Reading the news this week has felt extremely unreal. Throughout the week, the reality of a larger war in Europe slowly tricked in. On Monday, Putin ‘recognized’ the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as sovereign and sent in troops to ‘keep the peace.’ This was clearly a sign that things were about to escalate. Then on Thursday, after many nations warned of an attack, Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the intensity of the war has continued to exponentially increase. NATO nations refused to send troops, but did support Ukraine with weapons and health supplies. After a few days of the initial attack, when we thought things couldn’t get worse, Putin also threatened nuclear war to anyone who intervened in his takeover. The Chernobyl station was overtaken by Russian troops, which caused damage to the structure of the nuclear power plant. Thousands of people tried to flee Ukraine and the border shut down for men of fighting age in Ukraine. An anonymous hacker group attacked Russian government websites and shut them down. Then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to evacuate from Kyiv and decided to join the troops and fight to protect Kyiv. So far he has survived at least three assassination attempts.
At the end of the week, Ukraine still held on to the major capital cities. It’s hard to tell what information is true because both sides are marketing their own war efforts. Apparently, there is also news that the young boys who are fighting on the Russian side were tricked into the war. They thought that they were going to finish their 2 years of mandatory military practice. Now, they’re being rushed into a war with Ukraine. There have also been stories of Russian soldiers surrendering in Ukraine because they do not want to fight a senseless battle.
To me, one of the craziest things about this war is that it is all being shared through social media. The posts, videos, pictures, and messages coming from Ukraine are unsettling and sometimes hard to read. Here are a few quotes from the night before the first attack.
“I’m sitting here, waiting for the lights to go off and my links to the outside world to go dead. I’m sitting here, thinking about all my friends across this country, and on the front lines. I’m sitting here, wondering what a parent tells a child on a night like this” – Nolan Peterson
“Well, I guess this is it then. Sirens wailing all over Lviv. I couldn’t run away from my problems no matter how hard I tried. All those years of suffering and depression – lived through them only to get the worst hand delt ever.” – anonymous
I can’t believe that there is an actual war in Europe right now. I can’t believe the amount of unnecessary violence that has occurred because of one man. I wish there was something more I could do to help my Ukranian friends and I hope this doesn’t continue to escalate.
The Kapitalist
I started off this week with a few beers at the Kapitalist bar in Prenzlauer Berg. This was the original spot that I chose for my birthday party, but it was too small for everyone to fit. I’m glad I finally got to go and check out the vibe because it’s really chill and the various chairs and tables scattered throughout the building remind me of my favorite coffee shop in college.
Gym and protein and gym and protein
More gym time! More protein! This week I trained with my roommates and our personal trainer Manu. I feel like I am starting to feel a lot stronger than I was before AND I can almost do one pull up. At this pace, I am confident I will be able to do one full pull up before the end of the year. Low bar… but I gotta start somewhere.
This week I also ordered and received new protein from myprotein.com. It’s a great brand for bulk orders and the vegan flavors actually taste delicious. For my first order I bought the chocolate, banana and peanut butter flavors. Out of these three, I really love the chocolate flavor. I didn’t think I could be a huge chocolate fan because it sounded sweet, but it’s a nice creamy taste that I can easily chug in the AM before a workout. Now that we are all drinking protein powder, our kitchen looks like four body builders live inside.
Morning Fun Runs
Now that the weather is heating up again, I am finally able to go on runs outside again. This week I did a few runs around Mitte and Mauerpark to enjoy the edge of Spring. I realized while I was running this week that it’s been awhile since I got new running shoes. This sounds like the perfect opportunity for a little online shopping!
Vagabund Bruerei
I met up with Nisha in Wedding for a drink that turned into an impromptu brewery tour throughout Wedding with the owners of Vagabund brewery and their little doggo. I typically always prefer a brewery or winery to the normal bar scene, but I haven’t been able to find many true breweries near where I live in Berlin. Now that I know Vagabund is an option and the owners are cool people, I am definitely coming back.
Hacker Backeri
I tried out a new bakery this week called Hacker Backeri and had the best crumble cake I have ever had in my entire life. As soon as I arrived at the bakery I knew it was going to be delicious because the line was out the door. Once we were inside we ordered the number one thing on the menu, the crumble cake, and it was a clear winning choice. The cake was squishy like fresh dough on the bottom and crunchy with sugar on the top. Truly a perfect pastry and I can’t wait to eat more.
KLETTERHALLE MIT NONYE
This week I had the cool opportunity to teach my friend how to rock climb! I frequently post pictures of myself at the climbing gym and after posting a video last week, Nonye reached out to me and let me know she wants to learn how to rock climb. I loved that she reached out to me and that I was able to share one of my favorite hobbies with someone new. We went to the gym for about 2 hours and during that time she advanced up to climbing her first run! Now I have a new friend to climb with and Nonye has a new hobby.
Karen’s Geburstag
We celebrated Karen’s birthday this week with hours of karaoke, spiked punch and vegan donuts. It was so much fun and I loved having an excuse to scream lyrics at the top of my lungs and spin around the dance floor. Happy birthday Karen!!
While the dancing was fun, my favorite part of the night is that when I facetimed my brother on my drunk walk home, it was only dinner time for him. It was hilarious retelling the night to him during his study break and I think it’s one of the highlights to having a 6 hour time difference.
Solidarity with Ukraine demonstration
On Sunday, to round out the week, my roommates and I went to march in the solidarity with Ukraine demonstration between Siegessaule and Bradenborg Gate. I expected there to be a lot of people at this march, but I was still overwhelmed by exactly how many people there were. The streets were packed! All of Strasse des 17 Juni and the surrounding areas were covered in people with signs showing solidarity with Ukraine. I loved being able to see the comradery across the EU, yet it’s still scary that this is all happening in the first place. I hope that the war is resolved soon and that people stop having to lose their lives for a senseless war.
Older Men Start Wars. Young Men Fight Them”
