Berlin again

Yesterday I was in work from 7am to 6pm getting the backup system up and running again. It did get a bit panicky in the late afternoon when it didn't look like I'd manage it, but fortunately things suddenly came together and it came back up and was ready for that evening's backups.

That meant that I was able to go and see the Denbigh fireworks display with Rob and Em and Caroline and Rob. We walked up to the top of town, which is always a bit of a slog, but it was OK. They don't have a bonfire but the display went on for about half an hour and the castle is a really nice atmospheric setting. Somewhat randomly they had 80s music playing, and then some woman sang a song while my old friend Darren played drums with fiery sticks. It was quite cool until one of the fiery bits fell off and nearly set his feet on fire. Also had a hog roast bap which was pretty awesome to be fair. Unfortunately while I was getting my change a really loud firework went off and startled me, making me say 'FUCK' to the poor guy, it was somewhat embarrassing.

Today it was off to the airport to come to Berlin again. Because of the stress and hassle of the weekend it really sneaked up on me and I had to have a last minute panicked check of what was in my bag to make sure I had packed sensibly. I'm still not sure even now that I have everything I need. The only thing I did forget was a plug adapter but fortunately I remembered in enough time to pick one up at the airport. Also I'd forgotten to top up my phone but fortunately Rob the gentleman was able to respond to my frantic text and did it for me.

The flight was rather uneventful and quite dull for most of it due to clouds, until the end when the sun was behind the plane and you could see the shadow on nearby clouds, that was cool. I also had a Polish family behind me, and unfortunately the kid would occasionally kick my seat and gabble away in Polish and English. It was pretty funny when the plane was taxiing in Berlin though since he gave a great sigh and said 'This is so fucking boring!', bearing in mind he was only about 6. Fortunately I had Game of Thrones on my phone so I read that which kept me occupied.

It was certainly nice to see the sun in Berlin after the grim cold fog and rain in Liverpool. It was a pretty grim drive to the airport as well. I met up with my brother OK and we headed back to his place via a bus and the U-bahn, stopping off at Moritzplatz for a falafel. It was from a random Imbiss that neither of us had tried before, and it turned out to be pretty delicious. While eating we had the amusing event of a policeman parking his car in the bike lane so he could get a burger. It's nice hearing German around me again. I always like listening to the language and seeing how much I can understand.

I've spent much of the evening just sitting around with the laptop and listening to music while my brother was busy with Buddhist things. A bit dull but after the weekend of hell and a day travelling I didn't feel like going out. Also I remoted into work and checked to make sure things were running OK, which happily they were. Somewhat annoyingly the remote access actually works better from Berlin than home.

I realised on the way over that I haven't actually got any plans at all - normally I try in advance to think of things to do when I come over here but this time I just *needed* to get away for a while so I have no idea what I'm actually going to do. Something will turn up though, I'm sure. It's going to be fun.