Sunday, July 8, 2012

Mauer Park Flea Market

Every Sunday in Berlin they have a huge flohmarkt (flea market) at Mauer Park!  The park is huge and they have a little sports area and a lot of open space.  It is a really fun atmosphere and there is a lot of cool stuff!  You can find anything there... furniture, jewelry, clothes, shoes, trinkets, old things new things, ANYTHING!!!!

So Amanda and I went to the market today and I got a few good things!   I can't say what they are since they are gifts for my family!!!  But it was a lot of fun and really nice weather... we ALMOST made it home but then got rained on in the last 10 min.. I would say it was worth it though :)

There were soooooo many people hanging out everywhere
 The grand entrance
 Man playing music
 Knife dealer haha

 door knobs!
 chairs

 legssss
 People in the park
Interesting cheese and salad wrap, I am not sure if I liked it or not

Saturday, July 7, 2012

3rd to last week in Berlin :(

I only have 17 more days in Europe!  I am not ready to leave yet, it feels like we just got here!!!!  This last week has been very busy and crazy week in Berlin.  We have our final presentation coming up for Audi next Friday.  In addition to the Audi project I am entering a poster into the coOLED lighting competition ( cool OLED, an organic form of LED lights).  The poster for that is due on Monday so it has been a busy busy week working on everything for school! 

Other than all the home work we managed to go out to a club with our friend Peter!  We met one of his friends and it was a lot of fun.  The club was having a party for new DJs and who ever won that night got to play over the weekend!  One of them was really good and the others were okay :).  It was a lot of fun!

Amanda and I split up this week :p.  We only have one phone that we share and one key to the apartment so we are ALWAYS together.  Well Amanda had an appointment for her hair and I wanted to go pick up my package that my family sent me  (it was being held at customs)  So I look up the address and know what stop to get off at on the subway and everything.  I get off and decided to walk from the subway station since the bus wouldn't come for 20 min.  The customs office was only a 4 minute bus ride from the stop so I asked someone working in the store where the street was I needed to go..... it was all downhill from there.  I was on a wild goose chase for 1 hour!!!!!!   I asked so many people where this street was and EVERY SINGLE person told me a different direction!!!!! It also didn't help that I was walking through this enormous park!  I felt like the world was playing a joke on me, it was so frustrating but so ridiculous and funny at the same time.  So I finally find the place and what do you know.... they close early on Wednesday :(  It was Wednesday hahah.  So yeah I will have to go back and get it next week.

Everyday seems like an adventure and nothing is every really set in stone, it makes life a lot more enjoyable!  Like for example today...... Amanda and I were just hanging out talking about going out to the stores and then it starts to rain.... and then it starts to pour!  We are on the rooftop flat so our 2 windows (one in the bedroom over the bed and one in the kitchen) are at a slat and when it rains, rain come inside! Sooooo we had the window in the bedroom shut and our balcony door open (only way to get air when it rains).  We go over to the door to watch the rain intensely pour down, and look back into the kitchen and RAIN IS POURING INTO THE KITCHEN!  We ran in, shut the window and had to use 4 towels to get the rain up!  I think it was safe to say our kitchen was flooding :) It was crazy, but funny at the same time

It seems so sad that we have to go home soon! I love being in Berlin, it's so fun and cool.  I think one of the things I will miss the most is sitting on the subway listening to people speaking German.  I can't really explain why I like it but I do!  I also like the concept of having to go to the grocery store frequently and walking home with what you buy definitely changes the amount of things you buy :p... very different than putting everything in the car!  I also really love all of the markets outside with people selling fresh fruits and vegetables!  There are also little Strawberry huts that popped up all over Berlin!  They are big red strawberry shaped stands that sell fresh local strawberries!! Those are always fun to see!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Eiffel Tower

Walked up the first two floors and then took the elevator up to the top!  It was a little scary but I survived!  The structure of the Eiffel Tower is really interesting and seems gigantic


 The beginning of the steps!


 Funny little elevator operator guy attached to the bottom of the elevator


 Huge wheels used for the elevator!





















Amanda and I

Paris 2

Our Second day in Paris we went to the Pompidou museum and walked up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  The museum was really nice and had a lot of really famous artist works in it... Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, Matisse, etc.  That night we went to a cute little restaurant a little further from the city and had a really good French dinner :)   The last 1/2ish day we had we went to see Notre Dam and then headed back to Berlin!


 The Pompidou museum
 Crazy tubes all over the building
 Street dancer breaking it down
 People sitting outside of the museum watching a little magic show
 sculpture
Amanda and I with our awesome new owl necklaces 
 View through the window of Notre Dam
 walking though the crazy tubes
 Art work inside the museum









 Fountain


 The Seine river

 The "new" bridge. Actually the oldest bridge in London!




 People put locks on the bridge to bind their love with their lover and throw the key into the Seine!



 Notre Dam!




 Super high ceilings!
 Beautiful stained glass everywhere!




 Pretty little fountain and garden