Bike Ride to Potsdam

On a chilly Sunday shortly after Ben started classes again, we decided to take advantage of the clear weather and take a bike ride out to the city of Potsdam, just outside of Berlin. It was a bracing 2 degrees Celsius that day, so we bundled up in our warmest biking clothes, packed a snack, and headed out.

Because of the cold, we decided to shorten the ride slightly by taking the S-Bahn out closer to the edge of the city, in order to save ourselves some city riding. From where we started, it was about 25 km to Potsdam. The route took us through the woods alongside a highway, and past the Wannsee lake, with its beer gardens and boat cruises (we'll be back this summer, for sure!).

 At Wannsee

It was a beautiful clear day despite the cold, and pedaling soon warmed us up. The ride itself was almost perfectly flat, so it was easy to enjoy the scenery and keep our eyes open for interesting sights along the way. Just outside of Potsdam, we stopped at a bridge for more pictures and a snack break.

It was a gorgeous spot, but by that point the sun was starting to go down and the temperature was dropping fast. By the time we got back on our bikes we were pretty thoroughly chilled, and pedaling through Potsdam itself wasn't enough to warm us up. We had intended to end our ride at a palace garden we found on the map, and then do some exploring of the town, but numb fingers and toes discouraged us, and we ended up turning back to find someplace indoors where we could eat a hot meal and recover the feeling in our extremities. We enjoyed a filling meal of pasta and Glühwein in an entertainingly-decorated Italian restaurant, and then hopped back on our bikes and took the ten-minute ride to the train station, where we caught a train back to Berlin. All in all, it was great to get out on our bikes and see some new terrain, and we would definitely like to do it again, when it's warmer! Potsdam especially was a beautiful little city and would be a lot of fun to spend a day exploring, and we're looking forward to going back.

 Brrr!

New Year's in Berlin

The New Year arrived just a few days after I did, accompanied by copious amounts of fireworks everywhere. Fireworks are street-legal here, and it seems like people of all ages have been saving up all year to stock up on various explosives and set them off all over the place (including, on one memorably deafening occasion, inside the U-Bahn station). The days leading up to the 31st were punctuated by occasional bangs and pops in the distance, but on the day of New Year's Eve it was nearly constant noise. Coming from California originally, where fireworks are strictly regulated due to the pretty much constant fire danger, it was definitely an unusual experience!

Ben and I spent a lazy day at home enjoying each other's company, and didn't have much in the way of energy for evening plans. Eventually we decided that we should at least leave the apartment on New Year's Eve in a new city, so we decided to head down to the city center at Kurfurstendamm and see the new Star Wars movie. However, when we got out of the U-Bahn, we saw that the Christmas market in front of the old Kaiser Wilhelm Gedaechtnis Kirche was still open, and we decided to forego the movie in favor of checking out the market, since I had yet to experience a real German Christmas market in person.

 

The hat was a present from Ben, picked out just before the picture was taken.

It was a glorious experience! The market was less crowded than it had probably been before Christmas, but still bustling and full of beautiful lights and delicious smells, and the many amazing handcrafted Christmas decorations that Germany is famous for. It was truly a Christmas wonderland, and I was so happy to experience it with Ben at my side and a hot cup of Glühwein (mulled wine) in hand. We spent a long while wandering the market, and even bought our very first German Christmas decoration: a Weihnachts-Pyramide.

 

It's difficult to see in the video, but inside the house there is a little piece of incense that sends smoke out of the chimney (and the windows) 

After we had explored the market in its entirety, and watched an impressive fireworks display that took place between the tall buildings of downtown (still several hours before midnight--they must have had a serious stockpile of fireworks!), we decided to head back home before things got really crazy. Back at the apartment, we set up our new decoration, lit the candles, and settled in with a glass of wine to await midnight, marveling at the increasing density of explosions as the hour approached. By midnight, it sounded like an ongoing bombing raid in our street. We opened the window to appreciate the excitement, and caught a video--not much to see, but plenty to hear!

 

Happy 2018!

A New Berlin-ning

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since I arrived in Berlin. As usual, time has both flown and crawled since then, and I still haven’t quite absorbed the fact that this isn’t temporary. But quite a lot has happened in the last 30-odd days, so let’s do some catching up:

After spending most of the month of December doing some much-needed relaxation and recharging at home with my parents and siblings and seeing old friends, on December 27^th my mom and dad and I drove down to San Francisco to drop off Ben’s car in Palo Alto at his parents’ house, and then take me and my luggage to the airport. Especially after having so much time together, it was really hard to say goodbye to them—and they must have felt the same way, because as soon as I arrived in Europe I got a text from Mom saying they had found a good deal on tickets for the family to come visit in May, and bought them!

Boarding the airplane, I was definitely feeling nervous and questioning this whole thing. Honestly, I was terrified to be heading off with no job or school or anything set up in advance—but the thought of Ben awaiting me on the other side was exciting and reassuring. We hadn’t seen each other since he left back in September, so as you might imagine, we were both looking forward very much to our reunion. Eventually I settled in for the long flight across the Atlantic, which proved exceptionally uneventful—I don’t think the captain ever even switched on the Fasten Seatbelts sign the whole flight other than for takeoff and landing. After two short layovers in Copenhagen and in Stockholm, I finally arrived at Berlin Tegel Airport, collected my luggage (including one rather battered bike box), and found my husband after some trial and error (the airport had more terminals than we thought). It was so good to see him, and all my doubts were wiped away in that moment. I was so glad to finally be here!

First glimpse of Scandinavia!

Our current home in Berlin is a small, furnished, one-bedroom flat in a neighborhood called Wedding that Ben found to sublet back in October. The building is on the older side, with high ceilings, tall windows, and squeaky wood floors, and it's a really cozy space, perfect for the two of us. There's even a futon in the dining/kitchen area for guests (hint hint!). The bedroom/office is nice and big, with plenty of space for our bikes and room for me to roll out my yoga mat in the mornings.

Together again! My first morning in Berlin.

My first few days in Berlin were spent recovering from jetlag and exploring the city with Ben, who enjoyed playing tour guide and introducing me to the sights and the U Bahn system. Ben was still on break from classes until January 8th, so we had lots of time to ourselves. I also got to meet some of his friends from school, as well as a friend he made back when he was staying in the youth hostel, before he found the apartment. Everyone has been super nice and welcoming, and it has been so good to be together in our new home!