As I mentioned in last week’s Part I post , it is impossible to pick a single Yolo (You Only Live Once) Moment of the Month for August, hence this second highlight (Part II).
After our epic week in Spain, we travelled to Berlin in Germany, via Portugal to see Nick’s son, George, and celebrated his 23rd birthday with him and his partner Alexandra (Alex). This was especially poignant for Nick and George, as they hadn’t seen each other for over four years.
After graduating High School in Canada, George decided to spend a year travelling and working in New Zealand. What we hadn’t expected was for him to fall in love with a German girl and to move permanently to live with his new girlfriend in Potsdam, a small city 30 minutes outside Berlin
He has now been in Germany for three years, is almost fluent in their language and is two years through a three-year government apprenticeship. Best of all, he loves both life in Berlin and his life with Alex.
This meant that not only was it the first-time seeing George in person for four and a half years, it was our first opportunity to meet Alex. What we learned first-hand was that she is a lovely young woman: smart, funny and caring. She and George make a wonderful couple.
We met up with Alex and George, and were given a guided foot tour of the gorgeous city of Potsdam. While only 30 minutes by train from Berlin, Potsdam has retained a clear identity of its own. This is in part due to geopolitics.
Potsdam is in the state of Brandenburg while Berlin is its own city-state, and in part because of the fabulous history of the city, which stretches much further back than that of the nearby German Capital.
Our next stop was at the home of Alex’s parents and younger brothers, where we enjoyed a delicious German style barbeque.
Alex’s family were lovely, extremely friendly, warm and welcoming. Her parents have done so much to help George settle into his new country, while her younger brothers, in their different ways, were friendly and devoid of the shyness that some youngsters exhibit when meeting strangers.
The food was delicious. I especially loved the marinated chicken, while Nick adored the lamb and lentil salad. Despite both of us being full to bursting point, neither of us could resist either of the fabulous deserts. One was a decadent hazelnut cake topped with blueberries and red currents and the other a creme fraiche with fruits, topped with sugar. Absolutely fabulous!
We ended the evening being entertained by Alex’s youngest brother, who is an amazing accordion player. It may seem to be an unusual instrument for a nine-year old to play, but he’s clearly both passionate about it and highly talented.
Over the next few days, Alex and George became our personal tour guides as we toured many of the sights of Berlin.
These ranged from the traditional, such as the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, to the more idiosyncratic like the East Side Gallery on the Berlin Wall and the Stasi Museum, where we learned about the most feared and effective internal security service in human history.
Our final day in Berlin was George’s birthday, and after a day of sightseeing, we shared a fabulous meal at Katz Orange, a stunning restaurant in central Berlin.
The food and ambience were wonderful, and we spent over two hours laughing and talking. While we had only known Alex a few days earlier, we felt like we had known her for years.
At the end of the evening, it was a bittersweet parting. We had enjoyed our time in Berlin with George so much and loved meeting Alex and her family, but saying goodbye was tough.
The next morning, we flew from Berlin to Amsterdam, which represented the start of the long journey home to Jamaica. The good thing is that we have already started planning a trip to Germany and Spain in 2023, we can’t wait!
Author
Monique Abbott
Hi, I ’m Monique, founder and editor-in-chief of Yes2Yolo, travel addict, lover of home makeover projects among many other passions, including creative and inspirational writing to embolden us to live our best lives. At my core, I am a creative artistic being and I believe that creativity knows no end.
…
I’ve explored over 60 countries with my husband Nick. Together we’ve partnered on some truly exciting projects such as creating and running a successful Airbnb business, chairing condo boards, purchasing fixer-uppers and renovating them from scratch on our own while balancing all of this with full-time jobs and family.
…
While my personal passions are travel and home décor, I am, by profession, a lawyer with over 17 years experience.
