Museums Minus the Disgusting Food

 February 22, 2022

We were up and at 'em early so that we could enjoy coffee with a hostel mate before heading out for the day. He was Canadian and has been traveling for almost 7 months. He took an immediate interest in us the night before because of our friendliness, and invited us for a coffee the next day. His story is that of a traveler, but is especially intriguing because he was in Ukraine prior to coming to Germany. After wishing him well and saying our goodbyes we set out for the Cathedral. There are 267 steps up to the dome that provides a small walkway with 360 degree views of the city.

While it was very cold and windy at least it wasn't raining. The views were beautiful, both inside and out. 

After we went to the Pergamom Museum which shows the history of the Middle East. It was 3 floors of artifacts, but one of my favorites was this stone carving in which the men appear to be playing rock, paper, scissors 🤣

After we had lunch at a traditional German restaurant where we tried currywurst (it was HUGE) and flammkuchen (the equivalent of German pizza). They weren't our favorites but they weren't bad. I enjoyed the mustard based potato salad with cucumbers most. 

After lunch it was on to museum number 2, The Bode. The Bode is an art museum and some of my most favorite exhibits were the room of mirrors and the photography installation of sex workers through snapshots. 

We decided to take the scenic route home and boy am I glad we did. As we walked along the river we heard SO MANY HORNS honking so we stopped to see what was happening. A group of cars had crowded onto a sidestreet and blocked traffic. There were drummers who stepped out and were playing while men in suits were hanging out of cars honking and laughing. There was also a photographer and flowers adorning the hood of one of the vehicles. We never were able to figure out what why this was happening, but after it dispersed a few of the cars were heading our direction. We heard the men sporadically honking and hanging out their car windows all the way down the street. 

We got back to the hostel and packed our bags since it was our last night in Berlin and then went out for dinner with Lola, one of the girls we had gone to the Disgusting Foods Museum with. We went to a tiny cafe where I had lentil soup and cheese filled naan- so delicious! We decided to spend the evening at the hostel brewery and were so glad we did. There was a new bartender, Danylo, and he let us play DJ for the evening. We met travelers from Australia, Israel, UK, Brazil and danced the night away with them. We had so much fun singing that at bar close we decided to head across the street to Mein Haus Am See, where there was supposedly a dance floor. Unfortunately the downstairs was closed so we ended up sitting on stairs with pillows and paying cash only for drinks. Either way it was a fun night with new friends. 

Bus Tours, Bugs, Brews

 February 21st, 2022

Gina and I went to the grocery and got some breakfast staples to last us through Wednesday- no use paying 6 euro per day for brekky when you can spend 10 euro total for all 3 days. We ate and then set off with Lola and Alfred (our friends from the previous night) on Jimbo's Cheap Man's Bus Tour. Since it was supposed to rain we opted for the audio version of a guided tour done on a public bus-- drive by all the key landmarks while staying dry-- my kind of tour. Since it didn't start raining until later, we did hop out halfway through so we could see the Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten Park and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in person. 

We got back on the bus and rode it til the end of the line, where we then got out and had lunch at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant. The Pho was so flavorful and the papaya salad wasn't even spicy! (Sidenote: papaya salad was one of my favorite Thai dishes but one that I could rarely eat because vendors never wanted to make the 'mai pet' version) 

It was raining after lunch so back on the bus we got until it was time to disembark for Berlin's Disgusting Foods Museum. This is a spot I would highly recommend if you have a few days in Berlin and are trying to escape the elements. First you walk through the displays of gross foods from around the world-- a few particularly gross highlights included: three penis liquor, mouse wine and of course, durian. Then you smell the stinkiest of cheeses and if you make it through you're invited to do a tasting. We tried four different types of bugs, marmite, peanut butter made of meal worms, salty licorice (my least favorite!), an English chutney and two types of cheese, one of which was made from baby goat stomach. We didn't throw up and because of that were given the honor of a photograph against the wall with the world's most disgusting paint color. WOO-HOO.

We owed it to ourselves to treat our tastebuds to something sweet after all those disgusting dishes so we headed to Rausch chocolate and OH.MY.GOSH.
The inside is a three level chocolate lover's paradise complete with a wraparound counter of truffles, a chocolate cafe, sculptures made of chocolate, a selection of chocolate liqueurs, coffees and teas, as well as desserts for takeaway. I chose 7 truffles to indulge in over the next few days and they did not disappoint. I enjoyed the cheesecake and coconut truffles best. 

Night had now fallen and in the pouring rain we ran after the bus and  hopped on in an attempt to finish our tour, only to realize we had gotten on in the wrong direction. Fortunately for us there was an underground metro station ahead so we opted out of the last two tour stops and headed back to the hostel instead. We headed back to our respective rooms to regroup and warm up. While there we witnessed a large protest happening right outside our window so we opened the latch and yelled down but no one was able to translate. (Later on we found out it was an anti covid restrictions protest. But, because Germans are all rule followers, there were an abundance of masks in sight.) 

After the protest dispersed we went to Tak-Tak, a polish deli, where we sampled different types of dumplings. I also tried the German version of coca-cola which tasted similar but flat. Gina and I then walked to a local brewery called Brewdog where I sampled a few different styles of beer I'd never tried before and then ultimately decided they weren't for me, so ordered the house IPA which was quite tasty. Gina had a gin and tonic made with cactus flavored gin which was incredibly refreshing. Before bed we booked our tickets for the next day which was going to be action packed and full of museums. 

ATTENTION: Jackie Sized Door Spotted in Denmark

 February 20th, 2022

We set our alarms and were up before the sun. The goal was to take in as much of Copenhagen as we could on our morning walk to the pier. The pier is famous for its beautifully colored building facades and it did not disappoint. On the way we saw gorgeous architecture, sculptures, Jackie sized doors, plenty of bicycles and even some stand alone toilets. We had planned to enjoy a Danish for brekky, but the first bakery we stopped at had pastries aplenty, but no danishes. We tried another bakery but it wasn't open yet so stopped in a coffee house chain and asked for recommendations. The batista couldn't have been nicer and directed us toward a delicious little spot where we split a poppyseed pastry and a danish with nuts, raspberry and a touch of frosting. Gina and I both assumed the poppyseed bun would be savory but were surprised to find it was actually very sweet. We hustled back to our hostel and grabbed our bags. #GermanyBound

We got to the airport ridiculously early but how were we to know? Before going through security we had to pack all of our liquids into a 1 liter bag (I swear it wasn't even 1 liter!) and mine did not fit. One day in and I was already trying to figure out which liquids I could ration. I put my less than one liter plastic bag with my chosen liquids in a bin with my real toiletry bag assuming I'd have to dump a bunch. It must've been my lucky day because I made it right through without getting flagged. I grabbed my bags so quickly afterward and scooted outside of the terminal to repack before anyone could realize they let all my liquids through. No one checked our passports, only our boarding passes, but I assured Gina that post flight we would have to go through customs and get our stamps then. We both slept for the hour we were in the air and although we had to deplane in the blowing rain we were excited to be in Germany!

 Unfortunately, no one checked our passports, gave us a stamp or looked at our covid documents. Did we miss something? This was a big moment for Gina so we even asked at the tourist welcome center information desk just to be sure we hadn't missed anything. "Nope. No stamps."😮

We had a hell of a time with the airport elevators but eventually made our way to the train that would be taking us to our hostel. 

We navigated the rest of the way there without issue and arrived at Circus Hostel around 3pm. What a cool place. The vibe is super friendly and there's a giant giraffe in the lobby. We have a private room with bunk beds and for once I have the bottom bunk 😁

After settling in Gina and I went to a Russian restaurant for dinner. I attempted to navigate, realized I had led us in the completely wrong direction  🤦‍♀️ so retraced our steps to find that we could see the restaurant from the hostel. Directions have never been my strong suit. Gina will be navigating from here on out. We had this huge "deduska" bowl of different types of dips with rye bread. There was cucumber and mango and beets and cheese and pesto and salsa and pickled onions and avocado with pumpkin seeds and it was all so delicious. We figured we have plenty of time in Germany for German food, so why not try Russian cuisine while we have the chance. It did not disappoint.

 After we headed to the brewery in our hostel to redeem our free beer sample tickets. Lucky for me Gina took one sip of her beer and then sent it my way so I got two. She opted for cider instead. We met lots of friends at the brewery and spent the evening learning about life from Dubliners, Frenchies, Ukranians, Californians and Germans. We tried our first Skittle bombs (no skittles were harmed in the making of this drink) and enjoyed all the colors of the rainbow. 

Rain, Rain, Go Away, We're On Our Way to Denmark Today

February 18 & 19, 2022

 I was finally doing it. Just one month shy of my two year anniversary of fleeing Albania and flying to Chicago (f#ck!ng covid) I was LEAVING. THE. COUNTRY. Gina and I had booked tickets to Germany (with a layover in Denmark) for February break and the departure date was finally upon us. We left school and headed to urgent care where we got our covid tests- both negative- and then headed back to my place for some tacos and guac from Mr. Salsa. Mark was nice enough to offer to drive us to the airport so we took him up on it (and I thought he wouldn't be appearing in this blog anymore🙉😅) 

When we arrived at the airport we got to our gate with over two hours to spare, so we wandered this way and that way searching for a celebratory drink to kickstart our adventure. Unfortunately it seemed everything was closing even though we were just getting started. Luckily, Hub 51 hooked us up with cocktails to go. Our gate was insanely crowded so we sat on a stoop near the automatic walkway and enjoyed our bevvys. PROST to our first drink of the trip.

Getting ready to board the plane- YAY!

When we finally boarded I thought I was living large because I had an aisle seat but then I started getting frantic texts from Gina alerting me to the fact that she was in an exit row and window seat (her preferred seat-- I won't judge 😂) and that I needed to come join her ASAP. Unfortunately, even though we bought our tickets together she was West Germany and I was East and we were not to be reunited, at least not yet. The flight attendant giggled when I told her where I was sitting, 20 rows behind Gina, and told me to come find Gina after takeoff. That I sure did. 

We ate a dinner of German Chocolate Cake (how appropo) and settled in for a 6 hour sleep. Prior to touchdown we were served breakfast. A few minutes after breakfast I awoke to two taps on my shoulder. "I lost my phone" a masked Gina whispered. "Huh?" "When the flight attendant took my breakfast tray I think my phone was on it. I think the flight attendant threw my phone in the garbage when she took our trays." 😱
WOOF.
Surely that didn't happen so we searched under the seats, in the seats, on top of the seats and through the seats before finally, begrudgingly pushing the call button. The flight attendant arrived and Gina explained the situation. My aisle seat 20 rows back was looking pretty great right about now. Of course the flight attendant suggested looking again and at this point all of the surrounding patrons had noticed something was going on as we crawled on all fours searching under the surrounding seats. After coming up empty handed the flight attendant agreed to go through the garbage. She commented that usually people lose teeth or glasses on their trays, not phones. Let's hope she doesn't come back with either one of those things for us.
After going through the garbage she returned empty handed. (I was secretly happy there were no teeth but Gina did not find this funny) We continued to search, this time moving even farther back, almost to East Germany. All of a sudden a tap and another whisper from masked Gina. "I found it." "What?" "I unfolded the tray table and it fell out so I must have shoved it in there when she took our trays." 😱
We better not tell the flight attendant.

We landed in Denmark (Gina got her first passport stamp!) 

and Central Station immediately become our best friend. We took the train from the airport to this stop (with the help of a lovely young woman), ate for a quick sammy and juice, paid to use the toilet (Really?! This was one thing I did not miss about Europe) and then looked out to a MONSOON of blowing rain. The radar showed rain for the rest of the night so we did what any good travelers would do: headed back to the hostel for indoor games. Gina however had a deodorant snafu on the plane (much less exciting than her phone snafu) so had to walk BACK to Central Station AGAIN to buy some DEO for her B.O. 

While we haven't seen much of Copenhagen (yet), we can tell you that Central Station is a true gem and shouldn't be missed when visiting Denmark 😉

Gina and I ventured out into the mist for Vietnamese Pho. Unfortunately the place we walked to had 3 tables all of which were occupied. We decided to walk around for a bit and circle back. We wandered by tons of tiny underground shops lining the cobblestoned streets and by the time we circled back the Pho place was still fully occupied so we opted for shawarma instead. The seasonings were absolutely delightful and the hummus was so fresh. We enjoyed the brisk night air and all the city lights on the walk back to our hostel. Gina headed to bed while I went downstairs to enjoy a pint and Nomadic Matt's new travel book. 

Cheers to our first night traveling!

It's the End of the World as we Know it

 March 8-12, 2020 (but really March 8 2020 - March 6 2022)

Mark was in Chicago for work and was scheduled to fly back on Sunday March 8th. I came down with a sickness over the weekend and was out of commission. I took a sick day from school Monday the 9th because I was running a fever. I told Mark not to come back, but he did anyway. He brought tons of my favorite treats with him- mac and cheese, blue moon, pop tarts, but unfortunately I was too sick to eat any. I found out that students were sent home early from school on Monday and that staff had a meeting in which they were told we would be off of school for the next two weeks. Our direct boss, Paul, told everyone to get flights home. Unfortunately, because I was sick, Mark and I couldn't fly home. We watched as all of the expats around us booked flights to leave Tirana. On Thursday morning my fever broke so Mark and I booked a flight for Thursday night. (Little did we know that starting Friday morning, police escorts were required to accompany any travelers to the airport and by Friday night, the borders were closed) We would be flying through the UK, then through Florida, and finally landing in Chicago. There was lots to do before we left, including withdrawing and changing money, switching over phones and cleaning out the fridge. Walking the streets of Tirana was eerie. The usually busy streets were bare, businesses were shuttered and outdoor tables and chairs were tied up. The businesses that were open (phone stores, banks and grocery stores) required patrons to wait outside. People were wearing masks and gloves. Where was I? 

I took care of our errands and packed up big red so that Mark and I could head to the airport. I didn't bring everything; we were only off for two weeks; surely we'd be back. At the airport we ran into friends who gave us proper masks (we only had neck gators) and gloves. Everyone at the airport was masked and gloved. We got to London super late so quickly checked into our room at the airport hotel. We were up super early to board our state bound flight and noticed the shift between Tirana and London. Some travelers were masked, but others weren't. No one was wearing gloves. We boarded our flight to the US and were given ice cream bars- what a treat :) 

Fast forward to landing in Florida- masks and gloves aren't a thing and the airport bar is packed with people sitting right next to one another drinking and laughing. It was such a stark difference from Tirana twenty four hours ago. 

We landed and took a car to the hotel that Mark always stays at for work. They were shocked to see him back so soon. We were in the hotel for the next 3 weeks while the world around us shut down. My school pivoted to online learning so Mark and I were both working from our one bed hotel room. To keep ourselves entertained we created quarantine challenge videos that showcased us living our best lives- how many socks can you pair in a minute, can you slide a cookie from your forehead into your mouth without using your hands? We can. 

Poor Mark celebrated his birthday while we were stuck on the inside. I had made him birthday signs in Tirana and had packed them in my suitcase. We got deep dish pizza delivered and lamented about the fact that our life had come to a halt so abruptly. We watched a lot of Netflix, Mark brushed my hair (a lot!), we played a lot of cards and once I was feeling better we drank a lot of wine. We fell into a nice little routine. Until one day when the fire alarm starting blaring. We threw on our coats and headed to the outside world. How great it was to feel the sunshine on our faces. How nice it was to breathe in the fresh air. What a beautiful, wonderful life we were living on the outside. 

The world pretty much shut down after that. Everything was zoom this and zoom that. We had to wear masks and couldn't see the people we love. 

We found an apartment but weren't even allowed to tour it in person. We had to sign a lease without even seeing the place. 

Thank goodness we got a good one and the day we moved in was a turning point. I'll never forget having to take rolls of toilet paper from the hotel to our new apartment because the grocery stores were out of it. A month turned into two, turned into three, turned into four, and before I knew it I was ending the school year with my kiddos, virtually. It was so sad to say goodbye to the kids I had taught for two years. When we left I didn't bring everything; we were only off for two weeks; surely we'd be back. Now it was summertime and I needed warm weather clothes. I  thought for sure I'd get my belongings eventually, so I allowed myself to purchase 3 pairs of shorts, 5 shirts and 1 pair of sandals from Target. I started interviewing for jobs (over zoom) while Mark walked to his office at 160. Mark wasn't able to get a flight back to Albania until September. We couldn't leave our apartment vacant that long, so our friends in Tirana whatsapp videoed us and packed up our entire place for us. We are so, so grateful to Natavan and Yoann for helping us during that time. They said it wasn't a problem and really enjoyed the US treats we had left in our place. I guess Mac and Cheese and Pop Tarts really are that good. 

When Mark finally made it back with our belongings, it felt like Christmas. Two huge suitcases, duffel bags and backpacks filled with our lives abroad. We had to leave lots of things, but we also got to save lots of things. 

When I left I didn't bring everything; we were only off for two weeks; surely we'd be back. To this day, March 6, 2022, I still haven't been back. I miss the people I didn't get to say goodbye to properly; I miss the country I didn't get to explore enough; I miss the byrek that I can't quite seem to make at home; I miss living abroad as an expat. A lot has happened in that time. The world has ebbed and flowed. Mask mandates were put in place, vaccines were introduced, vaccines were mandated for indoor spaces, vaccine mandates and mask mandates were lifted. Learning was hybrid, learning was online, learning was in person. Learning was one day at a time. Mark and I missed traveling. And while we tried to scratch our travel itch in the states- (we went to a nudist camp ground on accident!) it just wasn't enough for us. 

We moved once more (because that's how we do!) and then separated. While Mark won't be a part of my future travels, he will always be a part of my past travels, and I will always look back at those fondly. I'm not sure what's to come but I know one thing for certain- as soon as my adventure abroad starts again, I'll be blogging about it.