Germany was a country checked off the list during my time in Europe in the summer of 2009.

We drove it quite extensively. From the mideast entering from Czechia up to Berlin and over across to the northwest before crossing over into The Netherlands. We made many stops along the way and stayed in Dresden and Berlin.

Dresden captivated me. I couldn’t get over its beauty nor how it was bombed to dust during World War 2 then rebuilt to look so old and charming. I did, however, get bit by a horse there in the main square when trying to take a picture and was not a fan of that lol.

Berlin was a 180 and not at all what I was expecting. It has the history it’s known for sure, but the vibe is much grittier and quirkier. I quickly learned how big of a thing techno is in the city and danced my heart out there. Dancing is one of my most favorite ways to move energy so that was right up my alley. I was shocked, too, by how many natives knew about my hometown. Fun fact: Detroit is the birthplace of techno music and just about everyone we talked to mentioned that when they found out where we were from. To contrast, I can almost guarantee the majority of people I grew up with near Detroit would not know that. It made us quite interesting and popular to the locals at the time which was a fun twist.

I don’t know if or when I’ll go back. I am very interested in European Christmas markets though. And, as such, it would be hard to explore those properly without visiting Germany again since it’s one of the birthplaces. So I likely will. What it looks like? I guess we’ll see ✨