Berlin

Today I will fly from London to Berlin while Trent flies from Latvia to Berlin and we will reunite in the Berlin airport. This reunion may warrant a hug since I haven't seen my lil bro since Christmas but this will be the only hug of the trip. We are not a hugging family. Hopefully no planes will be delayed since neither of us have cell phones or a way of communicating with each other. Fingers crossed.

I'm excited about Berlin because of the history- for some reason when I think of the Berlin Wall, the image of David Hasselhoff comes to mind and I would prefer to replace that image with a new one of where the infamous wall once stood. My German friend Judith warned me that Germans in the north are not nearly as friendly or welcoming of tourists as they are in the south. Duly noted. Note to self: grow some thick skin and don't be so easily offended by strangers. (I get really upset when strangers flip me the bird on the roads at home. Granted, I'm not the best of drivers but really, is that necessary?) Judith also introduced me to amazing German pretzels which they eat for breakfast- we will for sure be partaking. It's no "Auntie Anne's" but they are delicious in their own "German" way. I was also warned that fewer people speak English in the area so I printed 12 pages of German phrases that we may need. Here is an example of a phrase I'm sure we'll use:

Where can we have a snack? Wo kann man hier eine Kleinigkeit essen?

I look forward to hawking many a loogie as I try to pronounce German words.