Happy Holidays from Germany

Despite resolutions that we would never travel in the winter again, I got excited this summer when a pet-sitting opportunity for a friend-of-a-friend in Germany came up. So, here we are in Berlin.

It has been 30-40F. I thought I would adjust to the cold. I haven't. I bought a scarf at the European thrift chain, Humana.

We spent Tuesday morning exploring Rosenthaler Platz near our hotel. My first stop was... a bookstore. My second stop was the Philip-Schaeffer Library. I parked Dave in the library before heading back out to the shops.

When Dave and I travel, I visit thrift shops and he does street photography. My first Berlin second hand shop was rack 'n white. It was a beautiful store. I didn't see any couture. I felt like I was in my childhood closet. Blue jean jackets, leather jackets, snow pants, and an assortment of colorful Adidas windbreakers are on trend.

We are staying at the The Circus Hotel. I found it on a travel blog. It is a quirky, smart hotel. We are right on the tram/subway line and close to all the touristy places while still being in a local neighborhood. We are surrounded by restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and bakeries.

After check-in, Dave crashed. I visited my first Christmas Market at the Humboldtforum. At 5:00 pm the market was empty. I wondered if the influencers were lying about the markets being crowded. By 5:45 it was packed. This particular market was primarily food and bar stalls.

On vacation, I try to eat the local cuisine and foods we can't get at home. I ordered a very long $10 bratwurst. Obviously, we can get brats at home, but bratwurst seems quintessentially German.The spices inside tasted different than Johnsonville. I ate half and saved the other half for Dave.

Wednesday we wandered towards Alexanderplatz and Museuminsel. I stopped in all of the thrift stores along the way. The stores were seasonally on-point with lots of coats, jeans, and sweaters. I don't need any of these items except when traveling, so I passed on the knits and the warm, heavy fur coats. Plus, the prices were high. A Nike T-shirt was $25. I'm sure you could find a new one for a similar price.

After dinner I took the subway to the Hawkins Christmas Market. I stood in line for over 2 hours. They had to turn people away. I am glad I waited in the cold, long line. It was a cool experience I'll never have again.

Afterwards, I walked to another Christmas Market just down the block at Breitscheidplatz. This market was larger. It also had more baubles. It closed at 9pm, so I only had enough time to make a loop.

Today we visited Checkpoint Charlie. It was so quiet there, even though we were in the middle of the city. Alongside the checkpoint was a huge Christmas tree adorned with Ukrainian flags.

On our way, I found a large, reasonably priced Humana thrift shop near Friedrichstr. Station. It had a completely different vibe from the others - more basement bargains, as it was literally downstairs. The clothes were essentially the same, just cheaper.

Dave got a lot of amazing pictures today. He only started photography in April. He's enthusiastically consumed textbooks and YouTubes to develop his craft. I'm so proud of him. It's a joy to see my love find a new passion.

Three days into our trip, I am still on Hawaii time. Last night I only slept two hours, because I fell asleep in the afternoon. Today I tried not to take an afternoon nap, but my feet and body were sore from 6+ miles of walking today. I napped for 6 hours.

Tonight we tried Turkish food called döner kebab. Our Hawaii/German friends both recommended we try this while in Berlin. They look similar to Greek gyros, but different. The salad was more coleslaw. The cheese was halloumi rather than feta. Instead of pita, the bread was a combination of fired flatbread and pizza crust.

Tomorrow morning we head to Stuttgart for our pet & house sitting assignment. Our train leaves at 9:30 am and we arrive around 3:30 pm. Looking forward to seeing some German countryside.