Wander With Lindsey

Being in Berlin for approximately 20 days so far has been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences. And I feel as though I have already gained a new found self-confidence through independently living in a city.

I’ve found the hardest thing to adjust to is being far away from my family and friends. With a 6 hour time difference, talking on the phone has been difficult due to the fact that when I wake up to head to class, it is 2am back home, and when I head to bed for the night, in the U.S, it’s 5pm. Leaving us with a small window of time to be able to talk. Although, I have found that later in the evening for me has been the perfect time to talk to family back home. I also have found that recording videos or voice memos to send to my friends has been a way to talk to them that aligns with both of our schedules. Filming daily videos to send to my best friend back home has been something that we both look forward to. 

One of my favorite things so far is the coffee shops, they’re always very lively and full of people. They also have incredible food and drinks, my favorite so far being from a small coffee shop around the corner from my class where I get a Mozzarella sandwich and a Cappuccino. As an avid coffee drinker, I enjoy trying different types of coffees and lattes from different places!

From the start of the semester, my professors have made sure to fully immerse us in the atmosphere and history of Berlin. Having classes and weekend excursions to explore the city and surrounding areas including landmarks, and museums. Going on these trips as a group with the other students in my program has helped me become more confident with exploring by myself. Feeling comfortable to take the bus I to visit a place I want to check out with a few friends.

One of the things I was most nervous about was being able to properly navigate public transport. In the U.S I rarely used public transport, and if I did, it was never alone. So the thought of heading to class or grocery shopping on my own was daunting. After about a week, I became much more comfortable with traveling on my own, now being able to figure out which side of the road or track I need to be on in order to catch the right bus/train. In order to avoid the stress of rushing, I usually double the travel time in order to give myself a few minutes to stop and get a coffee on the way to class.

Having extra time in order to get to a destination is something that I found to be essential when it comes to travel. With it still being winter here in Berlin, the sidewalks are almost always covered in snow and/or ice. So taking your time while walking is important because unlike the U.S, Germany doesn’t use salt to melt the ice on any roads or sidewalks. This is because of the negative impact the salt has on the environment. Although salt is effective at melting ice, the runoff from it burns the roots of plants and harms wildlife as well as damaging concrete and metal. Germany instead uses grit (small stones, sand, or other salt-free alternatives) in order to add traction to the ice. Which surprisingly does help to make ice less slippery to walk on. Although, I’ve found that there are still a lot of areas that are missed by the grit and are very slippery. I have, unfortunately slipped and fell on the aforementioned ice while commuting to class. So having a bit of extra time to get to class ensures that I’m able to walk slower without feeling rushed, making sure I don’t slip and fall.

Although public transportation is readily available, I sometimes prefer to walk to some places, especially if they’re only a 15 minute walk away. I feel as though the commute in the morning, which includes walking to the train station and taking the U-Bahn (underground train), helps me arrive to class refreshed and energized from a bit of exercise in the morning. At almost all hours of the day and night, you see people walking, riding bikes, or even seeing people pull children around on toboggan sleds throughout the city when it snows. It adds an extra level of life and excitement to the city.