BERLIN! (Day 1 & 2)

My weeklong adventure to Berlin began because my host family was planning to go to Turkey for two weeks, and since I couldn't join them, they found an alternative for me! So I got a train ticket and away I went to explore the beautiful city of Berlin with suggestions and tips from friends and family and my own curiosity. B arranged for her colleague, N, to pick me up from the train station and take me to the flat I would be staying at. N and his girlfriend were very kind and not only did they give me a ride to the flat and show me around, but they invited me to join them for dinner. I had a bit of time to pack and then I called N when I left my flat and headed to his. For some strange reason, his cell phone was off, so I did what any resourceful American would. I still went to his apartment and I just searched the list for his name. Not creepy at all, right? Luckily he wasn't awkward about it at all, he just apologized for the phone mishap and that was that. Dinner was delicious and I was glad to not be on my own for my first night in Berlin. I even got an invite to join them at some museums the next day!

this funny little gallery is in the bottom floor of the apartment building i was staying in

journaling out on the rooftop balcony

(thanks grandma and papa joe)

berlin wall

east side gallery

some of my favorite murals from the wall

graffiti!

this one was so cool because it was giant!

me!

my absolute favorite mural

chick on a stick (siegessäule)

brandenburg tor

    

close-up of brandenburg tor

berlin is home of currywurst

i was surprised how much i enjoyed it!

one of the many, many street preformers

humboldt university

a museum about berlin's history

berliner dom

former site of a prussian palace

now it's a 'park'

bürgermeister, meisterbürger

st. mary's church

east berlin tv tower

really pretty mosaic in st. mary's

alter at st. mary's

view from the balcony of the apartment

So as you can see I explored a lot of Berlin on Sunday. I ended up going to the East Side Gallery, the Bauhaus Museum, the Tiergarten, Siegessäule, Brandenburg Gate, and pretty much every where in between. It was great to spend the first half of the day with N and his friends because they showed me around and I saw things I wouldn't have been able to find myself. But I also enjoyed walking around later in the day by myself and just doing my own thing.

So that sums up day 1 & 2 in Berlin. I'll keep posting the recaps until I get caught up, but for now I am going to watch One Tree Hill in German. Tschüs!