It has been a very eventful month… That is why I haven't posted in so long. To cover everything I have been doing in the past month, I have decided to do multiple posts about December in Denmark and my whereabouts. In this post I'll focus on my trip to Berlin that happened near the beginning of December.
As some of you may know, my second host family took me to Berlin, Germany, for four days. It was a "Piger Tur" which means it was a girls' trip! Only my host mom, my two host sisters and I went. It was a lot of fun! We packed as much as we possibly could into those four days.. I was mentally and physically exhausted, but in the very best kind of way.
We did plenty of site seeing in the four days that we were there. We saw all the major attractions; Brandenburg Castle, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, the remnants of the Berlin Wall, and a museum called The Story of Berlin. It is almost impossible to describe to you the beauty of Berlin... it is so full of history, and yet there is a new, upbeat feel you get when you walk among the streets. One of the things I found interesting about Berlin was that they had these little golden blocks among the cobble stones outside of some of the older buildings. When you take a closer look, you see that there is writing engraved in the blocks, explaining that there was a Jewish person that lived there. It then goes on to explain when they were born, when they died, and if they were sent to a concentration camp or not. It was the kind of information one would find intriguing, but at the same time it chills your bones; thinking that you are standing among cobble stone streets that once was marched upon by persecuted people. I felt the same way when walking through the Holocaust Memorial. It is outside, and consists of large gray slabs that rise out of the ground in all different sizes. It occupies about 250,000 sq. feet just outside of where Hitler's bunker is buried and the Brandenburg Castle. It makes you feel so lost when you walk through the maze... It helps to convey the terror most people felt during that awful time.
Another thing I loved about Berlin was all the street art. The picture below is a good example of how ALL the streets look.. they are covered in posters, graffiti and paint. It was really cool to see, and it made the city less dreary in a way. I also loved all the Christmas decorations. We went to several Christmas markets while we were there, and it was so fun! It really helped me get in the Christmas spirit , even though there was no snow. At one of the markets, we bought Glühwein (gløgg in Danish), which is a spiced wine served warm. It was very "hyggeligt" (cozy) to sit and talk while drinking it.
Apart from all the tremendous history, we also did some shopping. I am proud to say that I have purchased my very first pair of Doc Martens and I am in LOVE. They are the best boots I have ever worn. We also went to a restaurant in Berlin called Unsicht-Bar. It was a really special restaurant because you are forced to participate in 'blind eating'. This is means that you eat in the COMPLETE darkness! At first, you go into this dimly lit modern looking bar area where you can hang your coat and such. Then, you are given a menu and you can choose between 4 kinds of dishes: Poultry, Beef, Vegetarian, or Fish. Once you choose, you are not allowed to know what the dish actually is.. they just give you a riddle for each course. After you have chosen, you get to meet your waiter (all the waiters employed there are blind). Then, you are instructed to all hold hands and then you are taken into a pitch black room. It SOUNDED like a real restaurant; loud chatter, the clanking of forks against plates, and the scraping of chairs being moved. But everything around you was completely black. The waiter shows you to your table, shows you where your fork and knife are, where your glass is and so on. It was the most incredible feeling I've ever experienced. And to tell you the truth, I still don't know what I had for dinner that night (I never quite solved the riddle on the menu), but I know it was some sort of spiced beef.
I am so thankful for all my host families and all the amazing experiences they've shared with me. I am truly blessed to have 3 families that love me, and do all these amazing things for me. Berlin was wonderful, but what it made it something I will never forget was that I got to spend it with my second host family. Trips like that really help you bond, and I can say after being stuck in traffic for a little more than 3 hours, I know my new family pretty well! Thank you to everyone who reads this, and an even bigger thank you to all my families: Charlotte & Jesper, Annemette & Ole, Gitte & Kim, and of course my Mom & Dad. Love you all!
xoxo fra Denmark
P.S. Stay tuned to hear about a Danish Christmas!
We did plenty of site seeing in the four days that we were there. We saw all the major attractions; Brandenburg Castle, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, the remnants of the Berlin Wall, and a museum called The Story of Berlin. It is almost impossible to describe to you the beauty of Berlin... it is so full of history, and yet there is a new, upbeat feel you get when you walk among the streets. One of the things I found interesting about Berlin was that they had these little golden blocks among the cobble stones outside of some of the older buildings. When you take a closer look, you see that there is writing engraved in the blocks, explaining that there was a Jewish person that lived there. It then goes on to explain when they were born, when they died, and if they were sent to a concentration camp or not. It was the kind of information one would find intriguing, but at the same time it chills your bones; thinking that you are standing among cobble stone streets that once was marched upon by persecuted people. I felt the same way when walking through the Holocaust Memorial. It is outside, and consists of large gray slabs that rise out of the ground in all different sizes. It occupies about 250,000 sq. feet just outside of where Hitler's bunker is buried and the Brandenburg Castle. It makes you feel so lost when you walk through the maze... It helps to convey the terror most people felt during that awful time.
Another thing I loved about Berlin was all the street art. The picture below is a good example of how ALL the streets look.. they are covered in posters, graffiti and paint. It was really cool to see, and it made the city less dreary in a way. I also loved all the Christmas decorations. We went to several Christmas markets while we were there, and it was so fun! It really helped me get in the Christmas spirit , even though there was no snow. At one of the markets, we bought Glühwein (gløgg in Danish), which is a spiced wine served warm. It was very "hyggeligt" (cozy) to sit and talk while drinking it.
Apart from all the tremendous history, we also did some shopping. I am proud to say that I have purchased my very first pair of Doc Martens and I am in LOVE. They are the best boots I have ever worn. We also went to a restaurant in Berlin called Unsicht-Bar. It was a really special restaurant because you are forced to participate in 'blind eating'. This is means that you eat in the COMPLETE darkness! At first, you go into this dimly lit modern looking bar area where you can hang your coat and such. Then, you are given a menu and you can choose between 4 kinds of dishes: Poultry, Beef, Vegetarian, or Fish. Once you choose, you are not allowed to know what the dish actually is.. they just give you a riddle for each course. After you have chosen, you get to meet your waiter (all the waiters employed there are blind). Then, you are instructed to all hold hands and then you are taken into a pitch black room. It SOUNDED like a real restaurant; loud chatter, the clanking of forks against plates, and the scraping of chairs being moved. But everything around you was completely black. The waiter shows you to your table, shows you where your fork and knife are, where your glass is and so on. It was the most incredible feeling I've ever experienced. And to tell you the truth, I still don't know what I had for dinner that night (I never quite solved the riddle on the menu), but I know it was some sort of spiced beef.
I am so thankful for all my host families and all the amazing experiences they've shared with me. I am truly blessed to have 3 families that love me, and do all these amazing things for me. Berlin was wonderful, but what it made it something I will never forget was that I got to spend it with my second host family. Trips like that really help you bond, and I can say after being stuck in traffic for a little more than 3 hours, I know my new family pretty well! Thank you to everyone who reads this, and an even bigger thank you to all my families: Charlotte & Jesper, Annemette & Ole, Gitte & Kim, and of course my Mom & Dad. Love you all!
xoxo fra Denmark
P.S. Stay tuned to hear about a Danish Christmas!
