We lucked out. For our dual city program, we had a gap between our last day in Berlin and our first day in London. Translation: that meant we had six free days. We intended to use it.
29.07.2016
In the past six days, my friend and I have seen swirling red dresses and consumed an embarrassing number of toasty chocolate-covered waffles. We’ve watched both young and old couples dance the night away in a city square and exchanged our travel stories with other city hoppers. We didn’t think we’d be here: soaking in the sun and stargazing on a Barcelona beach or sampling decadent Belgium chocolates from Brussels and Bruges. It’s all because of Berlin.
As short as it was, our four weeks in Berlin has given us a lot. First and foremost, it gave us the confidence boost to explore. Even though it was only the two of us, we felt comfortable planning both for the long- and short-term for Barcelona, Brussels, and Bruges. This meant figuring out where to stay, how to get to the city, how to navigate the city, what to do, what to see, and what to eat. If we couldn’t plan for something (or chose not to plan anything), we knew we could figure out how to get home or find our way around the city.
Second, it gave us the taste of adventure. Throughout our six days, we found many opportunities to take detours. Want to climb to the peak of three different landmarks? Want to try another waffle (our third of the day btw)? Want to walk another ten kilometers (even though our feet are swollen and hurting)? Sure! Because every opportunity taken is a new memory in the making. In Berlin, we would have missed out on some of the best local spots if we didn’t go off our routes.
Finally, the most important to me, it gave us the chance to figure out what we really like and don’t like. We realized by living abroad that there are somethings that exist here in Europe that is missing back at home. We want more moments where you can sit down, enjoy a meal, share stories with others and barely touch a phone. We more movements where you can stop to smell the flowers and walk without any rush to take everything in. Berlin made me think of what I want out of my life moving forward. To stay in touch with the news, to travel, to continue to talk to others and exchange our stories. I’m looking forward to see what London has in store for us. Until then, check out some of our moments in Spain and Belgium.
Adventures in Barcelona: Park Güell, Parc de la Ciutadella,
Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Sagrada Família, La Rambla
Bruges (L), All the Waffles (M), Brussels (R)
More to come in TEN | Home Sweet Home, Again
