I woke up to the sound of rain this morning, which was annoying because I had to be all backpackery again today. Rain was just gonna rub it in that much more. Or for the more pun appreciative, put a dampener on things. Gee I crack myself up. Lucky my train to Hamburg didn't leave till 11:51am so I had a bit of time before I had to be at the station. With any luck the rain would stop by then. Luck must've really been on my side because it stopped much earlier than that, which was good because I had to close the deal on the shopping I started a couple of days ago. I finally made the decision with the dress present I wanted to buy, so my first task for the day was getting to the store to purchase that early enough to give me enough time to get to the station. This really isn't that big a challenge ordinarily, but remember only two days ago I never made it out for a long time! But I did make it in plenty of time, and didn't get wet, so I was happy! Once I arrived back to my apartment after my successful shopping excursion, I finished packing the rest of my bags, which were getting increasingly full given all the Oktoberfest gear I'd gathered over the last couple of days. I also had to find room for the welcome pack I mentioned the other day, consisting of gingerbread love heart, Oktoberfest beer, and a little bottle of Oktoberfest spirits, which I decided after three days were indeed a gift and not something from a non-existent minibar. I must've been right because to date I haven't been charged! With everything packed in, and my self-respect again lowered a little with a pack on my back, I hit the road to the station. I'd been in contact with Nikita during the morning and found out her train left 10 minutes before mine, so I met her at the station and we sat together waiting, having a good laugh at the fun day we'd had yesterday. I was absolutely covered in bruises today and she had a laugh about that too. I have no idea why I was, but I assume it's most likely from the dodgem car war or the rickety roller-coasters I was thrown around on yesterday, or both. Most likely it was from both, and I probably hit my body on tables and benches and everything while I danced like a fool half the night. Oh well, they can be reminder bruises of the great time had! It was also good to meet Nikita as it allowed me to leave my bags for a few minutes to go and grab a coffee, something I was desperately craving after a big day yesterday. Sadly Europe's idea of coffee is completely different to ours - it was horrible. I'd have been better off licking my own arm quite frankly. Once Nikita's train rolled in, we gave each other a hug, said our goodbyes and wished each other all the best and safe travels for the rest of our respective trips. I sat on the platform for another 20 minutes or so until my train was ready to board, which meant that my train was actually late - woah! Lift your game Germany. It was always a relief to get on board the trains, because it meant I could get my pack off my back and relax in comfort for the rest of the journey. And today's was good for that as I was travelling basically the whole length of Germany from Munich in the south to Hamburg in the north, which meant over six hours relaxing in first class luxury. Take that backpack! It got better too, with this train having wifi available to purchase for the trip! I actually think a few of the trains I'd been on had wifi available, but I was so used to getting it free everywhere that I never bought it. But today I finally realised that by not having it I was just sending ridiculously overpriced texts, and at just €5 for the day, it'd actually be cheaper for me to have it than not. Plus, it's wifi. Clearly if you can't see I'm addicted to it by now you haven't really been reading my blog! With the wifi purchased, I settled into my seat to miss all the scenery out the window for the rest of the day. That'd be funny if it wasn't so true. Well I did see some scenery, but when we're moving at over 300 km/h, and today it was really overcast and wet as well, I wasn't gonna see much anyway. Plus it really gave me a chance to catch up on some emails. If you think I'm behind on my blog, today I replied to an email from my aunt in Canada that she sent me in April. Count yourself lucky. I also got in touch with Nick, who is filing in for me at work while I'm away (poor kid, he has hopelessly big shoes to fill), as he'd had a couple of queries for me. And Mum and Dad also called, letting me know they'd successfully managed to find their way to the Amalfi Coast. They really still can surprise me. In all, it was a pretty productive train ride really. Except if productivity relates to blog writing. With all that internet and emails and calling and messaging, I barely got any done, which was unfortunate because I really need to start getting my **** together if I've any hope of catching up. I did get one entry done, but that still won't help me catch up given for every day I write an entry, it's another day I've got to write about too! Oh well, it's worth the wait, and you know it. The train finally rolled into Hamburg HBF at about 6:30pm, more than half an hour late. Lucky I had no plans! Lucky too that my superior booking skills again shone, and in less than five minutes I'd walked to my hotel. I was a little skeptical about this place, as its name - Eden by Centro - was followed by a nerve wracking word: 'basic'. After checking in, I made my way up to my room to settle in. In every measure of the word it was basic. The key looked more like what people old enough to be my ancestors describe the bits of card with holes in it that used to help run the first computers as. And when I opened the door, the room was just big enough to have a single bed and a sink. Nothing more. Even my bag had to squash up on the carpet next to my bed. It didn't even have a bathroom; that was situated at the end of the hall, and it took me a few paces up and down the hall to find the really inconspicuous door. Lucky it looked as though mine was the only room without a bathroom, so for all intents and purposes it was mine! But the room was comfortable, clean, and it was mine. And it had ridiculously quick wifi, so it couldn't have been much better really. These things are important! After I dumped my stuff in my room, I was getting pretty hungry, and decided to head for a walk to find some food. While in Hamburg, I knew the AFL Grand Final was going to be on back home, and I had done some research before I got here to see if there was anywhere I could watch it. Luckily I'd found a place that was supposed to play it, Paddy's Irish Bar, so I decided I could combine my food quest with locating this place. Plus with a bit of luck, stemming from the fact it was an Irish pub that was going to show an Australian game, I was hoping they'd have a menu I could read and understand. Armed with my freshly screen-shotted Google map of the place, I headed off back through the station and into Hamburg to find this bar, which I successfully navigated to in about 15 minutes. All that walking made me thirsty so I grabbed a pint and sat outside. It was an entertaining spot as I watched this feisty short red-headed Irishman, who must've been the owner, engaging with some really drunk Germans as he kicked them out. He explained to me later that they were Germans who lived in England, were ****** from a nearby Oktoberfest party, and he wasn't having them coming into his bar swearing and being arrogant because they weren't from here anymore. He didn't like how they changed because they'd relocated. The irony of this Irish bloke living in Germany wasn't lost on me through his whole explanation. After that first beer, I settled down inside and ordered a pizza for dinner, which I enjoyed over a few more pints. It was a cool little pub, with heaps of friendly people. And it turns out they were going to be showing the footy early on Saturday morning, and were even putting a breakfast on! I arranged a ticket for the day so I could come, and after another couple of beers it was getting late so I strolled on back to my hotel; overall it was a successful outing in Hamburg tonight.