My German Adventure!

Alors. Germany, Germany, Germany. I always wanted to go to Germany, and this weekend, I finally got the chance! 

I don’t know why I have always been so obsessed with Germany. I think it started when I met a bunch of super great German exchange students in Chile, but for all I know my obsession could have began long before that. Who knows?! Hahaha. When I was in Chile, I made a bunch of awesome German friends, and one of those friends was Nigel, who went to the same school as me and who, over the year, became like a brother to me. I grew to love Nigel very much, and it was so sad to say goodbye to him when we left Chile. BUT. Here we are, two years later, and I have just returned to Paris from the most wonderful weekend in Berlin that I could have hoped for and I spent all of it with Nigel! 

My journey began on Saturday morning, when I got up somewhat early to take the train to the airport. Goodness, people, I am so good at getting to the airport now. I don’t even read the signs anymore hahah my body just knows where to walk at this point! 

My flight ended up being delayed about a half hour, but I have learned not to get upset about that. I know, I know, sometimes you just can’t help getting upset about stuff, but other times you just have to realize that being upset won’t make you get to Berlin any faster so you might as well take a turn about the gift shops or eat a sandwich until your plane actually arrives. 

On the plane, I sat next to a very talkative German man and over the two hour plane ride, we had some pretty interesting conversations. I have no idea what his name is or how old he is, but I do know that his New Years resolution is to meditate more, he is a computer genius with an degree in singing, he thinks I should do something proffesionally with languages, and that he was returning to Germany from “nerd” meeting in Salt Lake City. He did most of the talking and subject-choosing in our conversation, but as we got up to get off the plane, he told me, “Sally, you are an amazing person.” I thanked him and said goodbye, and walked away wondering if he was a little crazy, or a little lonely or if people didn’t listen to him enough and he was grateful to have a stranger to talk to. Or if I actually am amazing. Or maybe a combination of all those things all at once with a bow on top. Who knows?! Anyways, that is when I saw NIIIIIIIGEL! I ran through the gates and gave him a suuuuuuper big hug and, just like that, we were off on a bus to explore Berlin! 

After a half-hour bus ride of going back and forth about how we couldn’t believe we were together again and in Europe, and how so very happy we were about that, we arrived in the city and he began the mini-tour he had layed out for me. I had specifically requested for “interesting but free” things to be on our agenda, and Nigel really made that happen! We first visited a famous church (I don’t know how to pronounce or spell the name of it) that the US had bombed a while ago but still looked amazing and old and beautiful. People aren’t allowed to go inside of it because it is too dangerous, but it was still cool to look at.

Next we took a train to a different part of the city where I got to see the Brandenburg Gate complete with the lovely Quadriga chillin’ on top. I had done no research about what I wanted to see in Berlin and walking around with Nigel made me feel kind of guilty for forgetting just about everything I had learned in AP Euro only a few years before. But I asked him all my questions, most of which made him laugh, but like the wonderful, caring, person he is, he did his best to explain everything. 

Don’t remember what that was but it was important.

 

We then meandered on past the American Embassy and over to the Holocaust Memorial where we spent a lot of time walking around and marveling at the artwork. While we were there, we had an intersting discussion that really opened my eyes to a part of German culture that I don’t think a lot of people think about too often. Nigel mentioned that it is sad that just by being from Germany, wherever else he travels people bring up the Holocaust and make Hitler jokes and there is no easy way to respond to such behaviour. Kind of like how when I travel, a small part of me worries that when people find out I am from the US they will judge me for being from a country of loud and uneducated obese people (because we really have that stereotype in a lot of places, guys), Nigel has to remember/worry about the fact that the first thing that a lot of people think of when they hear the word “Germany” is Hitler and the Holocaust.  It made me feel like I understood him in a way because, although it is a pretty different subject/story, I have had a lot of people from different countries who I meet while traveling ask me if I hate black people. They bring it up because everything that happened with slavery in the US was tragic and terrible but the thing is that most of the time, I have heard it as a joke. They say it as something that implies  “ha-ha in your country you used to treat black people like animals and that was really stupid of you guys so I am going to make a light-hearted joke about it.” But it isn’t funny. Similarily, it is not funny when people make Nazi hand gestures to German people or refer to Germany as “the land of the Nazis.” It isn’t the same as bringing up some embarrassing story of your best friend when he/she had a rough night out. It isn’t funny. We weren’t there, but we feel guilty and disgusted that anything like that ever happened anywhere. I don’t know if I am getting my point across or exactly what my point is to begin with, but Nigel and I talked about this for awhile and it was an interesting thing to think about. 

We had awhile before catching a train into the Falkensee, Nigel’s little town outside Berlin, so we sat down and got some hot chocolate and enjoyed being inside and safe from the cold.

Little pieces of the Berlin Wall.

First every used traffic light? Cool! 

 

We got to Nigel’s house in the early evening, and his family gave me warm, welcome hugs. I had never met them before, but they were super nice and said Nigel had shown them pictures of me! They all spoke perfect English, too! Their house was beautiful, and I was stoked to see that there was even a little snow on the ground in their little town. I got situated in my room and then Nigel and I hung out in his room for awhile, listening to Reggaeton and reminiscing about our time spent in Chile together. He showed me all the things he had kept from his exchange, like his school uniform and the jacket he wore every single day that ended up making him pretty famous at our school hahah. He also showed me the letters I had given him during the year, which included a letter I wrote him when he was sad because I had to switch schools and he missed me, and a goodbye poem that I had written him at the end of the year. In the end of the poem, I promised him that I would see him in Germany someday, and it was soooo sweet to be able to hold that promise in my hands as it was actively being carried out! We gossiped about our Chilean friends, who all know each other, and about how the other exchange students were doing. After awhile, it was time to leave and walk to his friends house because he wanted me to see how Germans youths hang out.

We went outside to discover that snow was falling lightly. It sparkled so prettily under the lamplight and his town was so quiet you could hear the electricity buzzing in the street-lamps. We walked along to the pleasant sound of our feet crunching over the fresh snow, and i was so stoked about being in the snow that I wasn’t able to focus on how freezing it was outside hahah. 

Nigel’s friends were very nice! They all were able to speak English, but of course they spoke to each other in German most of the time. They really did make an effort to get to know me, though, and Nigel was always pressuring them to have side-conversations with me or pressuring me to say difficult words in German hahaha. I really liked getting to meet Nigel’s friends because they were very sweet and entertaining. A little after midnight, i told Nigel I was tired and he was really cool about leaving his friends so I could get some sleep! We walked home and the walk was even more beautiful on the way back! More snow had fallen and everything felt so peaceful and safe. We drew smiley faces on the snow-topped cars and slid in our boots over the slippery roads. When we got home, I was so content and sleepy and it felt so nice to lie down in my own big bed after an exciting day of travel. 

The next morning, I woke up in a snowy paradise and then the whole family had breakfast together after sleeping in. Apparently it is their tradition to do this every Sunday, and i found that very sweet. The food really reminded me of Chilean meals, because it was mostly delicious bread with various toppings. I was served coffee-pot coffee, which was AMAZING and tasted just like home! During the preparation of the breakfast, my job was to entertain their adorable dog, Sydney! What a cuuuutie.

After a long and lovely lovely meal, Nigel got ready and I packed up my backpack and we took off to see some more historically-relevant places in Berlin. We went to Checkpoint Charlie, where we were able to walk around and read about the restrictions of the Berlin Wall as well as see pictures that portrayed how different it looked to be standing where we were only 50 years ago. It was crazy to read the personal stories families had submitted to the display and try to comprehend that all of these extreme things that happened really didn’t happen that long ago at all. 

I stayed suuuper bundled up hahah.

That is my snow face.

Those who lived in Eastern Germany were only allowed to drive this type of car. Now people paint them and stuff because nobody drives them anymore!

 

 

When our hands got cold through our gloves, we made our way over and into the Mall of Berlin where we sat down to eat some lunch. I had told Nigel that I wanted to try “German Food” while in Germany, and Nigel, not knowing what to feed me, was thrilled to discover a food-court restaurant named “Harry’s German Food” and that is where we ate lunch hahahah. 

After lunch, it was time to go back to the airport and get on the plane that would take me back to Paris. The closer we got to the airport, the sadder Nigel looked. I tried to cheer him up in the airport, but he told me he was sad because now that I had already visited him, he didn’t know what to look forward to. I told him he should look forward to visiting me in Paris, because, well, he NEEDS to. I want to show him everything! I was sad to see that he was so bummed about me leaving, but it also made me feel loved and lucky to have a friend like him. Before going through security, I got two last big-bear-hugs from my not-so-little German brother and I felt so grateful that everything had worked so well for us. He stuck around as I went through security, watching me through the glass to make sure everything went well. When I got through security, I turned around to blow him one last “YOU’RE THE BEST GERMAN BROTHER IN THE UNIVERSE” kiss before leaving to find my gate.

I was surprised at how smoothly everything worked out for my flight back. I got home so early that I had time to write this blog before going to sleep! Craaaazy. My trip to Germany was so short but sooooo worth it, and now I can always go there again, and better yet, I am now positive that I really want to return there in the not-too-far-off-future! I highly recommend going on a trip to Berlin if you feel like having a fantastic weekend hahah. I only got to see parts of it, but that is so much better than nothing at all! Now I only have like 16 million other German friends to visit while I am here hahah. 

Okay, I am so tired now. 

Goodnight everyone! I hope you liked this blog. :D