Spring has Sprung!

Spring has officially sprung in Berlin!!! It seems that the long, gloomy, dark Berlin winter days have disappeared overnight with the time change, and I absolutely have no complaints – I am loving this weather!

This past week was filled with relaxation, fun times with friends, swimming, shopping, and soaking up as much sun as possible – Jason and I even laid out in the Tiergarten park on Saturday afternoon with magazines, sunglasses, and a radio! I am still on semester break, so I have been enjoying my last few days of freedom before classes start back on Monday after Easter.

On Sunday afternoon Mike and I hit up an Easter festival in Alexanderplatz, very similar to a Christmas Market. There were little temporary shacks set up with crafts, knick-knacks, food, sweets, ice cream, and other treats – including a petting zoo in the center. We enjoyed the atmosphere of a Christmas Market set in warmer weather and minus the gluhwein.

Petting Zoo in the middle of the Easter Festival

Berliners enjoying the live band

But probably one of the highlights of my past week was my adventure to the Berlin Zoo. It was gorgeous weather, and I was itching to get out of the apartment and do something fun. I recently met several German university students at the Fulbright Conference in Berlin that will be starting classes at Georgia Tech in the fall. I exchanged email addresses and such with the German contingent heading toward Atlanta around the same time I am making my way home, to answer any questions about Tech life. One future Techie is living in Berlin, and we agreed to meet up at the Zoo to talk shop about Atlanta, Tech, Berlin, and study abroad life. I knew the afternoon was bound to be lots of fun when Nicolas told me in his email to meet me by the Lion Gate and look for him in his cowboy hat!

I would my way through the subway crowd and busy Zoologischergarten streets to find the lion gates and a college student standing in front, donning a black cowboy hat. I was inspired to wear my cowgirl boots from the email, so we looked like a pair ready to stroll through the giant Berlin Zoo!

On student tickets we entered the lion gate, making small talk in German and taking in the exotic animals. A new baby elephant had just been born at the zoo and was recently allowed to be outside, so we joined the crowd to see the newest addition to the Berlin Zoo family. The baby elephant was adorable, and we continued on to see so many different animals. Another highlight was Knut! A world famous polar bear and a German obsession. Knut was sensationalized as a baby cub, but when I saw him, he was the biggest polar bear of the bunch and no longer the “kleinest Eisbaer aus dem Zoo” (the smallest polar bear in the zoo).

I really enjoyed seeing the Berlin Zoo, taking in the warm weather, being outside, and chatting with someone about Fulbright, Atlanta, and Georgia Tech. We finished off our trip with dinner and then back home.

Here are lots of animal pictures for you to enjoy. Hope everyone is having a great Easter week!