From my travels, I am lucky enough to have friends all around the world. One of my favourite friends from a faraway place is Hannah, a girl from Berlin who I actually met during a trip to Melbourne. I have since had the pleasure of hanging out in her home town, where she hosted me for a few days of amazing home-cooked meals, cute cafes, bicycle forest adventures and a few touristy moments…

There is a lot I have yet to see in Germany’s hip capital, but there is really nothing better than experiencing a city from a local perspective.

Hannah and her incredible family made me feel right at home. From home-cooked curry nights to discussing tea and pilgrimages, I was incredibly spoilt. Hannah even made quite an effort to give a tour of a city even a local can get a bit lost in…

I really wanted to see the East Side Gallery. It was the sight I had missed on my past visit to the city and I was determined to admire the political pieces before I continued my travels. It turns out that the people of Berlin might not have much to do with that ‘touristy’, and find it a bit difficult to actually get there, (or maybe Hannah just has an awful sense of direction).

We got ourselves hopelessly lost in the huge city. Hannah gave in and realised we would have to ask for directions. One of the funniest moments of the day was listening to Hannah ask shopkeepers and other locals in English, directions to the wall. Her plan was to pretend she was a tourist so people would be nice to her about being so lost. It worked and we eventually found it.

The rest of my time in Berlin was relaxing, and one of my fondest memories in the city is the day we rode bikes around the lake and parks near Hannah’s home. I didn’t see many of the places on TripAdvisor’s ‘top spots in Berlin’ list, but I did get to enjoy some of the quainter hidden secrets in the city.

There is nothing better than discovering a place with a person who calls it home, sometimes even your host might even stumble upon some city secrets, (or blatantly obvious tourist attractions). Thank you Hannah and your wonderful family for having me and showing me your Berlin, I promise I will give you a tour of the Malls Balls when you visit Adelaide next!