Week number two in Europe was amazing, but I barely spent anytime in Berlin. This week I went to Amsterdam and Copenhagen for my first trip as a European resident! For me, one of the main draws of living in Europe has always been that traveling is so much easier here. My main goal for living in Europe is to visit as many different cities as possible and experience the cultures, art and food that Europe has to offer. I’m excited that I was already to start living out this goal on week two of my time in Germany and I can’t wait to see what adventures the next few years hold.
EARLY MORNING START
We booked the first flight to Amsterdam on Monday morning, so week 2 was already off to an an early. Getting to the airport was easy because we booked a ride through a ride sharing app called FREE NOW. We called the ride as soon as we were up and the driver was in front of our apartment 4 minutes later!
AMSTERDAM
As I mentioned in my Week 1 recap, Pat came to visit me for the Berlin marathon! As a trade off for his cross Atlantic travels we decided to book a trip to the beautiful city of Amsterdam for his birthday. This was actually my second time visiting Amsterdam and I’m so happy with how the trip turned out. The first time I visited Amsterdam I was in college and it was very much a low cost euro trip vibe. We stayed in a hostel in the Red Light district and survived off of free breakfast and beer. This time around, my trip to Amsterdam was much more well rounded and made me fall even more in love with Venice of the North. After a few days of dodging cyclers and touring museums in the bicycle capital of the world I can now say that I’ve fully visited Amsterdam and I am a big fan. I loved walking along the canal at sunset, gorging myself on pancakes, exploring thrift shops and spending the day in museums. It’s a beautiful city with rich history, vibrant colors and great food. The nightlife is unbeatable and the museums are unique and captivating.
Check out my full post on Amsterdam here.
PAT’S BIRTHDAY!
While we were in Amsterdam we went to Moak Pancakes for Pat’s birthday brunch and it was phenomenal! There are three different locations of Moak around Amsterdam – City Center, West Amsterdam and De Pijp. Each location has a similar vibe, but a different giant neon sign in the back. We decided to go to the one with the sign that said “thinking of a masterplan.” The perfect backdrop for turning 27.
For food we ordered The Vegalicious and The Pink Lady pancakes as well as Ricky Rose Champagne by Rick Ross. I got the Vegalicious pancakes and they were topped with grilled peppers, avocado, hummus, chili mix, oregano and olive oil. Pat got the Pink Lady pancakes and they were topped with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, half avocado, pink peppercorn, dill and olive oil. Both of our choices were delicious, but I don’t think you could have made a wrong decision from the amazing menu at Moak. I have half the mind to go back to Amsterdam just so that I can test out even more of the menu.
MORE AIRPORT TIME
Before our flight to Copenhagen we spent some down time journaling at a café in Central Station and catching up on all the experiences in Amsterdam. While we were at Schiphol airport I finally got to do some truly dynamic post marathon stretching on the moving walking path.
COPENHAGEN
After visiting Amsterdam for Pat’s birthday, Copenhagen was next up on our list! I have visited Iceland in the Summer and Stockholm in the Winter, but I have never been to a Scandinavian city in Fall…
I loved loved loved Copenhagen! We spent our time bopping between classic stops like Nyhavn and the Little Mermaid, exploring castles and their ruins, getting lost in museums. The food was always delicious, the art museums were spectacular and the castles were mystical. I had no expectations set for my time in Copenhagen and I think even if I had they would have been blown out of the water. It was truly an amazing experience and I can’t wait to go back for Tivoli in the summer!
Check out my full post on Copenhagen here.
Happy 1 YEar Expat anniversary caroline!
This week I went to my first themed party of the season! I say first because if I have anything to say about it there will be plenty more themed house parties in Berlin. The theme of this party was to pick a country (either Germany, France or America) and dress accordingly. Pat and I chose Germany because I had two Germany jersey outfits already prepared for such an occasion. The other outfits were hilarious and a majority of the people chose to dress up as French. The three people who dressed as American chose to dress up as a SWAT member, a NASA astronaut and an illegal immigrant… if that doesn’t sum up America’s perception to other countries I don’t know what else does.
Sunday Coffee Strolls
At the end of my second week in Europe I have now fully assimilated to the model of resting on Sunday. I spent a majority of my Sunday journaling about my travels and drinking fizzy water from the aarke carbonator. I really love that machine and I’ve grown to become obsessed with gas water.
In the afternoon Alice and I grabbed coffee and walked around Kreuzberg to catch up and enjoy the beautiful sunny Berlin day. There were so many people outside on Sunday and the weather was perfect. I love Berlin!
