I Don't Want to Leave!

Benvenuto In Italia!

Since I last posted, I've moved on to Italy (I know, I'm a pretty lucky gal) and I am absolutely loving it here! The scenery is gorgeous, the weather is perfect and the food is amazing - what more could you want? 

After leaving Berlin, I spent a few days in the beautiful Tuscan countryside with my aunt and uncle. 

Reading poolside

Castiglione Fiorentino

Then on Saturday, I traveled to Florence to visit a friend who is doing study abroad here for the summer. My trip was not without its bumps - lets just say, do not book a room at the Florence Youth Hostel because, evidently, it does not exist. However, other than that minor hiccup, my time here has been absolutely amazing ... I have seen and done so much! 

The Boboli Gardens

Tower of the Palazzo Vecchio  

Gelato + The Galleria

The David ( I took about 9 million pictures)  

The: when I go to fancy museums (aka the Uffizi) I like to make up internal dialogues for the people in the paintings and this girl's is "God, Mom. I told you I didn't want to get my portrait painted today"

 

Sunset on the Arno River 

Everything has been so awesome and I do not want to leave! It's not that I don't miss everyone back home - I do. It's just that I've been having such a great time traveling, and meeting new people, and eating amazing food, and I'm not ready for that to end! 

Alas, tomorrow I am boarding a plane and heading back to the U.S., but my time in Europe has been an absolutely unforgettable experience (and one I am so grateful to have been able to partake in) and hopefully my future will hold many return trips. 

The Turkish Market

Full disclosure, this post is going to have a lot of food in it because I know that you are probably dying to know what the food is like here, Mom. So, on Friday I tried to remember to take pictures of basically all the food, to give you a bit of an idea.

On Friday, we had a free day, so we decided to make our way to the Turkish market. Although we had a bit of a hard time finding it, we eventually got there after a few wrong turns. As usual, everyone was dressed to the nines of bohemian fashion.

(even the kids and their dogs) 

All along the sidewalk there were vendors selling clothes, artwork, various crafts, and most importantly - food.

Even the babies were enjoying all the market had to offer. 

What would a blog post in Berlin be if there were no pretzels? 

Many of the vendors were selling seafood or different meats.

Some delicious coconut cookies that I had, also known as kokosbällchen.

Other popular items included cheese, rice, spices, and dried fruits,

as well as different Turkish sweets.

On our way out we passed a band from the UK called the Parcels - think the younger, cuter version of Mumford and Sons.

And of course, what would a trip to the Turkish Market be if I did not get anything to remember it by ... so I got a tattoo. 

Just kidding, mother. It's henna.

The Adventures Continue

Berlin continues to amaze me. Everything about it from the people to architecture is absolutely astounding. On any given street, there are beautiful buildings and fascinating people and this week I have had the chance to roam the city and take in all of it.

One of the most amazing opportunities that we have had so far was the chance to go to Christoph Niemann's studio, where he spoke with us about his experiences in the industry, showed us his incredible work, and answered our questions on his artwork and being a part of the media world. Not only was he extremely talented, but he was so sincere and kind. I actually had not known that he was a pretty big deal when we went to the studio, but having that knowledge now just makes the whole experience that much more memorable because he was so down to earth and his advice was so genuine that you would have never known that he is actually an extremely well-renowned artist. I did not want to take pictures while he was speaking because I wanted to be as present in what he had to say as possible, but here are a few pictures of his studio that I took afterwards.

This week we also had the chance to go visit the Berliner Dom and tour the inside - it was absolutely unreal. The outside itself is spectacular, but inside is just beyond beautiful. The interior is huge, but all of the architecture is so intricate. 

Underneath the ground level are the crypts which have 94 tombs spanning from the late 16th century to 20th century. On the second level, you can see various different replicas of the Dom as well as the man who constructs them. 

Finally, after climbing 270 steps (and trying not to trip up them - I was unsuccessful) you reach the top of the Dom at which point you have the most breathtaking view of the city. 

It's hard to believe that I only have five days left here in Berlin, it seems like my time here has just flown by! In the time that I have been here though, I feel like I have seen and done so much and my appreciation for the city just continues to grow with each passing day. 

A Walking Tour Through Berlin

On day four of my travels in Berlin, we hopped on a tram and went to meet our tour guide so that we could explore more of this wonderful city. Our 3 hour walking tour took us all around Berlin and allowed us to see the meshing of old and new that truly defines the city.

View of the Berliner Dom across the river

The Alte Nationalgalerie 

Musician Outside of Alte Nationalgalerie

During our tour we came across a gay pride parade and were able to see people from all different walks of life coming together to listen to music, meditate, and show support.

Our next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a monument which was very powerful to say the least. The Memorial is filled with concrete blocks which grow taller as you move further into the center and stretches 4.7 acres.

We, of course, could not miss Checkpoint Charlie and so to end our tour we visited the historic location.

After lunch, we visited Mauer Park and went to the Sunday Flea Market. This would definitely have to be one of my favorite places out of all those that we have visited thus far. Honestly, I had never actually been to a flea market before and didn't really know what to expect, but I thought I would not like it since I generally do not have much success when it comes to thrift shopping. However, I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised and, in fact, absolutely loved the flea market. Everyone  there was just so cool (for lack of a better word). There were so many different kinds of people - all with top notch fashion (because evidently all Europeans have an amazing sense of style) and there were so many things to see and eat, and I wanted to do it all.

For dinner, I got a falafel and halloumi doner kebab - I am obsessed with doner kebabs, I could literally eat them every single day. Then as we were leaving we noticed a giant crowd just outside of the market (there had to have been at least 600 people in the crowd, probably more). It turns out that on Sundays they do karaoke and the Berliners really get into it, as you can see by this old man.

To end our amazing day, a few of us went to the Old Tram Repair Shop Classical Music Night, where we saw the performance of an insanely talented Greek pianist - at some points I could have sworn that her hands were blurred because she was playing so quickly. The Classical Music Night took place in an old tram repair shop (... you may have gathered this from the name), so the interior literally looked like an abandoned station/shop ... well a very hipster abandoned tram station. For example, in some locations of the bathroom there was no ceiling or walls and the concert room was filled with vintage items and five grand pianos. While, admittedly, I may have dozed off a few times (and this is purely because of dim lighting I tell you), the music was absolutely amazing and it was one of those very cultural and quintessentially Berlin experiences.

After a long day, we headed back towards the hotel and got ready for the activities ahead. It's amazing what we pack into one day here. The days seem so long because we do so much, but they go by so quickly. Each day is an adventure though, and just being a small part of the city has been beyond amazing.

Berlin, Day 2

I was right, Berlin is absolutely stunning! The city is green and beautiful, and the people here are always outside, not plugged into technology - it's so great.

Yesterday was the day of the 8 mile bike tour. I was a bit skeptical at first (8 miles is pretty far!), but honestly I would not have wanted to see the city any other way. At 10:30 we went to Alexander Platz to meet our tour guide. After arriving we picked our bikes (mine was Anne Frank) and began our voyage through the city.

We had yet another day with beautiful weather, mid 60s and sunny - it was actually overwhelming how perfect of a day it was. 
We were able to see so much, The Berlin Wall, different parks and monuments, residential areas, the water front. The Berlin Wall was breath taking (as evidenced by the many, many pictures I took ... I picked a few of my favorites for this post) as was the rest of the city. 

  

To say that my time here thus far has been amazing would be an understatement and I can't wait for what's to come!