“hallllllo” Berlin (Part 1)
This is the first time I’ve seen Charlotte since high school graduation and it was like nothing changed! I stayed at her apartment in downtown Berlin, but I was able to see the countryside of Germany too since that is where her parents live. The city is really modern but full of history – and I loved it! I saw a bunch of places but the most interesting thing by far was the Berlin Wall which use to divide the city into different neighborhoods by nationality. It was partly torn down in 1991, and all that is left has become a blank canvas for professional painters to decorate. I met all of Char’s friends which were super sweet, and German is definitely a hard language. The words spelled out relate to many English words, but the speaking part is challenging. I saw Charlotte’s horse, rode on the AutoBahn and even went to their lake to relax for the day 
it was great. The people are a lot friendlier to strangers in Germany than in Italy, which was a nice change of pace! We watched the championship soccer game where Munich’s team played against Chelsea in the finals. Berlin’s team is really bad so they cheer for Berlin and had a devastating loss after PKs! Everyone was so bummed, but it was fun watching the game at the sports bar where everyone was so into it.
germany bound
My day started off by going to the local markets in my cooking class as my professor, Chef Desy, told us about the different ingredients and the areas of Italy where they come from. We were sampling olive oils, balsamic vinegar, cheese, meats and olives at 9am, but it was the most amazing breakfast ever. The markets are filled with locals who typically run family owned stores that date all the way back to the 1800s – pretty cool stuff. Afterwards as a treat, he bought us some gelato where I was finally able to try the hazelnut flavor which was molto bene! (very good)
After Italian class, we then went to our family business course where we went around the city looking at family businesses and talking to the owners. They were all really sweet and it was sad to hear that so many are struggling financially when they have been around for centuries. Also, today we found out that an apartment full of girls was broken into and they had their laptops stolen. It really shook us all up but in a good way since we are taking more measures in being safe. They took nothing else and didn’t rummage through their apartment either – no windows or doors/locks were broken.
I might not be able to post much this weekend since I am leaving to go to Berlin tomorrow to see my friend Charlotte! I should get in around noon their time and I can’t wait to see and experience the different cities. Until then..
struggling!
Sorry for not posting yesterday – the internet here wasn’t working. Yesterday we all went out to get some gelato after our first day of classes and then we walked around and went to a local bar for a bit. We tend to go across the bridge more than staying in the city center because there are way less tourists and it is a lot cleaner and cheaper on that side. Everyday here is getting easier and easier. The jet lag has finally worn off and if people speak slow, I can mostly pick up what they are trying to tell me. I cannot begin to describe how different life is here! Instead of constantly being on my phone or internet, the only way I know what time it is from the church bells that go off every hour. The streets are chaotic with people everywhere but my experience has been amazing here.
I love my classes so far, my cooking teacher is very fun and we’ve already made pork with apples and a soup. My Italian language “professoressa” is very sweet and my Italian business course seems like it will be interesting which is good. Tonight a group of 20 of us are heading to a restaurant called Ganzo which is a student run restaurant that has a ten course meal and drink for 5 euros. We can’t wait! After that, we’ll probably sit out by the bridge or work on some homework. Side note: I think I sprained my finger (if possible) from climbing our orange tree with the roommates haha.. the good thing is we now have fresh orange juice
settling in
Ciao! Today was spent doing orientations, wine tours, and walking tours – all which were unique and incredible. I felt like less of a tourist today and had my first conversation in Italian (well sort of!). It consisted of me asking where a building was and him replying, in full fast-paced italian mode, then I panicked and said “si, grazie” and walked off not understanding one word haha.
The wine class was really fun. We sampled a Chianti which is the best wine that comes out of Toscana. I learned what to look for in wine (hold the glass slanted towards the light to look for particles then swoosh it around to see if it is fast paced or not. Fast paced = high alcohol), how to smell the wine to learn about the characteristics of it before I drink it (smell the wine once, then with that smell still fresh in your mind – smell it again. You will notice different scents everytime!) and also how to figure out if it has aged long enough (red wine should show an orange color when you tip the glass towards the light). Tonight, we had a dinner with the program which was fun hanging out with everyone and then we went down by the river to have some lattes. It’s still really cold here but warmer weather is on it’s way!
“Ciao Bella” count: 8.
Filed under Uncategorized | Tags: tours, wine | Comments OffFirst day
Wow, I don’t know even where to begin – I feel like I’ve done so much already. After endless hours of flying and camping out at the airport, we finally made it to Florence and discovered that not only is it crazy cold, but it also is really windy/rainy here. Seeing Italy for the first time was surreal, it was beautiful and looked like a place from a painting. With the red roofs, cobblestone roads, and rolling hills you couldn’t ask for a better view.
At around 9am we met up with the rest of our roommates from the program and managed to find our way to our apartment. It’s 2 blocks away from Duomo, (see picture below). First off, our apartment is a massive 3 bedrooms/3 bath place for 6 people. We have archways, a private garden area, murals on the ceilings – it’s ridiculous. I love it here! Here’s just a few pictures from today but there will be more to come! You can click the pictures to enlarge them, so enjoy
