Goodbye to Berlin

After the program ended, I spent a few days with friends at an Airbnb in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf to soak up the rest of our residents' permits. Our time came to an end, so I packed up my bags (and had to buy a new suitcase to accommodate all the thrift shopping I did), went out one final time, and made collages with Lili from a magazine we got at a party in Schöneberg. This felt like the closest way for me to say goodbye to this city, for now at least. 

I arrived back in Massachusetts to a cornucopia of my favorite foods, my own bed, and lots of kisses from my dog. Missing all of these comforts wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be, but I was nevertheless happy to have them back. I didn’t feel the heavy sadness I expected when leaving Berlin–which I think is because I know(hope) that my love affair with this city isn’t over. 

While I’m excited to be back in the land of good bagels, iced coffee, and fast casual restaurants, the quirks and eccentricities of Berlin hang heavy in my heart. Here’s a few that I’m not sure I know how to live without:

• €1 and €2 coins: It was so fun to pay for things using coins and cash. It’s much more integrated into the culture there than here, and it sort of feels like I’m bartering or trading when I pay without a credit card. Like here’s this object I have that has this much value. I would like to exchange it for the object you have of equal value. I know I could just start paying with cash and coins here but I’m not sure it would hit the same. 
• Catching a glimpse of the TV Tower from anywhere in the city.
• The cute song the U-Bahn plays when you arrive at a new station and the voice that says “Zurückbleiben, bitte!” 
• Smoking inside.
• The Tram. 
• The sound of ambulances: They’re much less intimidating and loud than in the U.S. 
• My Späti <3 and just the concept of a späti at large. Hanging out on their benches, cheap drinks, laughing late into the night.
• Saying “Ja genau”: It means “yes, exactly” but it pops up all the time in German conversations. Plus, it’s so fun to say–try it.
• The Photoautomat: open 24/7, getting a strip of selfies after stumbling out of a club or bar.
• My grocery store boyfriend: I didn’t know his name and he didn’t know mine but we always made eye contact when he would scan my groceries. Oh what could have been.
• Windows opening with no screens.
• Club-Mate: I’m seriously considering importing a case. The lack of bagels in this city is compensated for by their ubiquity of Mates. 
• Dogs walking off their leashes, sometimes so far in front or behind their owners that they looked like they were wandering the city alone.
• Induction stoves.
• Vinted!!!!!: A website with really cheap second hand clothes that for some reason had a much better selection of vintage brands than the American version of the app.
• The Pfand System!!!!!!!!!: Seriously an underrated part of German culture is getting anywhere from 8 to 25 cents back after recycling a can, glass, or bottle. 
• Hearing people complain about the new skyscraper in Alexanderplatz.
• Humana: The second-hand shop with so many locations around the city that I don’t think I even made it to all of them. Which is surprising because I basically went to Humana everyday. 
• People saying “gazuntite” seriously.