Verliebt in Berlin

Back in the beginning of Nena's career (think 99 Luftballons), the time when Kreuzberg was inhabited only by punks in the early 1980s, my parents were living in Berlin. They were about my age at the time and were away from their families and were lucky enough to find many great friends there. They eventually got married in Berlin and my sister was even born there! Their lives really began together there and it's always had a special place in my heart because of the memories they share from their early days there.

 
Fast forward 20 years, I was lucky enough to visit Berlin with my fellow CB/PPP exchange students. Unfortunately, on that trip I got bit by a spider and had an allergic reaction that led to a trip to the very hospital my sister where my sister was born, in Kreuzberg. I didn't get the chance to see any of the major sites in the city because of the dang bite and I've wanted to go back there ever since.

Pre-bite visiting the Bundestag with great friends and fellow exchange students ;)

A while back, I started reading Nicole is the New Black, an American expat in Berlin's blog about life abroad. I love reading her point of view as a solo female traveler and about life in Berlin in general. Through her, I read about Travels of Adam. It was perfect timing as I saw his post about a giveaway for a weekend in Berlin. Amazingly enough, I commented and tweeted about the contest and I won! Out of the 422 entries I was the winner, and I'm so freaking excited about it! I'll be going for the weekend at the end of this month thanks to Roomsurfer.

Roomsurfer is yet another accommodation website, but with a hipster twist. The website uses your Facebook profile to match you with a potential host in whichever city you’re looking to visit. So if you like a certain type of music, you’ll be connected with potential hosts with similar tastes. It’s a unique way to get to know new people. With airlines already using Facebook to match passengers with seatmates, social-media profiling (is that the right way to word it, I don’t know?!) is only going to increase in the travel industry. And Roomsurfer is on its way up.
It’s a lot like CouchSurfing, but with Roomsurfer you’re paying for a host. Whereas I may spend hours (or days) writing and trying to organize a host on CouchSurfing, Roomsurfer does all the hard work for you. Finding a potential host could finally be a lot easier! (From Travels of Adam)

To be perfectly honest, when I found out I won, the first thing I said to T-Slav is that all of my blog followers are gonna hate me and think, "Why does this girl get all the fun?" But believe me, it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I was really missing my family and having an "I'm sick of Zagreb" moment and complaining when I checked my e-mail and saw that I won the trip! The other thing is, you can be doing this too! You really can! It's important to do the things you really want to do and live your life. What are you waiting for?! I have wanted to take advantage of the fact that I live here and try to see as much as I possibly can (on a budget) and I'm getting the chance to finally visit Berlin again, attend the Room Surfer launch party on April 28th, and really live out my dreams. All thanks to this awesome giveaway on a really cool blog! How cool is that?

So, I encourage you to write down all of the things you really want to do and see in your life and start to do them. Start small or big, take a day trip on the weekend, start painting, enter a contest! Do something that scares you. Seriously, try it and feel alive. Even if that something is starting to exercise or starting a blog or who knows what! I'll be sure to tell you all about my weekend in Berlin but I'd love to hear about what kinds of things you'd love to do. What is your number one dream destination?