From Kalkan, our fantastic Airbnb host arranged for a family friend to drive us to the airport in Antalya. The flight was uneventful & direct to Berlin, which was great. In Berlin, we arrived at the brand new Brandenberg airport and caught the train into the city. We arrived a few days earlier than Kyle's family and first posted up in a hostel in the Friedrichshain neighborhood. The hostel was massive & it was both a maze and an interesting situation with the room key, but eventually, we got settled in our dorm. Each room only had one key. If someone was in the room, the key was left in the room. The last person to leave the room was responsible for locking the door & bringing the key to the front desk. Every time you came back to the hostel, you had to check in with the front desk for the status of the key. Not a huge hassle, but a very unique approach for sure.


We grabbed absolutely delicious kebabs at a small shop around the corner & were very grateful for the German's inclusion of tzatziki sauce. From there, we headed to a bar Kyle had visited with Anna & Austin several years prior named Club de Visionaire. It was a cool spot right along the river with plenty of seats & chill music. Kelsey's very much appreciated the German norm of having an orderly queue at the bar to get drinks even though the place was packed; no throwing elbows necessary to grab a cocktail. 


The next day, we rented bikes to explore the city & do a bit of shopping since we were finally back in a 'normal' city. Anna & Austin arrived that afternoon & we met up with them for a quick drink at Hofbrau Haus before they had to split for their official race duties. After parting, we grabbed yet another kebab & checked out a bit more of the Berlin nightlife. Most notable was a spot called YAAM, Young African Art Market; it was also down by the river & was a great chill spot to post up for a drink since it was still relatively early. When we returned to the hostel, we got caught up in some fierce foosball games & ended up drinking a bit more than predicted and stayed up definitely later than planned. Oops. 


The following morning, we were up bright & early to meet Kyle's parents and explore Berlin with the fam. We got coffee & snacks at a super cute coffee shop in an old factory where we had a hilarious run-in with bees. At the end of breakfast, we had at least four bees trapped under the emptied water & coffee cups. Releasing the bees to bus our dishes was not thought through in the initial plan. We walked all around the sitting to see the main sites & ended at Café am Neuen See in the Tiergarten. Once the day was over, we booked a fancy hotel room for the night with points & finally collapsed into our hangovers.


The remainder of our Berlin activities centered around Anna's race & narrowly escaping heavy rain. We had quite the adventure getting to the race. We can laugh now, so it's all good. We had all woken up very early & caught the train on time. We were so proud, but then things quickly fell apart. The race wasn't actually in the town where the opening ceremonies had been held, but rather another bus ride out. Kyle realized this with just a few minutes to spare to catch the hourly bus. It was following the map where we'd expected & we had a huge sigh of relief. Until at the very last minute, about a 20-minute walk from the bus stop, it turned off the main road & entered the highway. Once we were finally able to get off, we were on the opposite end of the course from the starting line. We sped walk & finally found our way onto the race course, missing the start. However, we did get to cheer on the runners on their first turn. Just a bit of exercise on our end while the athletes were beginning their ultramarathon; all in all, we can't complain.


Anna did absolutely amazing in the race, holding strong through to the end & even getting some of the fastest laps in the last 3 of 13 giving the US the edge they needed for the woman's team to place first, Anna 7th overall individually, and the 4th fastest woman in the US for a 100K ever! She's a beast.


Reading:

  • Kyle: From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
  • Kelsey: Nada

Listening To: