i got an email confirming that the luggage was located and that confirmation of delivery was pending. not sure what that means, but i will keep you updated. if you need clothes, i recommend H&M, very affordable and all over the city. toiletries can be bought at supermarkets and drugstores such as DM.
dont let this ruin your trip.
see you tomorrow. hope you had a good first day with your host families.
JB
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Berlin Bound
Survived the plane ride over water! It really was not half as bad as I was expecting it to be, and Tyler made for some great company on the way, so thank you sir! The plane had this really cool tracker to show you which part of the course you were on and how much longer you had to go. Also I realized my parents were correct in that I way over packed my carry on, but better safe than sorry for the first trip. I'm also running on a whopping 4 1/2ish hours of sleep and not feeling too bad.
The architecture is gorgeous, but I was surprised by the amount of graffiti. Some of it was very beautiful, other parts were just "tagging". We walked down to the canal and Heinrich (Host Dad) showed us some of his favorite spots along the way to meet the boys' mother (they are 4 and 7). She is Brazilian and we sat with her and some of her Portuguese friends for about an hour and a half listening to them play music. It was a little overwhelming how everyone could switch back and forth from German to Portuguese to English so quickly.We had some form of chicken they explained as looking like road kill, but was some of the best tasting take out chicken I have ever had. Also tater tots with this garlic dip, so good!
The weather has been absolutely beautiful today (and I think a little better than in TN!). It was really neat too look at everyone's outfits, Heinrich said that he feels like he lives on "Hipster Avenue", and I definitely see where he's coming from. There were also a TON of dogs everywhere today. So far it's been a more amazing trip than I could of imagined, but trying really hard to stay awake until at least 8 o'clock! Heinrich made a banana infused caffeinated chocolate drink earlier that has done wonders, but we'll see how long it lasts for.
The host family that I am staying with is very sweet, and the two little boys are adorable.
We took a bus back to their flat in Berlin, and then after taking about an hour to get settled we went and walked around the down town area. We got some really amazing ice cream! I tried Johgurt-Heidelber, sehr lecker!
The architecture is gorgeous, but I was surprised by the amount of graffiti. Some of it was very beautiful, other parts were just "tagging". We walked down to the canal and Heinrich (Host Dad) showed us some of his favorite spots along the way to meet the boys' mother (they are 4 and 7). She is Brazilian and we sat with her and some of her Portuguese friends for about an hour and a half listening to them play music. It was a little overwhelming how everyone could switch back and forth from German to Portuguese to English so quickly.We had some form of chicken they explained as looking like road kill, but was some of the best tasting take out chicken I have ever had. Also tater tots with this garlic dip, so good!
Oh, also misread a label and walked into a guys bathroom today. So that is my first embarrassing international moment.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful today (and I think a little better than in TN!). It was really neat too look at everyone's outfits, Heinrich said that he feels like he lives on "Hipster Avenue", and I definitely see where he's coming from. There were also a TON of dogs everywhere today. So far it's been a more amazing trip than I could of imagined, but trying really hard to stay awake until at least 8 o'clock! Heinrich made a banana infused caffeinated chocolate drink earlier that has done wonders, but we'll see how long it lasts for.
Until tomorrow!
-C
Second Star to the Right and Straight on Till Morning.. and After
At least, that's what the flights felt like. There was a lot of turning right involved according to my flight map.
From Nashville to Atlanta to Amsterdam, zero problems. But Amsterdam to Berlin?
I arrived on time.
My luggage, however, did not.
But if that's the worst thing that happens to me on this trip I'll be thrilled. It was really a blessing in disguise, since I didn't have to haul a giant suitcase around Berlin for the 20-30 minutes it took to get from the airport to our host's apartment (we did take the scenic route because hey - it's Berlin!).
Berlin is a beautiful city. Even the graffiti is pretty (well, some of it at least).
The buildings all have their own flare and style from one apartment complex to the next, and the amount of nature that can still be found here is refreshing. The people are friendly, the wandering dogs are adorable, and the ice cream is delicious. Our host dad(? is that the proper term? I don't know, but I'll call him that or the HD) treated Carolyn and I to ice cream at Fraulein Frost, which is an adorable ice cream parlor. I got a flavor similar to raspberry, but with actual seeds and fruit in it. Then our HD took us around part of the city. The area by a canal is bustling with people - we stopped and hung out with some Brazillian friends of our HD for a long while. They were a very musical bunch and shared some food from a Turkish eatery. It was very good chicken.
Overall, I'm excited to see where this trip will go. Thus far, minor mishap with luggage aside, it's been a plethora of exceptional experiences. I've got a ton of photos taken already, and my SD card is ready for more.
See you all tomorrow!
~Elizabeth S
 |
| During the long flight where many movies were watched and many attempts at catching some sleep occurred. |
From Nashville to Atlanta to Amsterdam, zero problems. But Amsterdam to Berlin?
I arrived on time.
My luggage, however, did not.
But if that's the worst thing that happens to me on this trip I'll be thrilled. It was really a blessing in disguise, since I didn't have to haul a giant suitcase around Berlin for the 20-30 minutes it took to get from the airport to our host's apartment (we did take the scenic route because hey - it's Berlin!).
Berlin is a beautiful city. Even the graffiti is pretty (well, some of it at least).
 |
| This is part of a series of graffiti depicting a forest in autumn. It's gorgeous up close! |
 |
| This is the graffiti right outside my bedroom window! |
The buildings all have their own flare and style from one apartment complex to the next, and the amount of nature that can still be found here is refreshing. The people are friendly, the wandering dogs are adorable, and the ice cream is delicious. Our host dad(? is that the proper term? I don't know, but I'll call him that or the HD) treated Carolyn and I to ice cream at Fraulein Frost, which is an adorable ice cream parlor. I got a flavor similar to raspberry, but with actual seeds and fruit in it. Then our HD took us around part of the city. The area by a canal is bustling with people - we stopped and hung out with some Brazillian friends of our HD for a long while. They were a very musical bunch and shared some food from a Turkish eatery. It was very good chicken.
 |
| The canal from one of the bridges. The willows were budding and green, and people were sitting all along the banks. |
Overall, I'm excited to see where this trip will go. Thus far, minor mishap with luggage aside, it's been a plethora of exceptional experiences. I've got a ton of photos taken already, and my SD card is ready for more.
See you all tomorrow!
~Elizabeth S
we made it! wir sind in Berlin!
first impressions everyone!
i spent three hours at the airport after you left with your host families to fill out lost luggage reports for nine different people and addresses. your luggage is supposed to arrrive from amsterdam at 5.30 pm local time.
see you tomorrow at 9.30 at subway stop franzoesische strasse. remember that if you get off friedrichstrasse, ask how to get to the stop at franzoesische strasse. it is not far. go downstairs once you reach that stop. we will take a walk from there and go to The Story of Berlin in the afternoon.
you were all excellent travelers. I appreciate your patience, especially those of you whose luggage stayed behind in amsterdam.
best,
J Baker
first impressions everyone!
i spent three hours at the airport after you left with your host families to fill out lost luggage reports for nine different people and addresses. your luggage is supposed to arrrive from amsterdam at 5.30 pm local time.
see you tomorrow at 9.30 at subway stop franzoesische strasse. remember that if you get off friedrichstrasse, ask how to get to the stop at franzoesische strasse. it is not far. go downstairs once you reach that stop. we will take a walk from there and go to The Story of Berlin in the afternoon.
you were all excellent travelers. I appreciate your patience, especially those of you whose luggage stayed behind in amsterdam.
best,
J Baker
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
T-Minus 14.5 hours until departure
'Twas the night before the big trip, and all through the house...
I was entering panic mode because I swear I'm packing too much and yet not enough.
I'm a list-maker, and well, my packing list may have gone a little extreme:
I was entering panic mode because I swear I'm packing too much and yet not enough.
I'm a list-maker, and well, my packing list may have gone a little extreme:
But my packing process went pretty smoothly:
Add a little time and effort:
And voila! A fully packed college student. Minus a couple things.
I'll probably take out a few things in the morning.
My mother was super helpful in double-checking everything and giving me last minute tips before I go. I've flown a couple times before (the longest was to Minnesota) and I'm pretty cool about being the air - I have this horrible habit of taking an obscene amount of pictures of the clouds. If anything has window seat anxiety, I will gladly take that spot! I just hope nothing like Airplane! happens; if you've seen that movie, you'll understand. Fish, anyone?
I'm not sure what to expect from the international flight though, or what will happen from then on. Daily itineraries can only tell you so much after all. And I'm not at all worried about the jet lag, as I'm pretty good at sleeping if I do say so myself. I even have a little travel blanket and pillow for the flight (a thoughtful Christmas present from my brother).
I'm so excited to be given this amazing opportunity, and I'm also looking forward to meeting my host family and staying with my new trip-sister (Carolyn, you are now being informally adopted by me). I'm a bundle of nerves right now, and it will be a miracle if I get to sleep tonight. If I'm sleep-deprived at the airport tomorrow, you'll know why.
Good luck to all the last minute packers!
~Elizabeth S
It only took doing far too many days worth of laundry, but I think I have everything I need for Germany! Honestly, my bag doesn't feel as heavy as it should for going away for this long. My carry on almost feels heavier because I tried to pack all of the things I might want to keep me distracted on the flight. While I have flown before, I've never flown over water and the idea horrifies me. (I'm actually more worried about the flight over the water than the language barrier right now.) The longest flight I've ever done was 8 hours to Oregon and I wasn't able to sleep at all during that, so I picked up some Melatonin for this trip just to be safe. I'm hoping that if I can sleep for most of the trip over there then jet lag won't be too bad, but I guess we'll find out! This will also be the first time I have ever changed time zones this drastically.
I'm ecstatic about the trip, I think that it is going to be such an amazing opportunity. Like all good procrastinators I also got my first email out to my host family today. I'm a little nervous about meeting them because it will be the first time I have ever had to really test my language skills. I'm bringing a card game with me though that is numbers based (Phase 10 for those of you who know it) so I'm hoping that might be a good ice breaker game? I looked up the address of where they live and it looks really cute and like getting from place to place shouldn't be too difficult.
My parents are coming in tonight and overall my nerves aren't too awful, but ask me that question tomorrow before we board and it might be different! I included pictures of my packing extravaganza. No, not everything on the floor is included, I just got a little overwhelmed. 
See ya on the other side!-C
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