Like any visit with my nearest and dearest, this weekend's trip to Berlin was centered around walking and eating (I choose my friends well.)
I was visiting my friend Christina. Christina and I spent our first semester junior year together at CITYterm, and now she's studying abroad at NYU Berlin.
I use "abroad" lightly, because as far as I could tell, Berlin was Brooklyn, cleaned up and transplanted across the Atlantic, with some extra umlauts on the street signs. As you will see, my weekend included a lot of street food, street art, Veganism, and warehouses. Also, I ran into the girl who I sub-letted from in Williamsburg this summer. See? It even has the same people.
In all seriousness though, everything about NYU's Berlin program seems lovely. When Christina picked me up from the airport Friday afternoon,  it was already getting dark, and therefore cold â below freezing. (I couldn't help myself, and named the Facebook album for this trip Brrrrlin. I know, I know. I am too clever.) After dropping my stuff off at her palatial apartment, we headed to a little Christmas market and got something that sounded to me like "Glue vine," and was actually hot, mulled wine. I can't decide if I liked it or not. I was cold enough that I probably would've enjoyed the sensation of hot glue dripping down my throat, to be honest.Â
After that authentic German experience, we went to a Mexican restaurant in the hip Kreuzberg district with Christina's roommate Rachel. Burritos are any self-respecting Chapel Hill student's main food group, and I've been desperate for one. The Germans do them pretty well, I am happy to report!
After burrittos, it was time for a nap, because, unlike in Paris, where we try to get the last metro home before 2, Berliners don't even go out until 1 or 2...or 4 or 5. Thankfully we opted for the relatively early hour of 1 a.m. (still an hour before my usual weekend bed time...), and went to a club in a warehouse called Cassopeia. To paraphrase JFK, I felt very much like a Berliner. And by the time we got home at 5:30 a.m., very tired.
Our late night/early morning did not keep Christina and I from sight seeing the next day. NYU Berlin's dorm is in Mitte, the very center of Berlin, so all of the major sights were nearby. Basically, Mitte is a history major's dream. We hit up the Topography of Terrors, the Holocaust for Murdered Jews, the Brandenburg Gate, a Soviet War Memorial that the German government is bizarrely responsible for caring for, the Reichstag, St. Hedwig's Church, and Museum Island all in one go, with various stops for snacks: pretzels, hot chocolate, and currywurst.
That's some pretty heavy history, and a lot of walking, so we needed a break at Ritter Sport World, where we made our own chocolate bars. They helpfully had a list of translations for all of the mix-ins, so if any poor English speaker wanted to know what a "marshmallow" was, he could be assured it was a "foam based sweet." Yummy. My bar included almonds, amaretti crumbles, and hazelnuts. I'm sure it will be coming to a store near you soon.
We went back to Kreuzberg for dinner with Christina's friend Cullen, and I drooled over how cheap everything was at the restaurant we ate at, and at their favorite bar afterward. Since we're not total beasts, we had an earlier start for the night, to ensure that we'd have an earlier bed time.
The next morning, Christina took me to the East Side Gallery, the longest standing remains of the Berlin Art Wall, and an outdoor art gallery. We only had a little time to peruse the exhibit before meeting back up with Cullen for brunch at Kopp's, which came very highly recommended by my friends and food-experts Jamie and Austin. Even the committed omnivores at the table loved their food, which, despite the absence of animal products, was authentic German cuisine!Â
The rest of the day was a refreshingly lazy Sunday, replete with delicious Egyptian food in Kreuzberg and a viewing of the Graduate (can you tell that I was staying at NYU? Kidding, kidding.)Â
Christina had class Monday morning, so I explored Prenzlauer Berg. This area was particularly Brooklyn-esque, and I enjoyed coffee out of a quaint daintily painted bowl, before looking in the windows of secondhand clothing shops. For our last meal together, Christina and I ate at Suppe & Salat, which was delicious, and, most importantly, very warm.
I loved Berlin, and I definitely want to go back. But until then, there's always Brooklyn.
