Well, I have made it to Germany where I am enjoying the warmer climate and being able to get a coffee without paying $10. Catching the train from Copenhagen was quite fun. Some people from the hostel were going to Berlin, so were on the same train as me. Basically there is a train from Copenhagen to the end of Denmark, then a ferry crossing to Germany, then another hour or so to Hamburg. I assumed that we would be on 2 different trains and a ferry for the journey but the train physically gets on the ferry and comes with us, then we get back on the same train and keep going. It was pretty cool and the ferry crossing was a nice change from trains, especially from the annoying guy opposite me who kept stretching his legs into my space and glaring at me when I bumped into them.

Spent Thursday night and Friday night in Hamburg. Not much going on in Hamburg. I found a shopping district on Thursday night that was a lot like Bourke Street and briefly went shopping. Usually I only window shop (which is pretty cruel because the shopping in Europe is fantastic) but I did find a cardigan that I liked for 8 Euro so I figured that would be ok. Plus it matches the dress that I bought in London, which I will probably wear to Nick and Kat's wedding since I don't imagine I will have any money for a new dress by December. I spent Friday mostly just walking around Hamburg. It's not very exciting and nowhere near as beautiful as Copenhagen but it's a nice break from doing things all the time. Also there are a large number of churches, some are quite impressive. The hostel here is extremely clean and has the best shower I have had for quite a while but it's not a very good place to meet people. Also my room is full of people who speak German. They spend a lot of time drinking wine and playing a dice game which looks distinctly like the one Nana and I play. Only one of them seems to speak English well. Either that or only one of them is friendly. Either way, I have been catching up on my reading and have nearly finished Frankenstein, which I have been meaning to read for a couple of years now.

I had my first bad day on Saturday which was moving day again (they come around pretty quickly!). I got yelled at a lot by a homeless guy at Hamburg train station, the train was late and when I got to Berlin I got lost. That was my first time being lost on this trip so I'm sure it was bound to happen eventually but everyone I asked for help was thoroughly unhelpful and I eventually sat down on my pack and cried for a bit. Then I decided it would really be easier to catch a taxi. It only cost 6 Euro so I can't have been too far from where I was supposed to have been.

Had a quiet day on Sunday starting with a sleep in and then going to the Berlin Zoo for the afternoon. The zoo is very tourist friendly, being very large and garden-y so it's quite pleasant walk around in, however, I thought some of the animal facilities were pretty below par. In particular, the big cats were in an extremely small, bare, glass box. Plus, going to a zoo brings the usual frustration of listening to people say things like "Oh a snake" when it's clearly a legless lizard or "Oh a kangaroo" when it's clearly a wallaby, but that's just a zoologist's cross to bear. I just hung around the hostel and had a few beers with various other backpackers in the evening. The hostel is really clean and friendly and sells beer and everyone here is very friendly, probably the best I've stayed in so far.

I had a fantastic day today going on a free walking tour of Berlin. It was mostly in East Berlin and was very historical covering the Prussian empire, WWI, Nazi Germany, WWII, Communism and the abolishment of the Berlin Wall. Very interesting stuff that made me wish I had studied a bit more history at uni. The city is also really beautiful with very old and ornate buildings all over the place. It was also a gorgeous warm, sunny day which was nice since I keep getting rained on. The tour company called New Europe do similar tours in other cities that I'm going to so I'll definitely be doing a couple more of them.

Anyway, I'm off to Amsterdam tomorrow, which I'm excited about but also a bit sad to be leaving Berlin as it is lovely here.

Love and hugs to Neptune and Bunni. Love to Sammy.