Hi, my name is Nina and I am 41 years old living in the most diverse city of Germany, Berlin. Berlin has a lot of historical attractions, like the Brandenburger Tor and some pieces of the Berlin wall which was torn down in 1989 after big efforts of the German chancellor at that time.

I would compare Berlin to New York. The atmosphere in both cities is very similar. All these creative free spirited people making the city pulsate 24 hours a day. There are many really good street musicians in Berlin that you can enjoy while exploring the city. The city has so much to offer that I myself still discover new corners and hidden gems all the time.

I was born in East Germany, in a small city called Halle, when the wall still divided East and West Germany. When I was 4 years old my family was sold to the West like many other families who didn‘t fit in the DDR system. My father was a freethinker who didn‘t like to be told what to do. He traveled when he was not supposed to and spoke up when he was supposed to be silent. Sadly it was his best friend who spied on him and betrayed him.

In the end my family and I ended up all the way in West Germany in a very old university city called Aachen. That was the beginning of freedom for my family.

I have been living in Berlin for 12 years now with my two sons, Colin and Liam. They are half Americans and were raised bilingually. We have a very close relationship.

When I am not spending time with my sons I love making music, singing and expressing myself creatively. I am very fortunate that my sons are musical as well. We also enjoy making music together. My house is always filled with tunes. I also like the outdoors, especially forests where I feel at home. I love hiking in the mountains and hear the ocean waves that roll onto the shore. Luckily you can have all that in just a few hours of driving in Germany. The Eastern sea - die Ostsee - is only 3 hours away from Berlin and whenever I visit my father in Aachen I can hike in the mountain called the Eifel.

Wooden areas can be found in Berlin directly. It is a really green city with lots of parks and a beautiful forest called the Grunewald. And this small forest is in close proximity to the wonderful sea called Wannsee where families love to spend their time during the summer months.

When you visit Berlin you will notice many small sandwich bars with the very popular Currywurst, which is a bratwurst with a curry sauce topped with paprika powder. I myself like German bread a lot which you can get at every corner of the city. Bakeries are very important to Germans.

Germany is also famous for their potato dishes. There are two dishes that I love, one is called „Königsberger Klopse“ which are small pork meatballs in a caper cream sauce with potatoes. My mom makes the best, of course. And the other one is called „Senfeier“ - mustard eggs. Those are hard boiled eggs dropped into a mustard cream sauce with potatoes on the side. So you see potatoes are a really popular side dish in Germany. There is even a restaurant in the center of the city with the name Kartoffelkeller - potato basement. All dishes served there are made with potatoes, even the dessert. It is a great place to explore the German cuisine. After living in 4 different cities in Germany plus abroad in the US for over 5 years I can say Berlin is my favorite place to be.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in a German lesson soon!

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