Week 4: First Snow, Becoming a Boyfriend, and Berlin

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February 13, 2025

I wake up to pounding and whispering at my door: "Rachel! Wake up! It's snowing." That is when I jumped out of bed and looked outside my window and saw SNOW... Falling snow... from the sky!! It was my first time witnessing snow, and it was too early for me to process it. All of us gathered on the terrace and watched as snow fell from the sky. It felt like Christmas since we were all in our PJs. There was so much snow that we built a snowman.

I eventually went back to sleep since I did have a class that day. At 11:50 AM, I had Innovation Management at my favorite building at CBS--Dalgas Have. Today, we were learning about Innovation in emerging countries. After class, I biked home and waited until the Clothing Swap started at 4 pm. CBS holds an event where you basically can take things that were donated from past exchange students. I did not get anything since by the time we arrived, everything was wiped. It was like thrifting but on Black Friday, plus everything was free. It was nice to see everyone before we all went to Berlin.

February 14, 2025

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, I have been summoned to be a fill-in boyfriend. This means I am tasked with bringing her flowers, paying for her meal, and making sure the day goes well. When I woke up, I headed to Rema to buy flowers for her as well as roses for my neighbors. We met at this brunch spot--Malthe P. Kafe. I bought her a brunch sandwich and a drink courtesy of her long-distance boyfriend.

The next thing I knew, we were on a FlixBus to Berlin, Germany. We did well, by picking a night bus, because it takes roughly 8-10 hours to get to Germany from Copenhagen by bus. So when we woke up, we didn't miss anything. This was my first time taking a Flix Bus. And it was crowded, so crowded that we had a hard time getting seats. Apparently there were people on the bus who claimed they paid for a seat and that seats are assigned but according to one of the other passengers, they only tell you that so you will move. The double decker buses are usually first come, first serve. It took about 5 hours from Copenhagen to get to the south of Zealand where we would then take a boat to the North port of Germany.

If you ever decide to take a Flix Bus from Copenhagen to Germany or vice versa, it is important that you pay close attention to the announcements. Two of our crew were in the bathroom when we were boarding the bus and when they got out of the bathroom, our bus took off from the port and headed towards Berlin without them :(

February 15, 2025

We finally made it to Berlin. It was 8am and we had to wait awhile to check in to our hostel. So we decided to stall time by finding a brunch place and hitting two scenic spots. Majority of us were hangry so conflict did occur. But at last we were able to get seats at this restaurant with AYCE breakfast buffet. This meals costed $21. Since there was conflict, we decided to split up in three groups and meet back at the hostel when it was time. We went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum and saw remnants of the Berlin Wall.

One thing I highly recommend is to see cathedrals at night. It has become one of the best things. 1) It isn't crowded and 2) it is ABSOLUTELY breathtaking!

February 16, 2025

Our final day in Berlin, we woke up semi early and decided to go to this bakery called Zeit für Brot. And lets just say this place is a gem. After we made our way to another museum and some scenic spots. One thing about museums in Europe, is what you can and cannot bring into the museum. All the museums we went into in Berlin, we had to go through security and put all bags and coats into bins. At one of the museums, they were strict about cameras. I had brought my DJI OSMO pocket 3 with a tripod attachment and they said I could not bring it in unless I removed the tripod extension. In some areas of the museum, I wasn't able to record and had to delete footage because of security.

For dinner, we ate at Hofbrau Wirtshaus. This was a cultural experience. We ate Schnitzel, pork knuckle (MY FAV), and Kaiserschmarrn (dessert). The music was pumping and the food was amazing. Inside there was also a photobooth. After spending hours grinding and laughing, we had to split up. Majority of us had class the next day, so we had to leave. Even though it was a short trip, it was very fun. I've grown to like going on trips in large groups. Even if we do run into conflict, everyone adds to the group in their own way.