Fridays are test days in my class. Although writing a test is usually everyone’s least favourite thing to do, it’s a good way to review the lessons that we have learned that week and we immediately take it up in class. However, to change the mood after writing a test today, we played a vocabulary game! It’s exactly like the game Scategories if any of you have played it. We were given a bunch of categories such as Stadt, Land, Beruf, Adjektiv, etc. Then, a letter from the alphabet was chosen and we had to write down a word that began with that letter for each category. It was a fun game (there are some competitive students in my class!) and a great way to end the week.

Last test of the month! There were even a few questions about the history of Berlin!

Cheers,

Sara

Now, Berlin is nice and all, but there are a number of smaller cities and towns that can easily be visited in one day. Recently, I went on two trips with my husband and his parents to Leipzig and Lübbenau.

Leipzig is approximately 2 hours away by bus. Here, we visited the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum, an exhibit that focuses on the political history of the GDR, and the Stasi Museum, which is housed in the former Leipzig headquarters of the Stasi. Both were really insightful. We also visited two churches. First we visited Nikolaikirche which was built in the 1100’s and we were lucky enough to arrive as the organ was being played. The second church we visited and the highlight of the trip for me, was Thomaskirche where composer Johann Sebastian Bach is buried (the story of his burial is quite interesting). We stayed to hear the St. Thomas boys choir sing in the church and it was a beautiful performance.

Beautiful Thomaskirche on a cloudy day.

Lübbenau is about an hour by train from Berlin (Tip: if you are travelling anywhere between Berlin and Brandenburg, you can purchase a single ticket called the Berlin-Brandenburg-Ticket, which allows up to five people to travel together for one day and it costs 29 euros). We headed to Lübbenau to see the Spreewald via a two-hour trip in a traditional wooden punt boat down the rivers in the forest. It was exactly like what you would imagine if you were in a gondola in Venice! Our ferryman pushed the punt down the rivers while talking about the land and its history. We even stopped halfway through the tour to get a sausage at a restaurant in the middle of the forest. Of course, our ferryman only spoke German, so it’s good listening practice for those learning the language! It’s amazing that people still continue to live along the water today. The old small houses along the edge of the river banks and the surrounding area were so charming. It was definitely a trip worth taking.

Cheers,

Sara

Here is a fun fact for the day. When walking around Berlin, you may have seen large pink and blue pipes that wind through downtown streets. I’ve always wondered what they are used for and maybe you have too. The reason for all of these pipes might not be as exciting as you think, but they are still very important. It turns out that ground water levels are really high in Berlin, so when a new construction site is created, it’ll easily become flooded with water. These pipes constantly divert the water away from building foundations to nearby rivers or canals. So, thanks to these pipes, the city can continue to develop and expand.

Pink pipes near Alexanderplatz.

Pink pipes twisting and turning above the street. I spotted some blue pipes along Unter den Linden.

Cheers,

Sara

Markets are everywhere in Berlin. Whether you are looking for fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, cheese, desserts, clothing, accessories, art or home furnishings, there is a unique market for everyone! Visiting different markets has been one of my favourite things to do since moving to Berlin (supporting local businesses is a big plus!) and it is a great way to spend an afternoon in the city. I enjoy the busy and fun atmosphere of markets, and I feel like I’m part of the community when roaming around the different stalls.

Luckily, you don’t have to go far to find a market since there is one right outside the DeutschAkademie school at Wittenbergplatz! It’s called Wochenmarkt am Wittenbergplatz. There are some great fresh food vendors selling everything from cheese, meat, desserts, bread, fruit and vegetables, as well as vendors that sell small accessories and flowers. I recently bought a new hat there! The best part of this market is the vendors selling prepared meals for lunch!

A fruit and vegetable stand at Wochenmarkt am Wittenbergplatz.

My lunch last week! A fried zucchini cake with couscous.

Another market that I went to this past Sunday with my husband and his parents was a breakfast market in Kreuzberg at Markthalle Neun (Eisenbahnstraße 42/43). It is held every third Sunday of the month from 10-18:00. I had a delicious bacon breakfast sandwich and a brownie.

I can’t wait for the Christmas markets in Berlin!

Cheers,

Sara

My first week of B 1.1 started on Thursday, so it was a short week for my class. Nevertheless, we started learning new grammar concepts right away using a combination of our workbook and many speaking exercises. I’m beginning to notice major improvements in my ability to speak and understand German both in, and especially outside of class!

It’s been great learning German in such small class sizes. I get to know my classmates and teacher well, and we receive more individual attention while learning. Also, each class that I have taken at DeutschAkademie has been so diverse, with all ten students usually coming from a different country! It makes my experience learning German that much more interesting and fun.

Taking time in class to learn about our classmates (sich kennenlernen). We can’t forget about the homework in the corner!

Cheers,

Sara

Guten Tag from the Berliner Stadtbibliothek (in Mitte)!

I’ve been having internet problems for the past few days so I decided to go to the library to write my blog post. The library is in a great location beside the Spree River and across from Nikolaiviertel, which is where the original settlements in Berlin were located and date back to the late 1100’s. This is my first time in a library in Berlin, and thanks to my internet dilemma, I might start coming here more often to get some work done and perhaps study German!

Working at the Berliner Stadtbibliothek.

I’ve been studying German at DeutschAkademie for four months now, but I knew that I would be living in Germany long before I moved here. I was very intimidated by learning a new language from the very beginning, but I wanted to get a head start if I could. My husband was already using a website called Duolingo to practice his German, so I gave that a try while still living in Canada and I really liked it! It uses a combination of words and pictures to teach you words and phrases through translation, speaking, spelling or listening. I was able to progress quickly and comfortably. By the time I started A 1.1, I was very thankful that I had already started to study German, because it gave me that extra advantage in the first month.

After arriving at DeutschAkademie, I learned that they had created their own app and they have many free, online German studying tools that I have used myself. It is a great way to extend your German learning outside of the classroom and to keep up with the increasingly challenging German concepts. DeutschAkademie also has many language learning books. Some have an audio guide component and exercises for those who prefer pen and paper, and some can be purchased as an E-Book.

Other apps that I heavily rely on are Google Translate and German Verb Conjugator. Both are very helpful in and out of class! I have spent countless times in stores Google-translating specific cleaning products or what yogurt to buy. Thankfully, I’ve reduced the amount of time I spend doing that now! German can be a daunting language to learn, but there are plenty of additional computer programs, phone apps and books to help you get through it.

One of the many options to help you learn German outside of class – German grammar exercises on the DeutschAkademie website.

Good luck!

Sara

When I think about my first impressions of Berlin and how this city is different from home, many things come to mind. Berlin is very bike-friendly, there is a relaxed atmosphere because of the many places to lounge, eat, and drink outdoors when the weather cooperates, and everything is very old and a little rough around the edges. Also, with each new neighbourhood that I explore, there are always a few unique things that add to their character.

I’ve stumbled upon a building that is completely abandoned and covered in graffiti – even the windows are gone – and is surrounded by other occupied apartments. I’ve seen a building with large flower sculptures attached to it that are as tall as the building itself. My favourite though, is a building with a mural called Astronaut/Cosmonaut (2007) by Victor Ash in Berlin-Kreuzberg (just east of Kottbusser Tor on the U1). I haven’t forgotten about these places from the first time I saw them. They are all unique and memorable, and make Berlin an exciting city to explore.

The astronaut mural taken from the corner of Mariannenstraße and Skalitzer Straße (Kreuzberg).

What gives Berlin that rough-around-the-edge feel is the graffiti. It’s EVERYWHERE! But it’s not always the typical graffiti that you would normally think of. Large drawings and often times, overlapping graffiti images and words make city buildings that are grey and stark more vibrant! I really enjoy seeing all of the colour mixed in with the plain buildings in Berlin. This is something that I haven’t quite seen anywhere else!

Graffiti near Kottbusser Tor. If you look closely there is a small, orange stick figure painted over and contrasting the look of the old graffiti – a hidden surprise when walking through the neighbourhood.

What murals, graffiti, or art have you spotted on buildings?

Cheers,

Sara