Day 54: Fernsehturm and Essentials

A few days ago we looked up information on the Fernsehturm. It was suggested that you buy tickets in advance and go early to beat the crowds. So we did. That means an early rise for this family on this morning. Out of bed, food down the hatch, run out the door.

You can see a typical digital board
for the trams and the orange trash
cans that are all over town.

Still, we missed the tram by 1 minute. We must wait 9 minutes for the next one. This is going to make it tight on timing. So you can imagine our delight when we look to the digital board to see that our next tram is delayed.

Side note: Smoking. Ugh. And here is a woman (see photo to the left) who is right by a trash can that also works for cigarettes (see the orange box?), but instead of putting it into the cigarette receptacle, she tosses it on the ground with the many other cigarette butts. I don't understand smokers. Ugh.

We busy ourselves by looking into alternate routes to get to the Fernsehturm, but all other routes could take just as long as waiting, or longer, due to the amount of walking. And all routes are only about 15-20 minutes. It's not far. We contemplate a taxi.... but then, phew, here's our tram. Now we might not need to worry how "stickler" they are about details like the timing on our tickets.

But now what? Moments after we got onto the tram, the polizei came through with their siren blaring. Our tram had to finish going through the intersection, but then pulled over for the polizei to whiz by. THEN, we got stuck behind a trash truck collecting several large trash containers. Since we're on a track, we can't go around. We just must wait and wait and wait.

Side note: I do see locals getting frustrated or giving dirty looks in traffic (like a car not stopping for a pedestrian or having to wait for a trash truck). But unless it's a dangerous manoeuvre (that's when they might beep or yell), they just roll their eyes and wait. Or just wait. I just don't see the amount of road rage as you do in the U.S. Of course, I'm a pedestrian here. But that's the feeling I get from here. It's not that people don't get frustrated, it's that they handle it in a manner of accepting it for what it is, a minor delay and then they go on their way.

Okay, we make it to the tower. And after all our crazy transportation problems, we are only 1 minute late.

One must go through security to go up the tower. Metal detectors and scanning of your belongings. We think the security officer running this morning's scans is NOT having the time of his life. Very loudly, very gruffly, he's repeating himself over and over, "YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF YOUR BAGS. JUST OUT OF YOUR POCKETS. WE NEED TO LOOK INTO YOUR BAGS, OPEN YOUR BAGS. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING OUT." Back and forth from German to English. The amount he is repeating himself lends us to believe that people are NOT complying. And, I have to laugh, I even took my phone out of my purse and put it separately. I could have left it in there... but I pretended it was in my pocket, then I'm cool and not one of those who doesn't understand to "LEAVE ITEMS IN YOUR BAGS, ONLY TAKE NEW PHONES OUT OF YOUR POCKETS."

Side note: There were two sides for security. One labeled group and "regular" the other labeled "preferred/early bird", or something like that. But, we found out the hard way (from Mr. Grumpy) that the early bird side was not open, we had to stand in line with everyone else. Ok. But then some poor elderly couple came up on the preferred side. The gentleman had trouble walking with his cane and was going very slowly up the stairs. Once he was at the top, Mr. Grumpy told the gentleman's wife that they had to go around into our lane. She started to explain (I'm guessing about her husband's walking ability) and Mr. Grumpy cut her off, "SECURITY IS FOR EVERYONE." and pointed to the back of our line. If only we could have allowed them to cut in front of us, but the ropes and barriers didn't make for an easy cross-over, plus, who knows what Mr. Grumpy would have said then!

Second side note: Mr. Grumpy confiscated someone's selfie-stick. They were to get it back upon leaving the tower, but they wouldn't take it up. They were very sad at this. Later we saw them up at the top, huddled around their phone, taking a selfie, while singing a song. I'm sure the video would have turned out MUCH better with the stick.

Our family successfully passed by Mr. Grumpy. Phew. Onto the elevator. I was secretly disappointed and simultaneously grateful that we did not have to climb steps to the top. No, we got to go on an elevator that moves at about 5m per second, which makes our trip to the observation area (at 203 m) about a 40 second trip. It was super quiet, super smooth. I mentioned this to Chris and he replied that he never felt any G forces. True! It was super smooth without lurching without making you feel "heavy", etc. My ears did pop a few times, but that was it. And, bonus, they installed a glass ceiling in half of the elevator's top, so you could see the cables and counter-weights as you went up and down.

Note: I think you can see the counter-weight on the left at the very end of this video:

It was a very overcast morning. We have had such luck with the weather and visibility. But that seems to have run out this morning. You could see, but not as far as I had hoped. You could barely see the Brandenburger Tor and only the gleaming top of the Victory Tower barely showed in the fog. Pictures didn't turn out as well as what our eyes could see, but I worked in Photoshop to "help" them along. When there is low light, iPhone photos turn out a bit blurry. Anyway, it was still cool to be up there and get a 360 degree view of the city (however, the kids were disappointed we decided to not eat up at the rotating restaurant... too pricey for foods that we didn't think the kids would like).

We spent about an hour up there reading the signs as we made our way around the entire observation area.

I tried to be in a few photos to show I "was there" but due to the overcast lighting,
this background could be anywhere. But really, I was up there, I swear.

The elevator going down shows two little red lights on the "tower", showing where the elevators are (left).
Looking up through the glass ceiling of the elevator while doing down (middle).
The kids showing how small the Space Needle is (less than 185 m) in comparison (right).

Buddy Bear in the gift shop.

Because it's Tuesday, Chris doesn't come home for dinner, so we decided to keep him company on his way from the tower to work. From there, we headed back home for showers (yay, the kids are clean! boo, Xander forgot to wash his hair!)

We decided to go to Fuki Sushi for lunch (because the name makes us giggle). I checked the tram schedule (I had a brilliant idea the other day and took a photo of the schedule at our stop so I could always know when a tram would come... this is online as well, but sometimes I find it and sometimes I can't, and this way, it's always with me). We had 4 minutes to get ourselves to the stop. We hustled into shoes and out the door and we could see the tram up the street at the previous stop. Not wanting to miss out like this morning, we ran for the tram. I bet we look like locals, rushing to catch our tram, right?  But, unlike a local who knows the city, we got off a stop too early, sort of. Doh. So, we had to walk a little (or wait another 9 minutes for the next tram). We chose to walk. It was only a couple of blocks.

Short story about this lunch. It was just a man and his wife (we're assuming) running the restaurant. So when we weren't ready to order, he took someone else's order and then went to help go make the meal. Instead of him coming back to take our order in a few minutes, we had to wait about 10 as he made the oder-to-go for someone else. Lesson learned. Hurry up and order or prepare to wait. Also, with this man, we ordered two Cokes and a Fanta. The Cokes came, but not the Fanta. I ordered that again. "What?" he asked. "Fanta," I replied (faeh-n-tuh) After a lot of pantomiming and pointing to the drink cabinet and saying, "Orange soda," he finally said, "Oh, Fanta, yes." (Faah-n-tuh) Oy!

The rain (sprinkle) has come again as we dined. And as we traveled to the Nespresso boutique (and yes, of course Ritter Sport for more chocolate), it continued to rain (sprinkle). And then at the market for some noodles and eggs, it rained some more (sprinkled). But, now we have the essentials; caffeine, chocolate, dinner.

A cosy night with the kids as we listened to the rain (sprinkles) all evening.

Day 19: It's September!

Street/railway work that's been going on near our apartment.
It's been fun watching them progress every day.

Hello, September! Wow, we've been gone for almost 20 days. Even though we have dealt with some "everyday obstacles", it still feels like vacation, although, in the back of my mind, I am very aware of the time. Chris is worried that time is going fast, and that we're almost out of time. I'm more worried that when we get home, our German is going to still be bad. Most everyone here speaks English, so our challenges, while we have them, are not as hard as they could be if no one spoke English. I do want to get lessons for the kids and myself, it would help our German along as well as give us some consistent activity. BUT, I'm super lazy, right now. That sounds like a lot of effort to go find a perfect program for us (the easy answer is following a poster that's everywhere, but it seems their program is 2-3 hours a day, every day, for two weeks, I think... um, that's too much consistent activity). We'll see.

Side note: I feel very conspicuous walking with Chris in the mornings. I am the ONLY person in exercise gear. Everyone else is on their way to work, or eating breakfast at a street side cafe. So everyone is dressed for the day and I'm in my running gear. I ran into (punny!) two other runners, one day, but it was far from where Chris works and in on a side "nature" (in quotes because it was just a side trail for a quarter of a mile) trail. Otherwise, I don't see anyone exercising outside. I think they must do it earlier in the day and maybe not in the center of all the businesses. In any case, I always feel underdressed in my running gear.

Back at home, the kids wanted my American Crepes again! Yum. Then, the kids occupied themselves while I did some work for Nagai Photography (my dad photographed a Bar Mitzvah and I am now editing the photos, our first time working like this - time difference, and solo on both ends).

Then to lunch at Na-an Sushi. We saw this restaurant a few nights ago when we were looking for the noodle restaurant (that we never could find). But this sushi place looked good and we were coming back to try it out. Nice that it's only a few blocks from our apartment (like many other restaurants).

Ugh, it's still hot and the bees are crazy. Xander sat on the end of the bench so he could make a run for it any time they came around (yes, it was a lot). Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the beautiful plate they served us. But I did get a photo of the shoyu! Two bottles of shoyu, both the same company, but one was manufactured in Salem, OR and the other is a "Product of Japan"... we found it amusing to see which one was used more.

Well, the darn bees were so aggressive, the kids really wanted to leave. So, I gave them the key to the apartment and they headed home. I paid the bill and headed in the other direction in search of this 2€ store.

I walked for a few blocks here and there, but never found the store. However, I did find, a kitchen store and just decided I had to shop there. I spent over 60€, so definitely not a 2€ store, but now we have a measuring cup, some mixing bowls, a new trashcan (because I broke one), reusable straws (for the kids), and a few other items we needed.

I still couldn't find any measuring spoons. I'm still timid (embarrassed) in asking for help (FYI - this is true whether I speak the language or not :)

As I checked out, the clerk smiled and said something about the garbage can I was purchasing. I gave my line, "Entschuldigung, mein Deutsch ist sehr schlecht (excuse me, my German is very bad)." He responded with something about Austrian (maybe he was saying he spoke Austrian German, that's a thing!), so I looked and asked, "English?" He shook his head. Ah well, we tried. He rang me up and nicely showed me the total so I could pay.

Side note: Chris has mentioned that knowing our numbers is very important. He's right. Here's my biggest problem. If you are learning English, say, and someone says, "Your total is $79.83." That's a lot of numbers, but if you can hear the first thing "70", then you could hand over $80 and know you're going to cover it and whatever followed the "70" doesn't matter, you're good.

But in German, oy, they say their numbers differently. 79 is not seventy-nine. They say, "nine and seventy." So, if all I hear is the "9", I'm in trouble, it could be 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, etc. So, I try, but they talk so fast that I'm really best if I can see the total. I'm hoping to get better at hearing the numbers, it would help me greatly.

After returning back to the apartment, I took a long rest (that was a long-hot errand, I needed to cool down!)

The kids and I decided we'd try to recreate one of our favourite recipes from home (Chris won't be home until after dinner tonight). So, Venice agreed to accompany me to the market to buy the ingredients among other things (like nail polish) we've been wanting.

While, I'm getting better at knowing where some things are, others are still a hunt for us. I spent 10 minutes looking for cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. I found the baking powder and soda, but only in small, single-use packages (maybe a tablespoon per package). I want this for recipes where I need 1/4 cup or more. It just seems like crazy packaging to be able to use 1/4 of baking soda. I'll keep looking, but do they not use that here? How do they make cookies or keep their refrigerator smelling fresh? Who would have guessed I should have brought my box of Arm&Hammer?

As for the cornstarch, well, I found a translation (on my phone) and it called it corn flour. I thought this was weird, but when I found corn flour and felt the package, it felt "right" for cornstarch, so we bought it. Get it home, and duh, it's corn flour. So now I have no cornstarch and am now looking up corn muffin recipes (which, by the way, will use up one of my packets of baking powder, ugh). And, side note, the stroganoff turned out to be much soupier than at home, I really could have used the cornstarch then!

At the meat counter, I knew I wanted about 500kg of ground beef. BUT, I got flustered and couldn't remember four from five and then couldn't remember if it was kg or g. So after thinking really fast (but felt like it took forever for my brain to think of it) I blurted, "fünfhundert (5 hundred)" and then just skipped the grams/kilograms part. The butcher is smart, he knows what I need. Phew. They always trip me up asking another question, and when I look at them blankly, they switch to English, "Do you have a member card?" No, I wonder what that would get me and what's involved in getting a member card, but for now, I just want the meat.

Sour cream!!!!

Sour cream. Dang it. I knew where the crème fraîche was, remember, I asked and it was right in front of the lady restocking it? Well, I stood for another 5 minutes in front of that area and COULD NOT FIND IT! No where. I found other items (cheese curds are very popular here) but not the damn crème fraîche. Guess what? They moved it! Just to trick me and make me go crazy. It was in the open cooling-shelf versus the closed-doored refrigerator area. And while we were there, deciding which one to get... I found REAL SOUR CREAM!!!! Yay! So, I bought that instead. OMG, where will it be next time?


We were finally done and ready to head back home with our goods. Well, the rain came early AND the market "browsing" took longer than I planned, so we had to run home in the pouring rain (no light sprinkle!), unprepared, without jackets or umbrellas, with glass items in my backpack.

Both Venice and I were wearing skirts (it was hot today!) so, feeling a little silly running home in sandals and skirts. I guess, one time it's ok to be hot, so as not to be miserably wet and cold.

 We tried to hurry home, not just because of the rain, but because there was thunder and lightning. Xander does NOT like the crack or rolling of the thunder (and we're sure getting our fair share of it on our trips!)

Side note: Did I mention we've been using Skype to communicate with the kids while we are out and they are at home? Their iPods can use the wifi and they can send us messages via Skype. We can send messages back. So here's one I got, from Xander, while out at the market.

Dinner was nice and cozy with the rain in the background. Just like home. Rain. Stroganoff (which came close even with the crazy different ingredients). 

Day 19: The Lazy Day, or Not? (venice)

Today was supposed to be a lazy day… Xander and I started the day off by playing on our Minecraft server (this is a video game that is roughly comparable to legos), Glass Matrix. Then when mom got back from walking dad to work we made pancake crepes. I call them this because they were made from pancake batter but we had not bakings soda so they turned into crepes. After that we just sat around, doing whatever we felt like, which was of course more electronics. At the time it was stifling hot, so we didn’t feel like leaving the apartment to do, well, anything. 

At some point I got hungry, so I suggested we try a vegetarian noodle place just below our apartment. But again, it was so hot that soup sounded unpleasant. so we went to a place called Ha-an Sushi instead. Xander and I shared 3 roles. The Tiger role, the Dragon roll, and the Ha-an extreme. The Tiger role had fried shrimp on the inside, as well as cream cheese and cucumber, and salmon wrapped around the outside. The Dragon roll was the same as the Tiger role, but instead of salmon on the outside it had eel. The third was the Ha-an extreme. This role had shrimp, cream cheese, green onion, cucumber, and avocado. and on the outside it had tuna and salmon. Mom got the spicy tiger roll with tuna, green onions, and more. Then Xander and I walked home as mom went out to get kitchen supplies. 

When mom got home we hung around (you guessed it, more electronics time) and finally at 17 o-clock (5pm) mom and I went to the store. We got ingredients for stroganoff and we also got nail polish. As we walked through the store, we had to get creative. We had to use powdered cream of mushroom soup or creamy vegetables as a substitute for the cream of chicken we get at home. We also took FOREVER to find the sour cream. Mom was afraid to ask for it because last time it was right in front of the lady who she asked and so she got a funny look. We also got baking powder and baking soda, but they came in super small packets, you had to buy like 20 to make half a cup. 

What I think I looked like
running on the sidewalk.

As we walked down to the checkout we saw it. The rain. It was pouring down everywhere! We Skyped Xander to close the windows, and it turns out he was even smarter than us and he realised to do it long before we did! Then we walked out of the store and started to run. As we ran I saw lightning. We got to the garage of the apartment and saw someone was smoking on our doorstep. Part of me wanted to tell him to get the heck off our porch and take his cigarette somewhere else, but the polite part of me refrained, (side note, I would not have said get the heck out, I would have a different word, but this blog is not the right place to write it… :) 

As we walked into the apartment, I got out of my wet clothes and into dry ones. Mom started to cook and Xander and I sat on the couch and cuddled under a warm blanket. Then mom called us to the kitchen. As we ate the stroganoff it tasted so much like home. The only difference was that this time the sauce was more of a soup, but who cares? It tasted delicious!

After that, dad came home and we all went to bed. The end to a not so lazy day.. (but really, we were super lazy)

Day 3: Sweat Boxes and Rain

OMG! I SLEPT IN!
First, I woke up around 4:30 and had some wicked insomnia. I was committed to getting back to sleep. I don't know how long it took me, but I did see the sky lightening and worried I was up for the day. However, next thing I know, I hear Chris around the corner and I ask what time it is... 10am! Wow. Nice to get all that sleep, and I definitely slept like a log once I fell back asleep. The bad news is I woke up on my back funny which led to my arms feeling numb and I definitely had an "off" feeling all morning, just feeling disorientated. I'm ready for jet lag to be over! Good news, we have to get up at 7 am tomorrow, so there's that. Not sure that information is pertinent, but just when we're sleeping in a little, we have to wake up to an alarm. More Murphy's Law.

Chris had gotten up and gone for a run. Great for him and his state of mind. Great for us as he did a lot of reconnaissance. He found the closer ATM, directions to some main areas, and just got a better feel for where we're located. He schooled me with a map in front to help pass along his discoveries.

TAXIs and THE 100 BUS
Breakfast was late. We sat around and chatted at the table. The we lunched and headed out after 2pm. We decided to ride the 100 Bus, a regular city bus that also doubles as a hop-on, hop-off tour of the city. You buy your bus ticket, get on the 100 bus, take it to a monument, hop-off, check it out, then hop back on and head to the next site.

Chris used a newly downloaded taxi.eu app to call a taxi. A taxi arrived in front of our apartment 6 minutes later. Nice! It was a "dry run" for tomorrow morning when we'll need at taxi at 7 am to take us to the airport. Chris asked the driver if it was easy to get a taxi and the driver said, "Oh yes, in Berlin, easy."

We got the starting point of the 100 Bus line (near the west end of the Tiergarten). Reminded me of Golden Gate Park in SF. I'm guessing it's similar to Central Park in NY, too. Lots of green space, lots of park areas to picnic, lots of walking paths, etc. Located at the other side of the Tiergarten is the aquarium and the zoo. And somewhere near there is where the 100 Bus line begins.

Of course, trying to hydrate, we are drinking a lot. Which means, as soon as the taxi drops us off, Venice and I need a restroom. We didn't see any public-pay toilets, to we went to McDonalds. Sigh. We hadn't set foot into one of these for over 5 years now, but when you gotta go, you gotta go. They had a bathroom with an attendant at the entrance. You tip her and she gives you a paper towel. Perhaps you'd get the towel anyway, but we'll tip, as it's the custom.

Buying bus tickets. (left)  Ducking so I can snap the KFC. (right)

Feeling better (other than using McD's), we got tickets and jumped on the first bus (or Sweat Box, as I like to call it) to come by (they come every 5 minutes.) Yes, we climbed to the top of the double-decker bus to get a better view. Yes it was over 85 F. Yes, it was humid. No there wasn't any air conditioning on the bus. Yes, we melted. No, we did not have a map to understand the route. So, yes, we jumped off the bus was sooner than planned and walked a little farther than expected. But, we got to see more of the Tiergarten than we expected (and more of a sunbathing man than we expected to!)


SIEGESSÄULE

First tourist spot, Siegessäule, The Berliner Victory Column. Three Euros per person. To do it or not to do it? We did it. It was good. It was a LOT of stairs. We thought you could only go to the second floor (thus the ticket debate), but you can actually climb all the way to the top, to just underneath the golden woman at the top.

Xander photographing the Brandenburger Tor from the second floor (right). 

We went in and explored the exhibits on the main floor, then climbed to the second floor viewing area. We thought this was it. Nope! We then climbed the 285 steps to the top. The kids made it, but felt more comfortable heading back down to the second floor. Chris and I stayed at the top, circled it once, took a few photos, and then headed back down to meet the kids. Going down was much easier, but faster and more dizzifying.


REICHSTAG
Next stop was the Reichstag. But first, another sweat box ride on the 100 Bus. When we got to the bus stop, we realised Xander had misplaced his ticket. We let the first bus go by, it was too crowded. The second bus came and Chris asked the driver if he spoke English (he didn't), so we tried to say we lost the ticket, and wanted to buy another one. Chris showed him his receipt. Just blank stares or shoulder shrugs, so we got back off. Third bus, was right behind the second bus so it just drove by (darn it, maybe that bus driver spoke English!). But then we remembered our friends saying that they don't check tickets. You just want a ticket in case they check. So, we decided to just get on and pretend we had a fourth ticket. Boom. Done. No problem. And side note: Chris had showed his receipt to the Siegessäule and not his receipt from buying bus tickets. Perhaps that's why the bus driver was shrugging?

Anyway, phew, we made it to the Reichstag building.  Just in time for some lightening to start! Still, it was a very crowded place, everyone taking photos. VERY tourist filled. Took our own pictures and selfies, then a few drinks to hydrate. Then, we headed down the street to the next spot.


BRANDENBURGER TOR

Next tourist spot was the Brandenburger Tor. Lots of photos here. More selfies (we saw many people with selfie sticks. maybe we were a little jealous.) The embassies are located here, on the East side. We found the USA embassy. I did have a fantasy of running up to the building and yelling for amnesty, or help, or whatever it is you yell when you're running from the enemy and want help from your consulate. I just took a photo instead.


DU DU
At long last, Du Du, the sushi restaurant we've been dreaming about since Chris came home and told us about it. Du Du did not disappoint. Great food. Not quite normal sushi, but mostly in presentation (lots of food on top of the sushi instead of all rolled up inside.) Very tasty. Everyone left happy.

I did make a language blunder (not too bad) with the server. She asked if we liked the food, and I said, "schlecht", which means poor, bad. We're saying it all day, "Mein deutsch is sehr schlecht." Doh! I paused after she reminded me that it means bad, and I said, "Oh, no... schmeckt gut!" which means to taste good. Sigh. Xander kindly reminded me that this is one of my Bingo squares (to make an embarrassing blunder in German and survive!) Done!

Until we got outside and it was pouring down rain. A short debate of run for it, or take a taxi. Run for it. Or taxi. Well, we ran for it, for about 50 feet and then said, "TAXI!" We were drenched in a matter of 100 ft it took to get into the taxi. Once home, we were treated to a lot more thunder and lightning. One clapped super loud behind our apartment and made us all jump. Yikes!

FIGHTING THE MACHINES
We are the first renters here, so we're getting to discover all the fun intricacies here in the apartment. For example, the first time we ran the dishwasher, we ran it on ECO mode. Sounds good. However, it's a 2.5 hr cycle. I'm not sure how eco friendly that is. And, at some point during the cycle, the machine stopped and gave an error, "open faucet". Poked around, fiddled under the sink, and checked an on-line manual. The manual said to open the faucet and rerun the cycle, if the error comes up again, call the manufacturer! So, we tried turning the cold water valve under the sink, the error went away and ran it again. This time it was a success!

However, after unloading the dishwasher, there was another error. This one said to, "add dish salt." What? Back to the on-line manual. I guess you add dish salt to soften hard water to avoid calcium deposits. So, the dishwasher is out of commission until we get buy some dish salt. And, as you know, stores are closed on Sundays, so we'll wait until next week to get this (we're heading out tomorrow for a week.) Hand washing for now!

The refrigerator is the largest door.
Below it is the freezer

We are trying the washer-dryer for the first time tonight. Washing seemed easy. We are late into the evening, so we're just doing a quick wash. We're not dirty, just sweaty, right? But when trying to do the dryer, the display kept saying those programs weren't possible. After Googling the translations to be better than our best guesses, we decided it said to turn off the machine and back on. Done. Now we can pick a dryer setting.

As our friends, who lived here for 6 months warned us, it was very confusing. What setting do you try? The translations were permanent press and fluff dry, but fluff dry turned out to be something like steam press, so we obviously translated wrong there. And the "warm air" kept translating into "hot", but we chose that anyway. Only 30 minutes. After 60 minutes on hot air (plus a side step for the accidental steam), and the clothes were still damp, I gave up. They are now hanging to dry throughout our room. Onto the second load and trying to dry for 60 hot minutes. We'll see. It doesn't just dry, it sounds different at different times and I don't know what it's doing...

So far, we like our refrigerator, it's small, but works well.

The new Nespresso machine works great, too. Maybe too well. It's so easy. Might over do it on caffeine now.


PACKED
We're packed and ready for tomorrow's early trip to Venice, Italy! We're going dark for the week. We're not taking any laptops, so no updates for a few days. We may figure something else out, but until we're back, Auf Wiedersehen!