written by Justin
For the past few years, I’ve looked through the previous year’s photos during the first week of January and selected a favorite from each month. I put off this activity until now because I didn’t have the concentration or energy for introspection of 2020. It ended up being more enjoyable than I thought it would be, while also reminding me how much we look forward to seeing family and friends when we all have vaccines.
Below are my favorite photos from each month.
January
I took this photo on a bright and cold weekend day after visiting the DDR Museum in Berlin. In retrospect, we wish we had taken more time in the winter to visit museums. However, it is a reminder of how we want to prioritize our time when these opportunities are available again.
February
Potsdam is a lovely city just outside Berlin that we’ve been able to visit a couple of times. This visit was a wonderful day, and Tessa and I enjoyed trying to imitate the woman and dog on the statue behind us at the Neues Palais (New Palace).
March
I took these photos at the same place about 48 hours apart. The first was a feeling of, “Spring is finally here.” The second was just two days later when we had 45 minutes of. We weren’t quite ready for spring. It’s amusing that I was SO excited for that 45 minutes of snow. As I write this, a brutal winter storm is hitting Berlin, and it’s currently -6 °Celsius and feels like -15° Celsius due to wind.
April
These two photos captured the beginning of COVID in Berlin pretty well. For those that haven’t been to Berlin, this is Alexanderplatz and Brandenberg Gate. They are two locations with a lot of local and tourist traffic. We’ve never seen these spaces this empty.
May
This was on a great long walk we took on my birthday. Paige and I always laugh at this photo because it captures Tessa when she gets her cheek caught in her jowls. She’s a little derpy and giving a slight Elvis sneer.
June
This was a photo we took from a Black Lives Matter protest in Berlin. It was overwhelming seeing the number of people who came out to support the movement in Berlin.
July
This photo perfectly captures a moment of the life we wanted living abroad. The summer in Berlin (and Germany) was relatively normal. Cases were very low, we could eat outside, and travel was OK. It was a beautiful Sunday in which we went to the park for a picnic and brought travel books to plan future adventures.
August
I’m cheating here. We spent a long weekend in Hamburg when the caseload was very low. We spent almost all of our time outside. Hamburg was a beautiful and quirky city.
The photo of Tessa (below) is a snapshot of life in Germany with a dog. We were walking with Tessa and stopped in front of the City Hall building. In non-COVID times they offer English-language walking tours. Paige went to ask if they were still offering tours. They had canceled them, but you could tour the lobby on your own. Paige asked the hours and said we have a dog and will come back without her. The security guard informed her that dogs were welcomed inside. Tessa enjoyed cooling off on the marble floor (it was a hot weekend). Dogs are generally allowed everywhere except pharmacies and grocery stores. We’ve been pretty spoiled as dog owners living here.
September
One of the best parts of this year was having the opportunity to help register voters and assist individuals having trouble with their ballots. It was a great way to continue to be engaged in the election and meet other Americans. This was a Saturday morning tabling at a Farmers Market in our neighborhood. We learned that some states make it very hard to vote from overseas. And this a friendly reminder that we should waive the Filibuster and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
October
This was our other long weekend get-away in 2020. We went to a small town a few hours away from Berlin called Schwerin. We spent all of our time going for very long walks and enjoying seeing somewhere new. The castle in the background was beautiful.
November
We were out running errands on Saturday, November 7, when I compulsively rechecked my phone and saw that all the major news outlets had called PA and that Biden-Harris were officially President and VP-elect. I stopped, yelled loudly, and opened a celebratory beer I had packed just in case the news came in while we were out. It was SUCH a relief, and I think about it whenever I walk down that street.
December
This month was hard to find a photo because Germany went on a hard lockdown, and we didn’t do much. During Hanukah, we did walk down to Brandenburg Gate and visited the giant Christmas Tree and Menorah that were on display. It was a nice moment as an interfaith couple to see both symbols on display in Berlin.
Bonus Photo
When we were in Schwerin, we needed to pop into a grocery store after dinner. The closest one open that late was in a mall. The mall had attached mannequins to seated areas to ensure that people were spaced out appropriately. The mannequins had on orange t-shirts with the mall’s name and logo. Their orange perfectly matched Tessa’s raincoat, and she did not seem as amused by this.
