Hallo zusammen!

So, the other day, I was talking to another Deutsch Akademie student from America. Both of us were similar in the fact that we both have pets, but the difference is, she had to leave hers in the USA. It is not because she didn’t want to bring her pet, but merely because she didn’t know how. Of course, the process to take you pet to a foreign country is detailed and lengthy, but it is definitely possible, and a lot easier when you know what to do. Unfortunately, I know some one you have pets you had to leave back home and it may be better for you that way, but if you are absolutely and extremely attached to your pets (as I am), then this blog entry might be helpful for you. If you don’t have any pets you can skip right along, but if you’re interested, stay a while.

So where to begin, to bring a pet from another country to Deutschland has many steps that you need to follow correctly. Coming from a Western country is definitely a lot easier than coming from any other one, but all are still ok. If you’re travelling between EU countries, all you need to do is to get a Tierarzt check your pet and then get a EU pet passport! Pretty simple right? But if you’re bringing a pet from lets say, America, then the process is much different. First, you have to make sure your pets have a Microchip that is ISO compatible (an international standard), if they don’t have one, then you need to get one. Then you have to get a Rabies vaccination for your pets at least three months, but no more than six months before your travel date. (Sometimes more vaccinations are needed, depending on what country your travelling form.) Then, when that’s completed you need to make sure the vaccine worked and get a Rabies Titillation test done on your pet. When that’s all completed you can wait until ten days before your departure date to Deutschland. Within those ten days you need to go to the Tierarzt and get them to fill out a special pet Deutschland/USA Health Certificate and get it certified by your local Animal/Agriculture Department.

And even after all that is done, you have to make sure you buy your pet a plane ticket, either on board with you (a better and safer decision) or under the hold. You also have to make sure to buy an airline approved pet holder. You can buy your pet calming drops from Hyland which help you and your animal if they get scared easily or get anxiety when travelling. It’ll keep them quiet as well so you don’t have people looking at you on the plane as if you brought along a crying baby. Like I mentioned before, bringing a pet to Deutschland is a long, arduous process, but if you absolutely can’t say goodbye to your little friend, it is definitely one you should undergo. Good luck! Bis bald!

P.S.: Deutschland is an incredible place to have a dog!

-Milan♘

Hallo zusammen!

So this blog entry will be a little but different from others, as it will not really be me blogging about Deutsch Akademie or Berlin, but more about things that I’ve enjoyed whilst in Berlin. Since February is coming to an end, these are my February Favourites.

• Music: The music that I’ve been recently blasting through my earphones while on the S/U-Bahn is actually from a genre that I’ve only recently started listening to: Jazz! And now I don’t mean new age Jazz. I’m talking about classic Jazz from the 20’s to the 40’s. Incredibly enough, you can listen to music that’s almost a hundred years old on that app! Now this kind of music is not for everyone but if you want to hear something different, I suggest Sidney Bechet („Petite Fleur“ is my favourite right now), Annette Henshaw, and Mildred Bailey.
• Tv: So coming from America, where there are thousands upon thousands of programs that I can watch, to Berlin where there are only a select few provides a very big change. Honestly, I was never a huge TV watcher in the first place. Netflix has been my best buddy these past few years and luckily, Netflix DE is just as good as Netflix in USA. This last month I have been into Black Mirror, which is a great sci-fi drama series about technology, and Rick and Morty, which is an adult animated series full of crazy scientific plots and very funny weird jokes.
• Restaurants: Ok, so as I have mentioned in a previous blog post, I came from California. Over there, there is incredible authentic Mexican food that I would eat quite often (I love Mexican food, probably mainly because part Mexican but also because it tastes great lol). Now that I’ve been here for a month, I was starting to get an itch for the familiar cuisine again, and I think I found a great place. It’s called Dolores It is an absolutely great Mexican place where you can make bowls and burritos for a great price, and there are two of them placed conveniently at Wittenbergplatz and Alexanderplatz.
• Shopping: So, if you have been in Berlin for longer than a week, then you are obviously familiar with the big department store in the KuDamm known as KaDeWe. Although it may have great things to offer, it is definitely very expensive, and a budget-ing girl like me cannot afford to spend 100 Euros on a shirt, so… I go to Humana! Humana is a chain of Vintage and Second-Hand clothes shops located all around Berlin. You can find great deals there, all the way from 1 Euro T-Shirts to 20 Euro leather jackets! Also, you are probably familiar with Flohmärkte, but which ones? The one I went to last weekend was in Treptower on Eichenstraße. I a few great things and even saw some really cool antiques. I’ll include a picture of one that caught my eye below. Now I don’t know how fond you are of used items, but if that doesn’t bother you that much, then I strongly suggest you go check these two places out! Until next time, bis bald!
  

  Check this thing out!

-Milan⚛

 

Hallo zusammen!

So Saturday I went to Potsdam for the first time since I have arrived in Berlin. Wow! It’s absolute beautiful. There is such a huge mix of old historical Sehenswürdigkeiten and new modern buildings. It’s even an UNESCO Heritage sight! Unfortunately I only got to see a small fraction of Potsdam, which was just the famous Brandenburgstraße and the Holländisches Viertel. I still missed Sanssouci (which means „no worries“ apparently), many museums, Neue Palace, Babelsburg Park, and much more. Both were beautiful and full of shops and restaurants. Since pictures are worth a thousands words, I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Visit Potsdam! Go go go! Bis Bald!

-Milan ✌︎

Hallo zusammen!

Now that it’s nearing the end of the course (with the last week already starting tomorrow) I just wanted to give you a quick update on my experience. So, I really do think that in the last three weeks, I have learned more than I did in six months at another Deutsch Sprachschule. The lessons and quality of the teaching surpasses all that I could have imagined. Sometimes you look at vocabulary words and think to yourself, „Ok, when will I ever use that?“ But then, surprisingly, a few days later, you find yourself in a conversation with someone else using the same exact words you doubted would ever come in handy.

Honestly one of the greatest things about this course that they don’t even advertise is that it is the best way to meet friends. When I first came to Berlin, I was so worried making friends was going to be difficult, but Deutsch Akademie classes have facilitated the friendship process so much. I mean, you already have one huge thing in common with everyone at D.A.: you’re trying to learn Deutsch!   All the friends I have in Berlin right now, I met either at a Deutsch Akademie Stammtisch or the Deutsch Akademie class itself. Just the other day, I went out with one of them and had a great time.

On Friday night, we went to this awesome bar right by Warschauer Straße called Fitcher’s Vogel. And you can’t tell many people thought it awesome as well, because it was extremely crowded. We even got there pretty early (21:00) for bar standards and it was still filled to the brim with people. Luckily we managed to get a seat at the bar and enjoy a few drinks (the selection was awesome) If you go, I highly recommend the Mexicaner shot, although not if you don’t like spicy because oooh! that baby had a kick! We met and laughed with the people next to us, and overall had a great time. I would like to say though, that since its within the rules to smoke inside, by the time you leave your hair and all your clothes will reek of stale cigarette smoke. But if that doest matter to you then, Godspeed!

Bis bald!

-Milan☕︎