Our Big Trip to Germany

Cameron writes...

In mid-October we decided we were going to go on a trip to Berlin and Rostock. Berlin and Rostock are two cities in Germany where some of my dad’s relatives live. We also decided we would first stay in Berlin for 3 days, then go to Rostock for 3 days, and then stop in Berlin for a day on our way back home.

On the 8 November, we set off on a train to Offenburg, Germany, which is just 25 minutes away. From there we caught a train to Berlin. On the way there we took the computer out and played on it using the plug-ins provided on almost any major European train. We also ate and read some books.

In Berlin, we got some S-bahn¹ passes and took the S5 line to Friedrichstrasse. From there we took the S1 straight to Birkenwerder, the place Horst and Eva live. Horst is somehow related to my dad’s mother. They welcomed us with a good supper, and then Meghan and I went to bed while our parents sat up talking with them.

On Saturday Horst’s son Matthias² came and we had supper with him. For supper there was a little grill in the middle of the table, first you were supposed to put some meat on top. Then you put other things in a little pan in the bottom (e.x. potatoes, cheese broccoli). When both the meat and “others” were done, you took them out and ate them together. It was a wonderful supper and you never really got full, because you always had to wait a little for it to cook.

On Sunday Matthias drove us up to Rostock. There we met Tess and Gina for the second time. Their mother’s name was Sabina, and Matthias let her and her three kids (we didn’t meet Gloria) stay on floor two of his four-floored apartment. We got all settled in a spare room and went to bed on the two beds there.

The next day we were supposed to go to Gina’s English class and tell them about Canada. The teacher there was teaching them simple past tense verbs, but still had time for the kids to ask us questions. They also got to tell us a little about their school. It was quite an interesting experience, both being in a German school and hearing about it from the class.

Over the next few days, we played Playstation 2 with Tess and Gina and had them over for supper once. On Wednesday we were supposed to go back, but there was a train strike in Germany, so we ended up leaving on Friday. In the meantime we went bowling with Gina and Matthias, but Tess was too sick to come. It was a lot of fun. Late Friday afternoon we finally got back to Berlin.

We spent Saturday in Berlin, and then left on Sunday Morning. On the train we again pulled out the computer, and that helped pass the 5 or 6 hour train ride a lot. After a while we ate lunch, and then my mom and dad tried to catch up on missed sleep for awhile. At 2:30 we got off in Offenburg and switched to the final train back to Strasbourg.

We were glad to finally be home again even if it meant more schoolwork. Travelling is ok but after awhile it really takes its toll. Now we are greatly anticipating our trip to Italy. Hopefully it will be even more fun than our trip to Germany!

¹S-bahn: S-bahn is a type of inter-city train which runs both above and below ground.

²Pronounced “Ma-Tee-Iss”