Hi gentle readers! At the end of an extremely stressful and busy month (September), I had the opportunity to head to Berlin for my second international work trip. It was my first time navigating connections.
Sunday, September 27, 2026
I began my journey around the world at Newark Airport. My main plan on the 8 hour flight to Stockholm was to catch up on some albums I didn’t have a chance to hear in full and maybe read a book.
I highly recommend Happier Now by Movements, if the emo vibe is your thing. I fear Cory Asbury’s album has a few good songs, but his debut is golden.
It is the American in me saying this, but man, I’m grateful at how international airports have signs in English. As an inexperienced traveler, it makes me feel like I can navigate the world.
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Monday, September 28, 2026
I reached Stockholm by 7:15ish in the morning, and grabbed a much-needed breakfast. After an hour and half flight from Stockholm to Berlin, I felt that gross feeling of being in the same clothes too long in not-so-good quality air. I reached the hotel by 12pm.
We stayed at the Hoxton Charlottenburg. Great hotel! I wish I had a better view, but it felt super luxe to have a room of my own, so complaining here. It has an art nouveau feeling to it (after doing some research). I did think the bathroom was very luxurious, and felt sort of industrial.
I made a cup of peppermint tea after settling in. I found my colleagues in the lobby at 3pm and after a quick chat, we headed out to explore Charlottenburg. It was a very luxurious area, lots of expensive brands within walking distance. They were more showing me the way they had already explored.
The famous church, the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, now unfinished after being bombed in the war. We wandered aroud to a bookstore. I was very tempted to get the Murdoku (sudoku of solving mysteries). We entered a very famous shopping center, KaDeWe, in search of a gift for my colleague’s nephew.
Found ourselves at Five Guys and I elected to try something new, the currywurst. I betrayed my American instincts. The currywurst was good, but I would’ve been satisfied with a burger.
Back at the hotel, I did my channel flipping but it was mostly German shows and that one French TV channel, which ended up being my choice for the duration of the trip.
I did some email checking but ended my evening with a shower and writing in my journal. Unfortunately, that was probably the only good night of sleep I had in Berlin.
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
I rose early (7:30am-ish) , but had the utter gift of time! I immediately turned on the kettle after brushing my teeth, as I do. I had a lovely slow quiet time with some English Breakfast tea. It feels so nice to curl up in bed with your journal and Bible. By 9am, I headed downstairs for breakfast, and of course, had to stock up on Earl Grey.
By 11am, I decided to be brave and wander the streets alone. I listened to Abbie Gamboa’s pure album and walked through Charlottenburg. Something about Berlin reminds me of Dublin, yet it has a gritty side to it, and there’s such beauty too. I headed back to the hotel at 12pm to get ready for the working hours. Dressed up in business professional to impress.
I ended up walking to the office (35 mins maybe) with colleagues. And then spending the rest of the day drinking tea and soda and nibbling on what’s on offer. Many presentations were had.
At 6pm, we left the office. Headed to the office to change before dinner. I spent some time listening to Citizen’s latest work–I’m impressed, not as much as I was two albums ago, but this is an album it took me a moment to warm up to. Dinner was walking distance, maybe 15 mins away. Many courses of dinner were had (10? maybe). I got to learn more about Daniela, a colleague similar in age to myself.
While many of our colleagues left in big groups, I stayed with Jemima and Chloe, as I can never turn down an opportunity to swing away. I welcome the chance to be a child again. 🙂 Especially right next to a church. Saw a mural of Erling Haarding–the Norwegian soccer player who has made many a meme for this year’s World Cup.
I ended up sleeping by 1am. I proceeded not to sleep super well.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026
I got ready to head to breakfast by 8:15am. This morning, I ended up taking the train. (My one qualm with myself is that I didn’t make any real effort to learn the transportation while I was in Berlin. A missed opportunity.)
By 9am, we began another day full of presentations. And memes!
Outside our Berlin office, there was a piece of the Berlin Wall. Post-lunch, we headed to do a team activity. I loved seeing the city from a double decker bus. I didn’t love our graffiti activity, but it was good to watch people get into it, and chat with people who weren’t as dedicated.
At this point, a colleague, Hodan and I, were starved. We ran over to the grocery store. I fear this apart from a few rich conversations, was my highlight of the trip. We both didn’t know German, so we grabbed what we liked, but should’ve grabbed a German colleague to do some translating.
Our bus passed through Museum Island and near Bradenburg Gate.
I loved getting ready for dinner for Wednesday night. Putting on a bunch of my favorite songs and singing. It was lovely. By 7pm, we headed out via Ubers to the other side of town. Our dinner was at this piano bar. I learned a lot about a new colleague, Ben, and it was fun. We also did a horrible rendition of trivia. A bunch of songs that I didn’t know a lick of. But my music taste is just rock and worship, which explains a lot, I suppose.
The night ended at 11:40pm, which is to say, a very long dinner. Every night, I struggled to fall and stay asleep.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
I woke around 7:30 for a quick quiet time. I opted for pants for my final work outfit, which was a good option as I had a long day ahead. And it was chillier than expected. This day, I took the bus to the office. We endured a long talk on AI use in daily life, And then it was over before it really began. The time was very brief.
I ended up staying with Daniela at the office, trying to get work done until 4. We then had a lovely chat while she showed me around the office. Talked about God and books, and it may be a top tier conversation for this year. I miss conversations like this. Unplanned, but honest and real.
She took me around the city as my tour guide. We walked and talked for hours about Berlin’s history, making our way to Bradenburg Gate, and beyond towards Museum Island. I honestly could not do a history tour of New York City, if I had a friend coming to tour. I fear I’m not the right person for that, but Daniela was amazing. We stumbled across some beautiful churches (my weakness). She also took me to a kebab spot. German kebab is essentially gyro in a different form. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with her.
Back at the hotel, I did some studying for an exam I had coming up (I shall explain in a future post). I had a lovely glass of wine and listened to a ton of music.
Friday, October 2, 2026
A long way back home. Booked an Uber in advance, which was the best idea! Left the hotel by 7am to get on my flight to Copenhagen. My second regret of this trip is not buying any frito-limo at the airport to take home 🙁, but I did acquire a book in the airport. By 11:30am, I was in the Copenhagen airport. Which is quite lovely. In ARKET, I found a spot to have a treat to continue my studying while jamming out. Seriously Ms. Hayley Williams is amazing! I had to stop myself from listening to Paramore, and switch it to something more positive. The flight to JFK was very unpleasant, the best part was the window seat and seeing Greenland.
I landed in JFK and took an Uber home, and my dad rued that he should’ve brought me home because at least then, I’d be home a lot sooner. At least he missed me.
That was my week in Berlin!
I will be avoiding planes for the near future. Hope you enjoyed this!
Signing off,
Gigi
