Initial Reflections on Germany

Since July 14th I have had the pleasure of spending the summer in Germany. It has been full of new sights and experiences, as well as some interesting challenges. Some of my impressions from this last week of experiencing Berlin: Berlin is a beautiful city, mixed with fascinating history and a vibrant modern culture. Much like any big city, it has a lot of people running back and forth all the time, doing different things from running errands, running to work, and going out with friends.
One major thing I was not expecting was the difficulty of access to water. In the US, it is so easy to get to water with public drinking fountains almost anywhere you went, in almost any building. In Germany, I think I have seen one drinking fountain, and frankly I’m still not sure it was real. Most Germans rarely ever drink tap water, and almost always buy it bottled from a store.
While it is amazing in Berlin, I miss a lot of what I would usually have at home. I miss Air Conditioning on the hot days, and ice. Easily accessible water was pretty nice too. While German food is pretty good, I miss American pizza too.
When I head back to America, I definitely will want to bring back Döners. It’s an amazing gyro-like sandwich that is probably one of the best things here. And, it isn’t quite as humid here, which I wouldn’t mind bringing some dryness back to America.
Overall, I definitely have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first week in Germany.

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