My first travel as an adult!

Hello Everybody!

We have been away for the last one week. We were on vacation! Specifically, we travelled abroad in two cities: Berlin and Stockholm.
Actually a couple of years earlier all I was dreaming of was a long interrail travel across the europe, for example Stockholm-Amsterdam-Paris-Barcelona-Rome-back to Greece. I can get really excited with the idea of wondering without limits and besides that, I believe that a travel above all is a journey for somebody's soul, a didactic experience. So, last year I started organising my special journey that would last 21 days. Without entering too much detail I have to say it never happened :(. Disagreements, practical and economic obstacled didn't allow my dream to come true (although I still keep it somewhere in my mind's closets ;) ). After all, during June 2009 we rushed to organise and book flights for a smaller trip and so, it was 215 Euros Thessaloniki to Berlin with easyjet and 30 Euros from Berlin to Stockholm with ryanair (all tickets including return). Thus, our final programme was: 1 day in Berlin, 4 days in Stockholm and the last day as well in Berlin before our return flight!

A very special characteristic of this travel was the fact that nothing at all seemed to go the way we had imagined it would. Of course we have to admit that we didn't really organise our actions. After booking 3 seperate hostels (2 for Berlin and 1 for Stockholm) we just let the summer pass without much thought over the excursion until the flight day! As soon as we arrived in Berlin a couple of German fellows informed us that our hostel is located in an area of high criminality. Well, MEININGER Hotel Berlin Hallesches Ufer was a fine hostel but we didn't really like the information we had just learned. Among the few plans we had made was to make a small air-balloon flight. After our free tour (read Alice's post 2 posts above!) we realised we couldn't because we had forgot it was Friday evening, a non-flying hour for Air Service Berlin. When we returned from Stockholm, during our last day in Berlin we couldn't fly as well because Air Service Berlin claimed it was a too windy day at 150m. above! So, no air ballooning.

After our no-air-balloon experience we hurried to check out and arrive at airport for our 21:55 flight with Ryanair. After we repacked and took many of our stuff in hands/handbags because the weight limit per bag is 15kgs, we eventually took off. During the flight, while I was looking my leaflets with information over our Hostels I just noticed this small though important note:

‘Rygerfjord Hotel and Hostel,’ a former cruise ship, floats by the banks of trendy Södermalm, minutes away from the centre of Stockholm and within easy reach of public transport.

So we were staying in a boat?!?! Hmm..... Some of us were suspicious and some were enthusiastic. Well... the time was approaching. Of course there was no public tranport and the exchange spots were closed when we arrived in Stockholm and our taxi driver made some fun of us when we told him our adress. "This is not a hostel, this is a boat!" Well, what's the problem with a boat-hostel?! Old interior, small rooms-cabins, shared bathroom for a whole ship, floating dizzy sense, lots of insects, dirty sheets. 2 of us stayed awake all night and early in the morning went out looking for another place to stay. Nothing. All hostels within Stockholm were booked, plus we had to wait until 10am for the Tourist Info Center to open.

Well I now have to leave so I will continue narrating about my adventurous excursion later. Until then farväl!!!

:) :)