A Week in Deutschland

Last week I was in Berlin visiting Niki.  I arrived at the airport and had a few hours to kill before she flew in from a trip, so I wondered around the city myself.  From the airport I got on a bus then rode a train around for a while until I felt like getting off.  I found malls and plenty of places to go.  I also soon found all the food.  I spent most of the afternoon, and the entire week I was there for that matter, following my nose.  My nose tends to lead me to good places.  My first meal in Germany consisted was a Döner, which I associated to be like the gyros I have had in Greece but on steroids.  The Döner had a load of veal, lettuce, tomatoes  onions, carrots, cucumber, garlic sauce, and chili sauce.  It was sooo delicious and nothing short of heaven for a growing boy.  I also had a box of china I like to call it from "China Box" which was Asian noodles with veggies and chicken.  These were the first things I ate in Berlin and they both mad me very happy.  

That evening Niki arrived and I was there waiting in the airport.  Those moments are the best, were after a long period of time you are reunited.  It had been two months since we had seen each other and I was so happy I was able to get to see her on our anniversary.  Since she knew I was able to visit, she was coming up with places we had to go and things we had to do while I was there.  We went all over and to sooo many places.  It seemed like I knew the city and how to get around by myself in just a couple of days.  I became accustomed to the trains and how they work and came to really like the city and how everything else worked.  Unlike Greece, there was more structure and logic to everything rather than chaos or confusion.  And everything seemed cheaper and more reasonable because it is a large city and their economy is not in the toilet.  After meeting Niki at the airport, we headed to her host parent's house, where I would be staying for the week.  I was surprised that her host family let me stay with them and even fed me.  They are very nice people and they make the best food.  It was so nice to come home at night and have dinner made for us.  

As far as all the places we went, they were all very cool and I will have to make a long list of them.  Hopefully I remember everything we did, here is everything we saw: the place where the Berlin wall ran through the city in Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Templehof Airport, the hotel Michael Jackson dangled a baby out a window, the Brandenburger Tor, Berliner Dom, the Jewish Museum, the Jewish Memorial, King Fredrick's Palace, East Side  Gallery, and many more.  We actually meant to go up in the TV tower which was too expensive and the Reichstag Dome which was closed.  We decided that later when we have more money we will come back experience the rest of Berlin.

All of those places were really cool and I got so many pictures of everything and of us.  There were many other things that I came to like about Berlin.  For example, Germans like their privacy and I thought it was nice that every house in the neighborhood had their own fenced in yard, although the fences were not too tall.  There was enough mixture of privacy and public to make everything seem comfortable.  What also made the neighborhood setting feel comfortable was how quiet everything was and how cozy it felt.  Even walking back in the cold there was a nice cozy feeling to everything, then inside there was always a nice smell of dinner in the warm house.

All in all it was an amazing week and I had a wonderful time.  The last night I was there we went to somewhere nice to celebrate our anniversary dinner, Hard Rock Cafe...I mean McFreakinDonald's.  This McDonald's was the fanciest we have seen and we even ate in a little library they had.  So even though we had our anniversary dinner at McDonald's there was still a nice touch of romance.  Plus we managed to have a great time and save a bunch of money on car insurance by switching to Geico. We were both very sad that I had to leave but we will see each other again soon.  And I am of course very grateful and thankful for those who helped me get to Berlin.  There is no way I could have paid for it all myself and I appreciate everything that was done to get me there.  Now that I am back I plan to make the most out of the time I have left in Greece.  And before I know it, Niki will be here to experience it all with me!

OMG a Döner

Berliner Dom

Berliner Dom on the river Spree

King Fredrick's Palace

a mural on the East Side Gallery