Berlin, Germany

After Madrid it was time to say adios (for now) to Gretchen and make my way to Berlin. I spent my first night in Berlin alone which made for good preparation for my six day solo trip that was coming up right after Berlin. After my first night, my next two would be spent with my friend Hannah (another American studying in Dublin), her mom, and her aunt in an apartment they rented for their time in Berlin. It was so nice of them to let me stay with them! 

The evening I arrived I walked around the neighborhood I was in and relaxed. The following day I intended to go on a walking tour around the city but I went to the wrong pick up point - I was so mad at myself! I looked at my map and picked a general area to walk towards that looked like it had good sites to see. Along my way I saw a lot of people and heard some main stream music, running into what I thought was a parade...

...Hmm, turns out this "parade" was May Day March. No worries, it was 100% peaceful or I definitely wouldn't have stopped to watch. People in the march kept handing me flyers, but, big surprise, I had absolutely no idea what they said.

The rest of the day I walked everywhere. I got a good lay of the land to show Hannah and her family around when they arrived. I ate a late lunch and met them around 3pm at their apartment. I booked my hostel before I knew where the apartment would be and did I do good - my hostel was literally around the corner from the apartment, on the same block! How ironic. The apartment and her family were both so nice. It was fun to see Hannah again in a difference European city! That night we went on a boat tour and got a good German meal - sausages, potato salad, and a good glass of beer. 

The next day we got tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off Bus - a bus that tours all around the city and has stopping points at each site, so you can get on and off as you please. It was really convenient because Berlin is actually quite big, I got really tired on my walk the previous day. 

Enough chatter - here's my pictures of Berlin! 

 FYI: you can walk up into the bubble at the top of this building, but you have to book it three days in advance (we found this out one we got there...bummer)

 government building

 the president's house

 Jewish Memorial

 people laying out enjoying the nice weather!

it was 80 degrees both days!

 beautiful architecture 

 TV tower

Hannah and I on the hop on/hop off bus

 being nice and tourist-y! :)

 museum

 Brandenburg Gate

 berlin tower

 we climbed all the way to the top!

 checkpoint charlie 

 berlin wall memorial

 the berlin wall

Overall, I enjoyed Berlin! It was different than I anticipated, though. I think because my first German city experience was Munich, a very quintessential "German town." Berlin is much more of a city, but I would definitely go back! There is more I want to see that I didn't get to which makes for a great excuse :]. Hannah and her family were great and so welcoming! It was nice to be apart of a family in the midst of my travels! 

Update on life: I am very much enjoying summer! I have been up to UNI a few times to visit friends and have seen a few high school friends while back at home. It has been great to catch up with everyone. Everything feels normal and almost like I never left, which I think is a very good thing :]. 

Sorry it took a bit to get Berlin posted - Vienna, Austria is up next! 

Happy Summer, all!