Berlin to Wernigerode and FilkContinental
Day 53. Today's goal was to get to the convention, and we decided that the most expedient way was to go with Sybille, Gudrun, and her husband. They were going to take the one train that would go directly without changing trains, and that one left Berlin Alexanderplatz at 7:13. So we got up at the 5:30 that usually involves profanity.
Packing was easy (we seem to be getting good at it) and we were ready to go when the taxi got there at 6. It was a great big huge van, and we easily fit everything into it. So Kathy, Sybille and I went to the train station in that, and were met there by the rest of our party.
The train arrived on time, and we boarded and managed to find somewhere we could sit amongst several bicycles. When the conductor arrived I produced my train ticket, which, it turned out, wasn't usable because this is a different company and doesn't honor DB tickets. So I bought an extra day of a train ticket I didn't need. Feh. And I had to pay EUR 29 more for the two of us together. Double feh.
I'm glad we got on early in the run as there kept being more and more people boarding. Near the end it was SRO. At Wernigerode, many of the passengers got off, including most of the bikes, so we didn't have any problem there.
Sybille had booked a large taxi for the five of us to take up to the hostel, which was good. We all fit, again, no problem, and got up there to find a sign saying they opened at 14:00, which is not what she'd been told. She went off to investigate while we organized our stuff. When she came back she said that we could go ahead and come in fine, it's just that the registration desk didn't officially open until 2pm. So we went in, and waited a bit for Katy to show up and get all the room keys.
At that point we got our stuff into the room and Kathy got settled to take a little bit of a nap. I, on the other hand, had a little of a Situation to deal with. Sybille reported that there was a news story that DB employees were considering a strike, to start Monday. If this happens, this leaves us stranded in Wernigerode with no way to make our flight in Munich. So my freakout officially began.
We went into town to talk to the DB people about this. The person at the desk was not helpful, saying that she could give no information until 24 hours before the start of the strike. She did give us a number we can call on Sunday to find out for sure. Yikes. After that we ate some lunch and the rest of our party went back to the hostel while I walked around town a bit.
I got some pictures of the steam train that runs in the area. It was pretty cool, it goes right through town and has several runs a day. Then I grabbed a city bus and headed back to the hostel.
At that point we were wiling away the time a bit, waiting for dinner. Gwen and Chris were preparing for performances, and Kathy was still resting a bit. I went and figured out how to get on the wifi, which is in a very small portion of this hostel. Ah well. At least I can get online.
Then dinner in the dining area here, buffet-style. It was tasty and expeditious. After that I went back online to try to figure out the possibilities of renting a car, and it didn't look good. So my freakout continued. I called the airline to see about shifting the flight if it came to that, and found out I do have some options but, of course, they will cost.
I tried to go to the concert and couldn't find a seat. I'd been sitting on the floor while I was talking to the airline because that's the only place I could find a connection strong enough to use Skype. So I decided it was time to call it a night.
Before crashing I decided to come down to the reception area and write this post, but before that I did some more looking around online and found some major car rental agencies with offices here that somehow my previous search had missed. Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Sixt all have agencies here so I think that between them I'll be able to find a rental for around EUR 125 plus fuel. So my freakout has abated a little.
But now I'm exhausted and I think it really is time to crash. This day has been too long.
Packing was easy (we seem to be getting good at it) and we were ready to go when the taxi got there at 6. It was a great big huge van, and we easily fit everything into it. So Kathy, Sybille and I went to the train station in that, and were met there by the rest of our party.
The train arrived on time, and we boarded and managed to find somewhere we could sit amongst several bicycles. When the conductor arrived I produced my train ticket, which, it turned out, wasn't usable because this is a different company and doesn't honor DB tickets. So I bought an extra day of a train ticket I didn't need. Feh. And I had to pay EUR 29 more for the two of us together. Double feh.
I'm glad we got on early in the run as there kept being more and more people boarding. Near the end it was SRO. At Wernigerode, many of the passengers got off, including most of the bikes, so we didn't have any problem there.
Sybille had booked a large taxi for the five of us to take up to the hostel, which was good. We all fit, again, no problem, and got up there to find a sign saying they opened at 14:00, which is not what she'd been told. She went off to investigate while we organized our stuff. When she came back she said that we could go ahead and come in fine, it's just that the registration desk didn't officially open until 2pm. So we went in, and waited a bit for Katy to show up and get all the room keys.
At that point we got our stuff into the room and Kathy got settled to take a little bit of a nap. I, on the other hand, had a little of a Situation to deal with. Sybille reported that there was a news story that DB employees were considering a strike, to start Monday. If this happens, this leaves us stranded in Wernigerode with no way to make our flight in Munich. So my freakout officially began.
We went into town to talk to the DB people about this. The person at the desk was not helpful, saying that she could give no information until 24 hours before the start of the strike. She did give us a number we can call on Sunday to find out for sure. Yikes. After that we ate some lunch and the rest of our party went back to the hostel while I walked around town a bit.
I got some pictures of the steam train that runs in the area. It was pretty cool, it goes right through town and has several runs a day. Then I grabbed a city bus and headed back to the hostel.
At that point we were wiling away the time a bit, waiting for dinner. Gwen and Chris were preparing for performances, and Kathy was still resting a bit. I went and figured out how to get on the wifi, which is in a very small portion of this hostel. Ah well. At least I can get online.
Then dinner in the dining area here, buffet-style. It was tasty and expeditious. After that I went back online to try to figure out the possibilities of renting a car, and it didn't look good. So my freakout continued. I called the airline to see about shifting the flight if it came to that, and found out I do have some options but, of course, they will cost.
I tried to go to the concert and couldn't find a seat. I'd been sitting on the floor while I was talking to the airline because that's the only place I could find a connection strong enough to use Skype. So I decided it was time to call it a night.
Before crashing I decided to come down to the reception area and write this post, but before that I did some more looking around online and found some major car rental agencies with offices here that somehow my previous search had missed. Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Sixt all have agencies here so I think that between them I'll be able to find a rental for around EUR 125 plus fuel. So my freakout has abated a little.
But now I'm exhausted and I think it really is time to crash. This day has been too long.