Boarding

It took place on March 28th and 29th.

Today is the day. “Courage and determination, my friend” said my Jiminy Cricket. It was a quiet morning: wake up early, have breakfast, take a shower… so far a day like any other. Originally, I thought about going by car to the airport with a friend. But I ended up deciding to take a bus to Campinas to avoid more anxiety, and also an urban bus to the bus station because it is more flexible and I don’t rely on car ride.

It was hard to say goodbye to my cats Mocha and Moti, because they are like sons. I know that they’ll be in good hands with my neighbors who are lovely people, but the tightness in the chest was to be expected. 

One curious thing on this day was the Google Now app: it uses cookies to bring the user useful information, like weather and news. On this day it simply warned me early in the morning about the flight, and that I should not be late. Not to mention that it was able to inform me about the flight delay in real time (yes, 3 hours delay!)

My arrival at Campinas was normal. I took a bus to the airport even knowing about the delay, because deep down I was still hoping that everything could be on time. And also there was not much to do in the bus station anyway. The Viracopos airport was empty, and the only queue was to my flight. I had already done my check-in at the electronic terminal to assure my seat at the window. A typical thing for a first-timer: I wanted to see everything. Still, the number of people waiting in the queue for a traditional check-in is impressive. I also didn’t know too much at the time, but the electronic terminal was noticable. And later, I even learnt that it is possible to do the check-in through the smartphone, without the need for paper. 

The 3 hour delay was a good trade, because I got a R$45 voucher to eat, and I was starving. The airport food is as expensive as they said, but with the voucher I took the chance of spending with a little more in a petit gateu. By the way it was delicious.

Now that I was satisfied, I was prepared to run through the gates of the land without laws… the magic world of capitalism: the Duty Free. It is inevitable to stop and take a good look at the cheap whiskeys and wines. Well, not so cheap with the US dollar exchange rate at 3.5 Brazilian reais, but some things make up for the supermarket price.

At the boarding gate I had some hours to relax, while using the internet and reading an e-book. Never take physical books on a trip because they are too heavy. Unless you can’t adapt to e-books. In this case, pick up small books, and leave The Song of Ice and Fire at home.

And at 8:50pm the adventure really got started in an Airbus A330. My seat was not reclining, and the flight commissioner offered me to change my place. But I took a good look at my beautiful windows and decided to stay right there. And it was a very pleasant flight. I slept a little and also watched the movie Deadpool (super funny). To my surprise we had 2 very tasty meals: one dinner, and one breakfast. People complain so much about airplane food that I underrated it.

Lisbon

The initial schedule of the trip was to make a connection in Lisbon, staying in the Lusitanian capital for no more than two hours. But with the flight delayed I was already waiting for the worse: I would have to get the next flight available to Hamburg. As soon as I got to the airport a Tap’s employee was already with my new ticket on her hands, and for the sadness of the backpacker I would have to wait more for seven or eight hours there. And for sure, again I got free lunch. But I’ve decided not to bother with that. After all, this was my vacation, and some unforeseen issues might happen to anyone. I end up eating a cheesebacon with French fries, and cheesecake at Clockworks, because the place had a beautiful atmosphere and a nice slogan: “Good food, positive vibes”.

The Lisbon airport is huge, but not so amazing since it’s very similar to a shopping mall at Sao Paulo. The stores are the same ones we already know, and everyone speaks Portuguese with a weird accent. What makes Portuguese from Portugal so different from Brazilian is not so much the accent’s fault, but they are used to talk really fast. Luckily the majority of them spoke English with me.

I’d thought it would be a good idea to get to know the city in my free time, and even made some research at TripAdvisor, but since I hadn’t made plans to stay there, I was a little afraid to go out and get delayed for my flight. A few days later I would remember this moment… With all the experience I’ve got, I’ve realized that if I ever happen to be in a situation like this again, I will definitely walk around for a while.

But actually I just walk around the airport, enjoying my blues collection in the Ipod, reading a book, and talking to some friends in Brazil. I’d even downloaded the Skype app to talk to my family during the trip, but I end up using it only in this day at the airport.

When I did pass through the boarding area there was a food court, and o luminous sign shine to my eyes with big letters: CERVEJA (beer, in Portuguese). I couldn’t avoid the curiosity of having a traditional Portuguese beer. Not that it was something impossible to find in Brazil, but every team plays better in their hometown, as they say. So I’ve tasted a lager Super Bock. A full-bodied and tasty beer, but nothing compared with what was yet to come.

In the late afternoon I was really tired and sleepy. But I tried to remain alert, because I was afraid to lose the flight. So I got to the boarding gate and finally allowed myself to take a quick nap. I had my first impression of being going to Germany when I saw all the people around me with blond hair and red skin. Yes, finally, I was on my way to Hamburg.

My trip to Hamburg went with an A-319, and also had boarding services and an average meal. But I was so tired that I simple fell asleep for the whole four hours.

Hamburg

Arriving at Hamburg makes me feel excited. It doesn’t matter if was 10:30pm already, I knew that from this point my adventure has really started. But at the same time I was in a hurry. It was late night already and I still had to get to Berlin! I would just enjoy Hamburg in the last days, as the final city…

  

I was happy to see my backpack in the baggage carousel with the other ones (the system works after all!). With the WiFi from the airport I was able to check the bus schedule and also Blablacar (and ride sharing app). The best option was the bus, but I was in the airport and need to get to the ZOB (bus station in German). I quickly asked for information to an airport’s employee, and he was very helpful teaching me how to buy a ticket and where should I go. I was so desperate that I couldn’t memorize everything, and had to ask a couple for help. They don’t speak English, but we could understand each other with “Bus station”, “ticket” and so on.

At this point I had my first cultural shock: the public transportation doesn’t operate with ratchet. People simply buy the ticket for honesty. They know their part with the society. The system works! Later I was to know que periodically there is a supervisor checking the tickets, which I saw only once in my days in Germany. I was just wondered with people’s ethics. It was inevitable to compare how that would never work in Brazil.

In the subway I ask another girl for help, and she explain me with details how I would need to run. I will go until Hauptbahnhof Station (Central Station in German) and would have to walk until ZOB (Bus Station). By the time the metro normally takes to get to there I was already prepared to run as hell to get the last bus to Berlin… and that’s what I did! 

Luckily (which I prefer to say “planning”), I’ve already seen the ZOB picture in the internet, and I recognized the beautiful half-moon roof from a block distance. So I ran even faster than before, and I was able to get a bus almost leaving the station. I was possible to buy the ticket directly from the driver, which was 3 euros more expensive than the regular one (but I was not complaining). The bus was a Flixbus going from Hamburg to Prague, passing through Berlin.

It was a very comfortable bus, but I did not make a lot of friends there. At my left side there was a Vietnamese boy who did not speak English at all. I even ask him how he gets along travelling by himself. The Wi-Fi network of the bus was not connecting, so I wasn’t able to plan my arrival at Berlin. But I was able to write down the hostel’s address in a piece of paper, and check that it was close to Alexanderplatz.

Since the bus was heading to Prague, I wasn’t able to relax completely, because I was afraid of losing my stop. It had been almost four hours of trip thinking: “when I get to the Alexanderplatz, how will I get to the hostel?” And that was the great challenge of don’t having internet connection. 

Berlin

When I arrived Alexanderplatz, in Berlin, I knew that I was less than 2 km distance from my hostel, but in fact I didn’t know how to get there. When I get out of the bus, I got immediately scared with the fact that I was alone at 4am with no idea of where to go. After asking for help with some people, I found a guy who showed me in his Google Maps which Tram I should take, where the station was, how to buy a ticket, and everything I need to know. I remember asking this guy:  “Is it safe to walk around by myself at this time?”. He smiled at my naivety, and answered: “Sure, why not?”. This was another cultural shock for me, because even in my hometown I don’t feel so safe walking the streets at dawn. But here it was. I thanked the guy, and I took a blurry photo of the tower Alexanderplatz with my cellphone. But the sightseeing was very similar to this picture I’ve found in the internet.

Arriving at the hostel, I did the check-in with a feeling of victory – I was finally there! It was already 5am when I climbed up the stairs and got ready to bed. A roommate was snoring frenetically at the moment. But with the fatigue of the long trip, that noise was not important, and was temporary. I did not take me long to sleep peacefully, with the sensation that tomorrow will be the beginning of the exploring.