So we arrived in Berlin two days ago and have been enjoying every minute so far! We are staying at this really cool hotel called Soho house which is basically an exclusive artists club for young German hipsters. The decor is amazing in our rooms, and they have record players, vintage radios and lots of cool accesories. Yesterday we went on a walking tour of Berlin with a great tour guide named Heidi. We got to see how much Germany has changed over the years, and it was really intersting seeing all the new buildings versus the old ones. Our tour guide basically told us that if you look at any building you can tell when it was built by looking for bullet holes in the concrete. If you see them, it was built before WWII. Most of the damage was done to teh facades of the buildings by soldiers in the streets during the Battle of Berlin. There is so much history in this city and it really meshes with everyone's daily life. You wouldn't even realize that you are walking over a point where the berlin wall used to sit if you weren't very concious of your surroundings. After our tour, we went to one of the many courtyard systems and ate at a resteraunt called oxymoron. I got to try the famous German asparagus which was really yummy. After a long Siesta, we tried a resteraunt I found through some apps/websites called Monseuir Vuong. It was really great, authentic Vietnamese food and I highly recommend it. My sister and I wandered around Mitte after and found a cool bar called Mein House Am See. Translated from German, it means "My House on the Lake" I believe. A sign outside said "Hippies welcome" and the clientele definitley reflected this signange.

Today, we walked around a different area called Prenzlauer Berg. It has a really different feel than Mitte, where we are staying, but I enjoyed it equally as much. We went in little cafes and shops and had a drink called a "Picollo" at Bonanza Coffe Heroes that I really recommend. it is like an espresso with just the right amount of milk. After walking around Meur Park, we made our way to a pizza resteraunt our friends recommended called Zia Maria. The pizza was to die for, and there were some really great options. It was super thin crust and made in a red brick pizza oven. After eating some ice cream and enjoying a nearby park, we walked back to the hotel. That's all we've done so far, but I will continue to write as the trip goes on!