Berlin, you son of a bitch

I mean this term in the absolute best possible way, that Berlin, you may just be the best place I have been to. There is something about this place that just does something to you. Of course the people I met and the things I did may influence this considerably, but the entirety of my time in this city consisted of a no bullshit Berlin.

No more words can really describe this place, so I will keep the rest for myself, sorry folks...

kreuzberg canal // wohnzimmer café // bauhaus archive museum // mauer park beauty in the spring// glory whole  kaffeehäuschen // lovers at a protest in front of brandenburg gate  // mauer park childishness in the spring // deep chill at adalbertbrücke // jewish museum // lichtpark // selfie time at the bauhaus archive museum // kaffee pause // portraits at  my good friends café journale

BUS BLUES TO PARIS

The coach was stuffy, the vibe neutral and the bus driver rude.  This was the environment I was confined to for a gruelling 8 hour bus ride to Paris. Having eventually stopped at a gas station for a toilet break, the girl sitting next to me and I skipped the long queue of the ladies toilet and made a dash for the mens. On our escape from the bathroom, we almost ran over two gentlemen entering the room and giggled like love struck teenagers all the way back to our bus

On arriving at Gallieni station, I couldn't have flung myself into the fresh Parisian air faster. I dabbed my clammy face, collected my luggage, and off I went into the tunnels of the Metro with my ticket in hand. Despite all the rumours of attacks, stabbings and pickpockets on the métro, I made it in one piece to Pyrénées station, where my couch surfing host ,Al, met up with me.

We offloaded my things, freshened up and was taken to the best night time view of Paris; Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre. We walked the quaint streets that were still bustling with tourists, and laughed at personal jokes we had managed to make in the few hours we had known one another. We sipped on beers at a local café whilst conversing about life and other things and when our hunger got the better of us, we devoured crèpes filled with cheese and chorizo.

COUCHSURFING IN BELGIUM

 

As I attempt to write about the past weekend spent Couchsurfing in Belgium, my fingers linger at each letter on the keypad. An experience I will most likely not forget and one I find hard translating into words.

 

Our Eurolines bus left from Utrecht station at exactly 09H00, leaving us with the long road to Belguim ahead of us. Michelle and I occasionally napped on each others shoulders, ate ginger biscuits and dreamily stared out the window. On our arrival in Bruges, we spent the remainder of the afternoon doing what one does best in Belgium, drink beer of course , followed by a quick train trip to Oostende where we could be staying the for the weekend with our couch surfing host, Yannick.

 

We drank copious amounts of beers whilst conversing about Africa, the history of Oostende, and a dismal attempt at his arcade games. As the night faded away, I fell asleep watching the Jungle book whilst Michelle and Yannick became better acquainted.

 

The best thing about Saturday was the chance to sleep in and laze about. We munched on a toasted 'stokbrood' filling our hungry belly's, followed by Yannicks historic tour of the war trenches on the coast and a stroll on the beach. When our time came to leave on Sunday, I felt I had witnessed two soul mates having to say goodbye. I'm quite a big cynic of love and anything 'relationshippy' and would rather stick a pencil in my eye, but these two were something else...