Volume 2, Day 12
I had been in Berlin for perhaps a little too long, at least from the viewpoint of seeing more of Europe than just Germany. The next stop on the itinerary would be Potsdam, which technically is doable as a day trip from Berlin, but that isn’t how I like to roll. Though I had been unable to get a couchsurfing spot in Berlin, I had one lined up in Potsdam. My host said she would be available from 3pm, so I had most of the day free to kill, which essentially means I hung around the hostel for a couple hours after checking out.
Eventually, I refreshed the directions on Google Maps and headed out the door. Fortunately, there was a S-bahn station just around the corner. Unfortunately, the first ticketing machine I found was also a cashless one. I moved down the platform to find another one, and in the meantime missed my train. I was able to plug a few coins into a machine for a stupid ticket and then started looking up again how to get to my destination. Because these interconnected systems have different frequencies of trains, it is surprisingly more complicated than just waiting for the next train and following the prescribed course. I ended up taking the ring line in the opposite direction around the northern stretch of Berlin and transfering at the West station for the S-bahn spur that terminated in Postdam Hauptbahnhof.
The ride went much faster than I expected, but as I was navigating the walkway above the platforms looking for how to transfer, I once again barely missed the train I needed. So, I ended up spending half an hour in the train station waiting for a train that would take me two stops. Though I could have made a lunch from any of the numerous shops in the station, I grabbed some candied peanuts from a vending machine and kept studying German. The train came on schedule and rather than a suburban commuter line, it was a real Deutsche Bahn train. I wasn’t completely certain as to whether my ABC area ticket covered the two stops (though my destination station was listed on the map). Have I mentioned this? Berlin (or greater Berlin) has this stupid zone system with complicated pricing for tickets and tons of rules that a ticket vending machine cannot adequately explain. I think generally a single ticket is valid within 2 hours in a single direction covering all forms of transport (S-bahn, U-bahn, tram, bus, regional trains) as long as they are within the zones. I guess it works well if you have a long commute in the morning, but for zipping around town as a tourist, the day pass would quickly pay for itself.
Anyways, as the DB train was pulling up to the Sansouci Park station, I saw a conductor working her way down the aisle from the corner of my eye. I didn’t exactly want to find out if my ticket was valid or not and the timing worked out just perfectly. Actually, despite all the delays, it was basically exactly 3pm as I dragged my luggage down what looked like a country lane. These were the western outskirts of Potsdam, with single story homes each surrounded by elaborate gardens. Above this semi-rural paradise, a single apartment building stood up like a monolith. This was the student housing where my host and her three roommates lived. I rang the door bell. No answer. A delivery guy came and went. I rang again. I swear I could some ringing. Still no answer. Uh-oh. I texted my host through the Couchsurfing house and prepared to retreat to a bench in the shade. She popped outside within a minute.
Luckily for me, the apartment was only up one flight of stairs. It was quite a spacious apartment. One not so big kitchen/living room, four decent sized bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Something of that size would have to cost 10 million RMB in Beijing. R was done with her studies for the day–she is working on her Master’s thesis–and suggested we go over to a lake where we could swim. I loved the idea, changed to swim trunks, and packed up a go-bag. We had a bit of time before we needed to leave the house, so I made a quick cup of coffee. Afterwards, we walked back towards the train station to catch a bus to one or two stops before the main train station where we transferred to a tram. R helped me buy a day pass on the bus, which apparently costs the same as two one-ways, and I can only assume the bus pass covered the tram as well.
One of the other roommates met as when we got off the tram and we walked over to the lake together, passing through the neighborhood of rich people houses. The lake was quite crowded with swimmers and it was pointed out that on the other side of a clump of trees was the naked swimming area. A didn’t want to swim, so she was able to watch our stuff while we went in the water. The water may have been a bit cool, but it felt good on a hot day and the top layer was warm. Most impressive was the sandy bottom at the entrance way–no slimy rocks to squeamishly step on!
After swimming, we lay out in the sun talking about travel, studies, and generational differences. R considers herself the grandma of the apartment, which I guess would make me something of the great-grandpa. But, we were all united in our disdain for the group of possible 16 year old kids blasting “terrible” German rap music while engaging in all kinds of delinquent behavior.
We hung out at the lake until about 7pm, and swung by an Aldi on the way to the tram to grab some things to make dinner. Of course, I was offering to cook and was able to source pretty much everything I needed for fajitas and salsa. There was even cilantro although it came in a planter (which I wonder why no one in China does that). Unfortunately, that store didn’t have regular tortilla chips. It was 8pm by the time we were back and I got to cooking right away. I started some loosely Spanish rice, refried (kidney) beans, and chopped away vigorously at the veggies. You could definitely tell they were still university students because none of the knives were sharp. Dinner was ready just after nine and not a moment too soon. My stomach had been growling the whole time.
We ate and talked and listened to classic rock (lots of Bowie). It was a wonderful experience and I hope to do it a lot more. We weren’t up too late. I still needed to shower the lake off of me, and the couch in the kitchen/dining room/living room was actually just a bed with a ton of pillows to turn it into a couch. I slept really well.
| Breakfast, candy, water (after deposit return) | 1.08 |
| Metro ticket | 3.4 |
| Peanuts | 0.8 |
| Bus Pass | 4.2 |
| Aldi groceries | 8.48 |
| Total: | 17.96 EUR (140 RMB) (USD 20.44) |
Running Total:5871.5 RMB (USD 857)
Daily Average: 489.3 RMB (USD 71.42)