Back in Berlin!

Checkpoint Charlie right by work :)
Me in front of our new apartment!
First night back out :)
Epically cool building right by the apartment
Random Berlin bathroom art
Our living room
Bed. So ridiculously German haha.
Kitchen and beautiful view.

Hey everyone!!!! I'm back!

To be honest, I haven't really done anything yet aside from wander around the city a lot and find a place to live (the second far more intense than the 5 word description can even imply haha), but I thought I'd shoot one out just to let everyone know I'm still alive and now have working Internet. With no sign of expiring or being rationed like my Communist Internet of last summer. So that's exciting. Yay!

It's weird how being back feels. It's unbelievably exciting but then at the same time it just feels like I never left. Flying into Tegel airport I expected to feel more foreign and out of place, but instead it just feels like I went on a long vacation and am coming back. I felt the same impatience as I waited to get past the passport check, the same hunger pangs when I smelled döner, the same urge to glare down Italian visitors who were being obnoxious on the bus and couldn't tell they were talking 20x as loud as everyone else. It's a comforting thing to realize that I'll always have such an international home away from home.

I also found myself underestimating the kindness of strangers in Berlin. I just always have such a low bar for expecting that here because it's a big city, because people will push kids and grandmas out of the way to make it to their U-bahn on time, but strangers were so unbelievably helpful to me when I struggled with my 2 suitcases, 1 enormous backpack, and one way too heavy carry-on all through the city. When I was leaving the airport, this one guy just picked one up from behind me and carried it up 4 flights of stairs for me. And then walked away. No ulterior motives, not even really stopping to let me say thank you. It was a nice surprise my first day back, when jet lag and my fast accumulating sleep debt from graduation week had me barely able to lean my head back on the U-Bahn without passing out.

My first few days back have been crazy! It's been so exciting to see everyone and everything again. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful German friend who took me in and fed me when I was homeless my first night back, so after a delicious homemade meal I took a shower and promptly passed out for 12 hours. But I woke up rested and ready to take on Deutsche Bank and Vodafone mishaps. Which were surprisingly taken care of in less than two hours (yay German efficiency), giving me the entire rest of the day to explore the city solo in a giddy state of homecoming.

As of now, I only see one problem with coming back to Germany. I can't stop eating. Like actually. And I think all of it consists of bread, apples, and chocolate in some form. For breakfast I have chocolate müesli. For a snack I have chocolate and apfelschorle (apple soda) or an apple, or apfelküchen (apple cake). And then there's the beer. There's been a lot of beer. It's really exciting to be back.

I love my new apartment too. My roommate Angela and I (she was here last spring quarter with me - see epic Munich road trip from last year for a reference) kind of stumbled upon it accidentally (she did more of the stumbling, I played more of a supportive side role in the apartment search). We were a little wary approaching the apartment hunt in general because we'd both encountered frauds before (luckily both were pretty easy to spot, I've come to the conclusion Americans are better at frauding than Germans) but so far everything's been great. Our landlords are these really cute, really sweet older gay couple who we think but can't be entirely sure because of the language barrier rent and fix up apartments for a living. But the place has really benefitted from their style and the cheap prevalence of Ikea here. I've attached pics for reference :) I'm also pretty sure we amuse him because he chuckled at the beers in our recycling and offered up some helpful hints for a boat party this weekend. I will keep you all posted.

We're living in Prenzlauer Berg, which is a really fun and young area in Berlin. Unfortunately it's become more and more expensive as the word gets out about how awesome it is, but it's still decently affordable outside of the main streets. We're about 4 blocks away from the big Prenzlauer Berg center, Schönhauser Allee, and right next to this HUGE city-wide swap meet held every Sunday. Also only 2 blocks away from the best American bar in Berlin, run by these two guys from New York that like so many other Berliners, moved here temporarily, fell in love with the city, and never looked back.

Alright, I am currently putting my socks on as I get ready to leave for my first day of work, but I will write more soon. Love and miss you all!