Berlin Again

Well, hello.

I arrived in Berlin almost 24 hours ago after nearly 24 hours of travel due to a 3 hour delay in Toronto when lightning strikes pretty much shut down the airport.

The delay caused me to miss my Frankfurt to Berlin connection, so Air Canada (thankfully) rebooked me for a later flight to Berlin...only to leave my luggage in Frankfurt.

Oh well...they just delivered it to me a few minutes ago, so now I have all my stuff again.

I'm starving for a döner, so I'll keep this post fairly short. Besides, I don't have much to update on at the moment.

If you're wondering why I'm in Berlin again, I'm just here to visit a few friends, join some excursions with the UW Honors Program, and connect with a few folks for my Fulbright Scholarship application and potential graduate school application to the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

It's also been nice to practice my German. I'm quite rusty after not taking it for six months, but it's coming back quickly. In fact, I tried asking a question in English at the airport info desk, and the lady couldn't understand me. So I thought, "Screw it, I'll just ask in German and hope I get it right."

Whatever I said, it worked. : )

Ok, a few pictures before I leave for the day.

The travel agent in Toronto printed off all flights from Frankfurt to Berlin for me and basically said, "Here, take your pick." Thankfully, I got the first one right after I got to Frankfurt.

I wasn't the only one stranded either. So that was mildly comforting.

I hopped on the U-Bahn to get to my friend's apartment and thought to myself, "When is Seattle's light-rail going to post times of when the next train is arriving?" Seriously.

Last night, I joined the Honors program for dinner. 'Twas nice to see everyone. Surprisingly, I stayed awake the whole time and even enjoyed a nice tall glass of beer. Yummm. Oh, this picture I snapped on my way there.

Then, there's my nice room where I'm staying. My first German TA at the UW was from Berlin and basically said, "Hey, if you ever come to Berlin, you've got a place to stay." I am so grateful. Ronny rocks.

I am heading to the Jewish Museum this afternoon. Finally! After two trips to Berlin, I never saw it. Now I will!

Then later tonight, I'm having dinner with a family who are friends of one of my aunt's friend who now also happens to my friend. Confusing? : ) Should be fun.

Alright, I'm very hungry now. So I'm off in search of a nice, tasty döner. If I'm not embarrassed enough, I may even take a picture of it for you later.

Tscüss!

Sam

P.S. I am wayyyy behind on email. I caught up on about a dozen this morning but still a ton to follow up on. Sucks. Don't email me unless it's something nice or interesting. :P