Wandering around Prenzlauerberg

A return to Berlin!
It's a big city and I have the fortune of being hosted in the Prenzlauerberg neighborhood for my first month back. I decided to walk around a "3-block radius" of my current home in Berlin to see what gems of the neighborhood I could find.

A Streetcar from Capitol Hill to Pioneer Square, and Lunch

Seattle has taken its time getting transit, other than buses, built in the city. So it is with a, perhaps, surprising amount of joy that the first day of a new streetcar is greeted. Also, the train has been a local joke since it was supposed to open in 2014, so we've had more time than expected to anticipate the line.
I couldn't help but hop on on the first day and check out my new, convenient connection to parts of town that were previously quite difficult to get to, especially considering how close they were.

Parques Agua Azul y Mirador Independencia

Having been cooped up in classes for most of the month, it was only in my last week that I had time to wander and appreciate the parks Guadalajara has to offer. The city is dotted with green spaces, large and small. On this Wednesday, I visited two- one in the south of the city and another on its northern edge. All thanks to a great BRT line.

Transit in L.A.

I've touched on public transportation in a few of my other posts, but I wanted to write one that features all of the different modes available because transit is not something you think about when you think about getting around L.A. True, it can be more of a hassle using buses and the limited Metro system, but the truth is there are more rail lines available to take here than there are in my home city of Seattle, which I've heard called the "Europe of America" more than once.

Public transportation can be very much like the chicken and the egg- it needs a lot of funding to become a useful system, but no one wants to pay for it because they don't use it, because it's not a useful system. Hope springs eternal for we transit nerds, though, so I believe that one day, I won't be laughed at or looked at incredulously when I talk about navigating L.A. without a car.

East of L.A.

The greater Los Angeles area is made up of many small cities with their own downtowns and cultural centers. I happen to have family living in one of the towns east of L.A. and spent Friday night and Saturday morning hanging out here.

Vacation Day at Santa Monica Beach

It was a slightly overcast and windy day to head to the beach, but that made the trip all the nicer, avoiding the feeling of being fried by the sun.

Getting Around: Berlin

I get around, around Berlin by way of the super handy public transportation system. For a modest 79.50 euro a month, unlimited transit options can, too, be yours. Ticket prices vary depending on the zones you are traveling in- A, B, C. An A/B ticket is the most common, as it covers the entire center of the city, zone C taking up only the outskirts. If you're flying into/out of  Schönefeld or want to visit Potsdam, you're gonna want a C ticket.