Berlin's Tiergarten and a reflection on my grandfather

A picture's worth a thousand words, so here's a nice recent snap from Berlin's Tiergarten, one of my favorite places for a good walk in my city of Berlin.

In January 2015, my grandfather passes away. He lived far away, so unfortunately I never got to know him as well as I would have liked. But after his death, after reflecting upon his life, it inspired me to be more like him. I knew three things about him:

1. He loved to walk. Even into his late 80s, he would regularly walk up to 3 miles every day.

2. He loved talking to people. He would talk to anyone who looked interesting. I have one vivid memory of him stopping another man in the streets of Dublin. The man was wearing a hurling jersey, a game my grandfather had long played when he was younger. The two ended up standing and talking right there on the street for a good hour.

3. He was Irish and it showed.

It was these three characteristics I worked to build in myself. I started walking everywhere, being more open with strangers, and in 2016 got my Irish passport.