Taking flight

At approximately noon today I touched down in Berlin for the first time, a city I have no connection with whatsoever other than a love for all things new. The journey across the puddle was almost unbearable since I had the good fortune of contracting a head cold the night before. I would. For 10 hours straight, I coughed up storms next to neighbors who might as well have taken me for a swine flu victim and built mountains between us out of my used, snotty tissues. Anywho, I made it. Being in this country without knowing a word of the language is both intimidating and exciting. It should be interesting to see just how much I can pick up by the end of these two weeks, even though so far I've played it safe by asking for English first. The whole fun in going abroad is "going native" for a moment in time, and I plan to do just that. I kicked off my culture immersion with a bratwurst sandwich at the Prater Garten today. If ever there was a restaurant with a park feel, Prater is it. After that, the group headed on a food safari all over Berlin in search of one particular gelato store. Half the group was lost in the process, me included. Luckily, we survived Freeman's test with the help of a guy who recognized the "lost tourist" look on our faces. The people here seem as colorful as the city itself. Even with a gray sky hovering above, Berlin is breathtaking at dusk. Every building has a personality, even the old East Berlin ones seem to stand proud of their years. Well that's all for first impressions; jet-lag is kicking in.