I can’t believe I’m leaving Berlin tomorrow morning—the place I’ve called home the last 11 weeks. I remember how I felt when I first landed at Tegel Airport in May. I heard people speaking German around me, and everything was so new. For the short time I’ve been living here, I’ve grown overwhelmingly familiar with the city. It’s funny, because today the data on my SIM card finally ran out, and I was comfortable navigating the area and finding transportation on my own without the help of Google Maps. The transportation is just that easy in Germany. I even had a few people ask me for directions while out and about this weekend, and I was able to confidently give them directions to their destination.
My last week at work was bittersweet. I started to wrap up my assignments before my last day on Friday. It was weird not having much to do, because I became accustomed to having pretty busy work days. I used my down time to catch up with the news and just take in my last few days in the office.
After work on Tuesday, I met up with the other Pitt students as well as some other interns to have our farewell dinner at a restaurant on the Spree called Freischwimmer. It was a beautiful spot on the water, and the food was delicious. It was sad to say goodbye to our program manager, Britta, who has been so incredibly helpful this entire trip, and I am so grateful for her. After dinner, we explored the area and ended up hanging out in a nearby park as the sun set on our night.
One of the perks of living in Berlin is the affordable pricing for groceries. I took advantage of this for my time here and would cook for lunches or dinners when I could. This week, however, my friends and I decided to enjoy our last few days and we went out to enjoy a few dinners at some new restaurants. On Wednesday, we tried a French restaurant called Brasserie Le Paris. I had been in the mood for some french onion soup, and I was finally able to have some. It was super delicious and a really nice setting in the city (expect for all the bees swarming the Flammkuchen). On Thursday, Emma and I decided to try an Asian fusion restaurant near her work one evening. Another super delicious meal, but the star was the speciality, sparkling lemonades by far.
Once Friday finally rolled around, my colleagues all gathered to say goodbye to me after spending the summer together. They wished me the best of luck in my studies and future career and even gifted me with a few little goodies to remember Berlin. It was super hard for me to leave because I made quite a few friends during my time there. I hope some come to visit me if they’re ever in the US someday.
Although I won’t be leaving until tomorrow morning, the other interns left Saturday morning to return back home. We spent our last night together in the city on Friday and enjoyed some delicious Italian food, gelato, and music by the Spree—just a few of my favorite things.
