Day 93: A Rainy Day

The morning after Paris.

We woke up later in the morning than we planned. I gave Venice some medicine and worked on the blog, while Xander created animation sequences on the computer and Chris slept a bit longer. By the time we were dressed and fed, it was time to get going on our final things to do and see for the day.

Chris and I walked back to the walk-in clinic to get a refill for Venice's medicine. I had lost the receipt (and my mind) but it's all ok. They just look her up by the bottle we bring in and her last name. Refilling will be done. However, because it's a mixture that needs to be refrigerated, they give us the medicine in powder form, asking us to add 18ml of water when ready to mix. But what is 18ml? How does one measure this when traveling? They, brilliantly, measure out 18 ml of water (tap water, I might add) into an extra bottle so we know exactly how much to mix.

We stop in the market on the way home and pick up a few more items to tantalise Venice into eating, like pudding! And we walk home in the off-and-on drizzle.

We have a few things we'd like to do on our last day, here in London. Mainly to see the Borough Market, The Tower Bridge, The London Tower, and the London Eye. It's doable, and we set out, after a quick snack.

To maximise our time, we call an Uber car to get us to the Borough Market. We can take the Tube, but Venice has decided to rally and come with us. She's moving very slowly, taking someone's arm for most of her walking efforts. We figure, we can save time and her energy if we take an Uber car to our first destination.

Our Uber car arrives, while Chris is having the front desk print out our pre-purchased London Eye tickets. So, we wait for a bit in the car. Then we're off... or are we? As we head towards the river, traffic gets thick. Our driver comments how certain streets are closed off. Oh, and that one's closed too. Hmm, so's that one. We are basically stuck with a 100 other cars that didn't know half the streets are closed (construction?). Finally, it seems we get past the construction only to find more closed off streets, for "no one knows why". Our driver says they weren't closed this morning when he was here earlier. So, why? I wonder, out loud, if the queen went by or something. He did say there was a motorcade. I wonder if it's related to Paris. At this point, Chris mentions one of the festivals was cancelled (or postponed) due to the events in Paris. In the end, we still don't know why all these roads were closed.

In the meantime, it's raining, so we can't really have the windows open too much. The driver keeps it very warm in there. It's a bit uncomfortable in there. Venice actually takes a few cat naps, her body is so tired. I keep turning on Google Maps and watching where we're going, constantly wondering where the heck we ARE going as it seems we are only getting farther away from our destination.

After an HOUR of this, we finally decide to get out of the dang Uber and just take the Tube, thinking we should have done that in the first place. What a waste of an hour and ££. Bright side? Venice got more sleep?

So, we take the Tube to the Borough Market, which means we have to walk a little bit, because you can only get so close. It's not a big deal, this is how it's been our entire trip, however, when someone is sick and moving slowly AND it's raining... it can kind of suck (thus our attempt at using an Uber car). We walk slowly in the rain towards our destination.

The Tower Bridge (left), Venice in front of a City of London sign (right). 

We walk across the London Bridge and catch a rainy glimpse of the Tower Bridge. I liken my experience to when I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Something I have seen over and over before, but seeing it in person, surprisingly, took my breath away. It was really beautiful (and real!) in the rain. Sparkling in the distance (even though my photos make it look dark and dingy).

Venice and me on the London Bridge (left)
Chris and Xander on the London Bridge with the Shard in the background (right)

We don't linger on the London Bridge, due to the rain. We push on towards the Borough Market. I didn't know much about this market, other than several people have suggested we go and check it out, that it's a cool place to go. Turns out, it's also similar to Pike's Market in Seattle (someone else said this). It's an open air market under the aboveground railways. There are tons of food cards, craft stalls, and lots of "hanging out" spots.

The Borough Market

However, due to today's rain, there are a lot of empty-wet tables and people are all crowding into the areas that are covered. Trying not to poke anyone with an umbrella or ducking around with jacket hoods pulled over our heads, we don't get to enjoy the atmosphere as much as if we had come on a dryer day. Our tour of the area is quick and then we're ready to settle in for lunch (it's also very late due to our traffic snafu).

The fish! restaurant. Xander ready to dig in (left),
rain on the roof (middle), the food prep area (right)

By the time we sit down to order, it's 2:51pm. Sigh. We have to reassess what we can do in the next few hours. The Tower Bridge closes at 5pm, London Tower at 4:30pm, and we have purchased open tickets for the London Eye. We do not think we can eat and arrive in time for the Tower Bridge or London Tower, so we are conceding those. We already have tickets to the London Eye so that is what we'll do after we eat.

Venice mostly hangs out as company with us, as food is still unappetising to her. Chris, Xander, and I all order fish and chips (on my Bingo list!) along with mushy peas (they're not good... only the mushy peas in Prague have been good, and those were amazing!) Xander ordered cod, Chris ordered halibut, and I ordered haddock. The food is large and we stuff ourselves with the yummy food, tasting each other's choice of fish.

Someone suggested we try a coffee place in the Borough Market, so we went to get a cup before we headed to the London Eye. As we walked through the market, we walked through a tunnel-hallway. One entire side of the hallway was painted with blackboard paint and had the permanent words, "Before I die, I want to". There were several pieces of chalk on the ground ready for anyone to add to the wall what they wanted to do. I love this concept! What fun! We almost didn't walk this way and I'm glad we did. There were several others there as we approached, writing their own words. The kids joined. Venice wrote, "Make a homeless shelter" and Xander signs his name. There is one prominent writing that says, "Pray for Paris".

Public Chalkboard

The coffee was a fun establishment, completely open on one side of the store. It was definitely crowded and we had to wait in the queue. The kids waited outside. We sipped our caffeine goodness and were ready to head to the London Eye.

We slowly made our way back to the Tube, passing the Waterloo station again. Cool! Next time I'd like to go in and look around. It is one of the 15th busiest terminals in Europe and is huge inside. Lots of movies have been filmed here, etc. Next time!

A wall and doors before getting into the train. You still must mind the gap,
but I guess it keeps you from falling onto the tracks when there is no train there.

When we arrive at the London Eye, we figure out the line to enter. Since we purchased Flexi tickets ahead of time, we get to go into the shorter line. The regular line doesn't seem to be too long. Each capsule holds about 25 people, so it moves pretty quickly. However, seeing as Venice isn't 100%, it's completely worth our Flexi tickets so that we can get into the shorter line and we walk right onto the next Capsule.

We had read about the London Eye ahead of time. We knew that it rarely stops. The wheel spins slowly (one rotation in about 30 minutes) and is slow enough for people to hop on and hop off at the bottom. I'm not sure we had to hurry as much as we did, but there's definitely a feeling of hurry up and get into the capsule or you'll be left behind or dangling or... They do slow it down or stop it if you are in a wheelchair or less steady on your feet. We all successfully get on (just with a little bit of a thrill thinking we might not make it).

The London Eye lit up in French colours.

View (top), Venice is grateful for a seat (left), Big Ben (middle)
Xander is grateful for the digital view (right)

More French colours. London Eye (left and right), National Theatre (middle)

Big Ben, again (top-left), Venice sitting, again (top-right)
Chris and Venice looking at the view (bottom-left), Xander and I being the view (bottom-middle)
A capsule about to be on the bottom where people will get off (bottom-right)

By the time we get off the London Eye, the regular line is almost gone. I'm surprised. It's a Saturday night, why wouldn't you want to ride the London Eye at night? Seems romantic. Perhaps it's because it's raining? I was impressed that even in the dark and rain, we were able to enjoy the view.

We head home. Venice is super tired by now. We're a little nervous to try another Uber car, so we go home on our own via the Tube. I tried to carry Venice piggy-back, but wow... she's gotten too big. I make it one block and have to give up. We walk slowly, arm-in-arm, instead.

Venice goes straight to bed when we get back. Chris, Xander, and I have a simple dinner at home, eating through some of the food we have left (e.g. pasta, lettuce, deli meats, etc.)

We begin to pack for our trip to Scotland tomorrow. Trying to pack smartly, too. Pack everything into one bag that we won't need to get to at all (until we're back home). Pack other bags with dirty clothes that won't be opened. And the other ones with just the right amount of clothes we need for the rest of the trip. All the while, trying to keep the big bag not too full (so we make the weight limit at the airport). Having shipped so many items, we don't have too much to pack, so it doesn't take too long to get it all gathered up. We are ready.

Good-night, London!

Of course they have a camera on the Eye, ready to take your photo for a price!
We didn't really buy many souvenirs in London, so I splurge on this goofy photo,
taken with complete strangers.

Day 63: Rainy Day 2

It's Chris' turn. He's not feeling 100%. It doesn't help that he's been out late every night this week (with coworkers visiting from the SF office). Talking. Sitting and breathing in smoke filled bars. Sounds like there's a frog in his throat. So, we all sleep in.

We had planned to meet Chris for lunch today. We changed plans a little bit and went to lunch downstairs (and over 3 store fronts). Back to a restaurant I've been to with the kids. Rôu, a Vietnamese Vegetarian restaurant. The kids had their won ton soup (and the owner gave them a funny look for not eating most of their vegetables) and I got the curry Pho soup and it was the best soup EVER. So, it's great to finally bring Chris here. And it's so close, so perfect for today.

There was a bit of an ordering snafu. The kids ordered appetisers (thus avoiding the embarrassing vegetables) and Chris and I ordered the same curry Pho. However, the owner thought we were ordering the same exact Pho, that is, sharing one single soup, instead of getting two of the same kind. So all of our food came... except a second soup. We flagged him over and ordered another one, after waiting a while to confirm we were only getting the one soup. The second soup was late. Chris, gallantly, gave me the first soup. I'm happy to say, that after all that waiting, Chris agreed. It was the best damn soup EVER. The flavours are so good. Good salt. Good creaminess. Good umami. Whatever you want to attribute it to... it's just such good flavour. I wish I could learn how to make that broth. Yum.

After licking the bowls empty, Chris went into the office and the kids and I headed to Potsdamer Platz. We didn't really have any goal other than to get out of the apartment. We window shopped. We trinket shopped. We found a few souvenirs.

We also discovered that the second floor of the Arkaden (the mall in Potsdamer Platz) changes its display periodically. When we first visited the Arkaden, there were WWII displays with information about the war. There was a physical car from that era on display. I assumed this was due to the location of Potsdamer Platz and the devastation felt at this location. But, it was only a temporary exhibit.

This time, it was all about flight, "Der Traum vom Fliegen" (The Dream of Flight). There was a an accessible jet engine and a helicopter cockpit. There were interactive stations (of course, all in German, so we couldn't understand a most of it). But the kids had fun exploring around in spite of the language barrier.

The kids having fun flipping through a hand-crank movie depicting a bird in flight (right)

Before leaving, I had promised Venice we'd try the other Bubble Tea place under the Sony Centre. I wasn't sure quite how to get back to that location (without going up to the ground level, finding the exit and then going back down underground). But Venice remembered how to get there all underground, so she led the way.

On the way there (or slightly before), we stepped outside to see a few lights that were turning on for the Festival of Lights. We were here the other night (just down the street to see the House of Cards), but this was a slightly different view. It wasn't quite dark, so the lights weren't as dramatic, but still pretty nonetheless.

Not a Buddy Bear, but a lighted bear and just as cute.
Venice caught a "big one" or did the Bear catch a "big one"?
Xander gives a high five to his new friend. 

Just a few of the pretty colours.

A quick look and then back inside and underground where it's not too cold.

Unfortunately, when we got to the Bubble Tea stand, we were told they were all out and weren't expecting anymore until next weekend! To drown Venice's sorrows, the kids got slushies, along with brain freezes, instead.

FYI - The colours of the slushies matched the colour theme of Venice's hair and jacket. It was meant to be.

Now that the kids have slushies to make them feel better in the cold (what?), we head home on the tram (but hiding the drinks as they are not allowed on public transportation). We took a 12 back home and rode at the back. Usually there are seats filling this area, but on this particular tram, there is standing room only. So, we get to stand and watch the cars in the rain behind us.

Tram ride home.
We tried to photograph how empty the tram was,
you could see through the three cars to the front.
Normally, we ride the tram during rush hour and it's crowded.
Not sure why it's so empty today.

Chris is home at a reasonable hour tonight and we enjoy a nice quiet dinner at home.

Day 55: The Reichstag

There are items that you miss only when you really need or want them. I've already mentioned a blender (for all my older fruit... all the missed smoothies...) and maybe a mixer (I've been making muffins and cookies by hand, no electric mixer... brings back a few times in my childhood when we did this). Today, I'm missing my sewing machine. I so rarely use it these days, but today, I miss it. One of my jackets is tearing in the pocket. Good thing I figured it out before my phone or house key slipped through! And, bad me, I know a travel sewing kit should always be on your list... but I didn't bring one. So I will live with my holes for a month and only use the right pocket while ignoring the other holes in the sleeves.

Xander's headphones had broken. We didn't find any in the stores that we were visiting, so we decided to buy them on Amazon.de and have them shipped to Chris' work. Xander has been watching and asking every day... and today, they arrived! On the way to lunch, we went to Chris' work to pick them up (so Xander wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow to use them).

Today, Xander picked our lunch spot... the Chinese restaurant whose cart we patronised at the Reunification celebration. I forgot it was at Alexanderplatz and had us heading towards Hackescher Markt... Again, I got too confident in my navigation skills. Good thing Xander remembered where it was and we corrected our paths and made it there just fine. We got the food for Take Away and headed home to enjoy our food in the comfort of our own dining room.

While the kids were resting, I headed to the market. I'm getting pretty good and knowing where things are now. Finding flour the first time too 20 minutes reading and translating all the different packages. Now, I can find it within 2 minutes. Yay for learning! There are times, when I'm feeling pretty good about myself and my skills that I really yearn to learn German. To be able to hold a conversation. To understand when someone asks me a question. To understand the announcements on public transportation. But then, there are days when I'm feeling tired and I hear a conversation nearby happening at a rapid pace when I think, ugh, it's so hard. I could never reach that level without a crap-ton of practice and time. And Steve Martin's, "It's like those French have a different word for everything," comes to mind, exhausting me at the prospect.

Anyway, subject change. Today's the day we visit the Reichstag. (basically what the building is called) which houses the Bundestag (parliament). This building has a long history and was restored after reunification for the location of the Bundestag of the newly unified Germany. The glass dome at the top, is the only "new" architecture and symbolises transparency of the government for the German people. After reunification, transparency has been extremely important to the German people and seems to be a theme.

The two photos on the left were taken by Venice.
I think I'll take photos of the Brandenburg Gate every time we pass by it. It is a cool landmark.

Chris left from work and we left from home, set to meet at the front of the Reichstag. Admissions are free to this building, again, I think this is part of the transparency theme. The Germans want their government accessible to all. While you do not need to pay to get in (even the audio tour is free), you do need to make an appointment (schedule your visit). They do limit the numbers allowed in the Dome at one time as well as, I think, they check that you aren't a "bad dude." You have to give names, birthdays, etc. of everyone who wants admission and you must show your ID (passport) at the entrance.

Unfortunately, this is something you much plan ahead of time. I saw a few people get turned away as there were only times at the 9pm slot open for the rest of the day, until the next day. And/or people didn't have their passports with them. Glad we found this out ahead of time and I was able to apply online to set our reservation. And P.S. They can cancel at anytime due to parliament being in session or some other event. Good thing our time was not canceled.

Walking from the Brandenburger Tor to the Reichstag.

Side note: The security guard who checked our IDs had a really hard time with Xander's name. I should have said, "Like the fish Zander," but it happened too fast. By the time I was able to assess his light (versus super serious-all-business kind of manner he exuded at first) attitude, we were already through. But he kept saying, "Ks-ander," really pronouncing the "X" (like in the word "axe"). I think he would have appreciated my "fish" reference.

Front of the Reichstag (left)
Memorial in remembrance of the murdered and persecuted
members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic (top-right)
Inside the lobby of the Reichstag (bottom-right).

First the Fernsehturm day was cloudy and and now today. We made it through security and just got to the roof just as the rain (sprinkles) arrived. We walked around the roof first, knowing it would only get darker and wetter. We were able to get some views, but visibility was difficult at times. We did pick this time (right during dinner) so that we could watch the sunset while we were in the Dome. Doh!

Views from the top. EU and German flags (top-left), The Dome (top-middle), "The Population" (top-right)
The Brandenburger Tor (bottom-left), flag (bottom-middle), Family Selfie (bottom--right)

The kids skipped the audio tour, while Chris and I tried to figure the talking-units out. At first, we were worried they didn't work. But, instead, we found out they are magical little boxes. They only work when within the Dome. And, they are triggered by where you're standing. The audio tour guides you to walk up one way, and down another. As you pass by different "triggers", different historical facts are pumped into your ears.

The Dome

At the top of the Dome, there is no ceiling. It is open to the sky. Using creative architecture and science, rain that falls into the Dome is caught and sent down a giant metal silo. Air circulates up and out of the top, helping to regulate the freshness and temperature of the air inside. Mirrors in the middle of the Dome help to reflect the natural light, diminishing the reliance on electrical lights for Parliament.

At the top.
There was a little boy trying to copy Venice and Xander as we waited for him to move,
so we could take a photo without him. But I think the photo with him is cuter :)

Waving to Chris and Xander across the way (left)
Looking down into the "blue" seats for Parliament (right)

On our way home from the Reichstag, you walk through the Brandenburg Gate to get to the Bahn station. We were able to see "them" setting up for the Festival of Lights. So, of course, more photos of the gate in the rain (beautiful) and being lit up (beautiful).

In black and white and in the rain.

Setting up the lights (left) and seeing a bit of it on the gate (right)

Now that it's late, we realise we're all hungry. We head towards home and take a detour at a new restaurant "Supreme Burger," thinking, yummy burger joint... only to find that it's super fancy, high end. We spent more money than we planned, but the food was super delicious. Perhaps our enjoyment had to do with the hunger we had or feeling cozy on a rainy evening. Either way, we went home full, warm, and happy.

Day 28: Teufelsberg

Halfway through my walk to work with Chris, I realised I forgot my Bahn ticket at home. Doh! The problem of going back and forth from a purse, to a backpack, to an exercise pouch, and back again... I left it in "my other purse". I had no Bahn ticket. I am walking home.

I have been interested in visiting Teufelsberg, an artificial hill, an abandoned "listening post", and now the largest display of graffiti (in Berlin or the world... I don't know). I've been waiting for a day when it's not too hot, as there is a 30 min walk up to the hill (so and hour round-trip) and I want cooler weather so we don't bake on the walk.

This morning, I confirmed with Chris that he wouldn't be too sad if we went without him, then I emailed the Teufelsberg "people" that I wanted to come for the 3pm guided tour (it's only an hour versus the historic tour, which is two hours). The website gives information on pricing and times, but then says to email them to register to come. Well, I don't know what that means? I emailed them (as best as I could in German, saying I'm an English speaking family of 3) and never heard back. So, by 2pm, it was clear we wouldn't make the 3pm tour. So I emailed again (this time in English) that we could make the 4pm tour and asked if we just show up or if we need to hear a confirmation? No response.

A little before 3pm, I decided, "What the heck, let's just go for it!" If we get into the tour, great. If not, we'll know more than we do now and have a nice afternoon jaunt under our belts. So, off we went with a little more than an hour to travel (train should only take 30 min and then 30 min of walking), plenty of time!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Grunewald Forest

Well, we took the Bahn to our destination and looked around. There were no clear signs on where to go. But, we are smart enough to see city-life on one side of the tracks and forest-greenery on the other, so we headed towards the forest. The only sign we could see said, "Private land!" Um... but it's the way we're supposed to go. And everyone else is walking through there... I couldn't read the rest of the sign, but it did talk about visitors... so I assumed visitors were welcomed, but I don't know what is expected of us, as I can't read anything else.

I used Google Maps a lot, but I had to save battery-life. So, I'd launch, see where we were, where we wanted to go, and we'd go for 5 minutes and then I'd repeat. I had to do this, because, once you were in the forest, there were a ton of paths and NONE OF THEM ARE MARKED. And, when you look on Google, for better or for worse, there seemed to be many paths you could take. Some paved, some dirt, some for cars (with no sidewalks, so we avoided these).

At one point, I saw the towers up high and indicated that's where we were headed. Venice looked up through the trees and was a bit concerned with how far we were going to have to walk to get there. But remember, the website AND Google Maps said only 30 minutes of walking!

Well, the hour of 4pm drew closer and closer and we still weren't there. I checked my email a few times and no reply from Teufelsberg. So, we just came to the conclusion we weren't going to see the tour but that we could climb the hill and see if we could get any views and/or information.

The abandoned area says, "no," to being developed into luxury apartments,
but says, "yes," to allowing artists to create and display art there.

Most of the hike was flat, until the end, then we climbed the hill. We were 25 minutes late (our walk took 45 minutes). But, hey! There's the gate! And there's some tour-looking people standing in line paying money! AND, the guide said, "Hi, this is by tour only." I asked if there was room. Yes! So, we jumped in line, paid and started the tour along with everyone else (who must have been waiting 30 minutes before starting, suckers!)

A view of the grounds as we entered (top left)
Examples of wall art (middle left, right)
Perhaps a piece done by the artist we saw the other day
painting the "mechanical horse" at Mauerpark? (bottom)

As we began the tour, the guide said, "Today's tour is normally a silent tour, but I will answer questions when ever you have them." The guided tour, is really just that. A guide takes you around the areas, but that's it. If you want talking, you better take the historic tour. Well, this is actually perfect. Because the talking he does do, is 90% in German, so we don't understand much of what he's saying anyway.

We were able to see a lot (but not all, there's so much) of the graffiti artwork. I asked if artists are invited here, of if they just come. I'm not sure I understood his whole answer, but I did understand that the artists have to explain what they plan to paint before they paint it, and (I'm not sure I heard this part right) the old artist has to be ok with his/her art being painted over. I have no idea how long one piece of art is there before it's painted over. I have no idea on a lot of stuff. Do you get the theme? I don't know squat. We are here just to see the graffiti and the views.

The main building seems to be several floors of wide-open concrete layers. A 3-4 floored parking garage, is the best way I can think to describe it. I supposed it could have been office space, but at this point, it's gutted with nothing but concrete floors, no walls, no dividers, etc. Just large opens pace. Then in this space, are 30ft-long by 6ft-high concrete wall sections. It's on these wall sections that the artists paint. Some are on bigger walls, and there are some enclosures (all concrete) that are painted on too. Here are some examples:

This painting took 50 hours to paint, or 15, my German is bad (left)
This boy picking his nose made me laugh (right)

Some of our favourites. Venice (and I do too) likes the one on top.
We all thought "This is a photo opportunity" was funny. Xander likes the "Snake"
I like the colourful building (this was the outside of the building, so it's several stories high)

After seeing a few of the walls "in the building', the guide took us to the roof, via a small, very dark stairway. We were blown away. The views were stunning and we were up close and personal with the empty radar towers. The guide said this was always the case... people are, "cool, nice art," but when they get to the roof, they're, "WOW," with very happy faces. And we were no different.

He gave us 20 minutes to roam around and take photos. The views were magnificent. The empty radar towers were echo-y. The sound of the broken sides (the white-flappy material that "canvasses" the outside) flapping in the wind, sounded like thunder.

Stunning views with forest as far as you could see.

You can see the flapping canvass on the tallest tower (left)
Posing with the forest and another tower behind them (right)

Many views of the empty radar towers.

Inside the empty towers.

One of the doorways to a tower.

A window from an "inside" floor (left)
A doorway-frame on the roof (right)

The kids giggled at the many works of art that included naughty words or sentiments.
This one was very "American" - Fuck Yeah! What you may not be able to see, is the
eagle saying, "Comin' again to save the motherfuckin' day, yeah!" is carrying/letting
go of a golden hand grenade. Fuck yeah, I get the artist's intent.

After enjoying ourselves on the roof, the guide guided us back to an "inside" floor. His English left me confused. I heard him say, "Here's the flat I want to build." And we went to an area in the far corner. He said, "Here's the bathroom, the kitchen, and just imagine how they were sitting here with a big screen TV. And the view is right there!" I think he was saying, "wouldn't this be an awesome place to live?" But some of the subject and verb tenses confused me (as some were "they" and some were in the past)... but I can't imagine after WWII, people were living here with big screen TVs, so it must be that this area was where some lived. But he was thinking it would be awesome to live here now, with modern amenities and this amazing view.

Missing walls on an "inside" floor (left)
Weathered glass on a broken window (middle)
Xander enjoying the view from an "inside" window (right)

Then the tour was over. And now is when the rain begins. I thought I was hearing more "thunder" from the flapping canvas, but Xander said, "No, that's REAL thunder." He was right.

After huddling under an overhang with the rest of the tour folks, in an awkward "ending" (the tour guide never said, "That's it, good-bye!" so we all just hung out for a while), until we realised the tour was done and some were just waiting for the rain to pass. We heard others asking, "Where is the nearest S-Bahn?" We listened to the guide's answer and decided to run for it following those who asked.

The guide said, "20 min" to the nearest S-Bahn. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Not funny! It took us another 45 minutes, damn it! AND, it was raining hard. So hard, that anytime we were under the trees, we were still getting soaked. Puddles appeared. Lightning struck. Thunder clapped. We ran. We laughed. We DIDN'T cry. We trudged on (what other choice was there?)

Beautiful sun-lined clouds (left)
You can't see it, but this is a downpour (middle)
These? These are drowned rats (right)

We took a turn, different from those we were "following", but we thought it was the way we came and thus a good way to go... we were wrong (I was wrong). We ended up on a trail that was less traveled, and thus we did a little weed whacking as we went. I figured, as long as we were going down, we were ok. But we did stop every 2-4 minutes to check our progress on Google Maps (as my phone was getting wetter and wetter... NOTE: iPhone finger touch won't read thumbprints if the fingers are wet!)

It started out warm. But now it was getting colder and colder. I got a text, at one point, from Chris saying he'd be home a little later due to a phone call he had to make. I couldn't even text him back my fingers were frozen, my phone was wet, and we HAD to keep moving to get to somewhere dry.

After many, many, many turns and twists, we saw traffic, lights, civilisation in the far distance (about 5 blocks away) and we cheered! We saw an M Tram go by, we cheered! One way or another, we now knew we'd get home, we didn't care how many transfers we'd have to make!

Xander had directed us (on one of our last Google Map attempts) to a different S Bahn station than the one we arrived on. It looked closer to our current position, so we went for it. When we saw the S Bahn station, we cheered!

We made our way to the platform and saw the others we were "following" and they looked as wet as we felt. I felt good that they must not have been far ahead of us after all, even with our wrong turn.

In the dry of the Bahn, I texted Chris we were on our way!

Peel off the wet clothes. Everybody takes a warm shower. Cozy clothes all around.

When Chris got home (he was dry, dry, dry, I guess 30 minutes west is a very different climate than here). We had dinner and, yay, warm cookies. Now, from the warmth of our apartment, it was possible for us to ENJOY the pouring rain that, finally, made it to the east side of Berlin.

P.S. You'd think I'd have learned by now. Always keep an umbrella in my backpack? I just didn't think it was going to rain. There was a small chance at 7pm, but not a crazy storm at 5pm!

P.P.S. The kids were CHAMPS. They stayed positive through the whole ordeal. Congrats to them!

Day 22: Cooler Weather

Fall has introduced itself and we welcome it.

Chris gave me some positive feedback for walking every morning with him, which was very nice. And why shouldn't I? It gets my day started. Even if I don't want to, I figure, he can't "not go" if he doesn't feel like it. I want to support his work-life since that's the reason we're here.

And coincidentally, today was another day of work for me, for Nagai Photography. Closing in on the last of this project! Yay me!

After lunch, I figured I needed to get the kids out of the house at least once today. My reasons are 1) the kids need to get exercise, 2) the kids need fresh air, and 3) I can't have them tell Chris they did "nothing" all day.

THE basket swing. Venice is lifted off the ground (right).

We decided to try the big park, hoping we'd be earlier than the kids getting out of school. We were. So, the kids utilised this time to spend a lot of time on the big basket swing they've been eyeing since we got here. The basket swing, the other day, was made from scratchy rope. This basket swing is made with lots of little plastic (PVC pipe-like) pieces over the rope, so it rolls and moves, thus making it much more comfortable for the kids to sit in. This one is also a lot bigger in size and swings very high (so high, that when the kids are pushing, they can get lifted off the ground).

Xander brought our new ping-pong paddles and balls. He was all ready for game, set, match! The tables are concrete as are the "nets".

Side note: The breeze was a good competitor as well, making the ball bounce in unexpected patterns.

We did get warm, but nothing like before. I can't say enough how much we are welcoming Fall into our lives.

Xander decided to stay at home, while Venice and I went to explore another market. This market, also just a few blocks from our apartment, but in a different direction, was exciting to explore. It felt more like a Safeway, in that, the aisles "made sense", there were lots more canned/packaged items, and just felt like a regular market. The LPG Bio-Markt that we've been going to, has a more labyrinth of aisles, things are not necessarily where I think they'll be (remember "sour cream-gate"?) So, it felt a little more familiar and it's only 2 blocks from our house, so I may come here more often.

That being said, it also had more "American" foods. Some familiar and some cray-crazy. Venice found Cool Ranch Doritos but they are called, "Cool American". I found an end-cap filled with food "from the land of unlimited opportunities". Included on this shelf were items like Pop Tarts, Jiffy Pop, Swiss Miss (which I think is funny), syrup, and so many different cheeses in squeeze bottles and cans. Yum! Funny stereotypes of our food. I will admit to recognising (and maybe wanting some of it... popcorn!) some of the foods, but many were brands I've never heard of before and didn't recognise (why not Jetpuff marshmallows instead of the random brand they had?)

American end-cap (left), Venice, the Cool American (right)

Exiting the market, we saw evidence that it had rained. Later, Xander informed us it, "dumped for a while!" Good thing we were in the market because, once again, we had no umbrella or jacket. Instead, it was a lovely scented walk back (avoiding puddles) home.

Evidence of the rain (left).
Venice walking on part of the sidewalk that is common here, made with little pieces of stone (middle-left).
A different set of stones for a driveway (middle-right).
Evidence of fall (leaves) coming (right).

Tonight, Chris is home for dinner! Yay, this is the BEST news because it means he's cooking and not me! I worked a bit while he cooked. The kids were able to Skype their friends, Carlie Jo and Joshua (and cousin Teiya a little later). It was a nice ending to the day.

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 7: The Basilica and Views

Pigeons!

The new room is louder. Lots of banging throughout the night. I picture the locals opening and closing their shutters all night long, yelling to their partner through their house. In the morning, it sounded like people were dumping metal pipes onto boats (I think it was the metal doors sliding open of the shops as they opened). AND, the new rooms do NOT have an espresso maker (the old one did). BUT, with two bathrooms, we have twice the toilette paper! Not that we ran out before, but it was close, even with the bidet :)

All our shoes were dry, no more squishing around!

After breakfast we headed to Piazza San Marco with breadsticks in our pockets, ready for the birds. If you are a pigeon advocate, please skip this part (as we are feeding them non-bird food and exploiting them for photos). The birds are crazy. They do tend to be able to smell who has food and who doesn't. If you don't, they mostly fly by, but if you do, they land on your arm, your shoulder, your head. I really wanted one on my head, but they wouldn't land there. They did tend to favour hats over plain heads. Their claws were mostly gentle. But, after a few minutes, our arms were a little irritated and we were out of food, so, perfect timing. It was also time for our tour at the Basilica di San Marco.

Alessandro had encouraged us to buy tickets online. This means you skip the line (which is an average of 45 minutes) and walk right into the Basilica. It cost a little more, but it came with a 60 minute tour. Not too long, for those of us disliking these kinds of tours. What was great about it was all the history our guide shared with us (I never would have read as much as she told us, so it was great to hear it all). The tour also allowed us to go into a side room that only tours are allowed to go into. There are absolutely no photos, videos, selfies (yes, it says this), or camera usage within the Basilica. But, in this side room, they close the doors, turn on the lights and we are allowed to take photos.

Outside wall of the Basilica (left).
BabyKiller in the side room (middle).
Our selfie, in an permitted area, over the tile floor (right).

There is a wall in this side room, where they took away the marble wall to see what was beneath it. But they took it off to roughy and took of half of a mosaic wall that was hidden under the marble. They have tried to restore it, but with the salty air, it is futile. Within just the last 7 years, more of the remaining mosaic has disappeared due to salt. So they have closed this room off and only open it a few times a day for the tours.

In this room, there are several items, including three burials and two baptising "baths". One, big tub, is to baptise adults, and the other (seen in the middle photo) is to baptise babies. However, the artist made the "lid" out of very heavy metal and the four doors (so you can baptise four babies at a time) are too heavy, so VERY unsafe to put a baby in there (so we nicknamed it the BabyKiller, not that any babies died in there, but in our warped need to entertain ourselves, this is what we called it).

Also inside the Basilica, our tour allowed us to go into areas that usually cost a small fee (so we paid for it via our tickets). We got to see the sarcophagus of San Marco, himself, if you believe it. Our guide mentioned that it had the Pope's seal on it, and anything with the Pope's seal is above scrutiny (no scientific tests can be performed). And we saw an amazing gold altar piece, the Pala d'Oro. It was truly amazing with the amount of gold and jewels and attention to details. We enjoyed the story of how the Venetians thwarted Napoleon's attempt to steal it by painting a ulgy-false front that he deemed unworthy of taking, so he left it.

After our tour, we were left within the Basilica to roam around at our leisure. We decided to pay a few extra Euros to see the upper level, which included a wrap-around balcony with amazing views of the Piazza.

As is our pattern, after the Basilica, we headed back to the hotel to rest before lunch. Also, backpacks are forbidden in the Basilica, so we needed to go back to pick that up and fill it with water and other items. Chris wondered if we needed to bring rain jackets again, I said no, I thought the weather was going to be ok the rest of the day (foreshadow alert!)

The Rialto (notice the giant building on the right covered
so you can't see the construction going on below it. the
building on the left is also having this done, but it's a little
harder to see in this photo)

After lunch, we headed to Peggy Guggenheim Collection. On our way, we were able to cross the Ponte dell'Accademia, the southern most bridge to cross the Grand Canal. Wonderful vistas and great photo opportunities. A great way to make up for the Rialto being closed. Side note: You can still cross the Rialto, but all the sides are blocked off, so there is no view off of the bridge, and coming in via water, you only see blocked out shops on the water side. Shops in the middle are open for business, and on one side, there is a 10x30 sqft. area where you can take photos off the bridge, but your view is of construction, not waterside restaurants with colourful awnings as it was in the past.

The Guggenheim Collection was more interested to me than the Biennale. I'm reinforcing that I definitely like old art better than a lot of the more modern art. I'm sure there are more artsy defining words to describe what I do like and don't like, but anyway. I did like seeing actual Picasso and Dali pieces. The visiting collection of the Pollock brothers (mostly Charles was represented, but there were a few pieces from Jackson) was cool to see. My favourite ended up being pieces by Vasily Kandinsky, while Xander enjoyed this piece by Picasso.


After the museum (yay, we made it through two museums and a tour on our trip!), we headed for some gelato (of course!) and then to the part of the island that would give us a panoramic view of Venice, from the Piazza all the way to the end where the Biennale is located. More walking, more gelato. More heat. More photos.

On our way to dinner, we figured we'd cut our walking by half if we could take two traghettos. Yay! But when we got to the first traghetto, it closed at 6pm, it was after 6. Boo!

So, more walking it is. Side note: yesterday was about 7.22 miles, and today is about 7 miles. We are deserving of that gelato!

We enjoyed a very lovely dinner. It was a most relaxed dinner, knowing we had seen so much of what we had wanted to do. Xander was feeling much better. The food was good. The atmosphere (a quiet square) was good.

In the last five minutes of our dining experience, a panicked waiter came running from table to table. He got to ours and talked super fast Italian. We looked at him with blank stares. He paused, realising we didn't understand a word he just said, "The rain! It's coming!" He was handing out table numbers on pieces of paper, asking people to bring all their stuff inside, to transfer themselves inside to finish out their meals. We had already finished, so we just asked, "Il conto per favore!"

Meanwhile, we looked to the skies, and yes, they were dark and foreboding. And yes, lightning started (foreshadow "cashing in").

Xander, not a fan of the lightning or thunder, wanted to race home. So we ran through the streets towards our hotel. Just about the time we got cramps from eating and running, the drops started to fall. We were almost home, but then... we passed a self-serve frozen yogurt shop... remember, moral imperative... doesn't matter that it's yogurt and not gelato... must. stop. to. get. frozen. yogurt.

So we stopped to fill cups of yumminess and that's when it really started to rain. We tried walking under as much cover as possible, but... it was wet and our shoes were squishy again.