In Berlin Trash is IN

I’m back home - in Berlin! I arrived a few days ago in good spirits after my two week holiday. My digital camera mooching only resulted in photos from Croatia. But, I essentially have dial-up at the moment so I'll have to upload the photos sometime at an internet cafe. In the meanwhile, I’ll give you a bit of info about the trip so that you so know what I was up to.

I received an absolute hero’s welcome back in Hungary. I was a bit worried about returning because I thought that maybe no one would remember me or wouldn’t be excited that I came. It was the exact opposite. My friends were so accommodating and my former roommate Lili even hosted a girls’ night for us to hang out. I was able to see all of the people I love in just two days. There will always be a little place in my heart for Pécs especially more so now because I know that I will always be welcome.

From Pécs I took the train down to Croatia to visit my friend Hillary from UW. We started out in Osijek, went to Fuzine (where she lives and works), took a day trip to Rijeka, and then spent a day in Zagreb. As you’ll note from the pictures below we had a great time and Hillary was a great hostess. Hillary fell in love with Croatia because of her work in peace and reconciliation – or so she says. After spending a week there, I would say she fell in love with the natural beauty and the very attractive men. You’ll see one of my boyfriends once I load the photos. :)

During my holiday I also got the chance to do a little more exploring of Germany. I spent a couple days with my parents near Stuttgart with family friends. From there, I had a nice day trip in Frankfurt where I met some new friends involved with a really cool Four Square Church called Ichtys. Then I went to Hannover to visit my friends Ulf and Bettina. Hannover was really really fun. Between Bettina’s amazing cooking, Ulf’s incredible tour guiding skills, a run through the forest in the middle of the city, biking around, among other fun stuff – I was sold. I must admit that I was a bit snooty before this trip as I thought that Berlin was the only place worth living in Germany. I’ve realized that I could be happy living in a bunch of different places here.

With that being said, I’m very excited that I am living in Berlin. Yes, I have a place to live. I am staying with a friend of a friend named Jörn. It looks like he is going to be moving to a village in a couple days and then I’ll have a roommie only every once and awhile when he comes back on weekends. It’s a bummer because Jörn is a cool kid and it would be nice to hang out. But, we’ve decided to maximize the time that we do have together which is cool.

Oh, I should explain the title of this blog. It is a translated quote from Kirel, my friend Anja’s boyfriend. Kirel told me that “trash is in” to make me feel more comfortable about walking around town on Sunday morning in my Cheeta/Cat/Puss in Boots Halloween costume. I crashed on a friend’s couch on Saturday night after a Halloween party and then ended up exploring the city still wearing the costume the next day. As you can see, I never run out of ways to stay busy and have fun.