After 3 months of living in Germany, and after numeours people suggesting we do so, here is a blog of our adventures! This blog is intended to keep family and friends updated, but also as a personal journal that we can look back on in years to come! Here, you will hear the good, the bad and the ugly of our new lives! :)

Looking back 3 months ago at Auckland airport, NZ. Not a tear fell as I boarded the plane for my 36 hour flight to Berlin (well, this was AFTER I was almost denied being allowed on the plane!). The next 36 hours consisted of trying to sit comfotably, climbing over passengers to go to the toilet from my window seat and a light hearted conversation with a Swedish tourist who had just visited NZ. Finally, I arrived in Berlin to the love of my life- Ry :) We settled into our hotel in North Berlin in a sweet little town called Birkenwerder. A main street with only a handful of shops and cobblestoned streets, it's a wee gem that escaped the hustle and bustle of central Berlin!

Since then, we have learnt SO much. Our views of the world and our culture has been challenged! Our views on language and how we take communication for granted became very apparent! Our eyes have been opened to a new world and we realise just how isolated we are in NZ and Australia!

The first misconception I have to challenge is that German's are cold hearted and rude. This could not be further from the truth!!! Every single person we have met has been very nice with a great sense of humour! We have been accepted as part of families here- accepting invitations to special family christmas dinners left, right and center! At a time of year that should have been really hard for us, we were made to feel more welcome and at home than ever.

Before we travelled, I thought pretty much everyone here would be able to speak English at least to a conversational level. Not true. We picked up the basics of Desutche very quickly!!

Finally, here is a list of some of the major differences I have noticed so far between NZ and Germany.

-Driving!! The first time going in a car around a round-a-bout the "wrong" way was both scary and confusing! I am only just getting used to driving on the "wrong" side of the road!! (Also an important tip I learnt quickly was to look the opposite way when crossing the road!)

-Food- The food here is delicious! Without exception. Super high quality of meats and cheeses! The christmas markets were a great time to experience lots of famous German foods! Bratwurst, Doner, Turkish Pizza, Currywurst- all amazing!

-The letter W- W sounds are said as V sounds. Took me a while to get my head around but now I automatically read W's as V's- even in English.

-Transportation- It's very rare to see anything but a Mercedes, VW, BMW or Audi in a line of traffic. I think in our whole time of being here we have seen two "crappy" cars haha The train system is amazing and leaves no need for us to own a car or drive! Nearly everyone owns a bike and will bike or walk to their destination.

-Alcohol- Being a true Kiwi I had to comment on this! German alcohol will kick your ass!!!!!! We have recently discovered the "Kiwi Pub" in the heart of Berlin which sells Steinlager and Mince Pies (ry is frothing at the mouth over it), we are heading there tonight so will update this experience in our next blog!

This weekend is meant to hit -20 degrees! The snow is beautiful and I can't get enough of it! There's something very special about snow flakes falling as you walk through town at dusk. (Speaking of, daylight at the moment is usually from around 8:30am to 4:00pm!)

Any questions/comments, leave a message!!