Holy cow, I just hit my 2 month mark in Europe! This is the longest I’ve ever been consistently away from the U.S. and it feels amazing. Naturally I started and ended the week with croissants and a relaxing morning walk, but all the days in between were packed full of activities. I went shopping in Berlin, tried out a new restaurant, revisited an old one, found a new boba tea place, took a train across Germany to Dusseldorf and celebrated Karneval 2021/2022 in Köln. On top of all the fun I had exploring cities in my new country, this week was also amazing because Taylor Swift released her re-recording of Red. It was the perfect background music to my rainy post Karnival train ride back to Berlin.
I feel like I saw and did so many things in September, October and November that my European fall has flown by. On Saturday I started to see the first Christmas markets pop up around Berlin and I am beyond excited for this next season. Winter in Europe has always been so magical to me and now I actually live here. I fully expect my next weekly recap to be mainly pictures of glühwein, Christmas markets and cookies.
CHILLY CROISSANTS
This week I saw a croissant ornament at a Christmas shop and I realized that I 100% need to get one for my first Europe Christmas. Someone this week also asked me what my favorite German phrase was and I immediately answered “ich nehme ein croissant bitte.” I think they thought it was funny, but slightly concerning.
TAROT is telling me something
On my morning walk this Monday I passed by a tarot card on the ground. Specifically, a Four of Pentacles reversed. I didn’t know what that meant off the top of my head, but you’re damn right I googled it. After a little investigation, I was in love with the meaning and not to sound dramatic, but I truly felt inspired and validated. I found out that the reversed Four of Pentacles represents when you are reflecting and re-evaluating what’s important to you, especially when it comes to material possessions and wealth. It appears when you’re releasing avoidant behaviors that keep you from connecting to your real emotions. When you stop excessive behaviors like over partying, working non stop or splurge shopping and realize that money and things wont make you happy, only love will make you happy.
After reading the card description I spent the rest of my walk contemplating how the reversed Four of Pentacles description perfectly summed up my last two months in Europe. I moved from NYC, the epicenter of excessive everything, and landed in Berlin, the epitome of anti-capitalism. I was forced to move slower by German bureaucracy and a slight language barrier, but in my slowed down pace I had time to actually think about what I wanted. I spent a lot of time traveling alone on planes, trains, buses and ferries, but during that time I was able to think about my life and my future goals. I am not normally someone who puts so much weight behind the meaning of tarot, but this card could not have been left on the street at a more perfect time.
POURING A POT
As the temperature goes down, the Covid and flu cases go up. It’s a little stressful watching the Covid cases shoot back up to levels we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, but I am extra glad that I have my booster shot taken care of. To stay warm and relaxed at the start of my week I bought a new type of mango and ginger tea. It was lovely opening my work laptop for the first time in front of the bouquet and beautiful tea pot.
WHY ARE THE EGGS SO HARD TO FIND?
What happened first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know, but what I do know is that I never know where to find the eggs in the store. At this point, I know they’re never in the fridge, but I feel like they’re always randomly thrown on an island cap or a separate table just floating around the store. Can we just make a group decision to put the eggs in a consistent place. Maybe near the butter and milk? I need my protein!
Never enough za
I am equally happy and sad that I found the delicious Il Casolare pizzeria. I just ate here last week, but now that I know it exists, it’s all I want. The margarita pizza is only 6 euros and it’s perfect to grab and devour on Admiralbrücke with beer and a friend.
bang boom burgers and bowls
I carried on the tradition of solo dinners this week with a tofu bowl from Bang Boom Burgers. I had walked by the restaurant a few times and they always seemed packed, so on Tuesday I decided to pop in and see what all of the hype was about. The restaurant name is Bang Boom Burgers, but I wasn’t too hungry so I opted for the vegan tofu bowl. I expected a light salad bowl, but was happily surprised when they brought out a bowl stuffed with roasted peppers, avocado, fried tofu, grilled veggies and vegan aoili sauce. It was delicious and I tried to save half for lunch the next day, but I couldn’t stop from finishing the entire bowl in one sitting. Now that I know the bowls are this good, I have to go back and try out what they’re actually known for… their burgers.
Boba TEa!
Hi, my name is Jade and I am a basic girl who loves boba tea. There was a brief time in NYC when I was getting boba tea at least twice a week, but that eventually had to stop because I overdid it on the taro tapioca teas. This week I went to BoBoQ in Neukölln, but googled the shop and found that they have a few other locations throughout the city. After finding a new boba place in Berlin I am starting to feel a slight resurgence in my passion for bubble filled tea…we shall see.
tHE RETURN OF sPATI sPATZIERGANG
Ladies and gentlemen, the art of drinking and walking is back. This week’s Spati Spatziergang featured two lovely German biers from our local Spati. This walk I stuck to the Rothaus Pils. It was a refreshing and light beer, perfect for walking along the canal and admiring the fall leaves.
THE BEST TAXI DRIVER IN BERLIN
This week I took my first ICE (intercity express) train and booked the 4:30am train out of Berlin. My early morning commute to Berlin Hauptbahnhof could have been stressful, but the taxi driver I had booked through Free Now was amazing. En route to the train station, with minutes to go before my departure, we realized that the main road to get to Berlin Hauptbahnhof was closed. I told my taxi driver in broken German that “Mein Zug fährt in 5 Minuten” and he quickly re routed and sped through Großer tiergarten to get me to my train on time. He pulled up to the station, opened the door and said “schnell” and fast I went. I ended up making the train perfectly in time and it was all thanks to Mr. taxi man. I saved him as a favorite in the app, so maybe I’ll see him again in the future to say thank you!
The early morning train ride from Berlin to Düsseldorf was my first time on an Intercity Express and I loved it. I practically had the entire train car to myself, the seats were super comfortable and the wifi was free. What else more could you ask for in a 5 hour train ride across Germany.
Visiting the düsseldorf office
Part of the reason I traveled across Germany was to visit the Düsseldorf office and finally meet all of my German coworkers in person. After training over to West Germany in the morning, I met two of my coworkers at the train station and we all walked in to the office. I realized halfway through the day that this was the first time I’ve actually been in a normal work environment in almost two years. I loved being able to walk over and grab coffee from the kitchen, eating lunch with everyone and looking out the office window over Düsseldorf.
FRENCH TAPAS at bagatelle
For dinner on my first night in Köln we went to a French tapas restaurant called Bagatelle. We ordered everything that caught our eye on the menu, including: pommes frites, aioli with rosemary and lemon, goat cheese with orange chili marmalade, eggplant rolls with herb and cream cheese, croque monsieur supreme, coq au vin, mushrooms with aioli, scallops with walnut thyme pesto, mussels and lots of beer. It was all really well done, but I think the scallops were my favorite part of the meal. I also loved how everything was covered in aioli sauce and I feel inspired to try and make sauce from scratch at home this week.
FLAMING SHOTS at Shorty Shooter Bar
On our first night out in Köln we went to a bar that only sold shots called Shorty Shooters. Not only did they just sell shots, but almost all of the shots were on fire. Surprisingly after four years in NYC, this was my first ever drink that was on fire…and I loved it.
KARNIVAL BRUNCH
To kick off Karnival we had a boozy brunch with brotchen, eggs, cheese, jam and coffee. The main goal of Karnival is to be tipsy by the time the clock strikes 11:11 on 11/11 and I think we can say that we successfully accomplished that goal thanks to the help of mimosas with a side of beer.
The princess saves herself in this one
For our costume on the first day of Karnival we dressed up as hipster princesses. The hipster part was added last minute to accommodate the freezing temperatures of Koln in November, but I think it made the costumes even better. It definitely made all our wigs seem more realistic. I was Rapunzel from Tangled, but we also had Leia from Star Wars, Ariel from the Little Mermaid and Jasmine from Aladdin. I carried around a mini pan the entire day and successfully didn’t lose the pan or my hat, but I did lose every flower from my hair.
foooood
While we started off Karnival with a cute and classy brunch, I ended the night with a giant cheese-less pizza and a falafel wrap. The marinara pizza was okay, but the falafel wrap one of the best drunk snacks I’ve ever consumed.
COFFEE AND WECKMANN
Weckmann, or ‘wake up men’, are a traditional pastry that can be found in German bakeries following the St. Martin’s day parades. There are many stories for how the Weckmann pastry came to be. One story says the little bread man was given to the sick that could not attend mass, other stories say that a baker once ran out of croissants and decided to make little bread men instead. Either way the story goes, I know I will be eating one of these little guys this winter season.
MASALA EMPIRE
On my last night in Koln we went to Masala Empire and I had actually spicy food for the first time since moving to Germany. I loved the vibe of the restaurant and the food was just as delicious. For appetizer we got gobi „65“, prawns pakora and red wine. Then for dinner I had vegetable kadai and garlic naan, of course.
ATLANTIS, wine and CHOCOLATE
After an exciting Wednesday and Thursday night, we decided to have a relaxing Friday night in with Atlantis, Chocolate and a bottle of wine. It was funny watching Atlantis again after all these years, especially because I just went to the actual Atlantis in Malta.
Kolner Dom
I knew before visiting that Koln had a famous cathedral, but I didn’t realize it would be as massive as it was. The cathedral is actually a UNESCO world heritage site and the third tallest church in the world. Construction of the church started in the 13th century and highlights classic gothic architecture and German Catholicism.
Back to Düsseldorf
After exploring Koln for the weekend I trained back to Düsseldorf and explored the city for an afternoon. I liked the downtown area of Düsseldorf and walking through the busy Saturday streets along Königsallee.
Carlsplatz Market
While in Düsseldorf we went to the Carlsplatz market and walked around the stalls of fruits, veggies, flowers, meats, restaurants and everything in between. I loved the little shopping plaza and if I lived in Düsseldorf I could see myself visiting the market for all of my weekly shopping needs. In the market there is also a stall for Pure Pastry which has the best croissants I have had outside of my favorite spot in Berlin. I got the raspberry filled croissant and it was giant with the perfect amount of fruit inside.
Brauerei Schumacher
Brauerei Schumacher is the oldest alt beer brewery in Dusseldorf and first opened its doors in 1838. Alt beer is the classic drink in Dusseldorf, so naturally we had to stop in for one small glass. I definitely think I like the Kölsch beer of Köln more than Alt, but it was still fun to be able to say I had a glass. The coasters at our table also had a saying, but the letters were hard to read. I think the coaster said: “Bier ist flüssiges Brot, jagte liebig, leider ist er tot. Wenn er “ueriges” nur gerodjen hatte er von Medizin gefprodien”, which translates to…”Beer is liquid bread, hunted lovingly, unfortunately he’s dead. If he just cleared up “outside” he had consumed medicine.” Atleast, I think that is what that says.
Men-Ya Takeichi
There is a great Japanese food scene in Dusseldorf, so on a rainy day we decided to walk through Little Tokyo and get Ramen from Men-Ya Takeichi. I got a big bowl of rich vegetarian ramen and I decided to throw an egg on top for good measure. This was the perfect meal for a rainy day and it warmed me up before my long train ride back to Berlin.
SUNDAY STROLLS
No week is complete with out croissants and a Sunday stroll along the canal. This Sunday we saw two little dogs walk into the bakery and sit patiently in front of the kitchen waiting for their dog treats. It was the cutest act of patience. For our walk today we also strolled through Görlitzer park to see some of the animals in the outdoor farm. We were outside for awhile and the weather in Berlin is starting to get chilly, so once we got back to the apartment we heated up matcha and lounged around to get our body temperature back up to normal.
