so, the summer comes to a close! It's unbelievable how fast that went by. One minute you're getting on a plane to Germany, blink and suddenly you're packing up your room and bidding Berlin (and Germany) goodbye.
All in all, I had a wonderful summer. I traveled around Germany, met some amazing people (some more life changing than others haha), got to live and work in one of the most dynamic cities in Europe, and had a great time. I am so thankful for the opportunity and the fact that I took a chance and applied for this internship at all, since I was convinced for quite a while there was NO WAY I'd ever get it. But I was honored to be a Halle Fellow and enjoyed it immensely.
I'll be sad to leave Berlin. It is such a fun place. It's crazy to think that when first visited in 2009 with Peter I loved it and dreamed of living there one day. It seemed so impossible!
So a few of my favorite things about Berlin:
-It may be a hipster mecca, but as Peter pointed out, you need these kind of people to encourage art to be really free. Hmm. Ever the Devil's Advocate, that Peter :) But he is right-though there's a lot of eye roll worthy "art" in Berlin it is interesting, and certainly the city wouldn't be nearly as colorful or as interesting if it weren't for the art/culture scene. Hipsters the world over are annoying, but if you look past the kitsch you'll find some pretty talented people.
-Public transportation is great. Public transportation that runs early/late is awesome. Public transportation that runs all night on weekend makes me want to weep from happiness. Oh, and public transportation that comes every 5-7 minutes is awesome too. Man I love big cities.
-the FOOD! If you want to eat something, you can find it in Berlin. And usually it's pretty reasonable. I've eaten delicate French pastries from a cart, authentic Turkish food at a street market, multi-course Georgian specialties, amazing Thai (both fancy and paper plate), more döners/falafel/yufka than I can count, the obligatory German bratwurst with mustard, and about a million other things in between. Oh, and my weight in Hefeweizen thanks to Boyfriend and his mutual appreciation for it. There are so many good things to eat in Berlin!
-speaking of things to eat, let's not forget the coffee shops! Einstein Café, I'm lookin at you. I could eat that couscous salad and a mini brownie every day for lunch. Or my round the corner place, Windscheid Café. The guys behind the counter were the nicest ever, they were literally too steps from my front door, their schoko croissants were to die for, and you could have breakfast/brunch for 2 for under 5€. What's not to love? Oh, and I love the fact that every place you go has lactose free milk as an option. Yay!
-Ritter Sport. For 85 cents at Lidl. Ilovemylife
-the nightlife in Prenzlauerberg and Kreuzberg. So many good nights there with good friends.
-Flea markets. Berliners literally keep everything.
-Biergartens. Not that traditional in terms of all things "Berlin" but I had a few favs. We could just change this one to "drinking beer outside in nice weather"
-Nice weather! (when we had it).
-Double decker buses. Dunno why. I just love riding on the top part.
-History everywhere! Yay!
-Last but not least, the people. They were the best part. :) Getting to see my friends from Besac, Marburg, Savannah, and meeting new people made it an incredible summer.
So, see ya on Friday, Savannah! I've had a great time here in Berlin, I hope you haven't missed me too much ;)
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