January = SNOW

January was a weird month. Seriously no big events in Berlin happened in this time except for one- we finally got SNOW!!! It began to fall from the sky and I was so incredibly amazed. It happened 3 times when I went to bed, and woke up the next morning to a blanketed outdoors. Another check off the bucketlist! So exactly how did I deal with the cold? I wore this big jacket with a sweatshirt underneath, leg warmers, a scarf, boots, gloves, and tights underneath my jeans. Those were necessary. And while it wasn't ever warm, I wasn't ever disastrously freezing, even when it reached almost 0 degrees Fahrenheit. That kind of cold only last for 2 weeks but had some positives. Lakes and ponds froze over which I have never seen before. I clearly remember one day throwing rocks at a pond and being so amazed when the splunked through the ice into the water. Fascinating :)



SNOOOOWWWWW!!!


This months was slightly depressing. I even started taking a picture a day just to make sure I was taking pictures!! Here's one:



It translates to "If I fall, who will catch me?" It was written on this beautiful fountain in Volkspark, Friedrichain (the closest park to my apartment). I went back today for a run and it was still there!

Continued to have dinners with my sprachkurs group (Annalous, Damian, Augustin, and Hipo). Fun group of awesome people from everywehere:

Me, Annalous, and Augu:


Me, Hipo, Annalous, and her boyfriend (Damien went missing for a bit):


Other things that I remember doing (now only because I have pictures!!)

My roommates and I celebrated Martin's birthday by going dancing to some Balkan beats (mix Russian music with electro). This was the night I met tattoo guy for my friends that are reading:


I also went to an abandoned amusement park in Berlin. Quick note: there are a lot of abandoned things here, especially in the east. After the GDR got kicked out, it left a lot of empty government buildings; when people left, a lot of residences and other types of places were also left behind. Other places that I've heard of: ice factories, jails (been to that one), military bases, etc etc. This leaves a lot of places to explore :) So we went to the amusement park. You can sneak in, but we just took a train around it because me and sneaking in don't go well together (I wish it did sometimes!!!) Another friend of mine told me a story of how he actually got on the ferris wheel and it went around and he almost couldn't get off (it spins because of the wind, not because anyone is operating it). Oh and it creeks; very very eery! It's abandoned apparently because the owner sent rides to Peru for repairs and was actually smuggling drugs in the rides! Pictures:





Also made it to the German parliament, the Reichestag! Watched them debate about something about animal rights. Couldn't quite understand, and it was bit boring to be honest. But the architecture of the dome on top is fantastic!


One cold day, the Americans (as I lovingly dub them) went to Potsdam. Potsdam is considered the "royal" type of suburb in Berlin. There are actually castles here that weren't destroyed in any of the bombings. It was FREEZING this day but was the first time I saw snow stick to the ground!!



Also made it to the Soviet Memorial near Treptower park. This was built of course by the Soviets for all of the soldiers they had lost. IT IS MASSIVE!!! They really wanted to make a statement. But definitely worth the visit, it is gorgeous:





In the top picture, the statues way off in the distance is a) huge and b) crushing a swaztika with a sword. Cool :)

Lastly, I'll leave you with some creative graffiti seen around Berlin. I guess not creative, more just to the point:



So to explain this one, hipsters are guys and girls in skinny jeans with a cool haircut, and weird shoes:


Another one needs no explanation:


This was at the entrance to a club. So creative!! It's a way to collect bottles to get "Pfand" (money back, 8 cents a bottle):


Think that's it for January! Longer post than I thought :) January wasn't so bad after all.