Couchsurfing
Saturday, 18. April 2009, 14:49:51
I traveled around German during my 2 week break…
I am going to tell you about my time in Berlin…..if you want to see photos then click ‘READ MORE’
When you travel, you need somewhere to stay. You can stay with family and friends…but, if you have no family or friends in a city, this usually results in sleeping in a hotel for 60+ Euro per night, or a backpacker’s hostel for 20ish Euro per night.
I did not do any of the above.
1. I am too poor to stay in a hotel.
2. I am too poor to stay in a backpacker’s hostel
3. I wanted to LEARN about Berlin and meet people who LIVE in Berlin and see things that are not featured in this year’s edition of Lonely Planet.
I couchsurfed! Yes, I stayed with a complete stranger! Now some of you are thinking ‘How could you do that!? You are a girl, alone in a big city, far away from home. You could have been staying with a psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatic!!!!’
And….?
How many psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatics have you met in your life? Personally, I have met ZERO.
How many normal people have you met in your life? Quite a lot, no?
Couchsurfing is a fantastic idea! I stayed in Berlin for 2.5 days, for free. I stayed in Kreuzberg, a suburb quite close to the city, filled with cafes and bars. I had my own room, with brand new blankets. My host also have me keys to his apartment, so I was free to come and go whenever I wanted. We went to some cafes together, he helped me use the public transport, told me about places that I should visit…
Better than a hotel
Now some of you may be thinking ‘WHAT!? You stayed with a MALE host?! YOU ARE A GIIIRRRRLLL Weren’t you scared?’
No, I was not scared. Why should I have been scared? It’s unnecessary to be scared of everyone! Refer to the graph above.
Many girls I know are scared of walking home at night because they think they will get attacked. They are scared of going to a foreign city alone incase they get lost. Well, they would never go out of ADELAIDE alone, because they are scared. They don’t like to take the last bus home and will get their parents to drive into the city to pick them up. They are scared of doing anything, because they think the likelihood of them getting into danger is too high. The strangest thing for me is, most of these girls are quite smart, some of them study at uni but yet can’t calculate that the chances of them getting into danger are LOW
I am going to tell you about my time in Berlin…..if you want to see photos then click ‘READ MORE’
When you travel, you need somewhere to stay. You can stay with family and friends…but, if you have no family or friends in a city, this usually results in sleeping in a hotel for 60+ Euro per night, or a backpacker’s hostel for 20ish Euro per night.
I did not do any of the above.
1. I am too poor to stay in a hotel.
2. I am too poor to stay in a backpacker’s hostel
3. I wanted to LEARN about Berlin and meet people who LIVE in Berlin and see things that are not featured in this year’s edition of Lonely Planet.
I couchsurfed! Yes, I stayed with a complete stranger! Now some of you are thinking ‘How could you do that!? You are a girl, alone in a big city, far away from home. You could have been staying with a psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatic!!!!’
And….?
How many psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatics have you met in your life? Personally, I have met ZERO.
How many normal people have you met in your life? Quite a lot, no?
Couchsurfing is a fantastic idea! I stayed in Berlin for 2.5 days, for free. I stayed in Kreuzberg, a suburb quite close to the city, filled with cafes and bars. I had my own room, with brand new blankets. My host also have me keys to his apartment, so I was free to come and go whenever I wanted. We went to some cafes together, he helped me use the public transport, told me about places that I should visit…
Better than a hotel
Now some of you may be thinking ‘WHAT!? You stayed with a MALE host?! YOU ARE A GIIIRRRRLLL Weren’t you scared?’
No, I was not scared. Why should I have been scared? It’s unnecessary to be scared of everyone! Refer to the graph above.
Many girls I know are scared of walking home at night because they think they will get attacked. They are scared of going to a foreign city alone incase they get lost. Well, they would never go out of ADELAIDE alone, because they are scared. They don’t like to take the last bus home and will get their parents to drive into the city to pick them up. They are scared of doing anything, because they think the likelihood of them getting into danger is too high. The strangest thing for me is, most of these girls are quite smart, some of them study at uni but yet can’t calculate that the chances of them getting into danger are LOW
DRESDEN
In Dresden, I tasted the best cheesecake EVER!
I went to the ballet (The Taming of the Shrew) in this building. The ballet sells tickets to students for 10 Euro, thirty minutes before the start of the show. Mr J and I got there ten minutes before the start of the show and managed to buy 5th row tickets. Normally, these seats would cost 100 Euros. There were rich people there, who did pay 100 Euros for their seats. I felt out of place, in my jeans and penguin pullover...and people kept looking at me...
BERLIN
Did you know, Berliners, are called Pfannkuchen in Berlin?
In Berlin, I met my penpal, Mr R. We started writing emails to each other when I was 16 or 17! We decided to wear crazy clothes and go into a bar.
The Barbie Bar
Mr R wearing paper glasses, a drawn on moustasche and beard
Me, wearing a short blonde wig, bunny ears, and a drawn on nose and whiskers...and I had a tail too
It's so much fun wearing a wig!
Life as a tourit in Berlin: half the time is spent waiting in lines. Therefore, I did not visit many touristy things
I think I'm the only person EVER who has beento the Brandenburg Gate and didn't get someone to take a photo of me infront of it!
Hi Australia, I don't miss you yet.
Germans love to decorate everything. Many people have easter decorations in their gardens.
HAMBURG
My favourite German and me in Hamburg
On a warm day, German parks are filled with people and little disposable BBQs. Some people were at the park in their swimming clothes and sunbaking...and some, without their swimming clothes...
Me, at 7am, with a bag of fish from the Fischmarkt
The luckiest Lindt Buny ever...he got to go to Shell!
SCHWAEBISCH HALL
At the moment, I am in Schwaebisch Hall, a little town in the south of Germany.
Tomorrow I have to go back to my 'beautiful city'
WIDGETIZE
rhona # 21. April 2009, 08:47
I also couchsurfed through Europe, you can only get away with that when your young Kim, enjoy it! Sad to hear it's time to head home, next time your going, slap me. I have cousins in Berlin, it's like a couchsurf
Did you see tC?
I haven't been anywhere else yet
galadriel # 1. May 2009, 18:02
No, I haven't seen TC...I don't even know where he lives....
redjava # 4. May 2009, 07:12
missed reading your bog