Germany!

The flight from Colorado to Berlin was probably the one of the easiest flights I have ever taken...even compared to some of my domestic flights! The one problem of the flight was that I didn't get much sleep so when I arrived in Berlin I was running on pure adrenaline and it was kind of a blur. My taxi ride was in a mercedes, the Germans know how to ride in luxury. To beat the jet lag I got myself a plateful of vegetarian something (it was delicious!) and my first German beer! I was really content with myself, although the alcohol ended up making me really sleepy and I ended up going to bed real early.

The next day was a scorcher, one of the hotest days in this summer for Germany and it was humid. And I don't do well with humidity :( But it was a great day because I ended up meeting up with an old high school teacher Mr. Z! He has been teaching in Germany for two years now, I think, and it was great to catch up with him! It was a great way to explore the lower part of Berlin and learn some tips and German! from a person who knows the city! He gave me some great places to check out and his mini German lesson came in handy the rest of the time I was in Berlin!

One of the things he told me was that restaurants don't give out free water and it is usually bubbly. This was a culture shock and a bit of a panic moment. Coming from Colorado I drink gallons of water every day, maybe not gallons but a lot of water! He showed me where to get water at a convenient store and then that you could recycle the bottle and get money back! I think the fact that I could recycle the bottle and get about .25 euro was the highlight of Berlin! For lunch I ended up going to the grocery store to recycle my water bottle got my .25 euro, sweet talk the meat and cheese guy, and ended up getting cheese, meat, bread, and some dark DARK chocolate! I took my delicious meal to a Viktoria park (which if I can figure out how to post pictures I'll put one up). I sat in the river at the park cooled down, ate, and enjoyed the scenery and people watched! It was a great way to refresh myself and collect myself before the 34 other people in my group showed up.

When everyone finally showed up (the group flight was delayed) we went to a cute German restaurant and got a delicious meal! I finally got to meet everyone and it was non stop talking! The next day as a group we took THREE hour long walking tour of Berlin. I saw so many things and learned so much German history I will not be able to write it all down. We started with the Brandenburg gate which was a site to be seen and walked and walked and walked. I saw part of the Berlin wall, where a man, his wife and child escaped. I saw reminisce of an old Nazi building, Hitler's bunker location which is now a parking lot to not draw attention to it, and so many more things! Berlin is a beautiful city! After the walking tour we went to the Berlin wall memorial site where a huge portion of the Berlin Wall still remains and a watch tower eerily still stands. After a quick lecture it was off to dinner! Food has probably been one of my favorite things on this trip and that night I split a kebab (almost like a gyro) for  about 2.5 euro each and it was more than enough food and then got the best ice cream in Berlin for 1 euro! It was delicious!!!!!!! It was a wild blueberry sorbet that was so fresh it turned my lips purple!

That night we went to the Burdestag which is the German government building. It is a huge building and the public can see into the parliament discussions through a glass dome to illustrate Germany's governments visibility. I have to say though that my favorite part was seeing the German flag through the glass window waving in the wind in the dark blue sky!

So this is a lot of information and it just goes to show how much they were feeding us with information and tours and I am not even putting everything in! So to end this talking and talking and talking, I will sum up the next couple days...just imagine more walking tours more delicious mouth watering food, and more walking tours talking about sustainability and me falling in love with sustainable living all over again, and then not getting enough sleep!!!! Each day I was so exhausted from everything that we were doing that it was off to bed after dinner and then me passing out shortly after! Although there was one night I ran in the rain and was soaked when I got back! Okay now this is a little rambly! Overall I loved Berlin and I definitely want to visit again! The next stop...Wroclaw Poland (not to be confused with Warsaw, Poland).