I can’t believe I’ve already reached the halfway point of my internship! It was another successful week in the office. This week, I was very excited to hear back from some of the affiliates and partners I had contacted the last week. I have successfully confirmed a deal with one of the popular US promotion sites, RetailMeNot. It was very fulfilling to be able to show a positive result from my endeavors. In addition to this deal, I also received a response from a popular website blogger. She expressed her interest in working with us, and I am eager to close a deal with her during this next week. Stay tuned for an update in next week’s blog. 😉

This week was high in stress, and not due to business in the office—rather business on the football field (soccer field for all of my American friends). Germany’s national team had a match against South Korea on Wednesday, and my office spent the entire afternoon watching the game together. Once the clock hit 4, we were ready with our snacks and spirit to cheer on our team. The game was a thrill for the entire 90 minutes, but I knew we had no option other than to win if we wanted to move on. It was a very intense game, and we were on the edges of our seats the entire time. It was an upsetting defeat to say the least, but I was proud to represent Germany during their last game of this year’s World Cup.

Despite the loss on Wednesday, we tried to keep our spirits high in the office for the remainder of the week. On Friday, I went out with my colleagues for some delicious ramen at a local restaurant. The weather was beautiful, and it was a nice start to my weekend.

Later Friday evening, I went to a local festival in Kreuzberg with some of my friends. The atmosphere was filled with music, street food, and lots of art. We found an Italian restaurant nearby, and I had a super yummy pasta dish while listening to the beats of the local artists. This festival reminded me of one we have back at home in Pittsburgh—the Three River’s Arts Festival. I enjoyed Berlin’s take on the arts, and the lively environment was fun to experience.

I spent Saturday just outside of the city in the area of Potsdam, one of the suburbs of Berlin. After only a 30 minute train ride south, we arrived among the parks and palaces. We walked to Schloss Sanssouci, which was the summer palace of Frederick the Great. The grounds are extravagant. The paths are bordered by tall shrubs with fountains and flowers intermixed in between. As you walk through the gardens, there are various buildings, embellished with intricate designs and materials. One of my favorites was the palace at the top of the terraced gardens. As we meandered further though the park, we arrived to another beautiful structure that was designed with a similar style to the others. One of my favorite aspects of some of these palaces is the gold statues at the very top.Scattered throughout the gardens were these cage-like structures—incorporating turquoise with gold accents. I found them to be very unique and pretty with the sun emblem featured in the center.After a graceful stroll through the park, we worked up quite the appetite. We thought to ourselves, “what better way to end the evening then with a pizza in Potsdam.” We enjoyed a pizza next to the water as the sun began to set.

On Sunday, we concluded our relaxing weekend with a picnic in the Tiergarten. This weekend was perfect to explore some new spots in Berlin. We experienced more of the hip scene in Kreuzberg, then a little classy taste of Potsdam, and ended in the tranquil Tiergarten. As always, I look forward to what is to come, especially with only 5 weeks left of my summer in Berlin.