Goodbye Amsterdam, Hello I Still Don't Understand Anything!

October 12, 2015

I'm in Berlin! I'm very excited! I'm very unaware of what anyone is saying! I'm very okay with it!

Today was my last day in Amsterdam of course, and it was really just a final walk across town to the post office (soooo much cheese!), and then a cab to the airport. I didn't to much having to actually do with the city, and got to the airport way too early, as usual. I watched some iTunes-loaded fun, treated myself to an iced pumpkin spice latte from th airport Starbucks, and had a weird prepackaged sandwich, which ended up being okay. 

I was sitting on a comfy chair, minding my own beeswax (bringing it back!), and this young woman came over, sat right across from me (you know how close airport chairs are), laid down and stretched herself out across three chairs, sat up after a few minutes, hacked into her blanket, took time to look through her spit and whatever else, and then put the blanket back over her and laid down again. 

Ummmmm... no.

I moved, immediately. Like, what are you doing? Ew.

Moving on. The flight was great, and something new happened, which really shouldn't have been perceived as new. This German dude was sitting on the aisle seat of the row I was in, so I gestured nicely to the the window seat. He stood up and said, "Let me help you with that!", took my bag from my hand, nicely, and put it in the overhead compartment. 

Uhhh, awesome. Sad that it seems weird that a person would help another person, right? Wellthen at the end of the flight, he took all of my stuff down for me, and waited for me to get ready, and then gestured for me to leave first, saying, "I guess I'm the guard at the gates! After you!" It was lovely, and seems chivalry isn't dead, and that Germany may be awesome! lol

Anyhow, look at Berlin at dusk! The green lighting is a still shot of moving projections on the side of the building. Very cool!

I got to the AirBNB location around 6:30pm, right before dark, so didn't do too much snooping around. Here's what I did see when I went and did some groceries for breakfast tomorrow, and grabbed some dinner.

The building on the left had a rainbow top! It's reflecting a rainbow on the water! Whaaaaaat! I must get better pictures of this dream building and then take up residence there immediately!

There's a tiny bar under the highway / bridge! And look at the picture after it, same shot, but with a car zooming by! Very cool.

And then it was dinner time. Nothing fancy, just a 4€ little pizza from a place near by. It was essentially a Dr. Oetker pizza but cooked in a pizza oven, but did for tonight!

The woman at the AirBNB place here is just lovely, and lives right next door, which is a great thing. She even left individually-packaged chocolate covered almonds (I'm assuming based on the picture, no clue based on the words!) on each pillow! That means I get two, moooooahahahah (evil laugh!)

Alright, tomorrow is "scope it all out" day, so I best get some sleep, and get out there bright and mid-morning tomorrow, lol! 

Night night, everyone!

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It's 5° in Berlin. That is All. Plus Some More

October 13, 2015

You guys, apparently a many-year low for Berlin. FIVE DEGREES. It's 14° in Toronto!

The good news, which I'm choosing to focus on, is that I got to buy a new coat / zip-up thing, and the colours are beautiful! It goes perfectly under my rain coat, so I get the warmth and the dry. 

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. Snow. Tomorrow. Should I repeat it again? Snooooow!

Again, the good news is that I'll be all prepped for my two days in Paris in November, and for the Toronto November when I get back home. I'm choosing to see is as a bit of a winter training!

Okay, so today was interesting, because I truly had / have no idea where I am. I mean I know I'm in Berlin (there would have been a need for some well-placed worry if I wasn't aware of at least that!), but I don't know here anything is, and how to get to anything. Again, this is by design (the design of being too busy with life before I left to do the level of research I'd like to have), and while it doesn't fit my usual style of doing things, it's teaching me a lot about myself and my surroundings. 

I'm used to planning, knowing where stuff is before I do it, calling ahead and seeing what's open, what's not, etc. This whole thing has made me a bit uneasy, if I'm being honest. But I'm trying to lean into the uneasy, to learn what not having a plan is like. Plans usually change anyway, so this'll be a beneficial lesson I'm sure, or at least a time for me to continue to prove to myself that absolutely nothing is under my control anyway. 

I can't say I like it as much as I would like to, but, you don't always like the lesson you learn, but you learn them anyway. In fact, I think you learn more from the ones you don't like than the ones you do.

By no means should this register as a complaint, because I could just sit down at night, which I plan to do tonight, and look over / research the things I want to make sure I don't miss while in Berlin. So, that's what I'll do!

As for today, I  walked a whole lot. I got lost immediately, but that was bound to happen since I had no idea what I was going, and then ended up in front of a most gorgeous, very old cathedral called Berliner Dom. It was built between 1894 and 1905, and was only open to the public in 1993 after it was repaired fro, heavy damage from war.

I walked to the top of the dome (was totally winded, no way I'm doing the CN climb anytime soon!), and got to see a full 360° of downtown Berlin. 

Every picture I took from this spot made the cathedral look like a painting!

So much repair done to these little guys.

There was some music coming from somewhere while I was up there. It sounded a bit like Amy Winehouse, and a bit like Macy Grey. I originally deduced that it was from a tourist boat on the water nearby, playing the radio, so I stood at the top of the cathedral and listened. I then suspected that it was live music, because I saw a woman far in the distance swaying, with a mic and amp on a bridge across the horizon. I used my camera as binoculars, and realized then that the sound I heard was coming from her mouth!

It was an Oprah moment, you guys (don't you think it would be the greatest thing to be a person and have someone name amazing moments after you? That just seems so cool to me!), standing at the top of a cathedral, overhearing this amazing voice that was being projected across the open space. I stood there for a while, took it all in, then was shocked back into realized with a breeze that gave me a huge chill. I took a picture of her as close up as my camera would stay still for, and then one from my actual distance for comparison.

I could hear her so clearly, even from this far. So beautiful.

I saw a bunch of other stuff too, bought a few treats, so I'll just put the pictures here, and chat through them as I go.

I don't know what this is really, but I saw it from across the river and just loved the look of it. I then walked toward it, and it seemed to be some form of outdoor community, that may have extended to an indoor community.

This is the exterior of a mall I went into to grab something to eat. I had some sort of pizza thing, which was delicious, and then bought a sandwich for the road, which I later ate after climbing down the stairs in the cathedral. It had some of the best, most fresh bread that I've had in a long time. And it had been in my purse for hours.

Just a very cool looking facade.

I saw a cool looking exterior of a different building than the one above, and walked in. The security guard, seemingly well-hidden, asked me something in German, I didn't understand, so he waved me through. Poor guy, I had no clue. Anyhow, from what I saw, I gather it's an office building, and it is really quite stunning in person.

This is a museum that I'm hoping to be able to make it back to. It was too late in the day to go today, and they were closing a half hour after I got there. It's right beside the cathedral, in an area they call Museum Island. Because there are in fact a bunch of museums on an island in the middle of Berlin!

As I sat outside of the building above, this guy tried to jump into this giant sculpture. At first he couldn't, and I was fully judging him for being an idiot. Then, he walked backward and took a running start and made it in. I couldn't help but laugh, because then he yelled, "I'm in the cup!" in a goofy voice. It was pretty funny.

A very cool building outside, and the I went in and learned that it's an information centre about Berlin and German history. Quite fun as well. 

I went for dinner at a steak place that I'd say is on par with a Kelsey's in terms of environment and quality. It was pretty good, and the waitress was an absolute sweetheart.

As I walked about just before dinner I found a random shop that had some very random things inside. I bought these, some wafer cookies that I love the packaging for, for some reason, and also the taste of. They're very strong in flavour, not like the lame Canadian equivalent!

What you see below is basically heavenly dreams in a tiny tub! It's called Naschi, and I have no idea what that word it, but holy hell, I'm going to marry it. If you like Nutella, and you like coconut, you've met your match! It's a 3"-ish tall tub for 1.8€. The coconut adds a crunch texture, and guys, I can't even talk about it! I'm going to struggle to not buy 25 tubs and bring it back to "share"...

Alright, tomorrow will be museum-filled, as will likely the next four days because it's supposed to be super cold and rainy, but whateeeeeever, museums rule! 

Have an excellent night, everyone. And I'll do my best to be back tomorrow with some adventure stories (and yes, rest assured, adventure can happen in museums, just ask Ben Stiller... see what I did there? Yeah!)

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The Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Museum and a Delicious Dinner

October 14, 2015

I can't believe it's day 12 of this amazing trip. Today was a great one, I must admit. 

I got up at an unreasonably late time for someone on vacation, made myself a fresh caprese salad, cut up and apple and watched the BBC, CNN and one other English-speaking channel. I know way too much about the Malaysia flight, the Bloomberg Report and stock stuff that is completely lost on me, except I know I'll never have that much money!

Finally I left the apartment, and decided that I was going to figure out this Berlin transit system. I'd read up slightly last night, knew where I wanted to go, and thanks to Google, was able to find my way. 

I wanted to see the Berlin Wall remnants, so that's what I did. It was pretty interesting, and they have a bit of a plank that you can climb to see the wall and other elements around it more clearly.

This is what the metro trains look like on my way to get there. Quite fun! And boy it is an efficient system!

A map of where the wall stood and how it divided Berlin.

This is the full section that has been preserved. The front wall, which to me seems more substantial than the actual Berlin Wall, was built as a first barrier for people trying to leave / escape. They then came across a brightly lit Berlin Wall, with very frequent armed guards, which lasted 28 years.

And then I did what I think we all knew I would do, and bought a piece of the Berlin Wall!

As I made my way to my next stop, I found a place that sold Currywvusrt, which is something that I've hear about all around Berlin. It was on my list, so I gave it a shot.

The guy put sooooo much sauce on there, which I initially thought was Ketchup. Even after eating it, it seemed an awful lot like Ketchup (which I usually like to add for a slight taste, not an absolute deluge of tomato and sugar!). Then, later tonight I was on the metro (which I was immediately kicked off of in German because the train went out of order), I managed to snap this picture.

Turns out it wasn't Ketchup, but some actual Currywvurst sauce! Who knew! Not me.

From there I walked a bit, then found my way to the Holocaust Memorial (also known as The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). 

There's not much that I can say after seeing the 2711 columns placed in an almost perfect, maze-like grid, all varying heights, the representing the over 6,000,000 people murdered in the Holocaust. I went through the memorial, and then a very touching underground exhibition, which brought in more than a few tears. Here are some pictures of the memorial.

functional door marked "Emergency Exit", which is painfully ironic.

Basically, the fact that I was annoyed at my feet being a bit torn up from my rain shows today became absurd. Pretty much everything I've ever complained about seems pretty absurd after this experience. 

Then I took a breath, and decided to walk to the metro and find my way home. I was all the way across town, and pretty clueless as to how to make it work, but Google came to my rescue again. It's been a lifesaver!

On my walk to the metro, I came across a very fun design shop, and then a huge mall, simply called Mall of Berlin.

This is a felt round, made by a Scandinavian artist. She makes her own felt, rolls it like you might a jelly roll (or those delicious little Pickle Barrel tuna or egg sandwiches! Yummm!), and then cuts them into individual slices. They had them as cushions for dining room chairs. But those were 199€ a piece. Not happening. I bought one the size of a potholder, which was much less expensive. It's just so cool, and each one is unique.

And then the mall, which I admittedly only saw a tiny bit of. There's this massive pen, which has different stuff projected on it. It's pretty neat

A public chalkboard wall, in the mall!

In the middle of the hall, they have beanbags set up to kids to sit and watch a movie. Tonight's movie was The Lion King. I was soooooo tempted to plop down and watch!

This place took a chunk out of my wallet. But I don't imagine that would shock anyone who knows me! Some of the stuff I bought are gifts, so stop judging! hahaha. Pay close attention to the rainbow counter. I must have one for my personal countering needs!!!

For example, these. They're little sticky notes, very tiny, there's no way you could actually use them. Whoooooo cares, they're adorable!

A little plastic card holder, and some random felt bird kid. No clue why on the latter, but, I mean, look at it. It's so cute!

I needed new socks, and the Nike store obliged. The ones I brought were ankle socks, which I love, but they kept sliding down in my rain shoes, which then made some tiny little slices in my ankles. These saved the night, and they're super cool looking! The little patterned bit is like little padding parts... yassss!

Then it was food time! I've now had steak two nights in a row, so will be going easy on beef for a few days. But look at how deliiiiiicious!

And then some baklava pie. Someone made a PIE out of baklava. Good lord.

I then challenged myself to find my way all the way home on the metro, and I did it! I felt very proud, which is sad, because Google did the work. 

The metro stop I landed at opens up right to this place...

One or two tiny treats for tomorrow were purchased. One... or... two... or more... 

Damn it!

Alright, sleep time for this chick. Have a good night everyone! Hoping to be back tomorrow with something new, and on less of a sugar high!

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Relaxing, Blue Dudes and Following the Rules!

October 15, 2015

Well, today was a day of lazy! I decided that a cold rainy day, well many in a row, deserved at least one getting a sleeping in, followed by some comedy watching on YouTube (Amy Schumer, man is she vulgar! Love it!), eating a big caprese salad from fresh ingredients that I bought, all pyjama'd up. 

That lasted longer than planned! But come on, who's rushing out in crapo weather? I should have, there was a level of guilt, but the level of "oooooh hell yes!" totally outweighed it!

Then I decided that the only way to complete the day was to make my way over to the theatre playing.... the Blue Man Group! Yeah, you read that right! I'd seen it years ago, and it was great. I saw it tonight, and it's just pure, absurd entertainment, you guys. Colour, paint, drums, music, happy people, crowd involvement, just fun!

Just before that I found this place in a mall near by that had shawarma, sure, why not, I'm in! I sat down, ordered one, and about ten minutes later it was brought over. It was pretty small, and very, very delicious. So much so, I asked for a second one after the first. I knew I wasn't going to eat again for a while, and so I had it. Turns out they both added up to 8€ total, so I feel like they expect people to order two. They were sooooo good!

After, I headed home. I decided again to find my way home on the metro, so I walked a bit, with a slight bit of frustration because even Google didn't know where I was at one point, but I ended up finding my way.

While on the busy train, I noticed a random dude, who ended up being a metro police guy, checking for tickets and passes. I felt soooooo smart, because he approved my ticket. You guys, I did it right! Without talking to a human, I figured out how to use the transit in Berlin properly! Well, the metro, not the buses, I have no clue how to use the buses... let's not focus on that!

Since this is a short post due to my lack of doing anything today, I will show you pictures of the place I'm staying! Fun!

It's really great, and the woman here is just lovely! She even put delicious chocolate covered almonds on the pillow!

(Just double-checked and I'd mentioned these pillow treats in 12, but now I've eaten one and can confirm that they are delicious, and are in fact chocolate covered almonds! Yummm!)

Alright, well, I promise I'll be back tomorrow with more than this, but sometimes you need a break even when on vacation :)

Night folks!

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Graffiti, Not the CN, and Berlin Errands

October 16, 2015

Not a shock, this was a somewhat lazy day to start, but then I really got a ton done!

First, I slept. Then I got up, ate some wafer cookies (breakfast of champions... the champions that don't win at sports ever because they're full of wafer cookies and not lettuce), and proceeded to get ready for the day.

Today I walked my way over to the East Side Gallery, which in reality isn't a gallery as we would understand it to be, but an outdoor graffiti world, showcasing graffiti from Berlin artists (and I would imagine many more), on what is left of the Berlin Wall in this part of town.

Another cool thing is that this is in the part of town that I'm staying in, so it wasn't much work to get there at all. Just a short walk

Those of you who know me, know that I am more than slightly obsessed with graffiti. Toronto graffiti is the best I've seen in the places I've travelled, and sorry to say, it still is. Berlin's is lovely, and I am certain in many cases the messaging has a more serious subject matter. Here are some of the bits that I loved the most. 

I'll preface this by saying that I can't read German, so I don't know what a lot of this says.

I heard a story last night on BBC (yeah, I'm hip that way now) that was talking about that Clair Danes show Homeland, their production people hired some graffiti artists to make a scene more real, and no one cared to learn about what the graffiti that was created and then used, so they ended up running am episode that essentially said that Homeland is racist and doesn't understand the culture that it's representing in its show.

Someone messed up. 

Anyhow, that's why I mention it... because this blog is nothing if not more popular than Homeland.................... bah!

I couldn't very well come to Germany and only try one Currywvurst. That's just ignorant! lol. I tried this second one, and this one was way better. Well, different. Nah, better! And they charge 1.9€, super-cheap. Though cheap may not be what I should be looking for in foreign-to-me street-meat, I'm just going to trust the universe on this one!

I've seen this next image all over the place in Berlin, and while I would love to say that I'm so informed that I knew what it was all about, I did not. I can't know eeeeeeverything, you guys! Jeeeze!

I read up on it, and here is what the internet says:

........

"It’s called “The Kiss” or “The Kiss of Death.” And it is perhaps the most famous image that appears in Berlin’s East Side Gallery—a nearly mile-long mile stretch of the Berlin Wall. What’s left of the Wall, that is.

The Kiss depicts Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev giving the East Germany President Erich Honecker what appears to be a passionate kiss on the lips. At first glance, you might think it’s a complete joke, with no bearing on reality. But the image was based on an actual photograph taken by Régis Bossu in 1979 in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of the German Democratic Republic—East Germany.

Fraternal kisses among socialist leaders were not unusual, but as the website, Iconic Images, points out, “Both Honecker and Brezhnev were a little more enthusiastic than your average Communist dictator in kissing.” The site goes on to quote a popular joke in which Brezhnev supposedly makes this observation about Honecker: “As a politician, rubbish…but what a good kisser!”

- History By The Slice (website)

........

Love the last line!

Someone put a half rubber duck on the end of the wall, haha!

This must have taken such a long time! I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Ragey panda!

If you look closely, this one has a little rectangle section in the middle that doesn't fit the pattern / flow of the rest of the design. You'll also notice that it is a close replica of the design to the right. I think may be a commentary on displacement of people, and that would certainly be fitting in the history of Berlin and Germany overall, specifically with the restrictions of the Berlin Wall and the segregation it created. 

Maybe this little block is the idea of one side integrating with the other side, but through wonderful graffiti. I hope I'm right! It would make me feel very smart! lol Though I would imagine, like most other art, it is up for interpretations rather than direct definition.

From there I dida bunch of errands, including going to the post office to buy some boxes for shipping some stuff home (get excited, there are a bunch of German edibles coming your way, Toronto!), and then the pharmacy, because this Berlin weather is giving me some cold I don't feel like admitting is happening. I got some lozengees, so hopefully those will help! 

I'm choosing to see it as Toronto sick prep, I'll be immune to rainy-cold by the time I come home, lol.

Aaaaanyhoo, I got all of that done, and it was time to go to the Berliner Fernsehturm, otherwise known as the TV Tower, which is apparenty the tallest building in Europe. 

Sure, it's nice at night, colours are fun, but it has NOTHING on the CN Tower, not only in terms of colour / lighting application, but in height. The CN is 553m and the Fernsehturm is 207m. Are you even trying? lol. Just kidding, it was quite nice up there!

Right outside, they have these three little trampline's embedded in the ground. Come on Toronto, you have the CN win, but get on the trampolining, stat!

From there is was time to buy a ridiculous thing to bring home. I was in a ridiculous mood, and then saw this guy!

Like, was I supposed to NOT buy this guy? Come on, he's adorable, and he's also a representation of Berlin. He (not this exact one, obviously... that would be hilarious) was added to the city seal in 1280, and is now everywhere you go in Berlin.

Then it was dinner time, and I ended up at the same place from the other night, Block House, where I had a delicious meal, and tried this ice cream. I just wanted one scoop, and while I got rhat, I got three times as much whipped cream, which I think they forgot to put the sugar in. I was weird. But that ice cream... oh man, it was chalk-full of almost whole walnuts, and was very, very good!

I was sitting in a space right near the kitchen, and holy man alive, these guys have the process down! It was really entertaining to watch them just shoot out steak after steak after chicken after salad. It was efficient as well, and I loved it!

Well, that's all for now! I'm not sure what I have planned for tomorrow, but I think it may consist of Berlin Lego Land. Yeah, you should be jealous! lol

Nighty night, everyone!

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A Gate, a Musician and a Gross Drink.

October 17, 2015

Today was a slow moving one, because I think the weather in Berlin is taking its toll. I have a cold for sure, and while I'm not letting it take over, I am respecting that it may need a slower schedule to get better.

With that in mind, today was a slower-paced one overall.

I first went to see the the Brandenburg Gate, which I had literally walked by three days ago, and was shocked when I saw it today, feeling preeeeetty silly. Anyhoo, here is what the gate is all about:

........

"The first Brandenburg Gate was built in 1734, when a permimeter wall was constructed around the edge of the city. As well as the Brandenburg Gate, 17 other gates were built, none of which have survived to the present day.

The current Brandenburg Gate was constructed between 1788 and 1791 as part of a programme of building works to improve the wall and many of its gates. The Brandenburg Gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in the classicist style; in 1793 it was complemented by the Quadriga, the triumphal statue of the winged goddess of peace driving a four-horse chariot.

Following the Second World War the Brandenburg Gate found itself just inside the Soviet sector, putting it under control of the East Berlin government. Between 1956 and 1957 the Gate was restored in an act of cooperation between both halves of the divided city. The Quadriga was also reproduced using the original forms, although East Berlin insisted on the removal of the Iron Cross and Eagle as symbols of militarism."

- Bits and pieces from Penguin's Berlin Guide (website)

........

Here are a couple of pictures.

Then I walked around for a bit there, and found some pretty cool architectuere and other stuff.

Is it me or does this sculpture look like a persons profile, but a full all-the-way-around version? It's so cool to me!!!

This is one of the train / metro stations, which here actually looks a little cementy, but in real-life, it looked very modern and prestine.

The train landed at this place, which is a train station, but also a huge mall, but it's outdoors. It's confusing, and very cool!

This is what the floor I caught my train from looked life. Pretty cool as well!

Before all of those things above (a bit of a deconstructed post today) I went and grabbed some breakfast at a place, but this was nextdoor. Stencil art with actual large pieces of glitter stuck to the wall. Love!

This is the place that I grabbed something to eat in the morning, and I had some salami sandwich, whatever, but there was this mini croissant looking thing that I noticed was stuffed with something. Essentially, it was the best thing ever! I am hoping to go back tomorrow and buy 50,000 of them... okay fine, 2.

These are some chocolates that I found at a shop, and decided that people will need back home. The second picture is of what's in there. Yummers!

As I walked out of the metro station near where I'm staying, there was a lovely bearded man with a guitar and an amp singing lovely music. I bought his CD... only to realize that I no longer have a CD player at home... so may need to ask someone for assistance to copy the songs to iTunes, lol.

Then, folks, I went and did some groceries and saw this gorgeously designed bottle. I took a quick peek at the ingredients, and after also trying to read the signage for the cases of it, I still had no idea what it was. I didn't care, I wanted the bottle, so I bought one (1.8€)

I got home, figured I should look it up, and I still can't tell! I think it's an energy drink, so I decided that rather than risking shipping the liquid I would dump it out, and send it in a package that I'm sending home tomorrow. I figured I should taste it, can't just chuck in and not know what it's all about. 

It was... it was really horrible! It was the colour of milk with a bit of almond milk, and tasted nothing like either of those. 

Bleck!

Beautiful packaging though!

And now I'm watching CNN, learning about many things that are hard to listen to, and feeling very appreciative of what I have in my life.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Berlin, and then I'm off to Rome on Monday. ROME, you guys! Cannot wait!

Have a good night everyone, hopefully back with a more eventful day tomorrow!

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Packing, Those Mean Post Office Ladies and Sneezing Like a Winner

October 18, 2015

Being the last day in Berlin, it's been a rather slow, packing and planning for Rome tomorrow.

I got up at a reasonable time, and decided to start packing. It's still a day and a half before I leave, but today was post office day, and I needed to see what I could fit in my luggage, and what I needed to ship. I'd bought a sweater to be more comfortable in the cold of Berlin, and since I'm in warm weather for the next thirteen days (Rome, Venice and Lisbon), I'd decided to ship that back home. My suitcase is ready jammed, so I'd have had to wear it, and I'd be uncomfortably hot for sure!

So, packed up my suitcase, then packed up one large and two medium boxes to send back, taped them all up. The boxes come with this instructional sheet, which I thought was pretty silly / pointless but when I turned it over I noticed that it was a little shiny. I thought to myself, "Well that seems like a sticker for some random reason!", and then I realized that they were predict pieces of tape! They give you tape to seal the box with every box. I think that is brilliant. It's the small things, guys, the small things.

Anyhow, I filled them all (love a good puzzle), wrote down what was in each on a separate little notebook sheet, and numbered the boxes to match the list. This was super-useful when I got to the post office within 10 minutes of it closing, and ran into the lovely ladies that helped me. The last sentence should be read as the most sarcastic sentence that ever was said.

I get it, I don't speak German, I showed up ten minutes to close, but... there are levels of civility that I think, without having just punched their puppy in the nose, people in general deserve. I showed no signs of having done that to their dog, so they didn't need to be jerks. But, they were. I kept having to tell myself, "It's not their job to be your friend, it's their job to get the packages home. Just do what you need to, to get the packages home." The sentence in my head that I had to keep fighting off was, "Where's their damn puppy?" lol. I am of course kidding, puppies rule!

Hopefully the ladies were only jerks to people and not packages, and my stuff arrived home safely, and at all.

From there I wanted to go and walk around a mall. They were all closed. All. Europe doesn't play, and as a friend of mine said today, people are petitioning that the Eaton Centre be open on Christmas Day, so we clearly don't see things the same way back home. 

So, I didn't know what to do, so I walked for a bit, then took the train over to a busy area, in which still few shops were open. I sat for a bit, had a call with a friend, and then grabbed some dinner. It was pretty good! I'd been there before and people recognized me, so that was nice.

Today I don't have many pictures to share, but there was an odd moment that happened today that I was surprised by..

THE SUN CAME OUT!

It was literally the first time in a week that the sun came out more than just to keep us all alive. 

I don't have a clue what these buildings are, but the sun hit them, which seemed at the time like a miracle, so you know, I captured a miracle on camera, like that double-rainbow guy or Jesus toast face guy!

Tomorrow marks the final day in Berlin, and flying over to Rome for the first time ever! I can't wait, not only is the weather supposed to be better but... pizza and pasta you guys!

Also, the amount of sneezing that I've been doing today has turned into just hilarious. It's always two in a row, and it's more frequent than I'd requested from the sneezing gods. I mean, come on!

The good news is, as I said, less cold tomorrow and for the next two weeks, so hopefully it will go away very soon!

Ohhh, and I bought this adorable little pin from a street vendor today, so cute!

It's a little weird tiny straw-like owl dude (pretty sure I just cracked the marketing campaign headline right there. Now watch the dollars / euros roll in!), and I think the woman made him by hand, at least I can hope she did.

Alright, I'm going to take my head cold to bed, and will be back tomorrow, hopefully having arrived safe and sound in Rome, with a tale or two more to tell.

Night McSleepersons everyone!