Sunday had been busy, enjoyed a Berlin antiques market and homemade lunch with my gf. Then she was off to see her colleague for dinner and I took a nap...only to wake up an hour before my train was leaving to Dusseldorf at 0:32am
No problem at all, Berlin seems a compact city and a lot has been invested in underground road connections so my taxi arrived at the main station with half an hour left.
Which then turned to a full hour as the train "parts" arriving from Prague and Warsaw at Berlin Ostbahnhof were fashionably late. Had a chat with a Korean student who was interrailing through Europe and munched a hastily bought sandwich having missed dinner.
Several poilce officers were at the platform. Maybe waiting for someone on the train?
Once the train arrived everything went smoothly. The staff checked tickets against a list they had, provided information about the cabin and asked about possible food or drink orders. Big thumbs up to the DB people on that CNL train. ^
I shared my cabin with two young Czech professionals working for an advertising agency in Prague. They were on a car purchasing trip to Germany and in a jolly mood. Soon things quieted down and being the last one awake, I locked the door as instructed by the staff and clambered to my upper berth "bed".
Which was a bit short for my 190cm to be honest. I think to have slept around 3,5 - 4 hours at most, the rest of the time just lying there thinking and listening. Next time I`ll get one of those "luxury" cabins for sure. But no hassle from my fellow travellers and at least a chance to relax while travelling.
In the morning had some more talk with my new Czech mates and after they left watched the scenery in the twilight. Arrival at Dusseldorf was a little late but we caught up most of the original delay.
No showers at Dusseldorf station. unfortunately. But was able to organize one at a nearby hotel and then had a Turkish lentil soup and a cheese pastry for brekkie. And most importantly, still had over one hour left until my morning meeting.
And so at 9:30am walked into the Nikko Hotel well fed, moderately rested and rather satisfied with my CNL trip.