On February 2, I left Berlin for the first time. My co-workers, my roommate, and one girl from the youth took a trip to Potsdam, Germany. The train ride to Potsdam was about an hour-long but felt like three due to technical difficulties.
On Saturday morning, my roommate and I woke at about 5 am to get ready. We were so excited that we hardly slept the night before our travels. We were so scared of oversleeping that we stayed up and laughed at random things and cheesy jokes. ( good times) It was my first time leaving Berlin and my first chapter to exploring Europe beyond my host country.
Jessica (my roommate) and I left for the Ubhan around 10 in the morning and were to meet Esther and Carina at U-Bahn station Wilmersdorfer direction Rathaus Spandau. When we arrived at the station, Carina was waiting for us and helped us purchase our tickets, which were 3 euros per person. I was surprised at how cheap the train tickets are compared to how much you pay to get to Cincinnati downtown. I usually bought monthly tickets for Zone A and B, but Potsdam lies in Zone C, so we had to get a day ticket which was around 7 euros!
Easter arrived shortly after, and we began our day trip. I was thrilled to finally get out and get to know cities outside of Berlin. This excitement did not last long, I tell you. Fifteen minutes into our departure, the train had some technical difficulties, we sat in the same position for what felt like an hour before switching trains. We waited in the cold for about 10 minutes before the substitute train showed up. It was freezing, and if you know me, then you know how much me and the cold dislike each other. I fell asleep instantly and woke up when we arrive in Potsdam. The place was breathtaking; there was a human-made lake by the bridge and a beautifully decorated building that made you look twice.
Just five minutes into our tour, I had already fallen in love with the place! I could not put my camera away, and there was no way to capture what the eye was seeing. At some point, I put my phone away and just enjoyed how beautiful and colorful the small city is! Every time I looked at the picture taken by my cell phone or digital camera, I saw something different, something beautiful, but not as attractive!
We walked around the small city for a few hours before my legs started freezing. I could no longer enjoy the city; I was ready to go!
I began to complain, now you know once a complain is out of your mouth, it becomes toxic. I could not stop whining about how the cold was about to kill me, how terrible the day was, and how we should've waited for the weather to get warmer.
My complaining did not stop us from exploring; we saw extraordinary architecture and cute boutiques as well as coffee shops. I got some tea to warm me up, and I was happy again. After that, we had lunch and ended our tour by paying a visit to one of our co-workers.
From Potsdam, we traveled for about 20 minutes to have dinner with our co-worker Xavier. At Xavier's, we prepared dinner together; this was my first time making pizza with corn and avocados! As we waited for our unusual pizzas to cook, we played UNO, which got intense! Well, when you have Esther and me together, any game can get very fierce since we like winning and make everything a competition!
We had dinner and exchanged personal stories as we played UNO for another hour then changed it up with Jenga. We played Jenga for about 30 plus minutes then said our good-byes. We left Xavier's house around 10 pm and did not get back to our place till 1 in the morning.
Although the trip was not as good as I hoped, I got to bond with the girls that ended up becoming close friends of mine. Deep down, I got encouraged to take more trips and most importantly, to put my cell phone way and enjoy every piece of my journey.