It's Only Up From Here

I was really wanting to use another color and hoping to ring in the break/season and spring, however following school today I was greeted by a hail storm (Which happen at least twice a month ahahah.) Auf jeden fall (anyways), The break is finally here and I will update you on the past weeks as well as a few things coming up! 2 weeks ago, Me and my host family along with another austauschülerin( exchange student ) met our Bundestag representative and had coffee or a tea and talked about our year thus far and learned a little about her job and how German politics work before we took photos and then received a private guided tour of the Reichstag ( German equivalent of the Capitol building ) which has contains over 3,000 pieces of art, and even the Graffiti from Soldiers during WW2 and a tunnel where NSDAP members were hiding during the battle of Berlin. We also got to go up to the top and take in the view of the city before coming back home. My host mother had ...

Unfortunately, I have been slacking on the  blog for the past months, but my personal journal is still going strong. However there are some updates on this first day of Spring. While many of you are shoveling snow Germany is transitioning from the mild winter of -3 to 3 C to spring weather of 9C. I was originally going to make a post after my mid-year seminar in Cologne, however I was sick for the whole week except the day we went to Bonn with norrovirus that hit us pretty hard (50/54 casualty rate) not the reunion anyone would've planned but it made for many great moments! I did manage to visit the Beethoven Haus as well as the Cologne Dom/ church and the SS Museum/jail. Since then I have  made it too all but one sight in Potsdam, and a exchange student and I spent the night in Berlin and went to the Ethnic and culture museum which unfortunately wasn't all that good :( I have come across a few great antique and money/ book shops and well yeah, I've made a few ...

2 weeks of break for Christmas and New Years!! Tapas with my spanish class The week leading up to Christmas was very rainy and windy which basically prevented any outside activities, however I was able to finish my shopping in the Christmas Markets! This included Christmas Eve in which our planned walk to the nearby lake was ruined by a  rainstorm. However the holidays were still enjoyed. On top of the grandparents coming we basically ate, watched t.v and talked from the 24-26. Also, we open gifts the morning of the 25th whereas here they open on the night of the 24th with Santa walking into the living room with a sack! On the 26th our winter wonderland came and lasted for about a week before  beginning to melt which presented a great opportunity for walks/runs and photo ops in the woods. Just thought I'd share a little of winter with you all The Family Tree For New Years, the plans didn't work out nonetheless we stayed home and watched the recap of 2014 and...

Yes, Its been about 3 weeks since my last however my week days have been very busy  and the past weekends used to adjust and travel to Berlin; and I mean I finally have time to actually blog after a bomb at the train station (second found this year) was found. waiting for my LAST language class at the library to start. Stars in Babelsberg. "Its, beginning to look alot like Christmas" My Advent Calendar. Each day you open the numbered section that corresponds with the day and eat your treat. Having Tapas at a restaurant in the city with my Spanish class We have also had our first snow/rain (sleet) of the year, the weather tends to stay between -1 and 5C.. Not too bad. My Christmas break begins tomorrow!! Its crazy to think almost half of my exchange is over.

New Palace, estate of Frederick the Great. Also known as the last great Prussian baroque Palace. On the top is 3 people holding up a crown. This Saturday, Nick, a student also on my program came up to visit me. Although unsure with timing and such, we eventually realized we would be able to spend the say together. At first we were like: we are meeting at 10am, we'll probably walk around for a little and the day will fly by; however we ended up gunning it and the time was moving slowly or us walking too swiftly ahah as we managed to walk all of Potsdam and Babelsberg by 6:00 plus eat two doners (and my local guy remembered me SCORE) each and walk around Kaufland because what junk food does "bio company sell?" The Flatowturm, only the start-shaped moat and building have survived the years. The Neo-Gothic Belvedere  attached to the tower was added after the towers completion. The Brandenburg Gate, and the Christmas tree and market behind it. ...

This past weekend (November 7-(9)) was cause for celebration in Berlin. In remembrance of the fall of the Berlin wall just 25 years ago on top of politician and guest speakers; there were performances and little concerts in the city (the largest by the Brandenburg Gate where my group was unfortunately denied access because the park was TOO FULL.) anyways we were able to get a great spot by the Reichstag and watch the releasing of the balloons (most of them.. we did see countless pedestrians walk around the city and take balloons and walk off with them that went around the perimeter of the city where the wall once stood. Being next to the Berlin Wall gives a feeling that is honestly unexplainable (not bad nor good... just a mix of all at once and just a tad overwhelming). Walking around the Museum Island and subsequently its markets that I personally never knew existed with just about any type of good you could want from cooking-ware to pens and souvenirs. ...

Yes, It's a miracle, I'm still alive *insert applause*. Originally aka this whole break I was saying I would update on the whole break at once which I will do now with an overview however I am regretting this now! Somewhere between the lack of sleep and the anticipation of school plus no haircut in about two months (tried to end the streak yesterday but the shop shut down literally as soon as I got there) has me re-thinking so come next break I WILL MOST DEFINITELY STILL POST ONCE A WEEK. So.. I attempted to get the pictures up today, however they aren't working because of the file conversion, I guess my computer is having a bad day. 1.) Attending a fellow FLAG CBYX'rs birthday party, spending the night and getting a tour by boat of "New Venice" which is an area of Berlin connected by a fairly large canal system; courtesy of his neighbor. 2.) Volkswagen factory, not many photos because cameras and all that aren't allowed in most areas. 3.) Braunsch...