Up at 5 to be able to have coffee and leave Sam's by 6am. Quick walk to Westferry and soon realised that the DLR doesn't really wake up until 7am on Sundays.
Fast walk to Canary Wharf and jumped on the Jubilee line, which even at that time it the day was standing room only.
Few changes and we safety arrived at St Pancras, and soon to be sat on the first train of the day, Eurostar to Brussels Midi.
We had about 10 mins to change onto our next train, and as we were waiting for the doors to open, Alex appeared! He was due to catch up with us at Koln, but got bored waiting so hopped onto a train for 2 hrs just to come and surprise us.
The train to Koln was packed, standing room only. Apparently we can pay €8 to reserve a seat, and you only really need to do it on the ICE trains that cross borders.
Another train change in Koln onto the last train of the day, to Berlin. Unfortunately, we tried to reserve seats, but it was a little too late, as the train was pulling in.
Expecting to have to stand up for the duration, we hung around in the doorways with the bags, while the boys went scouting for seats. 2 mins later and we're all sat together around a table. 😀
5 hours later, much munching of snacks and a visit to the buffet car for currywurst, and we arrived in Berlin. The train got up to 250kmh, and interestingly there was someone with a pink Brompton bike who decided to have a sleep, while one of an American trio was doing a Freddie lookalike competition.
A quick 30 minute walk got us to the apartment, which is compact but lush. 2 single beds with a double built over, sofa, small kitchen and large bathroom, everything you need for a base.
Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but we have 3 days before the next train.
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