Double Dog Dare

Berlin vs. Paris

Two weekends ago I was in Paris with AFS and this last weekend I was in Berlin. These two cities are both their country’s capital and contain world-famous landmarks. This two cities are overflowing with history and culture and ultimately, it’s impossible to compare them, so I’ll just give you my opinion.

PARIS TRIP

Paris. Just the name alone sounds so.. awe-inspiring. To be honest, the city was not as amazing as the hype lead up to be. Sure, it was oh so beautiful and culture-filled, but from what everyone says, I expected more. It’s simply so.. tourist. I don’t know how people can actually live there on a day to day basis. But don’t get me wrong the city itself is gorgeous and I definitely want to go back, just maybe for longer than simply a day and a half.

BERLIN TRIP

Berlin was great. In part because the combination of people worked better for me, but also because it was still MY country. I understood the language, I could communicate with people, I knew what to expect. And, despite my love of new cultures, there’s something extremely reassuring about one you already know and love. That’s what I got most out of the Berlin trip. I realized I really do love Germany; not just Koeln either, but actually the whole country. It’s a great feeling. Berlin also feels very much like Washington D.C.; lots of monuments, political buildings, everything printed in 3+ languages, too many tour buses. I think actually living in Berlin would be totally different than simply visiting for a few days, so if/when I live in Germany sometime in the future, I would seriously consider Berlin.

(and now for the Berlin pictures…)