New Year’s Eve!! (and my birthday)

I got to spend this New Year’s in one of the best cities in Europe, BERLIN! This wasn’t my first trip to this thriving place, but as soon as my flight landed a smile was plastered on my face and pretty much remained for the next 5 days.

First, my birthday is the day before NYE, which let me tell you, blows, but as I get older I’m trying to make the most of it. I booked a spa service and picked a couple vegan friendly restaurants to try. For the evening I got tickets to the lights festival at the Botanical Gardens and after dinner I went to a hidden speakeasy and had fabulous mock-tails and great conversation. I even got to check out the extra “secret” room. It was a lot of fun!

For New Year’s I had tickets to a five course meal at a hotel followed up by a bar party at a different location. There were fireworks, a burlesque show and champagne! It was a great way to bring in 2024.

Since the year before I celebrated NYE in Warsaw, Poland, and now Berlin, I’ve got it in my head to celebrate this holiday in a different capital city moving forward. It’s a fun way to experience a new place when there is always a planned party in the mix. So far the top contender for 2025 is Vienna. I’m sure it’s even prettier with all the glitz!

I know there are a lot of people that make resolutions each year, but I tend to take the approach of reflection, taking note of the lessons and triumphs of the previous twelve months. It was just six months ago that I moved to Germany and just over a year that my mom passed. I’ve noticed how death affects my sense of time. It feels like I’ve been in Germany so much longer and yet like my parents just passed last week. I”m sure some of you can relate. 

I heard someone describe how to “live a full life”, where they mentioned how each year should be a year you accomplish a set goal, and that there should be a big trip or something each quarter and then little things within each quarter, etc. So that you feel like you are doing the things that you want. Anyway, it resonated with me so 2023 is the year I moved to Europe and I've got trips planned for the upcoming quarters so stay tuned!

Anywhoo, I hope that all of you had a wonderful New Year! I loved all the life changes 2023 brought and am looking forward to more abundance, love & growth in 2024 🎉