Final Week in Berlin, Germany!

Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland!

My last five weeks in Germany have truly been life-changing. I have learned so much, made a bunch of amazing friends, and fallen absolutely in love with this beautiful country. 

I had a little moment of kismet on my last Thursday in Berlin. I'd just bought a new book at an English bookstore and planned to spend the afternoon reading it in the park when rain started pouring down. I decided to read at the national library instead, and boarded the tram. Taking a break from my book, I looked out the window and saw a colorful neighborhood with an array of shops. Something within me told me to get off and so I did.

The rain I was met with outside the bookstore

I found myself in front of a terrace, decorated with colorful banners, murals, and stickers. Deciding to explore this interesting area, I walked inside.

At the back of the terrace was the entrance to a stairwell covered in stickers and graffiti. I gasped, because I recognized this stairwell! I included a photo of it in a vision board I made last summer about what I wanted my first year at college to be like. I knew I wanted to study abroad in Berlin even then, and that photo was a representation of that desire. I had forgotten about that specific image by the time I'd gotten to Berlin, and it was only by a twist of fate that I happened upon it during my last few days there. It felt like a beautiful "Goodbye" from my freshman year of college. 

The stairs led to an art gallery and bookstore. I bought a poster commemorating the gallery's 30th anniversary. To me this poster represents not only my love of Berlin, but the spirit of creativity and bravery that has overwhelmed me this whole month. 

I truly love Berlin and am so sad to have left but even more grateful to have gone at all. I have made memories that will last me a lifetime. Berlin, and Germany as a whole, will forever hold a special place in my heart.