After a week in Germany I already know that the next 5 weeks are going to be great ones. I think the first thing I noticed when I got here was the huge amount of nice cars here. It seemed like every car here was a German made luxury car. But after travelling outside the center of Berlin I found that cars everywhere else are a lot more average. Another big thing I noticed about Berlin is that it doesn’t have the feel of a big city. The sidewalks are never packed with people, there aren’t huge skyscrapers everywhere, and most of the shops seem small and unique. It feels like the downtown of a small city, just more expanded.
One thing that I didn’t expect was to learn the city so quickly. After only 1 week my ability to find my way around is surprisingly good. I know that after 6 weeks I’m going to know the city extremely well. Another thing that surprised me is how hard it is to get water. First, there are no drinking fountains anywhere, and second, water at the restaurants is very expensive.
There are of course the normal things that I miss from home including my family, friends, and girlfriend, but I also miss some things that I wouldn’t have predicted. I for sure miss air conditioning, and I miss some good eggs for breakfast, and I miss free laundry AKA my mom doing it for me. A couple things that I would love to have back home with me is the slightly cooler temperatures, Döners and Schnitzel, and the very efficient public transport system.