Pumpkin Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

Oh boy. Time seriously flies when you're constantly moving around. After a little under 3 months in Berlin I am finally back home in Minneapolis for the holidays, seeing old friends, working at the restaurant, remembering how to drive on solid ice, and, of course, getting back into baking after a long hiatus.

Berlin Tourisms

This past week I finally let go of my stressed out mindset of oh my god I have to make a LIFE in Berlin right now and I got to relax and just be a tourist for a little bit. That is the wonderful thing about having friends come to visit! Remember that sweet and smiley Canadian couple I met in Iceland and road-tripped with for a couple days? Well it just so happened that they were stopping through Berlin, so I was happy to invite them to stay and run around the city with them, seeing things I hadn't had the chance to see yet. Of which there was a lot. Berlin is freakin huge. And full of stuff.

So out of all of the stuff we saw and did, I have paired it all down to my three top favorites. Put simply, here are my Berlin tourism must-sees.

Baking in Berlin // Blueberry Clafoutis

When you move to or just visit a foreign city it is natural (and crucial) to seek out sources of comfort and familiarity. Otherwise you are just going to feel awkward and displaced all the time and no one, not even me, Ms. Let's-see-how-far-from-my-comfort-zone-I-can-get, enjoys that.

Obviously it's important to take risks and go out of your way to see new places and things or strike up conversations with random strangers on park benches, but you also need to give yourself a break. I often have a hard time with that because I love doing everything at once, but breaks need to be taken. That's why in Berlin I have already found my favorite coffee shop with cozy corners and amazing cookies, where I can go and blend into the crowd by sticking my nose in a book and downing cappuccinos. And why I go on the same run in the same park every other day listening to my favorite music from back home. I cook myself nice dinners and every once in a while, treat myself by baking some kind of fabulous dessert. And share it only to win the affection of my flatmates. Kidding- I would share anyway... right?

First Dates

I have decided that I am going to have a relationship with Berlin. Yep, that's right. A full-time, committed relationship with this city. The whole thing began with a blind date in which I took a chance and said "Hey you seem cool, let's chill" and to be honest, I'm still not 100% sure that we have enough in common to make it work in the long run. I suppose if nothing else it will be an experience. I'm going to go ahead, dive in, and give it a year.