Living in the present: Berlin...

Hellllooooo world! Regards from Berlin. I can't believe that I have been travelling for almost a week now. Its been so busy and so fun. My adventure began leaving O'hare airport business lounge style. No, I did not have a business class ticket, however I had a cool pass. Although nothing too exciting to report from the United Lounge in Chicago. A coffee and a diet coke and maybe some cheese but thats not too exciting. My flight left on time and was relatively quick. I watched two movies enroute (Admission and Beautiful Creatures) and slept a little too. I had a loooooong layover in London. Long only because it was boring and I was exhausted. I grabbed a bite at Pret A Manger (my fave in London!) and finally after what felt like hours was called to my gate. I had an emergency exit row seat on the flight to Berlin with no chair directly in front of me- amazing! I slept the entire way. Like the drowsy kind of sleep where you're probably drooling on yourself. But the guy sitting next to me slept like that too so I didn't feel so bad.

I arrived in Berlin refreshed and excited to be getting on with my adventure. My journey to Neukolln (the neighborhood where Julie lives) was quite easy and before I knew it we had reunited after 5 years!!! So exciting! We spent the first day walking around Neukolln and with Julie being the fantastic tour guide that she is I learned a lot! We walked a ton on that first day which was great because I needed to do anything I could to stay awake! That first evening I also managed to go out and see Jenni and Basti as well, my friends who I met when they came to Israel last March.

The last few days in Berlin have been quite refreshing, adventurous and super fun! I saw lots of amazing things in the city - including an exploration of so many of Berlin's neighborhoods. It is a very large city with LOTS to see and do and so many cool areas to walk around in. My feet are incredibly sore, though. I think I spent at least 6 hours a day walking around. But it was well worth every minute.

Some of the more memorable things I saw:

-City Center and how it has changed in the 10 years since I have been here.
-Holocaust Memorial which didn't exist last time I was here (INCREDIBLE!)
-Stumbling stones (little plaques on the street that have the names of Berlin Jews who died in the Holocaust placed right in front of their old homes)
-Prenzlauerberg, an affluent neighborhood which had such great shops and beautiful buildings, and nice clean streets
-East Side Gallery- a long walk with the remainder of the Berlin wall. 20 years after the wall came down (in 2009), artists were asked to come and decorate sections of it. An incredible artistic walking tour...
-Schoeneberg, Berlin's gay community with cutesy little cafes and shops - including the coolest grocery store I've ever seen!
-Potsdam, where the Hapsburg Family had their summer home. It has the most beautiful gardens and park and also has a cute little town next to it.
-Gleis 17 (Track 17)- the track which deported Jews out of Berlin to camps like Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. There is a really appropriate memorial that was created to remind all of what happened there. The track itself is closed and doesn't work.

Anyway, its been a wonderful time here and I am sad to leave, but there is always a reason to come back! Julie has been an amazing tour guide and I've loved every minute of being here. Tomorrow I head off to Vienna. I'm flying which is nice. It'll give me almost 2 whole days there. I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!