Am I alive?

I think so. I might be wrong. Was I drunk yesterday? Why is my mouth all dry, if I wouldn`t remember anything from yesterday that`d be a fair guess, bloody drunk, but no. Just awake all night, and not because I chose to.

What kind of luck is that? I had two flights that had to go, at ok times. The first one was delayed, but what did I care? It made my 6 hours in Oslo to five hours in Oslo. I was ok with that. I buy a book, read, make the time pass fast, I`m really glad, not stressed (unusual), and ready as an egg to jump on the flight to Berlin and scoop further to my final destination, where I would be at around 12 in the evening. It would become a damn long day, but what did I care? I was prepared for that, right?

Everything changes when I notice that the flight to Berlin is 45 minutes delayed. Normally it wouldn't kill anyone, just one small detail made it crucial this time. I wouldn't reach the last train. I'd have to sleepover at Berlin airport, and I was not ready for that in any way. What I was ready for was my boyfriend, and a bed, neither of which would be there at Berlin airport with me. I'd be there with a suitcase to guard, a backpack to guard and a hell of a lot on my mind - like my boyfriend and a bed. Sooo, any of the people who knows me care to take a guess of what happened? I am not the most calm person when it comes to these things, hell, I checked trainroutes weeks in advance so I'd know where to go off, when to go off, what's the enddestinations of the trains I'm following, what are their numbers, etc. I want to know how things goes, what happens when, I need to have a plan. My plan was stepped on and thrown in the toilet. I went over the factors that was indeed the truth. I would be stuck at Berlin airport, I would have no way to get to Leipzig before the next morning, taxi is out of the question (I don't even wanna think about how pricy), walking is out of the question. There are no options, none at all. Soo, the frustration starts boiling inside me, I have to calm really much down to not have some kinda sick breakdown in front of all the other passangers who are most likely just as pissed as I for coming late to Berlin. I managed it aswell. But not with gracefulness, but with anger, sadness and rude, rude behaviour. There was maybe still a small window where I'd reach a train, perhaps. However hopeless it is to hope for luck, that's what I could do. That, of course, was just until the flight gets even more delayed, and this time with no hope - none whatsoever - of reaching a train.

I went over the facts again. What the hell is the point of this again?! What could I do? I could go on the flight, coming out in Berlin, hoping that the airport would indeed be open 24/7, so I wouldn't get raped and killed on top of everything.

And then, as an angel from high, high, high - very high - higher - you get the picture - above: My boyfriend, who had used the time where I yelled at him, and everone other that I was in contact with, to do some research, what could he possibly do to get me out of this mess, and this hell of having to spend the night at the airport all alone in a foreign country? He checked whether it was possible for him to come, and the trainroutes said yes. So he was willing to come there and spend the whole night in Berlin with me, putting everything else aside. Who cared if he had to go to uni just right after we came home - and then without any sleep the whole night? Seemes he didn't. Hurray, hurray, I was saved. No rapes this time!

I boarded to Berlin, flew to Berlin, landed in Berlin (note: 1 hour and 20 minutes after route), and got my luggage. Hasted some to get to buy traintickets, cause we decided we'd rather hang at Hauptbahnhof than at the airport. I come to the trainticket-thingie and said where I wanted to go. B - E - R - L - I - N. Hauptbahnhof? the ticketthingie asked. Easy as pie, I thought, pressing the "Hauptbahnhof" button and got to the payment. 2,50€ I had to pay, and I had no cash. I used my Visa then, assuming it'd work. But no. "This card cannot be used". Frick, frick, frick, I thought trying to think what I could do. Time was passing all the time, and I really had to get this damn ticket out. Then I see the second angel from high - high - you get the idea - above for the evening, an ATM, hurray, hurray. I approach it and take out 20 euros, then I have some extra as well. I go back to the ticketthingie putting the 20 euro note inside, but it doesn't take long time before it comes out, and the screen tells me that the money is too big. Mother of all that is holy!! What day is this, I start to wonder? I am actually so annoyed that I get back to the atm trying to take out 5 euros more, so that the stupid moneyeater would get the money served the way he liked it most. Like last time I went to the ATM, I didn't even have time to think about that this probably was the most expensive ATM in Germany to be taking out money with a Norwegian Visa card. God knows how much percentage they take of the amounts I take out. Nevertheless, of course that ain't working either, 5€ is too low. COME ON! 10€? Nope, the ugly machine in front of me tells me clearly that I can't do that either. Too low. SO, for the xth time this day I go through the situation in my head. The ticketthingie won't accept my card, it won't accept my cash, and I don't have a EC card like most Germans have. Am I at an airport or am I not? Shouldn't this be easy for tourists? The senile solution was like it was, I couldn't do anything. So what could I do?

As I saw it it was.. well. One option. Stop some random person asking if they could change my 20 into smaller. A tiny problem is that my one solution didn't actually appeal to me. I don't actually love doing those things, especially not in Germany, on German. But after thinking for some seconds I kinda realized that that was all I could do, until I saw the third angel of the day (not that I would call the ATM an angel after it was treating me like an ass, but.. fine, the third thing that for me appeared like an angel - at that time). A small kiosk nicely placed in the corner there. So I figured the dude working in the kiosk at the airport, had to know enough English to be able to understand me when I wanted to change my 20 into two tens. I go to the kiosk, wait, wait, wait. I understand enough German to read the sign over the counter. No changing. That's when I really wondered if I came to hell, of if I did land in Berlin like planned? I kept my head cold and pretended like I wanted to buy things from the start on. I looked fastly around on the temptations he sold, and decided that a small drink was ok. And with that, I got exactly the money I needed, to buy that damn ticket finally! And this train I did reach. I went off at the right place, and met my love. At that point I saw that it really didn't matter if I didn't get even one minute of shuteye throughout the night. We were together, that was what mattered.

So I got a small Berlin sightseeing in the middle of the night, and it was cosy really. Brandenburger Tor does look good in the night, so does the parliament :) And I will forever be greatful for McDonalds thats open all around the clock. And the entertaining people sleeping in the weirdest positions you can imagine. And most of all my boyfriend, of course! What could have become the worst night of my life, actually got quite cosy in the end.

And what does one sleepless day matter when there's plenty of others to take from? I'm in lovely Germany now, Leipzig is white, and today I'm gonna go absolutely crazy on Weihnachtsmarkt. It will be nice, and I'm looking so much forward to it! Now, if you excuse me I have some sleeping to do... a 26-hour travel without sleep kindof makes you tired!