Outside of my sister's door, leftover from her American / 4th of July party.
July 25th, 2013
After a wonderful 10 hours of sleep, the four of us had a "Big French Breakfast" at a restaurant called Rocco. If only all of our European meals were that lovely... Afterwards, this day became dedicated to running errands. I picked up tape at a
grocery store for my travel journal (which was originally a horrid
composition book, in which I had to literally tape every single page back
in at the end of the day), and got two hand towels for 1,50€ each at a
giant super department store called (I think?) Galerie. In
addition, on this day we met up with my cousin's internet friend, Thilo!
He lives in Berlin, and took us to an outdoor Italian
restaurant for lunch. I had an interesting fusion of carbonated soda
and lemonade known as Lemonsoda.
In the midst of eating among the trees and aging buildings, I realized that it is okay to take things slowly when it comes to traveling. Though it cost an arm and a leg to get to Europe, and though I naturally wanted to see EVERYTHING that Berlin had to offer, I also had to be honest with myself. I was tired. It was hot outside. I was beyond thirsty, no matter how much water I drank. Most importantly, I had to let myself accept that despite everything, I was on vacation. This trip was not only a means of seeing the world, but an escape from my everyday and the stress that comes with it. What was the point if I spent the entire trip working myself up over the things I missed? No matter how much there is to experience, there will always be more that you missed out on. So don't stress yourself out. Relax if needed. Make sure you're enjoying whatever it is that you are doing, whether that is seeing a famous landmark or eating a quiet lunch. Especially because most of the family groups on "vacation" that I encountered seemed nothing but time-restrained, stressed, miserable, and argumentative. But more on that when we get to Paris ;) Basically, LIVE YOUR DREAMS. But don't letting living your dreams get in the way of your mental wellness.
The evening began with a heavenly visit to Schlachtensee, a lake outside of the city's center. It was a godsend in the form of cold water! Especially considering Berlin was experiencing a heat wave. Beyond that, everything about the experience was pure summer fun. People were rowing canoes on the water or balancing on a giant log or drinking wine from the bottle. It was so different from California, for the waterfront didn't even have a beach. There was only a small strip dirt in between the trees and the lake. I swam to the other end of our alcove, and there was only underwater grass and tree roots as the water got more shallow. Here, I met my sister's American friends, all studying abroad from schools in the United States. They were kind enough, immediately welcoming us into their group, and shared their lovely cherry wine with me. I'm thankful they were the talkative types. Now that I'm in training for my new job, I've realized it still takes a great deal of effort for me to meet new people. But Natalie's friends were outspoken, so I didn't have to be! Afterwards, we all walked to a friend's house in a lovely suburban neighborhood for a BBQ. The street was full of old houses and tall trees; it was very reminiscent of the East Coast. I feel like it could have been a setting for one of those ghost/haunting/horror movies. But we all hung out in the backyard, listened to good music, and I got to try both BACON STRIPS ON A STICK and A SLAB OF CHEESE GRILLED ON THE BARBEQUE. Delicious! A+, 10/10, would highly recommend. Especially the bacon on a stick!! BACON ON A STICK.
At around 11pm, the four of us walked back to the S-Bahn and traveled on home. Despite what I thought, and it's a bit illogical that I used to think this, jet lag doesn't disappear after the first day. I wish we could have been true Berliners, staying up until 5AM with not a care in the world, but we were nowhere near that level. But that's alright- we needed the rest. Tomorrow, we were off to Sachsenhausen!
♥ To be continued... ♥
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