Finally Made It To Europe!

Greetings from Berlin! I finally made it to Germany. I admit I am exhausted. I have never taken an international flight before and it really runs you ragged. My flight out of Avoca, PA to Philadelphia was successful. I was not charged for additional weight with my luggage, which made me quite happy.

I had a three hour lay over in Philly and made plenty of last minute phone calls before mailing my cell phone back to my neighbor (who will watch over it for me, during my trip) and a quick stop to the UPS store.

We left Philadelphia around 4:30 Saturday afternoon. I sat next to a really neat Vietnamese graduate student named Ty who is working on his Doctorate at Cornell University! Small world - I am from Upstate N.Y. so we had plenty to talk about. He is 28 years old, so am I. Ty has three sisters and so do I.

The flight to Germany was about 7.5 hours long before we landed at the Frankfurt Airport. That is definitely the biggest airport I have ever been to in my life. I was a bit overwhelmed by its size. From Frankfurt, I took a connecting flight to Berlin which lasted about 45 minutes. Luckily, I did sleep for most of all the plane rides.

After I got off the plane, I found two other fellows in my group a few gates away from mine. We had plans to ride back to the hotel together since we were the only three arriving at the airport at that time. Chas Henry previously worked for WJLA and News Channel 8 in Washington, D.C. and Kate Ryan works for WTOP Radio in D.C. as well.

I found it quite interesting that almost all of the taxis here are beige colored mercedes. That was amazing to me. So far, Berlin is quite a neat city. We are staying in the former East Berlin at the Relexa Hotel. I am told I am in Berlin Mitte: which is technically the middle of Berlin.

My room is perfect, it has a nice European flare to it. It overlooks a courtyard with beautiful murals on the outside walls. After I quickly unpacked, I met up with Chas and Kate for breakfast at the hotel. I noticed a heavy emphasis on meats and cheese at the buffet line! It was all quite tasty.

At breakfast, we also met one of our hosts on this trip. Rainer reimbursed us for the taxi fare and started us out with 50 Euros for the evening. After that, another fellow showed up. Sarah Herndon is a freelance producer for ABC News in Washington D.C. The five of us chatted about the trip, museums we should check out and more. We were then given the rest of the day to unpack, rest, relax and enjoy the city.

I forgot to mention that on the ride to the hotel we passed by Potsdamer Platz (a landmark in the city) and a huge Price Waterhouse Coopers building. I did notice a subway and a starbucks as well, but also plenty of neat looking German pubs, restaurants, shops and Internet Cafes. I cannot wait to check them all out. Sarah Herndon also told me you can see part of the Berlin wall as well. I need to see that!

After I took a nap, I went on a short run around the city and it is quite chilly here! I was not expecting that. Glad I packed heavier clothing and a coat. Now I have to figure out how to use my electric converter for my flat and curling irons.

Tonight I have plans to go to dinner with Chas and Kate. That is all for now. Once I start taking photos and figure out how to post them on this blog I will.

Jill Konopka