15 August 2018 Amsterdam to Berlin

Today we spent most of the day in the coach as we travelled from Amsterdam to Berlin. We had three comfort stops; a short one in the morning, a longer one for lunch and the another short one in the afternoon. Some of the group said they would sleep all the way but Filip made sure that there were fun wakeful times throughout journey. There is a lot for him to organize on a trip such as this. Clipboards for bookings meals and activities were passed from tourist to tourist so that he could get the numbers right. There is a fee for the optional extras and funds for those have to be collected beforehand. When Filip wanted our attention he would turn up the music and the wake up song – Jitterbug by Duran Duran would call us to attention. His informative talks on the cities and countries we visit are a delight to listen to and certainly break up the day and have us thirsting to see the sights.

This morning each of us stepped up to the mike to share a little about ourselves and to say what we were most hoping to get out of this trip. I really enjoyed hearing what everyone had to say and it was lovely to find that many were celebrating something -the beginning of retirement for some, anniversaries for others as well as a couple of birthdays. We were all most certainly celebrating Life!

Most of our traveling companions are from Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada although a few of those were born in other countries. They all speak English making communication with each other easy. We range in age from young people in their twenties up to a few oldies in their sixties.

We arrived at our hotel at around 5:30. Lolz has a friend in a village a half an hour train ride from Berlin and the plan was for us both to visit them there this evening but I was too tired so she went on her own, dashing straight to the station while I checked in with the bags.

We were all issued with key cards but for some strange reasons none of them worked! Without them you can’t open the hotel toilets, use the lift or open your room. Chaos reigned as the staff tried several times to reprogram them. Eventually all the luggage was stowed in a safe place and the Expats went off to their dinner. Needing an early night I did not join them. Minutes after they left the problem was remedied and with the help of a staff member who wanted to make absolutely sure that I wasn’t stranded outside my room with two bags to take care of. Thankfully all was well!

After unpacking and a refreshing shower I popped back down for a snack supper at the bar which was very good. Lolz was back by ten and had enjoyed the time spent with her friends.

Thursday, 16 August 2018

Apologies – I meant to post this last night but left it in drafts. Today’s episode will follow later this evening.