Eight days in Berlin in December — half work trip, half slow discovery of a city that refuses to erase its own memory. Co-working until 9 PM, Christmas markets, the DDR Museum and the Holocaust Memorial, the East Side Gallery, and what German work culture taught me about actually logging off.
Three days in Barcelona — Gaudí's architectural theology at the Sagrada Família, Park Güell and the Gothic Quarter, discovering Catalan identity, getting scammed over a croissant at 1:30 AM, and an honest verdict on a city I expected to love more than I did.
A week in Italy over Christmas — Mass at St. Peter's with the Pope on Christmas morning, the Colosseum at night with ChatGPT as a tour guide, Michelangelo's David and the Vasari Corridor in Florence, and Venice's canals, Doge's Palace, and a Vivaldi concert. The best leg of the whole European trip.