Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

This was from a quick mid-week stopover in Berlin to pay a visit to my cousin, Daniel, who's from America but free-lancing as a journalist in one of the coolest cities ever! Had fun catching up and even being exposed to many vegan options in the city (because I would never have tried otherwise)! I came to Berlin during New Year's last year when everything was more or less a ghost town, but this time I definitely felt more of the dark energy and dirty, hipster vibe that the city is known to have (and is pretty awesome). Having seen other cities of Germany, I feel that Berlin is kind of in a world on its own. I still say my danke schön's (thank you very much) and apply my genau's (exactly!), but I don't know why I feel more overwhelmed and lost than anywhere else when I'm in Berlin. It's weird to think of myself as a small town girl now, but living in comfortable, little old Karlsruhe has definitely changed my perspective of big cities, and I wonder if I still would feel this lost every day had I put Berlin as my first choice and not second choice for exchange.

That said, the funny thing about big cities is that they are never truly yours. So many people pass through cities like Berlin, and they always have opinions on it. They loved it, they hated it, but they've all been in touch with the city. I really strongly believe that everything happens for a reason and I'm really happy to have a small town to call my own that not many have heard of, and it's only up to me to paint them this picture of it.

Exchange to Germany wouldn't be complete without a visit to Schloss Neuschwanstein (noish-van-stine), the inspiration behind the Walt Disney castle! On the train to Füssen I witnessed my first snowfall for exchange, which turned the Bavarian countryside into a winter wonderland. The 30-45 minute hike up to the castle was equally stunning, admiring the snow capped trees, watching the snowflakes do their death dives, and spotting the odd mini snowmen which tourists cooked up along the way (in which the boys proceeded to deface by adding things like... nipples. Boys.) Although we ran out of daylight and it was way to foggy to check out other angles of the castle, I was pretty satisfied with the start of our long trip since I'd be spending 9 whole days with these guys! On one hand I felt like a fellow bro with all the unbridled guy talk, but also like a little sister because they'd always give me first pick of beds, help me with my luggage, and look behind to make sure I'm keeping up. Kinda miss their silly company now! More pictures on the rest of our trip up soon :)