I missed that

The last memory I’ll keep from Berlin is a bunch of party kids dressed for Halloween, leaving the Watergate at dawn, on a monday morning.

After locking my apartment, I walked towards the bridge and saw the very last clubbers in front of the club, chatting and laughing, waiting for their friends who were still inside, waiting for a taxi to pick them up. Or maybe just waiting to sober up. I could still hear music playing out in the club, whenever the bouncers opened the door to let people out, but it was easy to tell it was closing very soon. I kept walking towards the station, and was lucky to catch a train immediately.

I like that this was the last thing I experienced before leaving my neighborhood. This “leaving the club at dawn” scene is nothing special, and at the same time something that makes some kind of sense, after having lived here for so long. I can’t tell exactly when or where it happened to me, but it definitely did.

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While waiting for boarding, I realized that any crowd on an airplane is made of people going somewhere and people returning somewhere. I booked a one way flight to come here, and there was definitely someone else on this flight doing the exact opposite, and returning from a long holiday in Europe, with Berlin as their last stop.

This backpack is all I’m carrying with me. I got it as a gift when I left France, so I’ve had it for almost ten years now, and I like that I still like it. According to the scale at the checkin counter, it weighs just under 8kg, fully loaded. I really wonder what people with one large suitcase and multiple cabin bags that they struggle to lift to the overhead bins take with them.

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Two flights and a bus ride later, I made it to my first accomodation. A very unremarkable guesthouse in the heart of the old town. I got off the bus one stop too early, so I already walked the area a little. I went on another walk after checking in, got food, came back and immediately fell asleep, with the AC fully on. I forgot what warm weather and long travels can do to your body.

Before embarking on this journey, I really thought I forgot how to travel, because I haven’t done anything like that in a long time. But it all went pretty smoothly until now. So I guess I could be wrong.

I really missed this feeling.

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That’s pretty much what you can expect from this newsletter. Unorganized thoughts as I go on this journey.

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