As my time on this program gets closer to finishing, I find myself with a new motivation to explore as much as I can of what Berlin has to offer. This past weekend was my last full one in Berlin, as I will spend my remaining ones during the program travelling. It’s crazy how close I’m getting to the end now, but I was actually very motivated to get up and do things all weekend, which is good.

On Friday we enjoyed some of the Berlin club scene, which in my opinion isn’t even the best part of the city. While I’ve had some goods times while out, I think I miss the familiarity of America and knowing all the songs so I can sing along. I guess this is one thing that was a bit lackluster at times, but I think I just have a different taste. Also, I have begun to get annoyed by how much people smoke. We have a courtyard at the hotel we are staying in, but half the time it is filled with people smoking. I just want to enjoy the outdoors sometimes. I don’t care if people do that on their own time, but I hate when it affects me. I think it could also be because smoking has been banned in public places in PA for over ten years, so I’m not used to it. Regardless, I don’t like breathing in AND smelling like smoke when it isn’t even mine. This is probably true everywhere in Europe, so there isn’t much I can do.

On a positive note, Saturday was a beautiful day in the sun. We went to Museum Island, which is actually an area across a bridge filled with lots of museums and flee markets. I’ve been meaning to buy souvenirs for a while now, and I figured now was as good of a time as ever. I managed to buy a mini replica of a mural from the Western Wall (complete with a tiny piece of the real Berlin Wall), an ornament with the Brandenburg Gate on it as a gift for my family, and a paper mache drawing of David Bowie for my mom, who is a huge fan. For those who even know who he is, he recorded three of his albums in Berlin, including the well known song, “Heroes”, which is about people kissing next to the Berlin Wall, “I can remember, Standing by the wall, And the guns, shot above our heads”. I was very happy with these purchases as they were the unique Berlin-themed trinkets I wanted. We also got to see the Berlin Cathedral and surrounding buildings, which look beautiful next to the Spree River.

We later went to the Potsdamer Platz area, which is where I work. We got dinner at Vapiano, which you may remember as the delicious Italian restaurant that requires you to stand in line as the chef makes your food. I learned that day that I apparently can’t pronounce Ratatouille, as it took five tries and me giving up and pointing to it on the menu before the chef understood. Is there Vapiano in America? If so, I want it (but like a pre ordered version). We followed dinner with a movie in English (!) called Adrift, which was about a couple getting stranded at sea while sailing their ship across the world. Made me nervous to fly home, to say the least.

On Sunday, we went to Mauerpark, which is an even larger flee market area with shopping, food, and music. I got myself a necklace and a couple post cards for my collection. I’ve been getting post cards at the places I visit so I can hang them in my room this upcoming year. I poured over clothes I kind of wanted, but I spent so much this weekend I held off. There was also a lot of random vintage stuff, from old letters to polaroid cameras to tea sets. At least half of it looked haunted, and the other half just dusty. While I didn’t buy any of it, I did have fun looking through it. We followed this up with a trip to a very (very) crowded Biergarten to watch the World Cup Final, France vs. Croatia. Judging by the title, you may know who won. I loved the energy, although there were definitely more Croatian than French fans, which was a bit surprising. Regardless, it was a thrilling end to what was a slightly sad cup (Germany was out in the group stages, and the US didn’t even make it).

Work has been pleasant as well, as I started working on publisher approvals. This involves browsing the websites and profiles of publishers that want to join Awin’s network. My job is to accept or reject their application, and then categorize them if accepted, or determine why they were rejected. This was actually a lot more entertaining than it sounds. I had the pleasure of going through several Instagrams that applied, some of which looked completely normal and yet they thought they were brand ambassador material. I’m not saying I’m an influencer or anything, but if you want to become a public person on social media you should probably at least take your account off private. I also saw a few blogs that probably haven’t been touched since 1998. I’m honestly not used to having that much power, and after a while it did get a bit disheartening to reject people who seemed nice enough but lacked any reason to accept them. But hey, that’s business. I am also working on a translation, from German to English, of a publication called the “Fashion and Lifestyle Day 2018 Barometer”. I am trying to finish it by tomorrow, as I am taking off work on Friday to go to Poland. In case you’re wondering why I can do that, every worker in Germany is guaranteed two vacation days off a month, that you can choose. It’s very nice because otherwise travel would be difficult. By the time this blog is posted, I’ll only have two work weeks left at Awin. Time flew, and I really, truly will miss the Rewe next to our building. It’s the little things, like salad bars and sushi.

Ciao, weekends in Berlin!