Germany

I've almost been to Germany quite a few times in my life. When I studied abroad in Madrid in the spring of 2011, I highly considered a weekend getaway to Berlin. However, flights were too expensive so I chose the cheaper alternative--Amsterdam--for my northern European fix. Then, this past winter, I learned about German Christmas markets. I thought, "Well that should be a lovely way to spend Christmas break, since I won't be going home." NOPE. Álvaro hesitated too long when making a decision regarding winter break travels, and airfare skyrocketed. Spring break rolled around, and I dreamed of stomping around Berlin in a pair Doc Martens. WRONG-O. Indecision won out yet again (although thanks to an intervention from Dan my Docs were allowed to stop the streets of Barcelona).

So when Álvaro approached me about a possible one week course in Dresden, I reacted with skeptical optimism. It seemed at every stage of planning I expected our plans to completely fall apart as they had in the past. First, he considered not applying altogether. Then, he doubted that he would be accepted. When he received confirmation of his admission, he debated going. 

By this time, I had left for camp. The course was about a month away, and I was too busy controlling a hoard of children and adolescents to look for flights abroad. While I can write a long list of very nice things about Álvaro, "trip planning" is not on that list. He has a tendency to wait too long until the opportunity passes him by. In fact, all of our trip this past year have been last-minute, "Hey, I just got this great idea to go to this place!" affairs. It's not conducive to finding cheap plane tickets. 

You can imagine my surprised when, mid-July, I received an e-mail with two tickets booked for Berlin from the 20th to the 30th of August. Admittedly, the rest of the planning fell on my shoulders, but who cares? I was going to Germany!

We spent five days in Berlin and six in Dresden, renting rooms we had found on Air BnB. I definitely recommend this route for people who want a few extra creature comforts without the price of a hotel. We had access to a mini fridge in both cities, and in Dresden we had a kitchenette, sofa, and a private bathroom with a huge bathtub!

Berlin reminded me very much of Berkeley, my college town. Both are very eclectic cities which welcome and celebrate the "weirdos" of the world. The organic stores, bicycles, and international cuisine made me feel like I was back at university. I immediately felt at home in Berlin. There are some cities that are interesting to visit, but feel like massive tourist traps (I'm looking at you, Venice). Berlin felt like a place I could live. We went on walking tours, learned about World War II and German history. I ate currywurst and doner kebap. Most of the time I was content to just stroll around the cities and take in everything.

The humblest of Protestant churches

The Spree river and famous TV tower by Museum Island

A day trip to Postdam

Modeling around Tiergarten park

Beer: check. Wurst: check. Fries with frysauce: check and check.

German parliament building: best free views of the city (but full of spiders). 

I absolutely wasn't ready to leave for Dresden. I wanted to spend more time in Berlin, but Alvaro had his summer school, so away we went. I admit that Dresden also grew on me. It doesn't have the allure of a big, sprawling city, but what is lacks in urban culture it makes up for in natural beauty. Dresden is a city that would normally only merit a day trip. I had seen the majority of the sights in just one day. Plus, since Alvaro was in class for most of the day, I was on my own. I took advantage of this time and explored the nearby villages, which looked like something out of a postcard.

Stumbling around a palace

This church was mostly destroyed in WWII

Went on a steamboat

In a town called Pirna

I'm on a boat! (that song's still cool, right?)

In "Saxon Switzerland"--the Sandstone Mountains

Königstein

A fort!

This is real. I saw it with my eyeballs.

PROOF.

Meissen: known for its wine. Full of old tourists

View of Dresden from the train

In addition, I was able to spend some time with some of Alvaro's classmates, an international bunch of students. We were almost all expats who had lived (or were currently living) abroad, and so we swapped stories of cultural quirks over glasses of German beer.

Overall, it was absolutely one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. My only complaint? The language barrier. I've heard that German is supposedly easy for English speakers to learn, but I didn't understand a word of it. After spending a year in Spain, I'm used to being confronted with a foreign language, but at least I can understand it. With German, I was completely lost. Germans generally know some English, but we definitely ran into a few people who didn't speak a word. By the end of those two weeks, I was tired of feeling like a foreigner. I had a fun trip, but I was definitely happy to be home.

And then several days later I got on another plane to Los Angeles....