Happy New Year from Berlin! Here is my annual update - in lieu of cards this year I've made a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.
If I had to sum up my year in one word, it would be: travel. In April, I moved to Berlin, Germany to take a job with NOW, the German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program. NOW is a quasi-governmental (as in the German government) organization that funds R&D and demonstration projects on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. We even have a company fuel cell car which I get to drive on occasion! My job is to manage our international collaborations, so I get to work with people from all over the world.
I am really enjoying living in Berlin - it is a unique city, full of history as well as lots of fun, interesting things to do. I live in a small apartment in east Berlin, not far from where the Berlin wall once stood. Until the snow started falling in December, I rode my bike to work almost every day through the Tiergarten - it's a beautiful ride! While I'm here, I've made it a priority to take advantage of my location (and the cheap airfares!) and travel as much as I can. So far I've visited several different cities in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Slovenia, Lithuania, Denmark, Austria and Poland. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to see all these amazing places! I've also been lucky to have many friends come visit, including a big group that I met up with in Munich to visit Oktoberfest - we had a blast!
During the summer, I spend a lot of time outdoors, biking, playing beach volleyball, and rollerblading. In September, while my family was visiting, my dad and I completed the Berlin Rollerblade Marathon, which is the largest inline skating marathon in the world. We finished, even though it was pouring rain the whole time! I spent Thanksgiving here in Berlin, where I had a "traditional" turkey dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (better than I expected!) with a group of expats. For Christmas, I traveled home to Washington, DC to celebrate with my parents, sister and brother and grandma, and then made back to Berlin just in time to ring in 2011 with friends.
I wish all of you a very happy and healthy 2011. You are all invited to come visit me in Berlin!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)