Adventure is Out There: Berlin Day 2

We chose to try to get out of town on our second day in Berlin. When Super Nel and I decided to come back to Germany it was because we fell in love with this country the last time we visited. The thing we loved most was the beauty of nature Germany represents. However, when we arrived in Berlin that's not what we found. Some people in our group compared it to Gotham City. I think it's very similar to New York City and I love that city-it's just not what I was expecting. This was the reason for wanting to do a day trip out to the country. Some of our group says that Berlin is colder than Amsterdam. I personally don't think that's possible. Amsterdam was freezing cold so to me Berlin felt the same temperature-or slightly warmer.

Our day trip took us to Pfauneninsel also known as Peacock Island. It's home to a nature preserve. This quiet little island was about a 20 minute train ride away from our hotel. One of the main subway stops, Alexanderplatz was 2 stops away from our hotel and since there's a ton of food places nearby we decided to grab some breakfast there. The day before, we had purchased a group day pass for all the trains. Our hotel front desk staff had told us that this is the best deal for transportation and a great option for groups. The receptionist had also told us to make sure we stamped the ticket after purchase and that it's good until 24 hours from the time stamp. So on our second day we decided to purchase a new pass after breakfast when we arrived at Alexanderplatz since our ticket from the day before still had 30 minutes left. You can imagine our surprise when on the way to Alexanderplatz a subway official informed us our tickets were already expired. The officials are dressed in everyday clothes and they pull out a hand held scanner and announce in German that they want to see everyone's ticket. The officials asked us to get off the subway. They they informed us that the all day pass always expires at 0300 the following day. I tried to explain to the official that we were tourists visiting from out of town and were unaware of this rule. I also told them we were told the tickets work for 24 hours. Unfortunately, the official still gave us each a ticket with a fine of 40 euros. The fine wasn't the worst thing in the world. At the beginning of the conversation with the official, I thought we were going to get arrested. Lesson learned: In Berlin, if it's after 3am-just buy a new ticket.

After this small setback, we were on our way to Peacock Island. When we arrived at our train stop we had to wait for a local bus. In the meantime, we stopped in a small cafe. The owner only spoke German. Since our last visit out to Germany I've been learning small words and phrases. Also, my brother-in-law recommended an app called mango to help learn new languages. Super Nel uses it to learn Español. I felt really proud of myself because I was able to communicate to the owner of the shop that I wanted a small coffee, to eat in the cafe and understand the total cost. Oh and I asked for the bathroom key.

Pedro and Josef on the bus.

The bus ride was very short and it takes you deep into a wooden area until, it dead ends. That's where we found a beir garden and the ferry that takes you to Peacock Island. We boarded the ferry and fully expected a 5-10 minute ride to the island acros the way. Since it was cold, and there was no covered area most of our group started adding extra layers. By the time they had zipped up their jackets the ferry was at the destination. It lasted a total of 45 seconds. We found this to be very hilarious. Shortest ferry ride of our lives.