When I arrived in Berlin the day before the start of the Travel Bloggers Summit at the Berlin Travel Fair, I discovered that there was a public transport strike starting the next day. The S Bahn, city trains. were still running but there were no buses, trams or underground. Fortunately my hostel was right next to an S Bahn station. I had visions of a nightmare crowded journey to the fairground but I had a seat and the train wasn’t that busy. So far so good.

My admission pass to the Fair had not arrived in the mail, so I’d been told to pick it up at Hall 7. There was a Fair entrance a few minutes walk from the S Bahn station but they wouldn’t let me in there as I’d no pass. I was advised to walk round the perimeter of the fair ground to reach Hall 7. It had snowed earlier that morning and this snow had been compacted into ice on the pavements by this stage. Luckily I had on sensible boots but I can’t imagine that half mile walk in high heels.

Snowy Berlin ITB 08 by TList2008

I arrived at Hall 7 already late for the first session and there was no pass waiting for me, so I’d to wait another 15 minutes until this was sorted out. Then I couldn’t find the room in which the meeting was being held. I arrived one hour late feeling pretty harassed.

I was one of the lucky ones, two attendees had experienced a bumpy landing on the Air Berlin flight from London that morning  Darren of Travel Rants missed his flight.

However a prize for the Happy Hotelier who was the first to arrive and locate the meeting room.