Days 50-52 - The 48 Hour Day and an Afternoon at the Port

I ended my last post by saying that I did not know where I was heading next.  The hostels were booked solid in Warsaw and I did not want to head any further east so Berlin became the logical destination.  I was told at the train station that the only way to get from Krakow to Berlin was through Warsaw so I prepared myself for a long day of travel.

Having stayed up extremely late to watch the Giants destroy the Cubs, I easily fell asleep on the train.  Apparently we had been delayed somewhere as I rested but of course all the announcements were in Polish/German so I had no idea.  At the arrival time on my ticket the train pulled into a station that said Warsaw and I disembarked.  I soon figured out that I was at a station on the outskirts of Warsaw and I could not find a person that spoke any English.  The only way I got to the main station was by pointing repeatedly at the destination on my train ticket until a taxi driver figured it out.  To make a long story somewhat shorter, I did get to see Warsaw from a taxi and let's just say I'm happy the hostels were booked.

Fast forward to the main Warsaw station.  I now have a ticket to Berlin for a train that arrives at 10:30 pm and no sleeping accommodations booked.  There was no time to get online in Warsaw and the train had no Internet.  However there was this wonderfully translated sign on the train:

Berlin was serving as more of a transfer hub for this journey so the decision was made to forgo a hostel and find a train out of the city.  There was a 4:30 am train to Hamburg and that is the only reason I am in Hamburg right now.

How did I pass the hours?  For the first couple I walked around Berlin because I hadn't really seen the main city at night during my first visit.

Brandenburg Gate at night

Exhausted I went back to the train station and fell asleep on my backpack.  Soon a nice guy who was missing a front tooth and had Big Berlin tattooed on his neck woke me up and tried to offer me the McChicken from his pocket.  The McDonalds had closed an hour ago so who knows how long it had been in there.  I did manage to get some sleep in the station and on the train.  Before I knew it morning had come and I was in Hamburg.  I found a hostel online, put my bag in a locker and set out to see the city.

The first stop was St. Nikolai, a church first constructed in 1195.  Like most of the city it was bombed during WWII and all that remains today is the spire.

The red in the map above indicates areas of Hamburg that were at least 50-70% destroyed during WWII.

The spire of St. Nikolai

Next was the St. Michaelis Church.  I climbed all 462 steps (but who's counting) to the top of the spire.  It is actually one of the tallest things in the city so the view was great.

St. Michaelis

The Old Town Hall was the next stop before checking into the hostel.  I slept until the next morning, only getting up for dinner.

Old Town Hall

Finally feeling rested again it was time for more sightseeing.  I went to the port area and the first stop was the CAP San Diego.  This ship was mainly used for immigration and shipping of goods between Hamburg and America.

CAP San Diego

I also toured U-434 today.

I never realized how confined U-Boats are inside, especially the doorways.  There were very few places where I could stand upright and I cannot imagine being under the sea for days in such a vessel.

The gigantic doorway

On the walk home I saw this:

 

You might look at this picture and think it's a man in a bunny suit sweeping up a giant pile of bottle caps.  That is exactly what it is.  I have no explanation for what is going on in this picture.

Scott