Of course, I didn’t leave a suitcase in Berlin but actually, I wanted to find a better title for this post than „A short trip to Berlin“ and this German saying was the first and so far only thing that came to my mind, so there we are. 😉 Also, this song expresses how nice it is to come back to a certain place someday because you can rely on the fact that a suitcase with some of your personal belongings is still there, which is one more reason to come back and check for your stuff. In my case though, a reason to come back to a certain place – such as Berlin – is mainly a bunch of good friends whom I’d love to see once again.
I was invited to a birthday party of one of my former group mates on March 22nd, so I accepted the invitation. As I was not the only one whom she invited from Marburg, I got company and, together with our suitcases, we hopped on the train…
As my former group mate couldn’t host me for the night, I contacted a former classmate of mine who also works in Berlin and found a sleeping place there.
I really enjoyed the time in Berlin, especially because I met a couple of friends again whom I haven’t seen for ages!
However, one thing that astonished me the most during that weekend was that I found out that Berlin has a city-wide escort service for people with any kind of disabilities. They pick you up from your doorstep, give you a hand on public transport and drop you off at your desired place, completely for free! The only thing you might have to worry about is a valid ticket or document that grants you the use of public transport. It all went very smooth and the assistants were very friendly, open-minded and talkative.
I didn’t know that such a service exists anywhere, but in the future, I shall keep an eye out for similar options wherever I travel and might need assistance next time. I already tried to consult google by entering a city name and some keywords related to assistance service, but the common German word “Begleitservice” can also be related to security or erotic escort services, so don’t fall for the first few results coming up unless, of course, you’re up for it. 😛
The way to my personal independence 