Berlin is a city of art and unique museums. I am so thankful for being able to live here. There are so many interesting places to be discovered and enjoyed.

Have you ever been in the Old National Gallery of Berlin? Yes, the beautiful building in the museum island, the one with the impressive horse rider on the top of the majestic staircases. I went there on the weekend and spent more than 4 hours inside.

It contains an exclusive collection of the most beautiful paintings I have ever seen. It was incredible!!! You have the option to learn more about the painters and the meaning behind each painting through a free audio guide in different languages. I was amazed after hearing the different stories.

I strongly recommend you to visit this gallery. It’s a magic world that you need to discover.

Have you ever watch any silent movie????

You have to check the new movie of Shaun the Sheep !!! It’s really fun and you will laugh until your stomach hurt. I have never though that a silent movie will leave such an impact on me. I watched it recently and I became a fan of this little Shaun.

It tells the story of a very cute and very intelligent sheep which has genius ideas. Really creative movie.

The other day when I was in Dussman shop in Berlin I could meet again this little Shaun buddy …and of course I could not resist taking a picture with him ;)

Below you can see us together ;)

The best Christmas gift that you can offer to your loved ones is TIME together !!!

We are always busy and we never have enough time to spend some quality moments with our family and friends. Maybe during this season of the year is the best time to stop and enjoy what we have been blessed with. Jobs will come and go, apartments will come and go, even some friends will come and go, but family will always stay family.

So, remember to cherish them and enjoy the time with them. For example, when we are home for Christmas we love cooking together. There are so many fun and easy recipes which can make your holiday experience unique.

The other day we made Croissants. We used simply blätterteig which we filled with cheese or with chocolate.

Have fun with your family

One of my best friends Adlien got married!!! She is also a German student like me. It’s such a privilege to meet so many special people who are joining me in the journey of learning a new language. They all have a different reason for studying German. Some are doing it because of a hobby, university, job or because their loved ones are German speakers.

The wedding of my beautiful friend Adlien was really wonderful. Her husband Toby is from Switzerland. As you know Swiss people also speak German language but with a different accent.

It was really nice to be part of their big day. Adlien and Toby are such a special couple which always will inspire us. The wedding was bilingual: half was in English and half in German. The guests were from all over the world. Many of them prepared a speech or a surprise for the newlyweds. It was a wonderful experience.

German weddings are very beautiful and offer a great atmosphere

Recently I had my family visiting me in Berlin. They have never been here before and they were really happy to discover the city through my eyes.

I love having visitors who I normally take to the unusual touristic places of Berlin. I love taking them to the hidden corners of the city. That way they can feel the real taste of the capital and to become Berliners for few days.

One of our stops was a cute little shop in Hackeshermarkt. We found many curiosity items and we laughed about many other fun objects. We bought this cute red cookies box as a souvenir from Berlin. Unusual isn’t it? Yes, but that’s what we usually like to be…UNUSUAL :p

If you have family or friends visiting you in Berlin, my advice is to show them something unusual and not very touristic. Take them to your local bakery, to your favorite coffee place or to the small shop in a dark street which carries the Berliner flavor. They will be surprised and they will love it

I love having friends over for dinner. It’s so much fun. The house is full with noise and laughter. Here in Berlin is so easy to meet people from all over the world. People who have a unique story. People who are happy to share it with you and to become part of your story.

Berlin offers such a variety of cultures and nationalities. For example I am always amazed by the origin of my DeutschAkademie classmates. They come from all over the world. I love making friends at class. I learned so much from them about their countries & traditions.

I also made so many friends at Berlin Connect church, where I usually go on Sundays. People are extremely friendly and kind. The first time I went, it took me few minutes to start a conversation and laugh with them.

Another way to meet new friends is the Meet.up website or Facebook groups which are full with people who share the same interest and hobbies.

Enjoy Berlin and make new friends ;) This is the place to be

Have you ever tried Baumkuchen? No???? Ohhhhhh…. if not – then you should do that soon! If yes -then you should try it again !!! It’s such a yammi traditional cake in Germany. You can find it in any shop or supermarket during the Christmas period. It’s a really sweet and ADDICTING cake!!!

Baumkuchen literally means „tree cake“. This is because of the shape that it has and the rings of the pastry.

Check it out and enjoy the delicious taste

   

Do you remember how exciting is to open your post box and to see a letter with your name on it? Yesss….. this old school stile to make people happy always works. I love sending and receiving Christmas & New Years Greeting Cards. It’s a small detail that can make your day !!! It’s a peace of paper that can bring the biggest smile of your family and fiends !!! The Little things in life make people the happiest. Here you have some really nice Chriistmas wishes in German

Du bist ein Geschenk für mich. Ich wünsche mir nichts anderes! Frohe Weihnachten wünsche ich dir! -You are a present to me. I do not wish for anything more! Merry Christmas to you!

Ein friedliches Weihnachtsfest und alles Gute für das kommende Jahr wünschen wir Ihnen/Dir/Euch – Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and all the best for the coming year

Ich wünsche dir mehr Glück und gute Gesundheit an diesem Weihnachten. -I wish you more happiness and good health this Christmas.

And here you have some really cool New Years wishes in German

Am Himmel leuchten die Sterne so klar, ich wünsch dir ein frohes Fest und ein gutes neues Jahr! – The stars in the sky shine so clear, I wish you a happy celebration and a happy New Year!

Lebe! Liebe! Lache! Auf diese Weise mache Dein neues Jahr zu einem Fest, das Dich Dein Leben feiern lässt. – Live, love and laugh! In this way you make your new year a celebration of your life.

Enjoy sending and receiving Greeting Cards

My lovely German friend Tabea surprised me with a beautiful Christmas calendar. I love my German friends. When you become a friend with a German, believe me this will be a lifetime friendship. Germans are really good and loyal friends.

So, my wonderful friend Tabea came to me with this special box full with mini personal gifts. I can open one gift every day during the month of December until CHRISMAS DAY!!! How creative is that? I have usually seen the Christmas chocolate calendars but this one is even better.

I am so excited every time I open a new package. To be honest, I will never forget this special and creative way of celebrating Christmas. Tabea is the best in bringing smiles on my face.

If you want to let someone know that you care and love them, make the same or write them an email or a send them a letter every day during a period of time. Believe me they will be joyfully surprised ;)

Happy people make others happy too!

Today in DeutschAkademie we had a presentation day. That was a great idea of our lovely teacher Kerstin. She asked us to prepare a presentation about a topic we like or we are passionate about. She wanted us to practice our German Speaking Skills in our B2.1 class. I loved the ideas as it made us not only train our German speaking skills but also our public speaking skills. It was fun!

I chose a topic that I love talking about: VALENCIA – The Spanish city where I grow up.

Here I can share with you part of my PowerPoint presentation:

 

VALENCIA

• Valencia ist eine wunderschöne Stadt an der Ostküste Spaniens. València ist die Hauptstadt der autonomen Region Valencia. In Spanien gibt es 17 verschiedene autonome Gemeinschaften.

Valencia ist die drittgrößte Stadt in Spanien nach Madrid und Barcelona, mit rund 1,5-1,6 Millionen Menschen.

• Was können wir in Valencia essen?

Valencia ist bekannt für seine gastronomische Kultur. Ein typisches Gericht, das ich euch empfehlen kann, heißt paella. Paella ist ein Reisgericht mit Meeresfrüchten oder Fleisch (Hähnchen oder und Kaninchen). In Valencia findet man eine wirklich schöne Auswahl an frischen Meeresfrüchten direkt aus dem Mittelmeer.

• Wisst ihr, welche Früchte Valencia berühmt gemacht haben?

Die Orange … .Valencia wird das Land der Orangen genannt. Die Orangen sind sehr süß und sie sind perfekt für einen frischen Saft am Morgen.

• Was ist interessant in Valencia zu besuchen?

Etwas wirklich Interessantes, das ich euch in Valencia empfehlen kann, ist der Komplex Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.

Es ist das wichtigste moderne touristische Ziel in der Stadt Valencia und einer der 12 Schätze von Spanien.

I hope after hearing part of my presentation you are curious about visiting Valencia.

See you there