Exploding into the new year!

Last night I experienced New Year's Eve in Berlin. Natalie and Ollie told me this is terrifying, so I thought I'd give it a go. I drank at the hostel until 11pm (oops) then bought some strong Polish beer and went off into the night. Things were exploding all around me: on the street, in the sky, on the platform in the U-Bahn. People were drunk and friendly, wearing plastic 2009 glasses that would soon become tomorrow's refuse, along with the scattered paper remains of spent fireworks. I was on my way to some kind of indie disco in a shed built by architecture nerds, but I arrived at the station just a few minutes before midnight, walked in the wrong direction and found myself caught in the crossfire of families setting off fireworks. Too scared to turn back, I pressed myself into an alcove and waited for it to end. After half an hour I made a break for it, slipping in behind a family casually strolling amidst the chaos of smoke and noise and bright flares of light. When they turned down a sidestreet I sought refuge in a group of people my age. I felt like I was in a warzone, running for cover every 20 metres. I asked one, 'How long will this go on for?' and he said 'About 10 days.'