sarahtaylortraveladventures

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Beijing, China (May 12 - 15)

Nǐ hǎo! At the end of my program, I visited my boyfriend, Austin, in Beijing where he had spent the past semester studying abroad. It was so so much fun to explore such a cool city, especially with such a helpful tour guide!

On Saturday, I left Berlin for China, with a layover in Moscow. I arrived Sunday morning, and was greeted by Austin at the airport. It was so so great to see him because we hadn’t seen each other in five months! I gave him a gingerbread cookie that says I love you in German - it’s an old tradition in Germany for girls/guys to give them to their sweethearts to wear:)

We took the subway to our hotel. On the way, we got green tea ice cream because I was a little hungry. It was so yummy! I’ll probably be documenting almost everything I ate in China because the food was so good and unique.

Our hotel had a beautiful courtyard that I wanted to share. Very zen.

Next, Austin took me to 798, which is an area in Beijing with a lot of galleries and artists. They are former warehouse spaces that have been converted into showrooms. It was so much fun to look at all the art - there was traditional Chinese art as well as more contemporary items like what’s in the picture. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon because I was feeling a little jet lagged.

There were also these colorful steps.

Afterwards, we got these sesame bun thingies as a snack.

I also got my picture taken with one of the stone dragon sculptures. They’re all over Beijing and I thought they were so cool! My tourguide Austin told me that the female dragons are the ones with the lion cub under their paw, while the males usually have a ball. 

On our way home, we also saw this big panda statue in the middle of the road. so cute!!

That night, Austin took me for one of  his favorite Chinese meals. It’s called Hot Pot, and I think the best way to describe it is like Chinese fondue. We had to wait for our table, so we got a snack. Neither of us really know what this is, and I’m not sure that I was really a fan of it. It looks like a blueberry muffin but it didn’t taste like it.

The Hot Pot restaurant/experience was so cool!! You get to pick the broth and what you want to cook, so we chose some meats and veggies and noodles. The noodles are called “dancing noodles” and they make them in front of you an stretch them out. It was so so yummy!

Afterwards, we went to an area along the river than had a lot of bars. We found one with live music, which was really interesting to hear the songs in Chinese!

The next morning, we woke up very early for a special trip! Our hotel had included breakfast, so we enjoyed a really yummy frittata and sausage and eggs meal. 

Next, we headed to the Great Wall of China!!! We took the subway to a bus, and then took a bus to the area where the wall is, and then a taxi to the main entrance. Next, you take a ski lift thingie to the wall, which sits in a mountainous area. I’m definitely glad I had Austin as my tour guide because it was a journey to get there, but it was so much fun and so cool to see something so historical.

I like the picture below because it shows how lush the area around the wall is, and how long the wall is. You can see it towards the middle top of the photo.

The mountains and hills are also very beautiful! This was taken inside one of the guard towers.

At the entrance, there are also these beautiful temples.

That afternoon, we went to the Pearl Market. This is a huge market where they sell a lot of the fake merchandise, along with a lot of souvenirs. It was really interesting to see everything, including how real I thought all the fake stuff looked. But my favorite part was when I wanted to buy this Beijing t-shirt with pandas on it and Austin bartered with the woman selling it in Chinese. I was really impressed with his Chinese abilities and it was hilarious to watch the two of them argue over the price. In the end we got a good deal! :)

On the way back to the hotel, we walked along this little park area. It was so beautiful!

I also wanted to share what the subway looks like, not that much different from others subways but definitely more crowded!

For dinner, we went to a dumpling restaurant! It was really cool because they make each dumpling a different color so you knew which fillings were which. They were so so good!

That night, we went to a rooftop bar that overlooked Beijing. It was really cool and showed how big the city is!

The next morning, we of course had our breakfast at the hotel. That morning it was granola with yogurt and toast with jam and cheese.

That morning, we went to the Temple of Heaven. They previously used this temple to pray and make sacrifices for a good harvest. Outside the temple area is a park, and Austin told me that a lot of older people really take advantage of parks because that used to be the only place people were allowed to congregate. 

The Temple of Heaven is so, so beautiful! I couldn’t get over the details.

This is the inside of the temple, and the second picture is where they would sacrifice different animals in hope of a good harvest.

Next, we took a a tuk tuk to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was wild to ride through the city on just a little moped thingie.

Tiananmen Square is really interesting. We weren’t able to go inside or closer than the other side of the street, but Austin told me a lot about the history of the area. 

Next, we went to the Forbidden City. This is where the Imperial Palace was and where emperors lived from 1420 - 1912. The area is huge!

This is the throne room.

Next, we went to Baihai park, which has a beautiful lake and really cool structure called the White Pagoda. We had a picnic in the park for lunch!

The area around the White Pagoda is really beautiful. There are a lot of temples and gardens as you walk up to the top.

And we saw real bamboo!!

The art in the temples was so beautiful.

The White Pagoda was cool from the top and offered a beautiful view of the park!

Next, we walked around the Hutong that our hotel was located. Hutongs are common in Beijing, and are like little neighborhoods of alleys with houses and restaurants and shops. They’re really cute and fun to just walk around in. Ours is also near the Drum Tower. You could hear the drums being played! There were also these beautiful gates that lead to different alleyways.

For dinner, we went to a traditional Chinese restaurant that Austin liked. The restaurant was beautiful and it was so much fun to try different Chinese foods. They also served this honey tea, which was so so yummy! My favorite dish we had was the Beijing/Peking duck - omg, so so so amazing.

Afterwards, we stumbled on this little festival near the restaurant which was cool. We also got drinks at a brewery/bar restaurant that were really good!

The next morning we had our final breakfast at the hotel.

Austin also showed me around his campus and I got to see his dorm, which was really cool!

We also split a Jian bing for lunch on the way to the airport. It’s kind of like a Chinese burrito. We only got one because my stomach wasn’t feeling great, but after I took a bite I regretted not getting another because it was so yummy! Definitely one of my favorite snacks in Beijing. After, we got on our flight to Thailand!

I had such an amazing time exploring Beijing with the best tour guide! It’s such an interesting city with so many cool things to do. China is a very different culture, and I was really glad Austin knew his way around a could communicate in Madarin, but it was such a great experience and I’m so glad I got to go.

Stay tuned for the Thailand blog!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 18 (May 6 - 11)

I can’t believe I’m writing my final post about my semester in Berlin! I have a special reflection for my last post :)

5 things I learned in 5 months abroad:

To say that studying abroad was one of my most rewarding experiences would be an understatement. Wandering the streets in cities and countries I’ve never been to, trying the most delicious cuisines, and immersing myself in a foreign culture are memories I will never forget. As wonderful as it all was, there were also plenty of opportunities for learning and growth. Studying abroad isn’t always a whirlwind of fun adventure - I got a lot more homesick than I thought, became frustrated when there were snags in plans, and was sometimes overwhelmed trying to balance everything. I considered myself pretty open-minded prior to this trip, but being abroad has taught me so much about accepting newness and embracing unknowns. I wanted to write my final post to reflect on what I learned during my semester because I think it highlights what I really gained from this experience. 

1. To Pack Light. I pride myself in my ability to pack light, but this semester has taken it to a whole different level. Since we usually flew on budget airlines for weekend travels, we could only take a bag that would fit under the seat in front of us on the plane. So everything for the weekend went in a backpack and if it didn’t fit, it didn’t come with. Honestly, I really enjoyed living out of a suitcase and only having a select amount to choose from. It made everything easier.  It’s freeing to only have what you need and can carry with you, and it was eye-opening to see how little “what I need” actually is. 

2. To Have Patience. I think this is probably the hardest one for me on this list. Sometimes we were really hungry after exploring for a long time and got annoyed at the slower, European way of taking a long time during meals. Or we’d think we had the right tickets for public transportation but realize we needed a different version. There was no way for us to control these things, but it’s frustrating when you’re trying to enjoy yourself and do as much as possible. Traveling takes a lot of deep breaths, and a lot of going with the flow, and I think spending a whole semester on-the-go has really helped practice having patience. Most importantly, I learned to have more patience with myself. It’s not always easy to navigate in new cities or get around when you don’t know the language, and sometimes I didn’t give myself enough grace when something went wrong. But the thing about traveling is you’re kind of stuck in whatever situation you get yourself in, whether that’s a 2 hour lunch or realizing you went the wrong way on the U-Bahn, and thankfully I had friends to laugh about how crazy everything can be after it was over.

3. To Live in the Moment. It was easy to get caught up in upcoming weekend and travel plans and lose sight of where we were or what we were doing in the present. As I’m ending my semester abroad, I completely underestimated how fast the time would fly and how much I would wish I was back watching the boats go by in Lisbon or eagerly waiting in line for my Curry36. I tried very hard to take in every experience and not wish away the time, but it was also harder towards the end when I was ready to be done with finals and see people I’d missed. But when I look back at my favorite memories, most of them were the spontaneous moments spending time with friends in a cool beer garden we found or just exploring without a plan. And I think those are the moments that are easiest to take for granted while they’re happening. 

4. To Catch-Up. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to spend the semester without my friends and family. I made some really great friends while here, but I also found myself really missing people back home. I’m not the greatest at keeping in touch, so I had to make an effort to reach out to friends from home and catch-up. Luckily we live in a world with FaceTime and texting, so it was easy, but sometimes weird to hear about things going on at Elon or feeling like I was missing out on people’s lives. I know it sounds crazy because I was living my best life in Europe, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything, but I still missed being with the people I am close with. I’m am so fortunate to have such supportive friends and family, and if anything being away from them allowed me to realize how much they mean to me and how important it is for me to keep in touch in the future. 

5. To Embrace Discomfort. I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling I had when I walked into the grocery store on that first weekend and tried to buy food. I didn’t know the German words on the packaging, I didn’t know how their über-fast and confusing check-out procedure worked, and I didn’t bring my reusable shopping bag like you’re supposed to. As trivial as this situation seems, I remember walking out and just feeling out of place. I don’t think that’s a feeling most of us are accustomed to, because we naturally gravitate towards places of comfort. There were so many times this semester where I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, what I was ordering off the menu, and carefully following the little blue dot on my google maps but really having no idea where I was. We didn’t always know what we were doing, but I can officially say that for the most part everything worked out. And I think it usually does. The discomfort, the newness, and the unknowns are what make traveling meaningful and how we learn from other cultures. Standing in the check-out line showed me a small but unique aspect of German culture, and the best way to experience that uniqueness is to embrace the differences wholeheartedly. 

 I have enjoyed writing these blogs so much, and I appreciate you all following along despite my need to post a picture of everything I ate and extreme overuse of the phrase “it was really cool.” :) 

And finally, I am so grateful to my parents for providing for me to study abroad. Most importantly, I hope you’ve seen these blogs as a token of my gratitude.

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it. To taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

^my friends and I in front of a wall near our dorm (CIEE is the name of the program, and the G27 above is the nickname for the street we lived on)

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 17 (April 29 - May 5)

Guten tag! 

I am finally getting to posting the last few weekends on the blog! I’ve been trying to soak up every moment of my study abroad experience, so I haven’t gotten a chance to write them.

I can’t believe I’m writing about my last weekend in Berlin! I don’t think I can put into words how much I’ve loved being able to explore such a historical, cultural, beautiful city and I’m so, so glad I chose Berlin to spend my semester.

We had a pretty relaxing weekend, mainly because we’ve already done so much in Berlin and because it’s the weekend before finals, so we all had a lot of work to do.

I feel like I haven’t posted a picture of my food in a while, so here’s a picture of some delicious asian food we got from a place in our neighborhood. It was a rice dish with beef and then a ton of mango, so like three of my favorite foods :) 

My friend and I also walked around a little and found another mini-zoo inside a park. It’s just so funny to stumble upon all these animals in such a big city. But this one had bunnies!!!

We also found a really cool hang-out spot along the river. Berlin has so many cool areas to sit and relax and it’s amazing how much people take advantage of the outdoors.

Tuesday night, we went to a rooftop bar near our dorm. There was a sandbox and we got there right before sunset.

If you look closely, you can see the TV tower!

We had Wednesday off because it’s May Day, which is kind of like Germany’s Labor Day. A lot of people still do protests, but there are also a lot of festivals. We of course opted for the festival and had so much fun!

On Friday, my friend and I went to a museum about cinema and movies. Berlin is somewhat known for their movie culture, and a big film festival is held here every year (called the Berlinale.) We got to see the first Oscar, too!

On Saturday, we went to an old Stasi Prison, called Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. This prison was for political prisoners of the Stasi, or the state security of the GDR, meaning or East Berlin/Germany. It was really creepy but also really interesting. Below is a picture of the hallway with all the cells and a picture of what a cell looked like.

Interrogation was a big part of the prison because most of the people there were arrested for political reasons and thus they wanted to get as much information as possible. We got to see an interrogation room and hear about some of the tactics. It was really interesting and I’m glad we got to learn more.

That night, we went to one of our favorite restaurants and got one of my favorite German meals, spätzle. It’s like a German pasta and this one was served with sundried tomatoes and beef strips. So, so good. Also, I’ve become a fan of German Riesling wine. :)

On Sunday, we found a really cute coffee shop where we got breakfast. Unfortunately for the rest of the day we had to do some work since our finals are this week. It was a great weekend with some time to relax and spend time with friends, especially since they’re making us leave in a week :(

Miss you !!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 16 (April 22 - 28)

Hallö!

On Tuesday, my friend and I went to a Turkish market near our neighborhood. There’s a large Turkish population in Berlin, and it was really interesting to see all the different foods!

On Wednesday, I got a package in the mail from my sorority - they had written all the girls who are abroad letters during chapter and sent them to us! It was so cute and so great to read what everyone said.

That night, my friend and I got food from a takeout Korean place and had a little picnic in the park.The sunset was really beautiful and it was such an enjoyable evening.

On Thursday, we went on a tour of an abandoned amusement park in Berlin called Spree Park. It was really popular during GDR times but then had to close and the city just sort of left it there. Kind of creepy seeing all the old rides, but also really interesting! They even let us go in the teacup ride and manually spin it!

Afterwards, we went to this area called Urban Spree, which is a little beer garden area that also has a rock climbing wall! It was a really fun way to spend the evening. In the picture, you can see the little man on the left side climbing the rock wall!

We also passed by a building with big plastic cows attached to the side - only in Berlin! :)

Friday morning my friend and I found a really cute coffee shop in our neighborhood.

Friday afternoon we took a boat tour around the river Spree that runs though Berlin. It was really cool and a great way to learn more about the city!

Afterwards, we went to the Victory Column and climbed to the top! The promenade in the picture is called Unter den Linden, and it goes from the Victory Column, which you can see the shadow of, to the Brandenburg Gate, which is the little tiny building at the end of the road in the picture!

Next, we found a super cool beer garden in the Tiergarten. It was on a lake that had row boats, so after we got some food we went for a little paddle around the lake! We also enjoyed a beer under the lights. If I had to pick a favorite experience in Berlin, I think this would be it. It was so much fun to ride in the little boats and just spend time with friends over a nice beer in the garden. A perfect evening!

On Saturday, we took a trip out to Charlottenberg Place, which is a little outside of Berlin. It’s also where William I (the first emperor of Germany) is buried, along with a couple other important, historical German people. The palace was really pretty and the gardens were gorgeous! 

Afterwards, we went to the Bode museum, which was the last musuem on my list of ones to go to! It has a lot of Medieval art.

For dinner that night, we went to a German restaurant. It was really cool because they priced their beers based on a sort of “stock market” system, so each beer had a value and if more or fewer people bought it the price went up or down accordingly. Again, only in Berlin!

This was such a fun weekend and we got beautiful weather again! Because we’ve had a couple weekends to explore, I feel like we’ve been able to see so much of the city!

Miss you :)

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 15 (April 15 - 21)

Guten morgen! This was a pretty fun weekend - the weather was beautiful and we had a four day weekend for Easter! Like I said in my last post, we decided not to do a lot of travel for our last block because we wanted to make sure we spent time in Berlin and really explored the city.

I want you all to think back to what I think was my first blog post. I talked about how we went to a park in our neighborhood that supposedly has a man-made waterfall that’s turned on when it’s warm. I probably said something about how I can’t wait to come back when it’s nice outside. Well, once it hit April we have checked said park multiple times to see if the waterfall was turned on. AND ON WEDNESDAY IT WAS!!! It was honestly so cool, mainly because we’ve been waiting for so long. As far as I’m concerned, Spring had officially sprung in Berlin. My friend and I enjoyed a beer while sitting on the rocks towards the side of the waterfall.

On Thursday night, a few of my friends wanted to go to a casino. I’d never been to a casino, so I decided I’d go with them. I only played the slot machines, but I actually won 2 euros! And that’s enough to buy a beer here in Berlin so time well spent :)

On Friday, my friend and I went to the Gärten Der Welt, or Garden of the World. They have a bunch of different styles of Gardens, like Chinese gardens and Japanese gardens.

They also had a big art sculpture that was supposed to represent a Garden of the World, so different sayings and phrases in different languages are what the words are in the picture below. It was really unique.

They also had a whole field of tulips, which are my favorite flower so I was pretty excited!

Afterwards, I went to the Neues Museum in Berlin, which holds their Egyptian art. The bust of Nefertiti is there but you can’t take pictures of it. One of my favorite parts about Berlin’s museums is that they have different time periods/styles separated into different museums, so you can really see the whole collection of one musuem in an afternoon and don’t feel like you’re rushing to get through a super huge collection.

For dinner that night, we went to a burger place that’s like the Shake Shack of Berlin and people here are really into it. Afterwards, we got ice cream and walked around our neighborhood a little bit since it was so nice outside.

On Saturday, we went to the zoo! The Berlin zoo is honestly one of the best zoos I’ve been to. I think this is a European thing, but they let you get a lot closer to the animals and a lot of the areas for the animals don’t have a bid glass barrier between them and the visitors. I’m pretty sure I took a picture of every animal in the place, but here a few highlights :)

The panda was by far my favorite! China only gives countries it likes a panda for their zoo, so it’s a big deal. This panda was just sitting there eating his bamboo lunch while a bunch of tourists watched. :)

There was also an aquarium, which was also neat.

Afterwards, we just walked around the main area of Berlin a little. Berlin is such a walkable city when the weather is nice. We also took cute pictures in front of the Berliner Dom.

Across the river they had a bunch of lawn chairs set up and people just relaxing with drinks, enjoying the sun. So of course we had to embrace the Berliner lifestyle and do the same :)

On Sunday, I went to the Pergamon museum, which hold a large collection of Middle Eastern art. The Ishtar Gate is in this museum, which was one of the gates in the city of Babylon, so it’s from 575 BC. I remember reading about this in my first art history class and I’m so excited I got to see it in person. Babylon is one of the oldest cities in the world and also religiously significant.

The museum also has a lot of other Middle Eastern art, which was very beautiful and interesting to see.

That night, I went to another soccer game! It was really fun and I’m glad I got to go again when it was a little nicer outside. It was Berlin’s team Hertha against a team from Hannover. I think it’s really cool how much Germany/Europe values their soccer teams and it’s definitely a cultural experience to watch the fans.

On Monday, I unfortunately had to do a lot of homework, so I don’t have any fun pictures or stories from that day.

It was a little hard to not be home for Easter, but It was such a fun weekend and I got to cross off so many things off my Berlin Bucket List!

Miss you all!! <3

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 14 (April 8 - 14)

Hallö!

I didn’t get a chance to do very much during the week because unfortunately my professors this block aren’t the best and I’ve had so much work :(

Nuremberg, Germany

But that weekend, my program had our last excursion to Nuremberg. I was really excited about this trip because they had a lot of fun things planned, there’s a lot of history in the city, and it’s really cute and German.

We took the train there on Friday morning. Once we arrived, we walked around the main area a little. We stumbled across a really cool market and so of course for lunch I got a bratwurst!

Almost the entire city of Nuremberg was bombed during the war, but it was all rebuilt afterwards. They decided to keep the older, more German style of buildings, and it’s such a cute little area!

We also found a cute bakery that sold little cakes that looked like bratwurst - so cute! We went to a castle nearby too, which had a beautiful view of the city!

There was also a beautiful cathedral.

For our excursion, we went on a beer tour. The beer is kept in underground cellars to store it and keep it cold. It was really interesting to go in the underground cellars, which were also used during the War as bunkers for people. It was a very interesting tour.

Afterwards, we got gingerbread cookies, which Nuremberg is apparently known for. They were very good!

For dinner that night, our program took us to a very authentic German restaurant. I had honestly one of the best meals I’ve had since being in Germany - it was pork, spätzle, and vegetables in some sort of very delicious sauce.

On Saturday, we went to a small town near Nuremberg called Bamberg. It was really cute and quaint! We walked through a market where vendors were selling produce and flowers.

We mainly walked around the area and looked at all the cute buildings. There is a river that runs through the town and one of the buildings is actually situated in between, which was really cool.

We had lunch in a really cute cafe that was in the middle of the town square. It was a perfect, relaxing day trip!

On Sunday morning, we walked around a little more and found this really cute little village area that was decorated for Easter, which was the following weekend.

Nuremberg was a very cute town and I’m really glad we got to go! We wern’t able to see the courthouse, but it was also interesting to see how the town has recovered and changed since WWII.

This was actually my last trip while in Berlin, other than my plans after I leave. I am very thankful that I got to explore a lot of cities and towns in Germany and feel like I’ve really seen a lot of the country. Every area is a little bit different, and it’s definitely a beautiful country filled with so much history and culture.

Miss you :)

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 13 (April 3 - 7)

Guten tag!! I know it has been such a long time since I've updated my blog, but I’ve been really busy with my classes here and trying to soak up every moment of being abroad. I can’t believe it has gone by so quickly!

This post is from the weekend after my mom and I went to Vienna. My friends and I stayed in Berlin, and the weather FINALLY started to get warm! Berlin is such a different city when it’s nice outside, and we had so much fun exploring.

Wednesday was our first day of new classes after the long break. We have three sections of different classes, so this is our last block out of three. This block I’m taking an accounting class and a class on the politics of the European Union. After our first day of classes, my friend and I walked to a park in our neighborhood that actually has a small, free zoo inside. It’s owned by the city. They had typical petting zoo animals, like sheep and horses, but they also had some unique animals like llamas!

Afterwards, we walked around the Tiergarten, which is the big park in Berlin. It’s kind of similar to Central Park because it’s a huge park in a big city. The Tiergarten is a little different though because it’s more natural and some parts almost feel like you’re in a forrest.

We also found the President’s house, which is on the outskirts of a section of the Tiergarten. The President of Germany doesn’t have as much influence as the Chancellor, but they still get to live in a cool house.

We also found a nice little cafe in the park and got a celebratory cake and drink for the beginning of new classes!

On Thursday, my friend and I downloaded a walking tour guide on our phone. We used the Rick Steve one, like the guy who makes all the travel books. It was really interesting to walk around and learn more about the history of Berlin. Even though we’ve been here for months, I still learned new things and the guide pointed out landmarks and memorials that I hadn’t noticed before. I also took some pictures of sites I’ve definitely already featured on the blog, but it was a beautiful day so pictures came out well :)

On Friday, I went to the Museum of Decorative Arts. I enjoyed looking at all the china and furniture, but I especially liked their exhibit on older clothes. They had women’s clothing from lots of decades and talked about how fashion has changed over the years, from bustles and corsets to the more glitzy dresses in the photo.

On Saturday morning, my friend and I went to a local market that had produce, flowers, and food vendors from the neighborhood. I took a picture of the flowers because I thought they were really beautiful.

Afterwards, we went to Templehof Airport. It’s a old airport that isn’t in use today, but it’s where the Berlin Airlift took place. They have now turned the space into a park, and people come with kites and to just hang out. There was also this guy pulling himself on a skateboard via his kite? Only in Berlin!

They also have old planes in the park, which were cool.

My favorite part about Berlin in the nice weather is how much people take advantage of being outdoors. Our neighborhood was filled with people walking around and the parks all had a ton of people just hanging out. For dinner that night, we even sat outside!

On Sunday morning, I went to this art market that I’ve wanted to go to since knowing I was going to Berlin for a semester. It’s right near Museum Island, and a bunch of vendors/artists from Berlin come to sell their work. It was so so cool to see all the local artists and I just thought it was such a cool concept.

Afterwards, my friends and I went to the Mauerpark Flea Market. Flea markets are a big deal in Berlin, and they all happen on Sundays because everything else closes on Sundays in Germany. It’s a very Berliner thing to go to the flea markets on Sundays :) This one is located in a big park, near where the Berlin Wall used to be hence why it’s called Mauerpark, and they have live music and performers. It’s so so cool.

I’m so thankful the weather is getting warmer and had such an amazing weekend re-falling in love with Berlin - and getting to do all the things we’ve been saying we’ll do “when it’s warm outside” for the past few months!

Miss you all!!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 12 (March 25 - April 2)

Gutentag!

This blog post is the week my mom was here in Berlin after Munich (last Monday - Friday) and then a long weekend (Friday night - Tuesday) with her in Vienna! We had the longer break because our classes/internship period switched, so I have another 6 weeks in Berlin and 12 have past. Crazy!!!!

I had the most fun showing my mom around Berlin. She stayed in an airbnb in the neighborhood I live in, so I got to take her to all my favorite spots. 

On Monday, I unfortunately had my internship during the day, so we couldn’t do a lot of sightseeing. But I did get to have lunch with her - we met at one of my favorite spots. It’s been featured in the blog before so I didn’t take a picture. After work, we had dinner at an Italian place. I don’t think I took a picture because I was so hungry! 

On Tuesday, we had breakfast at my favorite cafe where I write most of my blogs! 

That day we also went to the main area in Berlin and walked around. We had beautiful weather! We also went to the Alte National Gallery, which has a lot of Impressionist paintings so I wanted to take my mom there. It was a beautiful building, too!

I took this outside the museum - I love seeing the trees starting to bloom in Berlin!!

These are from the museum:

We also went to an area called Kurfurstendam, which has a lot of stores and shopping. I took my mom to the Christmas store since she couldn’t see a German Christmas Market. 

On Wednesday, I took the day off from my internship so we could do more exploring! We started the day off at the Brandenburg Gate. And then we walked around the main part of Berlin a little. 

Next, we went to the Berliner Dom, which is the big church in Berlin. I think it’s so cool and I’m so glad I got to show my mom!

The view from the top:

Afterwards, we walked over to the Berlin Wall. For some reason I didn’t take a picture this time, but I do have pictures of it in my first blog post! Afterwards we went to Sheer’s Schnitzel, which I think has the best in Berlin so I obviously had to take my mom! 

After that, I had to go to a class for my program. For dinner, my mom took some of my friends from my program out to dinner. I’m so happy she got to meet them and we had a great time together!

On Thursday I had my internship again so we couldn’t do much together during the day, but we did go to a cute coffeeshop near my mom’s airbnb!

Vienna, Austria

We left for Vienna later on Friday because we were waiting for my passport to come back from the Embassy with my residence permit, so we explored my neighborhood in Berlin a little! We went to a couple cute stores and got sandwiches from a local bakery.

This is a picture from the plane because we flew out during sunset!

We got to Vienna late at night, but our Airbnb was very nice and we had dinner at a really cool local restaurant.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Naschmarkt, which is a huge outdoor market a street over from our airbnb. There were outdoor cafes, vendors with all kinds of fresh foods, and even a flea market!

We also saw this gorgeous building with flowers painted on the sides.

Next, we walked around Vienna. It was an absolutely beautiful day!

We found the Hofburg Palace, which is huge and all the carriages walk in front of it!

Afterwards, we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, an art museum in Vienna. I was so excited because they happened to be showing an exhibit on one of my favorite artists (Mark Rothko) and we got to see it! It was so cool! The buildings around the area were also beautiful.

We had a little lunch in the cafe in the museum, which had a gorgeous ceiling!!

The inside is also really pretty!

These are some of Rothko’s pieces. I know they aren’t for everyone, but these actually have a really cool story behind them. They were supposed to be a part of a commission for The Four Seasons hotel in NYC, but when Rothko visited the restaurant where they were going to be hung, he thought it was too stuffy and pretentious so he donated them to the Tate in London because he thought the public should be able to experience them.

Next we walked around more and saw St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is in the last photo.

Afterwards, we found a really cool park. We went toa little cart selling drinks and enjoyed one by the lake! It was the perfect end to the day.

For dinner that night, our airbnb hosts recommended a Mexican restaurant. We were a little skeptical about going to a Mexican place in Austria, but one can only eat so much schnitzel. It ended up being delicious!

On Sunday, we went to the Belvedere museum. I was so so excited! The museum is in the Belvedere Palace, which was beautiful too!

Gustav Klimt is from Austria, so his famous painting The Kiss is in this museum. There are also a lot of other great works by him and other artists!

The inside of the museum is also beautiful and there were great views of the garden from upstairs.

After, we found a really cool street of colorful buildings where we had lunch.

We walked around Vienna more. It was such a beautiful day!

Next, we went to the Austrian National Library. It was really beautiful

That afternoon, we also went to this cool rooftop restaurant and did a tasting of some Austrian wines.

For dinner that night, we found a really cool restaurant and got to sit outside for dinner!

On Monday, we went back to the market and got breakfast. It was so good!

Next, we went to the Albertina Museum. It was also gorgeous on the inside.

This was the view from outside the museum. We couldn’t get over how beautiful all the architecture was in Vienna!

Afterwards we got some gelato too! Yum!

That afternoon, we went to Schönbrunn Palace. We took a little train around the gardens that stopped at the top of a hill where you could see the palace and gardens below. There was also a cool little building at the top.

We also watched a presentation where they showed us how to make strudel! It was so cool and at the end they gave us the recipe. I don't know that I’ll take the time to make it, but they even gave us a “strudel hotline” to call if we can’t figure it out :)

After, we went to this passageway where there are a bunch of shops. It was really beautiful.

For dinner, we went to an Asian restaurant. Again, wouldn’t have thought Asian food would be do good in Austria but is was delicious!!

On Tuesday morning, we took a carriage ride around Vienna! I love carriage rides and it was so cool to see more sights in Vienna!!

The horses wear cute little hats on their ears to block out the street noise :)

Afterwards we went to the airport and went back to Berlin. My mom stayed in a hotel for the night and then flew out early Wednesday.

We had so so so much fun in Vienna! It was one of my favorite cities I’ve visited so far and I’m so glad I got to be there with my mom. 

Miss you!!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 11 (March 18 - 24)

Hallo!

I’ve been a little late with the blog post, but it’s because my mom was in town this past week visiting so I’ve been showing her around Berlin!!! I also had my last day at my internship - I am sad to leave because I enjoy the people I work with, but I am also very excited to have a little more free time on my hands to explore!

Last week, I had Tuesday off from my internship, so I went to a museum that I really wanted to go to called the Gemäldegalerie. I will definitely miss days off spent at cute cafes and museums when I go back home :)

The museum had a lot of really beautiful Northern Renaissance pieces.

Munich, Germany

On Friday, I met my mom in Munich!!! I went from Berlin via train and she flew into Munich from Charlotte. I was so so so excited to see her and we had the most fun exploring Munich!! 

We checked into our airbnb and then spent the day walking around and seeing everything!

We went to Marienplatz, which is the main square area. It’s very beautiful and looks very German! The first picture is the New Town Hall, which has a really cool clock in it.

This is the Old Town Hall, also in the same square:

Next, we walked over to the English Gardens. There’s a river where people surf! The little section has a man-made wave that is enough for people to just hop in and surf for a little bit until they either fall over or just jump back in the water. It was so so cool - I have no idea how they do it though!

Afterwards, we walked around Munich more. I loved how quaint the city is.

Then I had to let my mom try some German pastries, of course! :)

Next, we went to St. Peter’s Church where you can climb to the top and see a gorgeous view of Munich! We happened to climb up right around the turn of the hour, so we got to watch the clock chime and figures move from above, which was super cool! 

After that, we walked around a little more and found a really cool outdoor market with people selling sausages and cheeses and other foods. I, of course, loved the tulips.

For dinner that night, we found a fondue place! It was so so yummy!!!

Saturday, we woke up and grabbed a little breakfast at a nearby cafe.

Next, we walked to the Sendlinger Tor, which is part of the old town gates of Munich. It was apparently first mentioned in 1318 as a starting point for a road to Italy, but they aren’t sure when it was actually built.

We also went to St. Michael’s Church, which was also very beautiful!

These are other buildings that I thought were nice but I don’t really know what they are.

In the same area, a beer company was giving away free bottles of their beer with these horse carriages! Only in Germany!!!

Next, we found a really cool yellow building where we enjoyed our free beers.

The next stop was the Munich Residenz, the largest palace in Germany. It was built for the monarchs of Bavaria in 1385. It was incredible! The first picture is from the gardens outside and the rest are inside the palace.

There was also a beautiful theater on the palace grounds!

Afterwards, we went to a really cool outdoor beer garden!

For dinner that night, we went to a traditional German restaurant. We both got sausage and potato dishes and they were both amazing! A great end to a great day!

On Sunday, we took a train from Munich back to Berlin. It was really fun to show my mom the cool European trains and see some of the countryside. And we had a little beverage on the ride back, they even included a little wine glass!

That night, I took my mom to my favorite Korean place in Berlin. She loved it!!! We also went to another one of my favorite places where we got strudel and champagne. :)

I had so much fun with my Mom in Munich! I will update with the most recent blog soon!!

Miss you all!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 10 (March 11 - 17)

Guten tag!

 I can’t believe it’s already week 10 - time is going by really quickly because I’m so busy with my internship. I’ve also been working on my research from Elon as part of my honors program, so it’s been a very hectic week! Fortunately I submitted my research proposal right before I wrote this blog, so that is definitely a nice thing to have taken care of!

I am still doing my internship Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday during the day, so I don’t have much to report since I’m basically in an office all day. I still really enjoy the work I’m doing and it’s fun getting to know the people I work with too.

Tuesdays are my day off though, so I worked on my research proposal in the morning and then went to a museum in the afternoon. I went to the Käthe Kollwitz museum, which is dedicated to a famous artist from Berlin. She does a lot of sculptures and drawing and it was really cool. They don’t allow visitors to take pictures inside, but they have a replica of one of her more famous statues outside.

Cologne, Germany

This past weekend, my roommate and I went to Cologne and met up with my friend Devon from Elon! She’s studying abroad in Paris, so Cologne was around the same distance by train for both of us. It was so great to see her and I really enjoyed Cologne. Originally the forecast was calling for rain the entire time we were there, but luckily the rain held off for almost the entire weekend!!

We took a very early train and got to Cologne around lunchtime. We even had to switch trains twice since there wasn’t a cheap direct train, but we did it and I was pretty proud. Once we got to Cologne, we found a cute cafe and got lunch and then of course some streusel! 

Afterwards, we went to this little church near our airbnb that was really cool.

Then we went to the Cologne Cathedral. It’s gorgeous and much, much bigger than I was expecting! This photo doesn’t even show how large it is. They are doing some work on the left side, which is why there’s scaffolding.

The inside was equally impressive. There were so many beautiful stained glass windows!!

The floors also had a really beautiful tilework too.

That night, we actually went to a bar nearby and just caught up about each other’s lives. It was really fun to hear about how everything is going in Paris and about things happening back at Elon!

The next morning, we started the day at another cafe and then went to the original Eau de Cologne shop, which they have now turned into a museum. I honestly didn’t know that cologne was from Cologne, so it was really cool to learn more about it!

Afterwards, we walked around the Old Town part of Cologne, which looks like what you would picture a smaller German town looking llike. There’s this really cool spot with a row of colorful buildings where you can also see another church, and it made a really nice photo spot! 

We also walked along the river a little, which was really pretty!

That afternoon, we went to the Cologne Chocolate Museum. It’s owned by the Lindt chocolate company, and I’m not really sure why it’s in Cologne, but when we found out about it we knew we had to go!

Outside there were big chocolate bunnies!!

They had a really cool room that was modeled after a rainforest where cocoa beans would grow. It was really warm and a nice change from how chilly Germany is :)

There was also a giant chocolate fountain and a lady dipping waffers and giving them as samples. The museum showed the machine process for how they make and package some of the chocolate, which was really interesting to watch.

There was also a section with old chocolate and cocoa boxes on display.

Afterwards, we went to the cafe in the museum and got fondue. It was so so yummy!!

We also went to the giftshop, and it was crazy how realistic the cars look even though they’re made of chocolate!

That night, we went to an Irish Pub to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It was a great end to a wonderful weekend! 

We took an early train back to Berlin on Sunday and then I did work the rest of the day. Cologne is a really cute city and I’m glad we got to visit. Definitely a more relaxing weekend with time to just chat, which I appreciated!

Another amazing week in Germany! I miss you all!! <3 

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 9 (March 4 - 10)

Top of the Mornin’ to Ye!

Two blogs posts in two days! I’m really excited to write this one because I’ve had such a fun week. I can’t believe this past week marked half way through my semester here - in some ways it seems like forever since we first got here and in some ways it seems like time is flying by. 

On Sunday, my friend Annie arrived in Berlin to spend a few days because she was on Spring Break. It was so much fun to show her around!! Unfortunately I had my internship on Monday, but she went on a day-trip and then we met up for dinner at my favorite Korean place :) 

On Tuesday, I had the day off so we were able to see a bunch of stuff in Berlin. We started the day at the Ritter Sport museum. Ritter Sport is a German chocolate company and it’s truly amazing. The museum is really cool and you can make your own chocolate bar by picking out the flavor and ingredients. I made a dark chocolate bar with hazelnuts, dried cranberries, and sprinkles. It was yummy! They also sell every flavor at the store inside the museum, which is cool because there are so many. 

Afterwards we went to the Berliner Dom. I went one of the first weeks we were here, but it was really cool to see it on a beautiful day.

Then, we went to this part of Berlin called Nikolai Quarter that looks more like a smaller German town. It was really nice because it’s a lot quieter than the busy Berlin streets.

Next, we went to the DDR museum, which is about what life was like in East Germany/Berlin. It was very interactive and definitely a great way to have a better understanding of this time period. The museum featured a replica house that showed what each room, including the kitchen, study, and living room, could have looked like. I loved seeing all the old furniture and decor. 

For lunch, we went to another area of Berlin called Kurfürstendamm. It’s where the zoo is, so we went to this really cool market where you can see the monkeys from the zoo. We had currywurst, of course! 

Next, we went to KaDeWe, short for Kaufhaus des Westens. It used to be a really famous Berlin thing when department stores were the big, new thing, but it’s kind of like the Harrods in London or the Macy’s in NYC. We didn’t go to the original one, but the stores are all similar and I thought it would be a fun thing to see! 

For dinner that night, I took Annie to Mustafa’s, which is a döner stand. Döner is the German-Turkish version of a gyro or schwarma. Mustafa’s is apparently the best place in Berlin to get it and it’s right near my dorm. I hadn’t tried döner until that night because I knew I would fall in love and want to eat it for every meal (like the currywurst and Korean) and I was absolutely right. It’s incredible. Luckily, the line for this place is usually 10 people deep so I haven’t had the patience to get it again (yet.) Afterwards, we took her to a local place to get a German beer, so I think we hit all the Berlin/Germany highlights :)

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

This past weekend, my friends and I said we would go for a weekend trip to wherever was cheapest, and Scotland is where we ended up! I am so glad we got to go because it was great to see a whole different part of Europe and be somewhere English-speaking. 

Our flight on Friday morning was very early, but we saw a beautiful sunset on the train ride to the airport that made up for it.

We got a taxi from the airport and I had to take a picture of the steering wheel on the right side of the car. It was wild. 

Our airbnb was on the cutest little road in Edinburgh!

That afternoon, we walked around Edinburgh and had lunch at a little pub. We were lucky and had clear weather almost the entire time we were there, which is pretty impressive given how much it rains there! I loved walking around an area that looked so different than the other places we’ve traveled to.

We also went to the Edinburgh History Museum, which was very interesting and a great way to gain a better understanding of the culture. Of course, there was a whole exhibit on Greyfriars Bobby which was this dog that would sleep on his owner’s grave - I’m unsure why the Scottish are so obsessed with that story but they have statues and pubs named after it.

Later we walked around more and found this really cool park area that had an awesome viewpoint over the city and the surrounding hills.

For dinner, we went to a place that served “Scottish comfort food” called Mum’s. We got haggis as an appetizer so everyone could try it. This place didn’t serve it in the traditional way with the lamb stomach, but I was kind of grateful and thought it was delicious! For dinner, I got bangers and mash. When in the UK- right?! My picture of the haggis is a little blurry because I was in a rush to taste it :)

Afterwards, we went on a Ghost Tour. It was so so much fun because our tour guide was incredible and Edinburgh definitely has a ghost-vibe. I personally didn’t see any ghosts but it was great to learn a little bit of Scotland’s more creepy history.

Saturday morning we woke up early and went on a hike. It was really beautiful and so wonderful to see so much green, open space! We were so so lucky to have such a gorgeous day, too!

Afterwards, we walked around the Old Town a little more. We saw Victoria Street and a bagpiper on the street!

Afterwards, we went to the Edinburgh Castle. We didn’t go inside because it is expensive and to be honest we’ve now been to a lot of castles, but it was cool to see and the view was great! 

We also went to a factory that showed how the famous Scottish tartan is made - it was really interesting and they had room after room of everything in tartan print you can think of.

Then we walked around more. Edinburgh is a very walkable city and we kept wandering down different streets and finding more cool things.

We also stopped by a cafe and had some afternoon tea and shortbread - yummy!

Afterwards, we actually went back to the castle to see the sunset and I’m so glad we did. It was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.

That night, we went to another pub and I got fish and chips. I felt like I had to since we were in the UK. We had an early night, though, because our flight was very early the next morning.

I am so glad I got to visit Scotland because I’ve heard about it from my Dad and Grandpa. Didn’t make it to a golf course, but I had a wonderful time. 

I hope you enjoy all the pictures and I’m thankfully now all caught up with my blog :) Miss you!!!

^^evidence that Berlin can be sunny and pretty :) taken on the walk to my internship!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 8 (February 25 - March 30)

Ahoj!!

Again, very sorry that this post is coming almost a week late - I don’t have as much free time with my internship.

During the week, I mainly go to my internship and then on my free day this past week I caught up on some research that I’m supposed to be doing this semester as part of my fellows program at Elon. Doing the internship is definitely making the time go by really quickly because I’m at work all day, but I’m learning a lot of new things and it’s such a great experience to work for a German company.

Prague, Czech Republic

My program takes us on a weekend trip each block where it organizes the transportation, hotels, and things for us to do. I was really excited the trip for this block was to Prague, because I’ve heard such great things about it.

We took a train from Berlin to Prague on Friday morning and got there in the early afternoon. We always have to do one excursion as part of the trip, and honestly the options for Prague were a little strange. We ended up going to a museum about “tramping” in Prague, which was basically this idea of going out into the woods and camping on the weekends for young people in Prague in the early 1900s. It was a little boring, but if we only have to sit and listen to a tour for an hour in exchange for a free trip to Prague, I’m fine with it :)

That night, we had dinner with the people in our tour group. The restaurant was really cool - we were underground and it reminded me of being in a cave. I had a chicken dish with ham and cheese on top - very yummy!!

The next morning, we went on an early morning (7:30am) walking tour. Yes, I’m surprised we made it too! But it was definitely worth it to learn more about the history of the city and see the sites without the crowds of people. 

The tour started off with the astrological clock, which was installed in 1410. The tour guide explained how to use it to tell the time, but it was a little complicated. Every hour, the clock chimes and the little figures move. One of the figures, which is supposed to represent Death, pulls a string that rings the bells and is meant to symbolize that every hour brings us closer to our death. It’s a little morbid, but also a good reminder. 

Afterwards, we walked over the Charles Bridge. It’s really cool, because there are statues all along the sides and the views on both sides are beautiful. Our guide explained what all the statues symbolized, which was also helpful because we wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Our tour also showed us around the Old Square, which was really cute and it was awesome to be able to walk around without a bunch of people there too. Prague is really beautiful and was less damaged by WWII than most other Eastern European cities, so most of the buildings and architecture is original. 

We also visited the Jewish Quarter, where one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe is located. We also saw the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest active Synangogue in Europe. We weren’t allowed to go in because it was Shabbat, but it was still very interesting to learn about.

Then, we went in a monastery that still has active Monks working there. It was really beautiful!

After the walking tour, we went to a nearby cafe and got some coffee and pastries.

Then, we walked around the city more! We went across the Charles Bridge again and walked to this area that overlooked the whole city. The area we walked around was really old and quaint.

We also saw the Prague Castle, which was really gorgeous.

We also found this really cool area right by the water where there were a bunch of swans! It was really beautiful! 

We also found a really cool gingerbread store! The workers make all the cookies there and had so many cute designs. It smelled go good in the store too 

Then, we went to the John Lennon Wall, which is a famous wall in Prague. It was started by this artist who painted his picture and come lyrics on the wall right after Lennon was killed. Now, a bunch of other people have added their own graffiti and messages on it. It’s really cool.

Also I got my hair cut!

We went back to to the hotel and rested a little bit and then found this cool park nearby and walked around for a while. It was a steep climb to the top, but really cool to see the city at night! There was also a waterfall.

That night, we went to this really cool restaurant where the drinks were served on a train! It was so cool. There were tracks around the whole restaurant and then the glasses where on these little trains that stopped right at the table. It’s a little hard to see in the picture because it was moving, but it was awesome!

On Sunday, we took the train back to Berlin. It was a wonderful trip and I had a lot of fun!

I am still having a wonderful time abroad and I miss you all!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 7 (February 20 - 24)

Hej! 

I apologize for this post being a week late - I’ve been traveling the past few weekends and then started my internship last week so I haven’t had time to sit down an write my posts.

We started our new block of classes, but I don’t have any courses I just have my internship. My internship is with a company called Plane-Site, and they do communications and design work with architecture companies. It’s a really small company, but everyone I work with is really nice and I’ve enjoyed it so far. My position isn’t very business related, but it’s been fun to step a little outside my comfort zone and work on some design and creative stuff, in addition to learning new skills like photoshop. I also write their daily tweets, so if you follow @plane_site on twitter, I wrote and found the articles for the past week :) I work there all day three times a week, and then have Tuesdays and Fridays off, which is really great schedule for exploring Berlin and traveling.

Copenhagen, Denmark

On Friday, I left (very) early in the morning for Copenhagen! My friend Annie is studying abroad there, so I got to see her and stay with her. The cheaper flights were at 8am, but I did get to see a pretty sunrise on the way in.

Annie had class until noon, so I walked around and explored a little by myself. The buildings are all really colorful and cute!

I went to the Denmark National Gallery, which was really cool and I got to see some Danish art. On the walk there, I passed through this beautiful park and saw the Rosenborg Castle.

The museum was really big and I’m so glad that I got to see some Danish art.

When I met up with Annie after her classes, we got a Danish hotdog. It was really good! 

Afterwards, we walked to the Nyhavn Canal, which is a really pretty row of houses along the water.

Then, we went to The David Collection, which was the personal collection of C.L. David and has now been turned into a museum. It was really cool because there was a lot of Middle Eastern art, like these tapestries. There was also a lot of china and decor too which was interesting to look at. 

Afterwards, we went to the Little Mermaid statue. It’s a really famous Copenhagen attraction and I’m so glad I got to see it!

Next, we went to a marketplace and got a Danish snail pastry. It’s kind of a cross between a cinnamon role and a croissant. It was a Danish danish! :)

Then we met up with some of Annie’s friends and went to this place where you could get drinks and play boardgames. We played a really fun spy-themed one that I’d never played before. I got a Carlsberg beer since it’s made in Denmark. Honestly I think all the beer tastes the same though.

That night, we went back to Annie’s homestay. She is living in a house with host parents and one other girl who is also in her program. I’m really glad I was able to stay with her because Copenhagen is really expensive and it was cool to spend time with Danish people. They have hosted students for the past five years and were really really nice. They also have two cats and one dog, and they were so cute that I felt like they should get a feature in the blog. For dinner, her host parents made us stuffed bell peppers. It was yummy.

On Saturday, we went with her host family to Frederiksborg Castle. I’m really glad we got to go because it’s a little outside of Copenhagen so I don’t know that I would have known about it otherwise. It was built in 1608 for King Christian IV of Denmark. 

The outside area had really pretty gardens too! We went on a beautiful day too.

That night, Annie’s host family made a big, joint dinner with the other host family down the street. They made beef, scalloped potatoes, salad, and then Annie and I helped with a cheese, mozzarella, and onion dish that I thought we did a pretty good job with :)

The next morning, her host family made us an “American brunch” with waffles, pancakes, eggs, and sausage. It was really yummy and so sweet of them to put so much effort into making food for us. 

Afterwards, I got on the plane back to Berlin. When I got back, my friend and I went on a walk in a nearby park and saw a really beautiful sunset. For dinner that night, we went to a Moroccan restaurant - very yummy!!

I’ve been really busy doing so much traveling, but I’m trying to take advantage of not having class/internship on Fridays and will then spend more weekends in Berlin when the weather is nicer. I’m so glad I was able to meet up with Annie and have so many new experiences. It’s overwhelming, but in a mostly good way :)

I miss you!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 6 (Feb 11 - 19)

Olá! This post is coming out a little bit later because I just got back from traveling last night. We have a block schedule, so I had finals last week and then a longer break this past weekend. 

During the week, I was super busy preparing for finals. I had a project that required me to take pictures all over Berlin so I spent the day doing that. I was also studying for an exam on Wednesday, so there was definitely a lot going on. I really don’t have pictures or updates for the week days, but I do have a lot from our trip over the break!

Lisbon, Portugal

My friends and I decided to go to Portugal for our first long break since it’s further away and wouldn’t make sense for a weekend. I was so excited because I really wanted to go to Portugal but didn’t think I would get to this semester since it’s far from Berlin. Lisbon is an amazing city and I had the most incredible time. I hope that I get to go back and spend more time here someday. It was also nice to explore a country outside of Eastern Europe and experience a little bit of warmer weather and different foods.

We left Friday morning and arrived in the late afternoon. Our airbnb was perfect and had a really cool view of Lisbon (in the picture below!) The city sits on kind of an incline, so you can see houses and buildings above and below. We had 8 girls on the trip, all in one airbnb, which actually went surprisingly well. :)

For dinner, we went to a place in the main square and shared paella and sangria, which are popular in the Portugal/Spain area. Both were delicious!!! 

Afterwards, we walked around a little and saw the city center at night. Then we got gelato - I promise we do more than eat!! Since the weather was warm enough where we could eat cold gelato outside, it was a no-brainer. And they somehow got it to look like a flower! They just use a regular scooper thing to do it too and I have no idea how they’re able to make it look so cool.

On Saturday morning, we went to a cafe for breakfast. Portugal is know for their pastel de natas, which are like a combination of a flaky tart and creme brûlée. They’re the little pastry in the left of the picture. They were so so good and I’m just not going to tell you how many I ate over the weekend. :)

Afterwards we walked around the area. Lisbon is definitely a city you can just walk around and explore. It’s so beautiful and it was really relaxing to just experience it rather than having a list of places we wanted to go to.

We also took a tram to another area of Lisbon. I don’t really know what it was called, but we kind of just got off when all the other tourist-looking people got off. Turned out to be a good move! Portugal is know for their tiles, which are on a lot of the walls and buildings. They’re very very beautiful!

We also passed by the Jeronimos Monastery. It was gorgeous and had the most intricate limestone detail. There were also beautiful gardens surrounding the monastery and it was so refreshing to see greenery. 

Then we walked by the water. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We just sat there for around to an hour and watched the boats and people. There was also a guy playing his guitar nearby so it was so peaceful. As much as I love to go out and do lots of things when traveling, it was really nice to just relax. There was also a group of kids learning how to sail on little dinghy sailboats, which was so so cute to watch! 

The tiny statue in the picture above is called Christ the King and it was modeled after the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. 

Afterwards we went to a viewpoint where you could see both the water and the buildings. We did a lot of walking that day - the step tracker on my phone said over 32,000 steps! That night, we went to market hall for dinner. They had a booth with almost every food you can imagine! I got the fried cod because Lisbon is apparently known for their codfish. It was amazing!

That night, we did a pub crawl with a tour group company in Lisbon. I wasn’t sure what to expect but we had a lot of fun and met some other tourists from different places in Europe, which was really cool!

On Sunday, we went to the Castlo de Sao Jorge, which was basically a really big fortress overlooking the city. It was really beautiful! The fortress itself was also really interesting and it was fun to walk through all the tunnels and passageways.

There was also really cute little alleyways on the hilltop that were cool to walk around as well. The next picture is a tree with crochet pieces around it - I don’t really know who put it there but I thought it was so cool!

Portugal is also known for this cherry liquor that they sometimes serve in little chocolate cups. We of course had to try it, and it was really good!

For dinner that night we tried a Portuguese restaurant. The cuisine has a lot of seafood, so I got cod again and it was so so yummy! It’s really fresh and inexpensive too because the city is right on the water.

On Sunday, we took a day-trip to a town called Sintra, which was about a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon. We mainly went to see a castle called the Palace de Pena, but the town was also really cute! It was nice to see an area of Portugal outside of Lisbon, too. The castle was really unique and we also got to go inside, which was really cool too!

I couldn’t get over how beautiful the details on the ceilings are!

The details on the entire place was incredible. 

For lunch, we went to a little place in the town. It was really cool because it felt like we were inside a cave!

The town itself was really, really charming!

There was an art installation of sculptures along the pathway back down to the train station, which was really cool!

The train ride home was really cool because we could see the sunset and all the little towns lit up at night. I don’t have any pictures, but our timing coming home was perfect!

That night, we went to a grocery store and got bread and cheese and grapes for dinner. It was really fun to eat in and just talk rather than trying to find a restaurant. 

We had a later flight on Tuesday, so we were able to do some more exploring that morning. We mainly walked around the city more, but we also went to a little section of the water that had a little beach area and was super cool! There was a man making really intense sandcastles too.

The whole street was pink! 

It was an amazing trip and I’m so glad we were able to go. I loved that we could just walk around an explore and the beautiful weather was just perfect. 

I’m having such an amazing time and I love being able to share everything through these blogs! I miss you all!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 5 (Feb 4 - Feb 10)

Hallo! This week we celebrated being in Germany for a month - I feel like we’ve already done so much and I can’t wait for what is ahead!

On Monday and Tuesday I just worked on homework and went to class. I did find a really cool building while walking around the neighborhood, though! 

I also took a picture of the bikes the Deutsche Post uses to deliver their mail, which I think is so cool!

On Wednesday one of my friends and I walked around the neighborhood and found this really beautiful church.

That night, we went to a soccer (they call it foßball here) game! The Berlin team, Hertha, played the Munich team, Bayern Munich. Apparently the Bayern Munich team is ranked #2 in Germany, which was pretty cool to watch! It’s also played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, which is where the 1936 Olympics were held and Jesse Owens received all his gold medals and saluted the flag instead of Hitler. 

This is what I ate while there. No surprise - bratwurst!

It’s a tradition in soccer clubs to wear and hold up scarves during the game. Hertha didn’t win, but it was still super fun to watch! The fan section behind the Hertha team has flags and synchronized chants and it was so cool to watch. Germany definitely takes their soccer seriously!!

On Friday, we went to a dim sum place for dinner! Not as cool as the ones in New York, but very very delicious!

Afterwards, we went to a nearby restaurant that serves flights of beers, which was cool to try the different kinds! We went here because Friday marked exactly one month since arriving in Berlin, and what better way to celebrate?

On Friday, we went to this Christmas store that is open year round and supposed to sell the same things as the winter Christmas markets. It was huge and so interesting to see all the different holiday things, including a very German nutcracker!

I had to take a picture when I saw the whole wall of tinsel!! :)

That night, we walked around the Brandenburg Gate and Mitte area at night, which was awesome to see everything lit up! We also looked at the Reichstag and this other really cool building, but I don’t know what it is used for. 

On Saturday, we took a bus to a smaller German town called Schwerin to see a castle for a little day-trip! We left really early in the morning, so when we got there we found a cute cafe to have breakfast, and ended up getting cake instead. It was delicious and the cafe was in a beautiful building!

The castle is called the Schwerin Castle, and it was absolutely beautiful! It was built in 1857.

The inside was also gorgeous! This is the throne room - not too shabby!

This is a room with portraits of all the people who ruled in the castle. 

I also wanted to show this table, which was made out of wood and I thought it was so pretty!

The outside of the castle is also really beautiful. The castle sits on an island so it overlooks the water. There was also a cool grotto that apparently they used to keep bats in. 

After exploring the castle, we walked around the town of Schwerin for a little bit. It was very quaint and beautiful!

It was a great day-trip and I’m so glad I got to see a German castle!

It was a very “German” week - soccer games, beer flights, and castles!!! I’m having such a great time and it makes me so happy that everyone is enjoying my blogs. 

Miss you!!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 4 (Jan 23 - Feb 3)

Szia! 

This week’s post is a little shorter because I didn’t do as much during the week, but this weekend I had so much fun for my birthday! I’m sitting in a coffee shop right now writing this and there’s a puppy dog just sitting here in the booth nearby. The dogs here are so well behaved and the restaurants welcome them because they’re don’t cause any issues!

I had a midterm on Tuesday and Wednesday so I spent most of the beginning of the week studying. I’ve found a coffee shop near my dorm that I really like, so I mainly spent the day there. Here’s a picture to show that I am doing some studying while abroad :)

On Wednesday we celebrating being done with midterms by going to a really cool restaurant nearby that’s also kind of a beer hall. I took a picture of part of their beer menu just because I still think it’s funny how seriously they take their beer here. 

On Thursday night, I went out so that I celebrated my birthday exactly at midnight. I don’t have any pictures from that, but I did get Curry36 again and all I can say is having currywurst as my first meal of my 21st year seems like a pretty great start!

Budapest, Hungary

On Friday, we took a flight to Budapest. I was really excited to celebrate my birthday there because it was one of the top places I wanted to go while abroad. We took a budget airline, which are much more popular here. Since we boarded this one from outside, I’m not going to lie it kind of felt like I was rolling up to Air Force One like in the movies. 

Once we got there, we checked in to our Airbnb, which was very nice and even had a little loft! Afterwards, we explored Budapest a little bit. Budapest is split by the Danube river, and the West part is considered Buda and the East is Pest. I’m sure there’s a whole history behind it becoming Budapest but I don’t know what that is. It’s a very walkable city, so we were able to see a lot of the Pest side even in just one afternoon. I’ve included some pictures! Everything was very old and ornate, so definitely different from Berlin.

Afterwards, we went to go buy some wine to drink for the evening and I wanted to purchase it since it was my 21st and I felt like legally buying alcohol on your birthday is a rite of passage, but the cashier ID’d me, which was cool because I was 21 but not as fun given that the drinking age here is 16 for wine so that means he didn’t even think I looked 16! But I’m sure one day I’ll appreciate that I look younger?

Once we got back to the apartment my friends surprised me with a Happy Birthday bottle of wine and a cake with candles. It’s a whole story about how they somehow got the cake inside the apartment without me noticing :) And then a picture of me blowing out the candles!

That night, we went to a Hungarian restaurant and I had a stuffed chicken dish, which was delicious. We were all really excited to see so much chicken on the menus in Budapest because it’s not as common in German foods. 

That night, we went to a “ruin bar,” which is basically an old building that they turn into a really eclectic bar. They’re really popular in Eastern Europe but this one in Budapest is supposedly one of the coolest. They basically had everything and anything on the walls and colorful lights and plants everywhere. The bar was also huge - there are a bunch of different rooms with different drinks and then an outside area too. Also my friends got me a crown to wear, which was definitely a conversation piece with everyone there.

On Saturday morning, we found a really cute coffee shop nearby. Almost everywhere we go here they do really cute designs on the coffees.

Afterwards we went to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths, which is this large outdoor and indoor bath area. It was really cool because they heat the outdoor ones in the winter so it’s like a really big hot tub. The indoor ones are a lot like normal pools. It seems a little strange to bathe with that many people, but it’s so common there that they don’t think it’s weird at all.

The ceilings of the bath house were also beautiful:

 For lunch, we went to another chicken place where we split a whole chicken and then tried different sauces. Hungary is known for their paprika dishes and sauce, and it’s so so good there! I think it has a little more flavor than the paprika we have in the US or maybe they know how to cook with it, but it’s definitely more than just a garnish here.

For a little snack, we got these chimney cake thingies with soft serve in the middle. They were soo soo good. 

Then we walked across the bridge to the Buda side and walked around the Buda castle, which was completed in 1265. I took a lot of pictures too!

Then we went to this beautiful church called Matthias Church that also had a lookout area called Fisherman’s Bastion, which was so so cool! The roof of the church has a really unique and colorful pattern.

There was a little cafe there where you could sit and look out at the view, so we got some mulled wine and watched it get dark and all the building lights come on.

This is their Parliament Building lit up at night:

We also saw the Shoes in the Danube River, which is a memorial to the Jewish people who were killed during WWII and ordered to leave their shoes at the edge of the river before being taken away. It’s definitely very humbling to see so many memorials whenever we’re in Berlin or traveling and definitely shows the abundance of history here. 

That night, we went to a nicer restaurant for dinner and I got the best Chicken Paprikash, which is a common Hungarian dish. 

 Sunday morning we had an earlier flight, so we just went ahead and went to the airport and went home. I like being able to get home earlier so we can get ready for the upcoming week Sunday night.

This was the little courtyard outside of our Airbnb!

I had an amazing birthday and another great week in Berlin! I am definitely working hard in my classes that are a little more challenging than I expected, but I’m still gaining so many wonderful experiences while here even if it can sometimes be overwhelming.

I’m so sorry this has taken me a while to post, but I hope you all enjoy it! I miss you!

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 3 (Jan 21 - 27)

Dzień dobry! Not German - keep reading to find out what language! :) 

This post isn’t as long because I’ve actually been doing a lot of schoolwork (really putting the “study” in study abroad) and getting into a routine, which is really comforting. But I had some great experiences this week that I’m excited for you guys to read about!!

On Monday I mainly did some homework and went to class, but that night my friend Steph from Elon and I had dinner. She is on a J-term trip and they spent a night in Berlin so we got to meet up! It was so so wonderful to catch up and spend time together and definitely the piece of home I needed!!

On Tuesday, a few friends and I really wanted to check out the thrift and vintage stores in our neighborhood. There was so much stuff in them and one of them was so well laid out it felt like a museum you could touch. The clothes and other items were from all kinds of decades and was really interesting to look it. Tons and tons of fur coats too - guess they used to get fashionable for the cold Berlin winters!

On Wednesday, my International Finance class got to go to the Deutsche Bundesbank, which is the central bank of Germany. The head of their Political Relations department spoke with us about the role of the Deutsche Bundesbank in Germany in addition to the EU money market. It was very interesting to learn more about how their banking and money system is different than the US and his opinions on the economy. And, they had a pretty nice set-up for us with coffee and a bunch of snacks!

That night, one of my friends and I decided to try a Korean place nearby. He knew that I love different asian foods and I’ve never had Korean so I was super excited. I got Bi bim bap, which is apparently a pretty common dish, and it was so!!!!! incredible!!!! It’s a rice dish with beef and different vegetables on top and I'm pretty sure it’s my new favorite asian dish (except for Taipei - don’t worry.) They also serve kimchi beforehand and it was like a spicy sauerkraut and it was also so good. Hite is a Korean beer, which was also good :)

On Thursday, two of my friends and I went to the Kennedy Museum in Berlin. The museum is all photos and focuses on JFK’s visit to Berlin in 1963 where he did his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. I am so glad we went - the photos were fascinating and it gave such an interesting perspective in terms of Cold War history. They had a lot of photos of JFK in Berlin, but they also had a lot of photos of his entire life which was also fascinating, including a lot on Jackie whom you all know is one of my role models. The reason we went, though, is because they had a special exhibition on First Ladies with pictures and information on not only Jackie O, but also Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. This was so so cool for me becuase I admire them all and loved seeing all the great things they accomplished through photos. They didn’t allow us to take pictures, but I did take a photo outside of vines growing on some buildings that I thought was cool!

Afterward, we went to this cafe near my dorm. I got a friend chicken sandwich with mangoes on it, and I had to talk about it on the blog because those are two of my favorite foods combined and it was amazing. Also I was so excited about it that I forgot to take a picture until halfway through, so here’s a picture of a half-eaten but very delicious sandwich. 

On Friday, I unfortunately had to go to two classes. Usually I don’t have class on Friday, but twice a block we have to go an extra day of the week and this was the day. BUT IT STARTED SNOWING THAT MORNING!!! It hasn’t snowed since we’ve been here and it was a beautiful, light, powdery-dusty snow.

My History class went on an excursion to the Topography of Terror, which is a museum housed in the former headquarters of the Gestapo. Inside, they have pictures and information about the Nazis in Germany and around Europe, concentration camps, and WWII in Berlin. The museum is laid out very well - they show all of the major cities and towns in Germany and give information on what they call “the survivors, the perpetrators, and the aftermath” for each place. They also give information about each country in Europe that was affected by WWII, which allowed us to see how far reaching the war was. One of the things I have been the most interested to learn about here is how Germany has handled their past in terms of the Holocaust and WWII. This museum is a perfect example of how the country pays homage wherever they can to the victims of the holocaust and WWII in an informational and respectful way. In my opinion, they have done an incredible job of making their memorials and museums educational and interesting, not just heavy, sad monuments that people forget about or don’t want to accept as they walk by. In class, we also read an article about what Germany has done with all the buildings that were prominent Nazi establishments. They country has worked really hard to turn almost all of them into some sort of educational memorial/museum, in an effort to "accept the burden of our history but we also intend to write a new chapter in our history," as the article stated. In no way does it feel like they’re trying to erase or cover up their past, but it’s very evident that they want you to learn from it. I don’t have any pictures from the exhibit, but it was a really great experience. 

On a lighter note of German history, that night we went to a traditional Bavarian beer hall. It’s based on a famous one in Munich and I think they now have the same one in different parts of Germany, so it was kind of touristy but definitely fun. I don’t think they sold anything less than a liter of beer, but I actually really liked the beer I got (which was good because a liter is a lot.) They have big communal tables, live music, and all the waiters wear lederhosen and traditional Bavarian clothing.

And then, I got the currywurst of all currywursts. It was amazing.

Poznań, Poland

On Saturday we took a bus to a small Polish town called Poznań. It was about a 3.5 hour bus ride, but the bus was a coach bus, so I got homework done while riding and it was actually really nice. 

This little town was one of the cutest and coolest places I’ve been. Poland is such an interesting country with a lot of history, and Poznań was a perfect place to just do a one-night weekend trip. Once we got there, we went to the Rugalowe Museum. Rugalowe is a croissant-like pastry that Poznań is known for and the museum shows you how they’re made and gives a little history about the town. The guys who did the presentation were really funny and we had so much fun. They let the audience help with the different steps of making the croissants, and my roommate and I got to roll the croissants! We did a pretty good job, in my opinion. The croissants look a lot like regular croissants, but they have a raisin, cinnamon, almond filling and a glaze on top and are so yummy!!

The sample:

Afterwards we walked about the Old Town Square, which was absolutely beautiful. It snowed the morning before we got there, so there was little dusting that made it even more gorgeous. And we went around sunset so the lighting was really cool.

We had dinner at a local Polish restaurant. I got the fried pork, which was basically schnitzel. The Polish and German foods are pretty similar. Afterwards we walked around the square at night, which was also really nice. And then we went to a really cute cafe for expresso. I know, so European of us :)

On our way back to our Airbnb, we wanted to walk past this big castle that was built by the Germans during 1905, making it the youngest castle in Europe. It was then supposed to be one of Hitler’s residences but renovations were stopped in 1943 because Germany wasn’t doing well in the war. It was later turned into barracks used by the Polish People’s Army. They also have a memorial on the outside for three mathematicians who were students at Poznań University. They were working with the Polish government and basically cracked important parts of the Enigma code, which was a complex cipher used by the Germans so that the Allies couldn’t read their messages. It’s the same basis as The Imitation Game movie, but these three students don’t get any credit even though they made really important strides before the guy in the movie. It was really interesting and cool that it happened in this little town! There was also a statue of the numbers 1956, which symbolizes the year of the Poznań Protests, which were against the communist government of the Polish People’s Republic. 

Sunday morning, we went to a really cool cafe with records on the wall. 

Then we walked around the square a little more to see it in daylight. We also went inside the pink church, which was much larger than I was expecting!

We promise we didn’t intentionally plan to match each other or the church!! :)

That afternoon, we went to a really cute place that served only Pierogies, which is a traditional Polish dumpling. The ladies were making them right there in the store and they were so so sooooo good. I got a traditional potato one, a duck one, and a pumpkin filled one. 

After that, we took the bus back to Berlin. It was such a great trip and I’m so glad we got to experience another culture for the weekend! I really loved seeing a smaller town and learning a little more about Poland. 

It was a great week! I miss you all!!!