are lacking on this entire adventure. In Paris at the fashion show there
were cold bottles of water in the chairs of every audience member. However,
there has yet to be a hostel with air conditioning. Air conditioning is a
luxury that I love and now will appreciate to the fullest. We arrived here in
Berlin, Germany to be greeted by the brightest sun and warmest weather we have
encountered since we left Nashville, TN.
The moral of the story is be careful what you pray
for; you just might get it. Long, hot, sunny days.
