Februar

Even though it’s March right now, I wanted to recap my first month abroad. In pictures. Not a lot of writing in this one.

You’re welcome.

So I’ll start with the room. First of all, this is not a normal college dorm room. Every room has its own private bathroom, and the sinks are outside of the bathroom (I guess it’s a European thing? I don’t know. That’s what my roomie told me…)

So here ^^^ is a picture of the entrance, the bathroom (toilet, shower), sink, and mirror. (We don’t have a body mirror so I have to stand on a chair in order to see myself in the little mirror. FYI it works.)

^^^It was dark when I took this picture, so it doesn’t look as nice, but during the day when it’s bright, the whole room lights up because of the huge windows. The only bad thing is the curtains are open, so you can see outside and outside can see you.

*Tip: Open your windows occasionally. We open them almost everyday, but a lot of people don’t like to do that (the winter weather might have something to do with that). Truthfully, I like to have a room that is not muggy, or stuffy, and smells good, so I air out the room and spray Febreeze (which I bought at the grocery/department store a few subway stops down the U7).

This is my bed. It’s not there right now, actually. It’s really easy to move furniture around, and my roomie and I get tired of having the same layout, so we’ve moved the bed, desks, and wardrobes around a couple of times (we’re not crazy, and yes we have time for that. The last one only took us 20 minutes). Pro Tip: Stuff your suitcases under your bed because it will save you a lot of space.

^^^Our first dinner (I think it was the first…) CIEE took us (our little group of eight interns) to a German restaurant/bar after our walking tour of the area (around Gneisenaustrasse and Mehringdamm). What is pictured above? A not-your-typical grilled cheese sandwich. Yup. I had a grilled cheese sandwich for my first real German meal in Berlin. Not because I was homesick, but I just wasn’t feeling the burgers (although they looked really good), or the beef tartar on an open sandwich.

Our first task as interns was to find our internships. The day before we started out real internships, Stephanie and Robby (our...CIEE staff in Berlin?) advised us to look for our internships before we go tomorrow so that we aren’t 20 minutes late, our only excuse being that we couldn’t find the place. I work at an amazing co-working space called SPACE SHACK, where freelancers, companies, etc. all work in the same building. There are open working spaces, quiet working spaces, office working spaces, “The Hub” which has a nap place w/ hammocks, a TV where you can hook up Netflix, a Xbox (? maybe a PS4), foosball table, ping pong table, and darts. And a lounge area. It’s overall an awesome modern place, and I didn’t take many pictures because I don’t know their picture/video taking policy.

Another tip: If you’re taking pictures in Berlin, 1) be aware that people here are extremely wary of having their photo taken and then up online. People have even requested that their homes be blurred out on Google Maps, so respect their privacy, 2) pictures are for tourists. On a normal day, you won’t see a German taking a picture of the Reichstag building, so if you want to blend in with the locals as much as you can, I suggest cut back on the picture taking. Or do it discreetly when no Germans are around.

Here is a picture of beautiful European architecture. Not all buildings are like this in Berlin, however. In the aftermath of both World Wars, many buildings were destroyed, and many people became homeless. So Berlin quickly erected buildings that weren’t as pretty as the ones shown above. The newer buildings were pretty much livable cement blocks. But that is part of the Berlin charm. A mix between simple and complex. It also makes it easier for graffiti/street artists since the simple facades give them a nice flat surface.

This is a (not so good) picture of the Brandenburg gate. It’s located in the western part of the city center within Mitte. About one block to the north is the Reichstag building, which is home to part of the German Parliament (Bundestag).

This is the Mall of Berlin. A tourist trap, but also super cool. Every tourist should come in here to look at least once. Or to have food. It’s just cool to say that you’ve been to the Mall of Berlin. I don’t know how the Mall of America compares (I’m from MN, but I don't go to the mall often. Like I said, a tourist trap).

So one in our group is vegan. He took us to a vegan donut shop. I’m not really a fan of donuts so I didn’t get one, but he said they were good, and Isabelle liked hers too. So I’m guessing they were good. (I’d never had a vegan friend before I met this guy, so I asked a lot of questions about vegans/the vegan lifestyle. I’m sure he found me very annoying.)

Apparently Berlin is the "Vegan Capital of the World." So here is a vegan burger that we had at a street cafe. It was actually really good, but you can't tell from the picture. 

The Fernsehturm Berlin, but known by most as the TV Tower, the tallest building in Berlin. There are a few skyrises in Potsdamer Platz, but this tower surpases them all. If you’re trying to go to the top, you can book your tickets beforehand, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to get there fast. Especially on a nice day. We waited for about an hour? I think. Then we went to a vegan shoe store (20 minutes away by S-bahn), and then came back to go to the top.

This is a view of a part of Berlin! From the top of the tower. It was a nice day so thankfully we were able to see pretty far. But it was also pretty crowded. There is a restaurant upstairs that you can eat at, but you have to make a reservation. We asked if we could just go up to have a look and a drink. So they gave us a table and drinks. The whole restaurant rotates, so I think if you sat up there for an hour (?) It would make a full rotation and you could see the all of Berlin.

We went to see Black Panther at the Sony Center! The Sony Center has movies in English (no German subtitles), so that was cool. I have a picture of the Sony Center, but I took it in March, and this is a post about February. So here is a picture of the popcorn bucket that we bought. It was so big, four people could barely finish half of it.
 

The outside of the G27. Plus Isabelle and Oliver. Their faces don’t show it, but Berlin is amazing. 

I just realized that I said I wouldn't write a lot in the beginning of the post, but the pictures look better with the words.

Tschüss

(This is what Germany people actually say instead of Auf Wiedersehen. Or they say Ciao)