







1. I see you, Eiffel Tower.
2. The Notre-Dame Cathedral in the midst of summer visitor crowds.
3. Staring out onto the Seine.
4. Looking out over Paris from the second viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower.
5. Saint-Sulpice church. I mainly remember there being dead pigeons around the fountain.
6. Stumbling upon the Luxembourg Gardens.
7. Despite staying just around the corner, I didn’t actually take any photos of the Place de la Bastille. The closest I got was this shot of the Génie de la Liberté’s behind, which I took from our apartment window while testing the zoom on my camera.
– Noewkolln Flea Markets which are on the third Sunday of each month. We timed that one pretty well. If I actually had room in my backpack I would have gone crazy buying stuff.
– Hamy Cafe for amazing and cheap Vietnamese food and fresh fruit smoothies. The daily offers are always under 5€ and they are big serves too.
– White Trash Fast Food for finger licking good (and slightly greasy) food. They also make a mean vodka and freshly squeezed lemonade. And vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice. And really strong Old Fashioneds. They even played Edward Scissor Hands on the TV at the bar! I really liked this place, in case you couldn’t already tell.
– Cinema Cafe and the adjacent alleyway (Rosenthaler Straße 39). Make sure to follow the alleyway to the very end and go up the graffiti’d staircase where you’ll find a cool bookshop. Very underground. Very Berlin. Although much to the chagrin of my friend, who is a Berlin local, even this is now apparently too touristy. I found that comment a bit ironic considering the circumstances. The shopping in this district is pretty good too.
I seriously could have spent weeks and weeks exploring Berlin. What was initially going to be a three night stay ended up lasting nearly a week. That’s how much I loved this place!