Hostel Margellina

On my travels me and my friends spend most of my time outside. In the evening, after a full-day exploration of the new town, we return to the hostel, and in the morning, we usually go out early and seek new adventures. It is important that the hostel has soft and comfortable beds, clean bathrooms, friendly staff that gives us some practical advice. One of the criteria for choosing a hostel is also the location. It is not so important that the hostel is in the city centre, but that there is a public transport stop near the hostel. 

Hostel Margellina is a pleasant hostel on the top of the hill above Naples, which has everything we expected from the hostel. It has a great location. It is 13 kilometres away from the airport and 3 kilometres away from the main square (Piazza del Plebiscito), which is actually close for a city with a million inhabitants. The metro and the railway station (also called Margellina) is located below the foot of the hill, which means that Kaja and I were standing in the station in less than 10 minutes after we ate our breakfast. The metro took us to the main station and from there we took the train to Sorrento, Positano, Herkulano... and walked through the city centre or went by bus to the port, from where we went to the beautiful islands of Procida and Capri.

In the ground floor of the hostel there is a large reception area with very friendly staff. Every morning they asked us about our plans and where we are going. In the evening, they asked us how our day has been. They got us equipped with maps and tips, helped us find a bus line to the port, recommended us the good restaurants. Even though their English is not the best, we all understood each other. Usually, we started with communicating in English, then we continued in Italian (luckily, Kaja knows Portuguese and understood many words because of the similarity of languages), but we also used our hands a lot. They really wanted to talk to us and help us. The reception is open 24/7, so there were no problems when we came to the hostel in the middle of the night (because the plane had a delay), and that we left very early in the morning. The receptionist even ordered us a taxi that took us to the airport in the morning. 

We were in a lovely small room with two wooden bunk beds and a private bathroom. I admit this really meant a lot to us, because we were returning to the hostel late in the evening. We did not have to wait for a shared bathroom because we had our own. We did not wake anybody up when coming late, because we were in the room alone. In the basement of the hostel there is a large dining room with a common space. A typical Italian breakfast awaited us every morning - a milk croissant and a latte macchiato. Hostel is clean, tidy, cosy and calm. 

But Margellina hostel is something special, because it is a place where many migrants found their accommodation. We met many Africans and some Asians who travelled to Europe to escape their sad destiny. Their first accommodation in Italy is just here - in the hostel Margellina. In the morning, various activities for the migrants take place (learning the Italian language, learning about the city, history and culture of Naples and Italy, writing CVs, learning computer skills...). Migrants in the hostel help with various activities in return for a free stay. Many go to work. They are very friendly, they like to talk about their sad stories and the reasons why they left Africa, many want to live a new life in Europe, some want to return home to their families, but they are aware, that there is no return. Through their stories, they break down the white people's prejudices and the false myths "sold" to us by the media. Above all, they remove the distances between races and remind us that freedom is not self-evident and is (if we admit or not) a great privilege.