Back to Berlin

Because no trip to Germany is complete without a stop in Berlin, and because I have rightfully deemed Berlin the second coolest European city after London, I was thrilled to learn that Reggie's mom gave us the go-ahead to plan a trip there for the three of us during the first week of her stay in Deutschland. It has been a year since Reggie and I first traveled to Berlin. Until I visited my precious London, Berlin stood alone as my favorite trip. On that marathon of a trip we only spent two fast days in this glorious metropolis and you can bet we made every minute count. (So much so that we didn't even stop to eat the second day.) The history is absolutely unmatched and the city's hip, youthful feel give it an edge over it's many competitors. In the year since we first fell in love with the home of Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate, I have created an extensive mental checklist of the many suggestion passed on to me, "in case you guys ever get back to Berlin." Well, we got back. And we did it right.

If you're curious why I am so crazy about this cool city, have a look at my write-up from our first stay.



To give Denise more than just a taste of our beloved Berlin, we started with the basics: 

The Brandenburg Gate

One of many, many stunning Holocaust memorials

Reichstag Dome

Museum at Checkpoint Charlie continues to be one of the coolest museums I've encountered yet.

A taste of America on the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

And, of course, the one...the only...Berliner Dom. Can you BELIEVE this thing?! At over 100 years old she sure looks fab for her age.

Once we had covered the totally worthwhile tourist sites, we let ourselves go in a direction different than last time. We wandered side streets, ate our hearts out, and people-watched until we were full on culture. The fact that one can do that--step outside of the tunnel of world-renowned monuments and be equally as entertained by the art and food offerings of a city is what make cities like Berlin, London, and Paris so fantastic.

Spree River

One of many super neat bistros available for us to choose from. 

Granted it doesn't look like much, but Denise's pesto pasta was as good as gold. Deemed by both she and I as the best meal of her three-week stay, this delish dish prepared by Italian-owned Toscana in Prenzlauer Berg will go down as one of my most memorable meals to date. And it wasn't even mine!

It is an unwavering truth that Germans do potatoes right. These scrumptious things, screaming with garlic and enjoyed in a biergarten, were no exception.

To advertise the upcoming World Culture Festival, volunteers started a street dance. Before I knew it, everyone around me--nearly 40 people--had joined in, including Reggie and Denise. I stayed back to avoid getting too much attention for my awesome moves, of course.

A GIANT edible Brandenburg Gate?! Genius! They're mos def onto something here.

We walked our hearts out morning, noon, and night through fab Berlin. When we were too beat to walk anymore, we found home at a totally neat, totally mod apartment in Prenzlauer Berg courtesy of one of our favorite travel sites, waytostay.com. If you're looking for an apartment for 3+ nights in a major European city, I highly recommend this site. We have used it three times now--in Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris--and have yet to be disappointed. Just look at this super kooky and equally cool apartment:

Here's where they first stepped over the modern/little too odd line...

...and here is where they planted their feet firmly over the line. But hey, it sure was a great conversation piece. Nevertheless, we all agree we would stay in the palace of oddities again.

With thanks to Berlin's many, many cool possibilities the three of us had a memorable stay. As tends to be the case with any major city, the more we saw of Berlin the more we wanted to see. Regardless, we left feeling grateful, content, and curious as to when the next time would be that we would be back in Berlin.  Unsurprisingly, my "if we ever get back there" list continues to grow.

Through a Tourist's Eyes

It's been over half a year since Reggie and I have seen our friends and fam from home, so we we were extra excited when it came time to welcome his mom and aunt to Hamburg for three weeks. There are countless perks to having visitors. Spending QT with our people is unquestionably the best part about it, but during a recent stay from some fab company I discovered a visitor-perk I hadn't expected.  I expected to have lots of fun during their three-week stay, which included our very own mini-Tour de France, but I didn't expect the change in my own perspective that presented itself as a result of their visit.

Hamburg is a great city. It's clean, has nearly 0% crime (yes, really), and is beautiful to look at to boot. I am reminded of Hamburg's incomparable sense of order when I step out into other cities run by dodgy transportation systems and littered with pick-pocketers, but because I am surrounded by Hamburg's lure and organization day after day, I had stopped reminding myself that I am fortunate to be a resident of this charming city. Fortunately, the ooh-ing and ahh-ing our fervent visitors produced put me back in check--real quick.

Somehow, everyday things seem even more exciting than usual when they are on display for company:

Blankenese on the Elbe River

Downtown Hamburg

During our wandering we found some things I hadn't yet encountered, my favorite being:

Germany is home to Haribo candies and they are available for purchase anywhere and EVERYWHERE. Champagne-flavored gummi bears were a first for me, and yes, they taste as good as you think they would. Look for me at Christmas time--I'll be the one passing these out to anxious folks all over Michigan.


Nearly as cool as Prosecco-flavored gummies was our discovery of Hamburg's Portuguese quarter. In a small six-block district ten-plus establishments have dedicated themselves to bringing scrumptious Portuguese food to the good people of HH. We went looking for yummy tapas and were more than pleased--and stuffed--with our findings. A whole Portuguese quarter right here in our city--who knew?!


By the time we waved good bye to our beloved guests I was ready to go out and explore Hamburg all over again. Time to dig my fanny pack out of storage...

Goodbye, Little Ones

Saying goodbye is really no fun at all. Especially when it is sweet little ones you're watching walk out your door. I know, I know--we've made a difference, there will be more students, they'll visit. I try to stay strong. I bite my lip, make jokes, think about something--anything else in an unsuccessful attempt to take my mind off of the hole in my heart that comes hand-in-hand with the end of the school year. Regardless of my stone-cold effort and waterproof mascara, hugging my students good bye always brings on a teary, mascara-covered face. One would think I would get better at this kind of thing but nope, it still happens. Always.

Of course, the kiddos have no idea about my emotional state. They wave good bye with a skip, smile, and wave while I stand at the door watching them go whilst clutching a box of tissues. Maybe next year I'll be better. (I joke, I joke.)While all this teary mess could easily be summarized into a very compelling argument for me pursuing a less emotional career path, that is as likely as me not crying on next year's last day of school.

You couldn't drag me away from this work.

 

Today we said good bye to Rachael, the co-owner of Seedlings and my dear, dear friend. She created Seedlings so that her daughter would have the opportunity to attend an English-speaking preschool. Soon her family will return to Brooklyn. Seedlings will go on, but it certainly won't be the same without her. 

When will these good byes end?! This is torture.

Not that a caption is needed, of course, but for those of you who haven't seen me in awhile--this is me. Aside from the yarn hair I'd say her interpretation was spot-on.

As much as I'm sad, I'm equally grateful to have been a part of Seedlings' first year. This small, cozy business has served kids and families well. So well, that we mos def deserve this five free weeks we have coming to us. Something about the phrase, "School's out for summer" never gets old.

Lüneberg

About 45km southeast of Hamburg lies Lüneberg, a cute-as-can-be town that is home to 75,000 lucky folks. Holger asked us to choose a day trip spot 50km or less from Hamburg to visit. We chose Lüneberg and were instantly happy with the choice. The town couldn't be sweeter.

Nope, it's not a ghost town. This is just how Germany looks on Sundays. 

Lüneberg is smaallll--you can walk around it's square-shaped map in less than an hour. The city is as perfectly kept as it is small; the building facades are in tip-top shape and each one is different from its neighbor.  The eye-appeal is great for me and less-than-great for my travel partners because it meant they had to slow their pace to turtle-speed to manage my endless photo-taking activity. They were great sports. 

Luneberg's Rathaus, or Town Hall 

I've now deemed Lüneberg the 'pretty door capital of northern Germany.' 

Just trust me, I'm sure you'll agree...

What? You can't tell this is a pharmacy? 

The Church of Luneberg

There. I think I got them all. 

Our short trip to lovely Lüneberg was proof that though just about everything shuts down for the day, Sundays can absolutely be fun-days.