Hallo Leute!

I write to you with a sad heart, as this is my last entry for the month. Unfortunately I will not be back to write for you next month either :'( ! I had a great month with Deutsch Akademie. I had the same awesome teacher that I had last level and even some of the same students from my last level as well! I can honestly say I learned so much, and I know I say that every month but it’s true! The amount of information that I was able to cram into my brain is incredible and I am so grateful to have done it with Deutsch Akademie.

Last time I’m going to hold up this side for a few weeks! Yes, those are real tears.

I also really enjoyed writing for you all and hopefully some of you read this fondly and take some of my suggestions! At least some! I explored Berlin just to be able to write for you all! (I’m just kidding, don’t feel pressured…. or am I?) I am going to take a month break from blogging to focus on more intensely studying my Deutsch and seeing more of Berlin! Hopefully by August, I should be back, full of new Deutsche Wörter and new Blog content! I will miss writing. But until then, it’s me Milan, signing off…
Until then, bis bald
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So, if you know me in real life, you know that I am not a fan of studying! At all! Even in middle and high school, I was notorious for not studying, as I just don’t have the Lust to ever do so. That and my attention span is a bit shorter than normal haha! Now unfortunately when you’re studying a language, especially one as difficult as Deutsch, it is imperative that you study. Grammar rules and Vokabeln are not going to be learned just by going over them once! You need to study them every night, or every other night. It is even good to do a little learning on your own. For example, listening to Deutsche Radio Programme or even Deutsch Podcasts can go a long way. Even if you don’t recognise all words, which you probably won’t because we’re all still learning here, its good to just familiarise yourself with the language. Some swear by listening to Deutsche Musik, but personally that never helps me because songs are way too fast for me to be able to pick out individual words.
If I am being completely honest, one of the best ways that I study is by watching a Deutsche TV Serie. At the moment I am watching a comedy (sort of spin-off of Tatort, but not really… actually no it’s not at all lol) called Der Tatortreiniger. Basically in this show der Tatortreiniger cleans up crime scenes and meets people along the way, creating and getting into a whole bunch of crazy and hilarious situations. While watching the show I put on the Untertitel option and decipher as much as I can. The words I don’t understand, I write in a list (which becomes quite long by the end of the episode) and translate/study them after. I know this doesn’t sound to helpful but it actually is, and I highly recommend this method with any Deutsche Serie that you enjoy.

My list is embarrassingly long!

Until then, bid bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

This entry isn’t really going to be about a place or thing you can visit here in Berlin, but rather a few tiny things you can do to help yourself while you live here in Berlin. Going grocery shopping is perhaps the most important thing you can do to keep yourself alive haha, but let’s be honest its not the most diverting activity to do. Sometimes it can even be a nuisance, but hopefully some of these tips make grocery shopping less of a drag.

• Tip 1: Make sure to always take Einkaufstaschen with you when you go to the Markt. Nothing is worse than forgetting your bags and having to buy a Papier or Plastiktüte. It is also better for the environment, and arguably hurts your hands a lot less than bought Plastiktüten.
• Tip 2: Bio Obst and Gemüse is way better for you than conventional. This should seem obvious, but not everyone knows and thats ok! Now if you don’t want to spend the big bucks at the Bioladen (because honestly no one does), there is always a huge selection of Bio Obst u. Gemüse at Rewe! The other day I found a Bio Aubergine for 79 cents! Now that’s what I’m talking about! Another great place to find fresh produce is a local Markt near you. You can find regional food at great prices.
• Tip 3: I know it is a bit difficult here in Deutschland, but if possible (for example with rice or pasta) buy bulk! You end up getting a lot more bang for your buck. (sorry that is an American expression lol)
• Tip 3: Speaking of Rewe! A whole bunch of stores and companies throughout Berlin (such as DM, Rewe, Fressnapf, and many many more) have joined together to become a group of Payback Karte stores. If you sign up for a Payback Karte (which is completely free by the way) you can receive points every time you buy something at one of these stores. The list is extensive and even includes online stores! If you sign up with your E-Mail and address, they even email and mail you coupons! With these points you can receive discounts in the future, and I mean euros, not cents, off your next purchase! Also it sounds like I’m an advertiser for Payback haha, oops!
  

  I’m a major coupon-er now!

• Tip 4: Never Einkauf when you’re hungry! You’ll end up buying too much food and wasting money! haha
• Tip 5: If you absolutely hate going to Rewe or Denn’s or wherever you normally buy Lebensmittel, you can get some stores to deliver the food to your door! Now I have never tried it, but I see the advertisements all the time around Berlin. I even have a friend who tried it when she got sick and couldn’t go out for a week! It is way easier, and even though you have to pay for delivery fees, I have heard es lohnt sich!

Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So if you follow up with this blog, or even know me in real life, at all, then you know that I absolutely love and adore Berlin. I have moved around a lot and lived in quite a few different cities and out of all of them Berlin is my favourite. But… with that being said, I want to bring up this famous saying „Hate and Love are two sides of the same coin“. Although I utterly love Berlin, I have to say there are a few things that really grind my gears. I am sure you all have those things that you can’t help but get annoyed about, maybe we even share a few!

-Bathrooms: Ok, I know you all know exactly what I am going to say here… Paying for bathrooms. I still can’t get over this, no matter how hard I try. I will never embrace it! It irks me so much that I have to spend 50 cents to a whole Euro just to use a public restroom! But alas… At least they’re decently clean.

Free bathrooms should be everywhere, not just in restaurants lol!

Ampelmann: Yet another thing that I do not love about Berlin is der grüne Ampelmann. Wait hear me out! I’m not completely heartless when it comes to this cute little symbol. It’s not necessary him I hate, but the social Regel that comes with it. The mandatory (yes mandatory if you don’t want to be publicly stared down and shunned) social custom of waiting until the walking light has turned a bright green to cross the street, even if there are no cars in sight! Now of course I adhere to this unspoken rule, but unfortunately, I do so begrudgingly.

Indoor smoking: If you’re a smoker, then I do apologise and mean no offence in what I’m about to say- uh, write. I can not stand the fact that in some places, mostly bars, smoking indoors is erlaubt. I have nothing against the smokers, just against the horrid stale cigarette smell that lingers in your hair and clothes for hours after you leave. And of course the opaque gaseous cloud of exhale-smoke that is sometimes strong enough to burn your eyes! I’m just not used to it because indoor smoking is illegal in the U.S., but I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.

Those are obviously only a few things that I can’t stand. But it’s good that the list is so small, in the U.S., the list is ganz größer. I know I eventually find a few more things along the way, but hopefully not too many! Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So! As I mentioned in my last post, I recently went to eat at a Korean BBQ restaurant and was absolutely blown away. If I’m being completely honest with you, I’m still thinking about it and its been around a week LOL!
This restaurant is called WaWa, which according to them means „come! come!“ as in „Come in and enjoy our delicious food!“ This restaurant is located on a small main street in Schöneberg. It is not flashy from the outside and is actually quite small, making it a bit difficult to find unless you’re really paying attention. Once you walk in, you see that you were deceived by the small outward appearance because it is in fact a nice sized restaurant. The decor is very modern but still maintains the Korean flair. 
Sitting down and reading the menu is one of the best parts, second only to eating the actual food, because there is so much to choose from and cute little photos to accompany the dishes. They serve all the classic Korean dishes such as Bulgogi (cooked meat that you hand wrap in lettuce at the table) and Bibimbap (rice and vegetables in a bowl with your choice of meat). They even serve a variety of tea choices to wash the food down with such as corn (yes corn!) tea!
There is not much more I can say about this restaurant without getting extremely hungry, so you are going to have to take my word for it, do yourself a favour, and visit this insanely good place!

Oh god I’m getting hungry again

Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So I don’t know if you keep up with this Blog and I, (I mean that would be really cool if you did lol) but normally I like to write a little entry on my favourite items of the month. This can be a restaurant, a specific song, film, etc. I’m quite fickle with my interests so they normally change about every couple of weeks of so, meaning that this time I have a whole bunch of June favourites to tell you about! This month’s edition is especially besonders because this was the month of the Summer Solstice! Can I get a wooh wooh? So, shall we begin?

Essen: Wow ok! So recently I have been saving a lot of money by not going out at night and instead using my money for trying new foods! Berlin has food from all over the world and I have tried but a fraction of them! The two places that I absolutely loved were incredible and I highly highly highly suggest that you visit them. The first one is a Korean restaurant called WaWa located in Schöneberg. It is moderately priced, at two Euro signs, but es lohnt sich. The food was absolutely insanely tasty and they have options for meat eaters and veggie eaters alike. I actually loved it so much that I wrote the next blog entry on it haha! The second restaurant was a Sudanese place in Friedrichshain called Nil. This place is very gunstig and offers so much selection. Plus how cool is Sudanese food!?

Musik: My favourite category to write about ever! Music is pure happiness flowing straight from earphones. If you were to ever to see me on the streets, I will 100% have earphones in. So, enough talk, lets start with the Musik. Beginning with R&B and Rap, I have really been into Childish Gambino these last few weeks. One song from his older album and one from his newest, and I’m almost sure you have heard of both as they’re both pretty popular. The names are „Sober“ and „Redbone„. Now in the old Musik genre, I have been jamming away to an Italian song called „La Strada Nel Bosco“ by Alberto Rabagliati and „The Thrill is Gone“ by Chet Baker. In more modern Musik, I have been really loving „Don’t Wanna Fight“ by Alabama Shakes and „Life On Mars“ by the incredible David Bowie (may he rest in peace).

Shopping: So over the past few weeks I really haven’t been shopping at all but there is one store that I still can not give up completely! It is called Colours Kleidermarkt and is located in none other than Kreuzberg. This store is full of unique and cool, used and vintage clothes ranging in price from 1 Euro to 50 Euros, depending on what you buy. There is a whole section filled with great clothes less than 10 Euros, and then the rest of the store is organised by color, hence the name Colours Kleidermarkt. You pay for these clothes by weight. It really is an awesome store and I think you should visit it.

Bücher: Unfortunately, this last month I have been quite busy and have not been able to read as much. I still managed to get a book in and I really really enjoyed it. The book I read is „Slaughterhouse Five“ by Kurt Vonnegut. There is so much to say about this book but I really think that you should figure it all out for yourself haha! Godspeed!

My copy is super old and falling apart, but it still does the job lol!

Please try out some of these, you will not regret it!
Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!
It’s me again, back with another recommendation for you about our favourite city, Berlin! Living in Berlin these last few months has been absolutely incredible and I have been able to learn and do so much! The only thing I missed was varying Landschaften. You see when I was living in California, varying Landschaften were all around me. Depending on which part of California you’re in, one can visit der Ozean, die Bergen, und der Wald all in one day! Now, unfortunately here in Berlin, were missing two out of those three! But luckily, we have Wald! Grunewald!

Now if you’re going to directly translate this word Grunewald to Englisch, you get, literally „Green Forest“, which seems a little redundant doesn’t it lol? Grunewald is in the Southwest area of Berlin, very easily reachable with the S7. Grunewald is quite large, the largest green area in Berlin, sizing up to around 30 square kilometres. One can spend hours there! One can take a hike up to the manmade hill and radar station Teufelsberg (literally meaning Devil’s Mountain), walk around the hidden trails of the forest, or even just find a patch of grass and have a picnic. I should warn you though, tics lurk in the shadows and bushes of Grunewald so please prepare accordingly! Wear boots with pants tucked in and/or long socks! Take some snacks and a nice big bottle of water (especially on the rare, hot, sunny days), and a large bug spray!

The beginning of a trail!

The other day I actually took a trip to Grunewald and was able to see all that it has to offer. I wandered the trails and eventually hiked my way up to Teufelsberg, from which I had a lovely Panorama of the city below. It actually didn’t take as long as expected, but it still took a few hours. Now as with most of the places I tell you about, I highly recommend you take a day trip to Grunewald and see what it has to offer.
Until then, bis bald!

Unter den Bäumen

A cute little birdsnest I happened upon.

Look how high up we are !!

-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So this post is going to be a quick one! I just wanted to show you all a place I found recently that I thought was insanely cool! An East Asian Supermarkt! Now I know this sound a bit too regular and/or lame to get excited about, but I found it to be awesome. You see, I used to live in Southern California for a few years, and since there is a large East-Asian Community in that area, one could find many Asian supermarkets in any town. In these supermarkets one can find countless items imported from countries like China, Japan, or Thailand. One could find spices, snacks, home wares, exotic vegetable, meats, sweets, you name it! After I moved from California to Miami, I missed those Supermarkets immensely and thought I wouldn’t see them again for a long while. But lo and behold! Here they are, right in the melting-pot of a city, Berlin! If you are a fan of East Asian food and/or culture, I highly recommend a quick trip to an Asiatischer Markt in your area.

This is one of many many rows of East Asian products!

If you find this, buy it! It’s dried red Perilla seasoning and works well on so many items, mainly rice! Mmmm…

Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So a few months back I wrote about my uneventful trip to the Pergamon, during which renovation and reconstruction was going on, causing a large part of the museum to be closed. That left me a little dejected about museums for a while, but last week I decided to suck it up and go to the Alte Nationalgalerie! And boy, am I sure glad I did!
Like most of the other main museums in Berlin, this one is on Museuminsel (S7 stop Hackescher Markt) and stands next to the Neues Museum (the one that houses Nefertiti’s Bust!! I still have to go there!) It costs 15 Euros to get in, but is free for kids 17 and under which is great if you have a large family. This museums houses an extensive selection of art, from paintings by Monet and Rodin all the way to sculptures like the Thinker! Not only is the inside beautiful but the outside architecture is just as impressive, and is arguably one of the most incredible buildings in the area (after to the Bode Museum of course).

I don’t think this lady meant to photobomb, but alas!

I highly recommend a visit to this incredible museum! You can spend anywhere from a half hour to 3 hours in there, depending on how fast you walk haha! If you walk very fast, I also highly recommend buying the Museuminsel pass for you can see all the Museums in one day!

Quite a dramatic scene, don’t you think?

This is perhaps one of my, if not my top favorite, favourite sculptures in the entire museum. You can’t see it too well in the photo (blame my crappy camera quality), but the amount of detail on it is incredible!

Hermes and Psyche.

P.S. The Museum is closed on Monday!
Until then, bis bald!
Milan :-)

Hallo Leute!

So this is just a really quick entry about where I went the other day! And that is… dun dun dun drumroll please, Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebab!!!! Now if you are unfamiliar with this establishment, it is (as the name implies) a Kebab Stand that supposedly sells the best Döners in Berlin. Now because I have a strong dedication to food and Berlin, I stood in the line that normally lasts anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Luckily, we went on a weekday so it wasn’t as busy and we only had to wait about 45 minutes. Unluckily, having to wait any longer than 10 minutes when you’re extremely hungry is terrible, so by the time we got to the stand to order we were all hangry (hungry and angry)! Naturally there were only about three items on the menu, but quality over quantity, right? When we finally got our awesome 3 euro Döner, we were overjoyed. And honestly, nothing beats that first bite.

Now I wouldn’t consider myself a Döner expert, but I have had a fair amount of Kebabs in my day and this one was definitely in the top three. The sauces (yes plural!) were so delicious and the bread was not too heavy, toasted just right. The veggies are obviously fresh cut and the entire mixture was heavenly. They add fresh Käse on the top as if the rest wasn’t enough. Now I can not definitively say that this is objectively the best Döner Kebab in Berlin, as I have not tried every single one, but it definitely is one of the top. Perhaps even worth the wait! So please do yourself a favour and get yourself a Mustafa’s Döner in Mehringdamm.

Look how long this line was! We waited about 45 minutes!

Can we please talk about how good this looks?

Until then, bis bald!
-Milan :-)