Once upon a time (about a year and a half ago) , I came home from school to find a slightly awkward German kid hanging out in my kitchen. Fast forward to the beginning of July 2014: Timbo (the slightly awkward German kid) is one of my best friends, I’ve discovered his younger sister, Frankie, is awesome as well, and I’m about spend the entire month visiting their family in Berlin (right after a short stay in Paris).
The past month has been a wonderful combination of touristy exploration (Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Zoo, several palaces, etc.) and mundane summer relaxation (water balloon fights, Will Smith movie marathons, homemade ice cream, etc.). As much as I look forward to returning to air conditioning and regular access to vanilla iced chai lattes, I really don’t want to leave.
THE FOOD
Every morning this month has started with breakfast. I hardly ever eat this highly underrated meal back home and if I do it's often just a cereal bar. Although Trader Joe's bars are brilliant, they are nothing compared to breakfast in Germany. First, there's juice. Juice seems to be a big deal here. In fact, we went to a store that apparently only sold juice (and alcohol). Sometimes I have orange juice, sometimes pink guava, sometimes Apfelschorle (a refreshing mixture of apple juice and sparkling water, seriously everyone needs to try it), there's always a variety. With our juice, we have a bread roll or toast. Although, this wouldn't be all that exciting without the toppings. Butter, Nutella (of course, it's everywhere), honey, sliced cheese, jalapeño cream cheese, paprika cheese spread, and at least 5 different meat slices or spreads. Deciding what I want to put on my bread in the morning is a pleasurable daily struggle.
In between my new favorite meal of the day and dinner, not much is happening food-wise. In other words, I haven't eaten lunch in a month. Occasionally, I'll grab a bratwurst on the go (these can literally be purchased anywhere) or a slice of cake (yes, giant slices of cake for lunch is a thing). The lack of a midday meal was strange at first, but by now I'm used to it.
Because, I haven't been eating lunch, I'm always super hungry by the time dinner rolls around (especially after exploring all day, it takes nearly an hour to get anywhere in Berlin). Like at breakfast, the whole family eats dinner together. Because I'm fairly useless in the kitchen, I've proudly taken the role of Table Setter. At home, I set the table with forks, knifes, and spoons and everyone only uses the forks (maybe this is weird, but I usually just use the side of my fork to cut my food at home). Here, we rarely use spoons and I actually use my knife. I may return to the Midwest with slightly more European table manners.
Dinner is always exciting. There's usually just one or two main dishes, no superfluous salads or sides. Sometimes we have food that I've never heard of—like Maultaschen, a type of German dumpling soup—and sometimes we have things I would never imagine putting together—like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. No matter what we’re eating, dinner is always delicious.
After dinner, we might want to finish the sweltering hot day (it was nearly one hundred degrees for a solid week) with ice cream.
THE BEACHES
In addition to lots of ice cream, regular beach visits have been an excellent way to survive the heat. Whether at the Baltic or various lakes near Berlin, the days we've spent at the beach have been some of my favorites.
One Sunday afternoon, we drove about an hour outside of Berlin to a lake. We spent our time alternating between cooling off in the water, lazing in the grass, and snacking on bratwurst. The water was so clear and still that it reflected the sky and made me feel like I was swimming through the clouds.
The only possible downside of being at the beaches here is that it is highly probable you will be flashed. Topless sunbathing is commonplace, kids under the age of seven rarely wear anything more than a sun hat, and old men really enjoy their speedos. Other than this casual nudity, the beaches are the place to be.
THE COMMON SENSE
The speedos are a lapse in judgement, but as far as recycling, Germans definitely have something figured out. At Timbo and Frankie's house, they sort their trash into not one, not two, but six different receptacles (compost, paper, bottles, etc.) In addition, anytime you buy a bottled drink, you can save the bottle, return it to the store, and get money back! It's not that much money, but still, this seems like a very sensible idea. Plus, I haven't seen a paper towel since I arrived. Germans are on their way to saving the planet (or at least they seem to be trying harder than average).
THE LANGUAGE
I don't speak any German (well, during a spurt of motivation I taught myself to count to one thousand and tell time, but that's it).
The only other foreign country I've been to is England, so to be suddenly be surrounded by languages I don't speak, first French and then German, was a completely new experience. It was a little frustrating at times—I will always remember how difficult it was for my loquacious father to sit through a conversation in pure German and how excited he was when our new acquaintances pulled out a translator app—but it was also really interesting. It's amusing to be suddenly pulled into a conversation like "we're just discussing whether or not video games are a sport" and having no idea how it got to this point. Sometimes, I try to guess where the conversation is going based on tone of voice, facial expressions, and the few German words I've picked up (this is especially funny when watching dubbed American TV shows).
Within the city, many people speak at least a little English, but in smaller towns we would occasionally get funny looks. Once, as we stood in line for fries at the beach, a little girl blatantly stared at us and asked her father what we were saying. It was almost like having a secret language sometimes.For convenience's sake, it will be nice to return to the US, but I think I'll miss hearing a variety of languages everyday. I'll miss the friendly sound of "tschüss!"
THE PEOPLE
During one of our first adventures in Berlin, Timbo said, “[Berlin] is ugly, but it has flair...It’s more about the people.” And it's true, Berlin isn't beautiful like Paris, but it doesn't try to be either. In Paris, my mom pointed out a large mural of a building that hid the construction going on underneath. Berlin doesn't hide, it just is what it is and between the colorful graffiti and colorful individuals, it has a flair that isn't easy to forget. My summer in Europe will be memorable for many reasons—I was here to see Germany win the World Cup!—but, the people are what really made it special.
Honorable mentions include: the taxi driver in Paris that animatedly discussed French dental care, the little boy by the Eiffel Tower acting as his mom's personal photographer, the old fisherman at the Baltic that helped Kyra and I when we locked ourselves out of the house, Timbo's friend that danced to Beyoncé with me, the street artist in Dresden that nearly chased us, the friendly zombie enthusiast that accompanied us to the Berlin Zoo, the guy on the S-bahn that pretty much announced to the entire car that he shares his underwear with his roommate, the violinist that insisted on taking a picture with Kyra in front of the East Side Gallery, and, of course, Timbo, Frankie, and their family for letting us stay with them, showing us around the city, and just being amazing.
In a few days, this adventure that essentially started when Timbo showed up in my kitchen, will come to a close. I will miss everything from my morning toast to the sightseeing to ending the day with ice cream and friends. So I better go make the most of it; I’ll be back in the Midwest soon!
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