part 1 - No sleep

I woke up at four in the morning, I had only managed to get two hours sleep after reading a magazine about how bottled water was killing the planet. I knew I wasn't ready and foraged for missing items in my room. A shower, shit and a shave later I found myself waiting for my uncle with my bags. I had two with me and not enough of what I needed and too many of things unwanted. Uncle arrived within a few minutes, he owned the local taxi rank so he was used to normal people traveling to normal places. We struck up a quick conversation about what was waiting for us all in Berlin and if I had enough money, he was a caring man. The bus was pulling away as I got to the corner shop, I told him that he was early, he told me that the internet was wrong. How could the internet be wrong? I sat on the loud Bus Eireann and tried to catch a bit more sleep as my head hit off the window and sunlight slowly ripped through the cold grey morning sky. Others were driving to other places and the road went loose for anyone wanting a bit of slack. It was so very early.

I stood around the airport with my new clothes on. The jeans were killing me, it was my first time wearing them and they weren't for my legs yet. I was waiting on Alan, Peter, Joel and Louis. It was my first time meeting Pete but we had talked before online about the tragic events that had happened recently in Toronto with the G20 and I think I respected him before I really knew him. I only knew Lou, Al and Joe through Martin who was a good friend of mine since our trip to the Big Apple. Martin arrived with Kris shortly after, they were the mates, they were the duo. Al, Joe, Lou, Martin and Kris had all been friends with each other for years as they shared their school days together and the history was strong. We joked and smoked outside. We left our bags and got some terrible food, what is the 'right' food to eat at 6 in the morning? We found a place to have another smoke and discussed the various places to go and see on our cultural trip. We longed to be away from Ireland and its country of hopeless optimistics. I needed a story to tell, I needed a reason to leave and maybe, a reason to come back.