Archive for September, 2006
Monday, Sep 25th, 2006
Categories: Oslo
Any early start for us on Wednesday morning, we headed downstairs for breakfast which was just next door to the hostel. The Anker hostel is situated directly next door to the Anker hotel so should you want breakfast you can pay a reasonable fee to enjoy a full buffet breakfast next door at the hotel.
As Juan put it, with candles on the table it was a very romantic breakfast. The food was excellent and there was an excellent variety.
Our first meeting for the day was at Linne Hotel, located at the heart of Groruddalen north of downtown Oslo the hotel is just then minutes from the Oslo Central Station.
We met with Kennet who took us to see a number of rooms within the hotel. All of which were tastefully decorated and very spacious. With a great bar area and great staff this hotel I can highly recommend. This hotel boasts 7 conference rooms which makes it ideal for business travel. Another great thing about the rooms is they all boast enormous bathrooms, some as big as the rooms themselves.
Next on the list of properties to visit was the Sentrum Pensjonat. This property is located in the centre of Oslo along the red light district and has a lovely atmosphere. Staying here will put you in the heart of a very vibrant area with lots of pubs, restaurants, museums etc.
The hostel itself has loads of character, it has gradually been renovated and upgraded and there is one room in particular that is fantastic for a group to stay in, feels more like being at home than in a hostel.
On arrival at this hostel we were shown around by a few members of staff while the others attempted to wake up Vigliek who was meant to be meeting us at 10:30. After a quick show around a very sleepy Vigliek emerged and we had a quick chat about Hostelbookers and he had nothing but praise for us as they had had an exceptional amount of bookings us this past summer.
The next stop was to the City Hotel. Situated not even a minutes walk from the previous hostel it was so easy to find. We met with Marc who gave us a quick show round. Rooms and nice and clean and tidy, however not all rooms are en-suite. This hotel is a great choice for anyone as its in an ideal and central location.
Perhaps our favourite hostel on the trip was the Oslo Youth Hostel Haraldsheim as it is in the most beautiful location imaginable.
Its perhaps most far out in terms of transport but transport options to get there are great and oh so easy to navigate. When we stepped off the tram that stops near to the hostel we were amazed at our surroundings. With a massive field and foot ball pitch just outside the front door of the hostel it’s an amazing place. Set in the country side, this hostel is incredibly peaceful.
It’s a massive building with plenty of facilities and is ideal for groups of any kind as well as families which small children.
Rooms are nice and bright and with great views.
We met with Herald who took us around to see what they had on offer, we then enjoyed a drink outside in the sunshine while we discussed his thoughts on the Hostelbookers system. All in all he was very happy with us and was pleased we came all that way to visit.
It’s certainly an area I would like to visit again in the future.
Our fifth and final property to visit was the Anker Hostel where we had stayed the previous evening. We meet with Noomi who was just lovely. She had lots of praise for Hostelbookers and gave us some excellent feedback.
We knew first hand about the facilities within the hostel having stayed there and I would highly recommend it for the following reasons. Although the rooms are basic some of them have a small kitchen and bathroom included in each room which keeps things really private. So you can prepare and enjoy your meals in private.
With a great communal area near the reception and its location which is just minutes from some great pubs and bars it’s a perfect choice for the seasoned back packer.
After our meeting me collected our bags and made our way to the city centre where we did a little shopping and relaxed in the sun for a couple of hours.
Our bus left for the airport at around 18:30 that evening. Another long buss journey and yet another delayed flight later we arrived in London at around 00:30 only to faced with a sea of people waiting to have their passports stamped. Another hour later we had our stamps and our bags and we caught another buss back home. Arriving back at 02:00 in the morning we were finished. My head hit the pillow and that was that!
All in all an excellent trip! Oslo is a remarkable city for several reasons. The most important perhaps being its people. Those we dealt with were incredibly friendly and accommodating and I would highly recommend visiting the country. The city itself is beautiful, modern and clean and with these great properties to choose from there is no excuse not to visit!
Monday, Sep 25th, 2006
Categories: Oslo
Juan and I left the office at 15:00 on Tuesday afternoon, having only just realised that we were arriving at an airport that was almost two hours outside of Oslo city centre we prepared ourselves for a very long journey.
We made our way to Liverpool street tube station to get the Stansted Express to the airport. This journey took us an hour. We got to the airport in good time and checked ourselves in. We were travelling on Ryan Air so we had major hand luggage restrictions. Juan was carrying nothing extra but I had a bag. After queuing up to go through security for ages we got to the front only to find that my bag didn’t fit into the required space. It was just a little too wide.
So now we had to go and find another bag so that Juan could carry some of the contents of my bag. Even though we were surrounded by shops no one was willing to give us a plastic bag so in the end I put on all three tops that were in my handbag. It was a really warm day so this was unpleasant but it meant that my bag would fit in the required space. Luckily we didn’t have to queue up again and we made our way right to the front. Bag fitted in perfectly this time round and so we got through security and made our way to waiting area.
We went to buy a couple of sandwiches to keep us going for the long journey ahead. Our flight was to Torp airport which was on time. The flight itself was quick and pleasant and on our arrival at Oslo Torp airport we had to made our way to the Torpekspressen which would take us right into the city centre. That bus journey took just under two hours so we arrived in the city centre at just after one in the morning.
Along our travels Juan had noticed a couple of fellow Spaniards that had been our flight, funny thing was that they were staying in the same hostel we were so we organised to share a taxi with them to our hostel. We arrived really late and we were totally exhausted. We went straight to our room and headed right to bed.
Tuesday, Sep 19th, 2006
Categories: Hamburg
Up early for our free eat all you can breakfast buffet at A&O. Then jumped into a cab to take us to our first port of call – the Akzent Classichotel Glinde. A little further out of town than we were expecting, this hotel is around 15 minutes in a cab in a small town called Glinde. The effort was more than worth it as we were met by the impeccably dressed and hospitable Gerhard (complete with 3 piece suit). While Lorenzo chatted away in German I enjoyed tea on their sun terrace, working the tan 
It’s a large country hotel with huge grounds, focused very much on sports and activities – football, tennis, bowling, swimming all in the grounds or very near by. Great place to relax for a while, or to enjoy Hamburg without the big city stress.
Another cab ride back to central Hamburg and we were in St Pauli. The guy behind the desk at Hotel Lafayette seemed rather bemused to see us, as we weren’t expected at all. We had a quick chat and look around none-the-less…this old school hotel is in a great location for the nightlife of the Reeperbahn, and the basic rooms are more than made up for by the indoor pool open to guests.
Around the corner, and moving into quite a cool, bohemian area was the Hotel Figaro – a cheap and cheerful place 10 minutes walk from the nearest UBahn. Brightly painted in red and yellow with a lively bar downstairs, this basic hotel had basins in each room with a shower and toilet on each floor. On the plus side this place did have the largest TVs we saw in Hamburg!
Last stop of the day was Budapester Hof. Owned by a young couple, undergoing extensive refurbishment, this was possibly the nicest place we saw in our stay in Hamburg. Very light with an art deco feel, the ensuite rooms were all modern and spacious with wooden floors, minibars, TVs and wireless internet. We had a chat over a beer at the local café (Lorenzo working his German once again!), then had a tour. There a re big plans afoot, so if you go there in 6 months or so you’ll find a roof terrace and backpacker hostel facilities in the basement. Definitley comes highly recommended.
After our much needed siesta we headed off to the Hamburg annual Kulture Feistival to dance along with the parade. The Bolivians definitely stole the show, with the loudest sound system and craziest outfits!! All in all Hamburg was quite a gem of a journey – some great nightlife, good, cheap restaurants and a friendly bunch of people all round.
Tuesday, Sep 19th, 2006
Categories: Hamburg
After the usual ridiculous cues at Stansted Airport (we left ourselves 3 hours to check in and even that was pushing it!) we were bound for Hamburg. Other than knowing that The Beatles had a long stint at the start of their career in Hamburg, and that it was home to one of the biggest red light districts in the world, we were both pretty clueless as to what to expect!
A&O Hostel were kindly putting us up for the duration of our stay, so after a decent nights kip (in what could possibly have been the most comfortable beds in Hamburg), we headed into the centre of town to our first appointment.
Keiler-Hof Hotel is based in an old 1890’s town house a stone’s throw from the Hauptbahnhof. We arrived at this budget hotel at breakfast time, to be greeted by the owner and a varied clientele of all ages in the cosy breakfast room. The 24 rooms were spread over 2 floors, and all were painted bright yellow with simple, modern furniture. Clean and undergoing refurbishment, this is a no frills budget option suitable for all.
A short stroll around the corner was the Hotel Mercedes, run by the smiling Samira. Enjoying a fresh orange juice in the bright, fresh breakfast room we had a chat about the hotel and Hamburg in general. All rooms were clean and modern, and a number had balconies with some great city views – so worth asking in advance!
On to meet Mr Noori next, who seemed to be something of a local entrepreneur with 3 hotels on the same street. First up was Hotel Terminus – a good standard 2 star - on the main road outside the Hauptbahnhof. The whole interview was conducted in German by Lorenzo, so I was content to sit back until our tour of the hotel…clean, recently refurbished rooms with plenty of impressionist art on the walls…the place to stay if you’re a Van Gough fan!
Mr Noori then walked us 50 metres down the road to Hotel Lumen, with it’s 2 entrances neatly straddling a large sex shop. This one was a 3 star hotel, completely refurbished last year. The kitchen area was large, and all the rooms bright and light with high ceilings. A nice enough hotel offering good value.
Lastly we were walked opposite by Mr Noori to the next property in his empire – the Hotel Residence. The small kitchen area was more than made up for by the large, high-ceilinged rooms with huge windows. The whole hotel was 30 rooms over 5 floors, all done out to a very high standard.
To keep it in the family our next stop was the Hotel Eleazar, owned and run by Mr Noori’s brother in law. This 3*, 104 bed hotel was done out in crisp, ultra modern design with superior design. Defintley the place to go to treat yourself for a weekend break..there was even a sauna with chill out room for those cold winter evenings.
Last stop of the day was WIRA Guesthouse, which is literally a transformed suburban apartment. 6 rooms (some of them themed by country) make up this smallish guesthouse, 2 UBahn stops from the centre. Run by a lovely couple Orachorn and Carsten, who are happy to fill you in on the various local attractions.
Back to A&O hostel for a quick siesta before meeting up with some friends of Lorenzo’s for some evening fun! They were at a work function that involved free drinks all night and a giant scalectrix…needless to say plenty of new friends were made that night. Then against our better judgement we were dragged to the Reeperbahn for a salsa night….not a good idea to hit the sack at 4am when you’re up at 8 the next morning for work!
We knew that our bad luck had to finish today. We knew the city a little more by this stage, and were looking forward to our day of appointments.
We started off by meeting Lars and Anika from the Ryjerfjord Hostel. Breakfast was in full swing and we got to see the place in full occupancy. They showed us around, and whilst I previously could not envisage how the rooms would be, there were a variety of dorm rooms, and privates of varying style, sizes and prices. The Ryjerfjord is actually 2 boats side by side, with the more hotel based rooms on one, and the others on the original boat. It is a great novelty to be staying on a boat and they have converted it well. There is a lovely spacious lounge upstairs on the main boat, and plenty of outside space to sit and relax. Of course, being a boat, the location is superb with although a main road on one side, but a main road right near a great area of Stockholm, the other side’s view is of the gorgeous canal and waterfront with views to the other side of the canal.
Following this, we had a short walk to Renfierna Hostel. Unfortunately, Peter, the manager had misunderstood that the meeting would be held today, and was not there, but the receptionist gave us a quick tour of the premises. Clean and basic, this hostel has both hostel and hotel rooms, as many seem to in Stockholm. There is a good area downstairs for breakfast and communing and free internet facilities also. It is in a very central location right in the very popular Slussen area with lots of great shops and restaurants nearby.
After this, we headed back on the other side again, to a hostel called Hostel Bed and Breakfast. We met with Marie, who was the only staff on, so she frequently had to help guests, but she was very good at multi-tasking and very friendly. It is a tiny hostel, but has a really cosy feel to it. It is changing hands in November to new management, but it will hopefully maintain the same small scale feel to it. Although small, it manages to have a communal area, and self catering kitchen so has everything that a backpacker needs, as well as being extremely central.
Back to the “Boats street”
Our next appointment was right next to the Rygerfjord, on another boat, called the Red Boat Malaren. We met with the incredibly charismatic Mia, who like Marie, was the only one there. Mia’s boat is as you would expect, red in colour and is quite beautiful. She gave us a hot drink each, and Neha, who I have discovered likes her coffee very very sugary mistook her cup of coffee for my tea and I ended up with an extremely sweet drink! The Red Boat is also 2 boats, but due to lack of staffing when we were there, we were only able to see one. There is a lovely lounge area and space for sitting and relaxing or eating breakfast, and it is the friendliness and infectious personality of Mia that would make your stay here really something special. Each guest gets a postcard of the Red Boat to take away with them.
Next, we were to meet at The Colonial Hotel, where we were staying, but Anders the manager was unable to make it. However, we did both speak to him over the phone, and thanked him for the stay which had been very comfortable. The room had everything you needed, and the elevator although requiring some coaxing at times got you there safely. The breakfast in the mornings was excellent with a great array of different food to suit different needs, and the reception staff were very friendly. Colonial is also in an excellent location, right in the centre of Stockholm.
After this, we went to the City Lodge hostel, where we met with Anne. Although very busy, was very friendly and showed us round in between dealing with her guests. the City Lodge is a very new, very clean hostel, with an area downstairs for communal living along with free internet facilities. This is extremely close to the Central station, and is currently owned by the same manager as the Hostel Bed and Breakfast. It seems a friendly place, and good value for your money.
Our final appointment of the day was, back to the same boat street we had now visited 3 times today. Feeling like we knew this street intimately by now, we met briefly with Sanna, who showed us around, and then with the receptionist Pia. I was very impressed by this boat, as it had a lot of space in the rooms, and the deck and there was a great outdoor area for guests to sit. It is quite new, and has great facilities, with many more in the pipeline.
After this, we said goodbye to the “boat street” for the final time that day. Stockholm is an impressively beautiful city of gorgeous canals. You don’t feel like you are in a big city, although the size is vast, you almost have the feeling of sometimes being in a seaside town. Although we had a few challenges along the way, all the people that we met were amazingly helpful, and the Swedish lifestyle is very laid back and relaxed and yet very vibrant and alive at the same time. Definitely plan Stockholm in your itinerary. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen, and it is well worth the visit.
The trip’s dose of bad luck did not seem to be departing us quite yet.
We got lost on our way to our first appointment, Langholmen hostel. The thing about Stockholm it is made up of a series of islands. We mistook a massive bridge for a much smaller one that we should have been walking over, and ended up in a completely different area. After asking several incredibly helpful Swedes, we finally got back on the right track, and arrived at the Langholmen, an incredibly unique hostel/hotel, which used to be a prison and was converted in 1989. Because of its incredible history, and located on an island, this made it one of the more interesting hostels I have visited. This place is big, and it has been converted very well into hotel and hostel facilities. There is everything that you might need in this place, and lots of outdoor space. Being on an island as well, the surrounding area is just beautiful. Once you find it (and it is actually a lot easier than we thought) it is a good location, not too far from the heart of the centre of Stockholm.
The bad luck carries on
Following this we had to get quite a distance over the other side of town. Being quite late at this point, it wasn’t helped by the fact that we had been told to get off at a subway stop much further from the hotel than we needed to be. This meant of course, we were running late again, and were lost again. Not a good start to the day! We finally met with Louise at the Hotel Attache, who was just superb and when she found out that we hadn’t eaten (nor would have a chance to for the rest of the day), she made us some sandwiches to eat while we chatted. Swedish hospitality is second to none and we encountered so many friendly people in our few days in Stockholm which made our trip very memorable. The hotel Attache, is a lovely, independently owned, small style hotel. It has a lovely feel to it, and is surrounded by greenery and garden area. There is a sauna downstairs for guest use, and each guest (and us as a special present) is given a beautiful book of Stockholm. Really lovely place, and actually very close to a subway station once you knew where it was.
Unfortunately we had to cancel our visit with the City Backpackers, which was an incredible shame, as this was one that both of us had been looking forward to. We tried to reschedule for the following day, but unfortunately the person we were to meet with would not be there then. I explained that we would try our very best to get there by the end of the day, by 5pm.
After this, we went back across town to the STF Friedensplan hostel. This is a very big, very impressive hostel that is in an excellent location. We met with Savvas who was extremely passionate about his city and his hostel. We were very impressed with the quality of the rooms with lots of space in them, and also flat screen televisions in each room. Savvas explained that this would soon be converted into internet computers for each room which was a huge bonus. Fantastic facilities, and catered to whatever budget and needs you had, having options for breakfast and bed linen. Very impressed with this hostel, and Savvas presented us with our second unexpected but lovely gift of the day; a mousse each to remember Sweden by.
Different ways
We left there and separated to do the last hostels of the day. I went to the Wasa Park Hotel, which is a lovely old style hotel in a fantastic location on Ericsplan. I met with Anita, and she could only show me one room, as they were almost fully booked, but it was a lovely homely room, with traditional Swedish wallpaper and furnishings. It is a small scale hotel, so you will be well looked after.
Following Wasa Park I looked at my watch and intended to rush down to briefly see City Backpackers, but unfortunately by this point it was 4.50pm and Joakim had been leaving at 5pm.
I met up with Neha back at the Colonial, and although exhausted, we decided to go straight out and find some food as we were ravenous.
We found a gorgeous and funky Italian/Moroccan place where we ate delicious ravioli and even more delicious chocolate brownies for dessert
We returned to the hotel a couple of hours after we had left it, and after finding South Park on the TV and watching that, we fell quickly into a deep sleep for the second night in a row.
As soon as I reached my seat, my eyelids closed, only opening momentarily throughout the flight. Arriving in Sweden, our journey was not at an end yet. We flew into Skavsta airport, 90 minutes out of Stockholm, and a long coach ride awaited us. We did drive through the most stunning scenery but were unfortunately too tired to really take it all in. Finally arriving at the Colonial Hotel, our home for the next few days was the most blissful thing! Both of us then took well deserved showers and then attempted to meet up with one of the hotel managers of the Abbes hostel group, once we felt slightly more alive.
However, as the instructions were last minute, and we were still disoriented, we were not able to meet, as we had arrived at the very end of the day to the wrong Abbes hostel. This was unfortunate as we were looking forward to at least meeting with one hostel on a day that was otherwise wasted for work appointments.
Exhausted and disappointed, we walked very slowly back to the hostel, stopping for a well needed snack stop, as we realised we had not eaten all day, by this point, and both of us were asleep in the incredibly comfortable beds in our room by 8pm. 11 hours later, and feeling a lot more alive, we surfaced.
After a long day of work, Neha and I head to Liverpool Street station to catch the airport train to Stansted Airport for our flight to Stockholm. Both of us were excited about getting there and looking forward to checking in and getting a good night’s sleep. Fate had other plans for us it seemed.
Unfortunately due to delays on the journey to Stansted, we were unable to check in until just before check in finished. We weren’t worried at this stage. We had made the check in time, and we were now in the system. We then looked with horror at the length of the security line. Because of terrorist scares, security was now seriously tightened, and you weren’t allowed to take on board liquids (including water), makeup, deodorant or anything sharp. We were starting to get a little anxious as our flight was in 40 minutes, and the lines were horrendous, but we knew that our bags were on the plane now, and they couldn’t leave without us…could they?
Reaching the front of the line, our bags were x-rayed and we now realised that an hour had passed and our flight was supposed to have left 20 minutes earlier. Having had no announcements whatsoever, there was nothing for it, but to run down to the other end of the airport to our gate, and read the very unwelcoming sign which said “Gate Closed”. Although being able to see our plane outside with the doors open, they refused to let us on, saying that there was nothing they could do (well they could have let us on the flight!). There was nothing for it but to wander back to where we had just run, passing many many other running, panicking travellers also trying to make their flights. Of course I am sure that it took longer to off load our bags than it would have to let us on, but they wouldn’t budge in their judgement.
Arriving at the Ryan Air customer service desk, along with many other disgruntled passengers not allowed to travel to their destinations, we were told that there was nothing that they could do as it was the fault of security and not of Ryan Air. The only option was, of course, to reschedule for another flight in the morning. Although this meant we would miss our Wednesday appointments, we would still get to Stockholm, a city that we were both very excited about visiting, so we decided that a night in Stansted airport could be a little bit of an adventure (although I was very close to giving up completely and returning to my own bed). The moral of the story of course is leave plenty of time for your flight. I will definitely be heeding my own advice from now on.
After a feed, and an email to hostelbookers for them to read in the morning outlining what had happened, we found a nice little isolated patch of cold hard, concrete floor and set up our makeshift beds. We had retrieved our luggage by this point, and our pack made adequate although quite lumpy pillows.
The morning finally arrived, and sore and stiff, we arose like many others early in the morning, determined to be the first in the queue this time. After very little sleep, we walked around like zombies, but this time we made it through the queues with plenty of time to spare, although managing to lose one another. Finding each other at the departure gate, we sighed a huge sigh of relief and wandered on to our flight.
Monday, Sep 11th, 2006
Categories: Berlin
We meet Nizar, owner and manager of the Meininger City Hostel Hallesches Ufer, and told us why the Hostel is called Meininger. Being in Berlin, they needed a traditional German Name for the Hostel, so they choose Meininger because their first hostel is on Meininger Strasse. He showed us around and then we went to the Meininger City Hostel.
Meininger City Hostel Tempelhofer is very small and on the other side of Hallesches Ufer. He showed us some different rooms and then he told us where to go on a Saturday night to see Berlin’s night life. He then took the car for a ride to Berlin International Youth Hostel. And he was always very funny 
At Berlin International Youth Hostel Hans Schwarz was very nice and a bit dry He showed us how big the Hostel was and that you could choose different menus every day at their restaurant. They also had a big back yard where the guests can BBQ, playing football etc. after a few drinks we went to Hostel Adler.
Mr. Khac, at Hostel Adler, was not there and his assistant told us he was at another Hostel outside of Berlin. Francois was a bit angry because he called hem about 10 times the last few day’s to make sure he was there. The assistant showed us around the Hostel, which was in need of a bit of a clean up and after seeing all rooms We went then to the Eastern Comfort Hostelboat.
Edgar, at Eastern Comfort Hostelboat, was a bit grumpy because he wasn’t expecting us, due to our delays in our appointments. After a beer, he was ok:) He told us how the boat is fixed to the river and how he had to cut the boat in half to transport it from Sweden to Berlin. He is an architect too and I have to say the boat is very nice designed, well done Edgar. He was showing us then the nice cozy rooms and the 6 bedroom dorms.
The Generator Hostel Berlin is a party hostel – one of the biggest in the world with around 900 beds. We had a room right on top of the bar, that had a Party every night until 3am. So we didn’t have to much sleep the whole time. Sabine invited us to a coffee and she told us about the hostel history of Berlin.Top spot for a party, but be sure to ask for a quiet room if you’re there looking for some sleep!
Comprehensive list of Berlin Hostels
For more information on getting around Berlin go to BVG
Monday, Sep 11th, 2006
Categories: Berlin
Our contact at Citystay Mitte Hostel Franck arrived a bit late and made us the best Coffee in Berlin, drunk in the beer garden. After a history lesson in the politics of Berlin hostels he showed us the rooms and they really look like a 5 star hotel. Situated in the centre of Berlin, this place has a very nice cozy lounge and a bar next to the reception. We went soon then to Heart of Gold Hostel.
The Hear of Gold hostel got it’s name from the famous Sci-fi comedy series spaceship in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and they have some freaky stuff in there too Thomas was very nice and he is the web designer of Gomio. He showed us some rooms, the same here, every room was different designed and then we went to Helter Skelter.
The Helter Skelter Hostel has some nice apartments which they rent out to groups, with a roof garden, nice designed furniture etc. One of the oldest clubs in Berlin is right next to it too and they offer a special price fo all hostel guests. After that, we had to rush to get to Amstel Hostel.
At Amstel House Hostel, Alexander Licht invited us to lunch to sample some excellent Indian food. He told us that he rents the kitchen out to an Indian caterer who works mostly with parties, but also serves hostel guests if they’re a group. After seeing some rooms (a bit like hospital rooms, lots of light in the room and very clean ) we went to the Circus.
The Circus @ Rosa Hostel opened its doors in 1997. Andreas, the owner, was not there so we met Lorenz; the Manager. He offered us a drink at their lovely bar. He told us their story, how they had first just the hostel and now the big nice bar. He showed us some rooms and they are really designed like a Circus. He also told us that the most guests come directly from the street, have first a nice cold beer and then check-in at the Hostel. After a chat we had to rush to the next one.
EastSeven Berlin Hostel is a very nice cozy and small Hostel. You really feel like you are at home and every one was talking to each other, even they never meet before. They have nice rooms, 2 beer gardens and a BBQ era. They have a shared Kitchen where every one offers you to share their meal. Pierre gave us a Beer and gives us some tips how we get to Hostel 4 Youth.
On our way to the Hostel 4 Youth, we asked one police woman how to get there. She mentioned how nice the Hostel is Alberto Enrique, the owner and manager was very happy to see us and very proud to show his framed HostelBookers Award He showed us around and told us that he is changing the whole design of the Hostel. He showed us there training rooms, TV rooms etc. and he invited us for a couple of beers. He also told us why Berlin has 64 Hostels. The reason is that people don’t find any work, and empty spacious buildings in the city are easy to take on so they open an Hostel.
Comprehensive list of Berlin Hostels
For more information on getting around Berlin go to BVG
