Deutsches Technikmuseum

On Sunday we hopped a train or two and ended up at the well reviewed Deutsches Technikmuseum.  Apparently this museum was around back when Marty used to come to Berlin to visit his grandparents and had always wanted to go.  I don't think he ever came as a child and was thrilled to be able to bring our kids here.

It really was a pretty cool museum with enormous old trains, plains, machines and other new and old technology.
The kids have impressed me with their museum interest

and engagement.  We have been to many museums since we arrived and they are always much more interested in it all than I would have originally thought. The museums here are also very reasonably priced and they often have a family ticket.  I believe this is a cultural thing, a societal thing - to value information and education and make it accessible to the general public in a way that education and museums are not accessible to the average in Seattle.
After the museum we went to our old/new favorite Italian place by the hotel that we used to stay in when we visited Berlin in the summers.  It has super good food at super cheap prices.

We get 2 pizzas (about the size of an American medium on very thin crust) a salad, a pasta bolognese, Benjamin gets a kid's schnitzel and fries which is definitely adult sized.  And all of that for 20 Euro.  Marty and I are both so cheap that we do believe the food is truly good but the price makes it taste even better.  We remember sitting at this restaurant outdoors in the summer.  Obviously, there is no outdoor seating  now but we will be back in the Spring or Summer and sit outside.
Fun filled family Sunday in Berlin.

Popping Teeth

The kids have each lost 2 teeth each since arriving.  Both of them have lost one of those two teeth while at school.
It is funny how different they look when their adult teeth come in.  Especially Benjamin since his are right in the front.  Josie wouldn't allow a photo.

The tooth fairy here puts the money in a cup by the kitchen table.  Strange, right?  It must have been hard for the tooth fairy to remember to put it under their pillow and she likely just rushed to put it in the cup before the kids noticed.  The tooth fairy here has a LOT on her mind. 😉

Signs of Spring

As we were walking Benjamin and his good friend and brother home from school we noticed the crocus coming up.  They were few and far between but they were a nice, colorful sign that Spring is, in fact, coming!

I have to say, it is strange given that Berlin is a bit colder than Seattle but I haven't LOONNGGED for Spring here the way I long for it at home.  Perhaps that is just because everything is new here still in the sense that we haven't lived through a full year and four full seasons.  So maybe it is still just the newness of it all or maybe it is that I know our year here is coming to an end and with each passing day our year here getting closer to ending

and I honestly don't feel ready to leave.  Even in 4 or 5 months I just don't think I will be ready.  So I'm relishing in the present in ways I haven't really before.  Even the present which consist of cold, wet, dark winters of Berlin.  But even in the winter, life is still really pretty good here for us.  The balance we have found here is unique and better.  The quantity and quality of family time here are both much greater than when we were in Seattle.  And I guess the key will be how to take what we have learned here and carry it with us whether we are here in Berlin or back in Seattle.
But for today, I'm thankful for the signs of Spring and hopes of brighter, longer and warmer days on the horizon.

German Directness

There are many ways you could describe the (stereo)typical German.  Efficient is one.  Direct is another.  This direct quality is one I am familiar with as Marty is quite direct and always has been.  You never have to wonder what he is thinking.  He will tell you exactly how he feels, his ups and downs, his opinions about just about anything and everything.  If he says something, he means it.  Although at first it was a bit surprising as my family was not direct and did just about anything to avoid conflict. The difference between Marty and most Germans here is that he does this mostly with people he knows very well. 
Germans here will tell you straight up what is on their minds.  The other day we were at the grocery store.  There was a man behind us in line that put about a dozen cigarette cartons on the conveyor belt.  I noticed this and was quite shocked by the quantity so I did what most non Germans would do and leaned over and quietly whispered to Marty "Wow!  Look at all those cigarettes that guy is buying!"  But not 2 seconds later the older woman in line behind the cigarette buying man just loudly said directly to him "What? Are you on a mission to kill yourself!?"  The man, very nonchalantly, answered back "I'm on a mission but not to kill myself"  They both kind of shrugged and smiled and both proceeded to pay for their "groceries" and go on about their day.
Ha!  I'm not sure I've seen that level of directness in the States.

Josie the Social Butterfly

If you are wondering why you don't see Josie more on the blog, well... we don't see her much these days either (and she HATES getting her picture taken these days)!  Ever since swimming ended her social calendar exploded.  She used to have swimming practice 3 times per week after school.  And with the bus ride to and there and waiting for the bus and showering and changing after practice it turned the one hour practice into a nearly 3 hour time commitment after school.  Then she still had to do her homework.  She really loved the swimming part but she didn't like it cutting into her social time.  I get it, I was a lot like her once.

She now gets together with friends or they come here nearly every day of the week.  Including the weekends.  Again, I remember doing the same thing and I think I was in 5th grade when I was allowed to walk by myself to my best friends at the time, Sandy and Heather.  And they probably lived a similar distance away from one of Josie's friends here but the others she can easily access by bus or train.  That part of living here really is very cool.  I wonder if she will use the Metro buses in Seattle once we return to get around West Seattle.  Thankfully her best friend in Seattle lives an easily walkable distance away. 

She is still her jovial, helpful, studious self but with an extra dose of pre-teen hormones that rise and fall like the tides.  Oh, boy... these teens years are going to be interesting for sure.  But one thing that Marty and I say over and over about her is that she is truly good to the core.  She is never malicious and she is very quick to apologize even after one of her hormonal outbursts.  She is very truly a good egg!!

Benjamin the Reader

Benjamin has seriously blown us away with how he has taken to reading this year.  He has enjoyed reading books and in particular, being read to but these past few months he has really taken off.
Marty had read to him the entire first Percy Jackson Series (think Harry Potter mixed with Greek Gods instead of witches) It was 5 large, 500 page books.  Marty started the second 5 book series and when they were halfway through the second book Benjamin just couldn't wait to find out what happened so he

You know it is a good book when he chooses book over iPad!!

started reading to himself. 

He then went on to finish the second book in the series and then the next three, 500+ page books on his own averaging about 2 weeks per book!!  Seriously amazing!
He laughs with his book and gets surprised by his book and tells us some of the details of his book.  He is really really enjoying it.  It is super that Marty built up the scaffolding for him to really soar.  Since the bulk of the characters and the themes continue through each book in the series he had a very strong foundation to be a solo reader.  He just recently started the third series by the same author and it is a bit different than the first two series so it will be interesting if he takes to these books as well.

Here is to our little reader!!!

Dentist Appointments

They had the kids use this purple
color thing.  The darker the color
the more plague they have on
their teeth.  This looked bad
to me but the hygienist said
just the very dark purple was not
so good. 

We found a super good dentist right here in our small little area of Zehlendorf.  They are mostly a children's dentistry but they said Marty and I could go there too.  Over the course of several weeks we each had a couple of appointments.  One each to see the dentist.  Then another appointment for a different day to each get our teeth cleaned and then Benjamin had to go back to get sealants and Marty and I had to go back to get some of our gum recession dealt with.  They prescribed each of us some gel, a mouthwash and some other topical treatment.  Marty and I were to use these treatments and then return a few weeks later to see if they worked.  Needless to say, we spent a lot of time at the dentist in the past 6 weeks.

They were all so super kind though, it made it almost not painful at all.  The kids loved it.  It was funny because they really were quite frank with the kids and asked why they didn't brush their teeth EVERY morning and only made sure to do it every night.  They wanted to know WHY they didn't always floss?  The dental hygienist that Benjamin had was so sweet with him.  She spoke perfect English with a British accent and she wanted to know why he didn't brush his teeth in the morning as well as at night?  "Do you not have time? Do you think your teeth are not important?  Do you think it doesn't help keep your teeth healthy?"  Normally a German would say this in a scolding way but she was seriously so curious.  And an American would have treated him like a child who isn't in charge of his own teeth. 

Benjamin was a bit smitten with her and looked wided eyed and said "I don't really know, I'm just always in a hurry in the morning"
When Marty and I went in for our teeth cleaning it took ONE HOUR AND 20 MINUTES. EACH.  I have never had anyone take that much time cleaning my teeth.  I really despise going to the dentist.  I have a phobia of dentist.  I have sensitive teeth and gum and it is typically painful for me.  On top of that one side of my mouth does not numb at all (Root canal with no numbing and finally the dentist had to shoot novacane right into the nerve.  Yeah - OUCH!) but even though it took forever and several appointments my teeth have never felt cleaner.  We all go back in 6 months.
The kids were covered 100%.  Not one penny out of pocket.  We have yet to get our bill but if it is anything like the rest of the healthcare here it will be nothing compared to how much dental care costs in the States.

Sun's Out

I always thought that we Seattlites really embraced the sun when it comes out, particularly in the winter.  Well, Seattle you've got to up your game.  I've really never seen anyone embrace the sun and their outside space the way Berliners do. 

The other day the sun was out, the temps were barely above freezing and nearly every cafe or restaurant with outdoor seating (which is the majority here) had their seats filled with people happily wrapped up in blankets or just in their coats soaking in the vitamin D. They

don't do outdoor heaters here but rather have fleece blankets to wrap up in. 
Sun, sun, beautiful sun.  Hoping soon to sit outside without a coat or a blanket.  Spring is right around the corner, right?

Sweet Valentines

In addition to our sweet family Valentine's Day cookies, pizzas and cards we also received a couple very delightful Valentine wishes from home.
Grandma and Papa sent the kids a card and some cash as per their usual for Valentine's day.  Again, getting mail here is pretty cool because we never expect it.

And once again, my friend Lori sent me a sweet letter along with a chocolate Dove bar!!  SO SO nice. 

Thank you Mom, Dad, Lori and Steve!!!!
xoxo from all of us in Berlin

Happy Valentine's Day

For as long as I can remember I have made homemade pizzas on Valentine's Day.  I know the tradition dates back to when Josie was a baby but I believe it goes back to our first or second Valentine's Day together.  I'm not sure where the tradition came from but I had my favorite pizza dough recipe (and don't think I ever copped out and bought the store bought variety)  I had the yeast and the oil and the flour and as each child came the recipe doubled.

And as the children came we also had the tradition of making heart shaped, sugar cookies in the shapes of hearts and frosted pink or red.  My sister Kim always did this with her kids and I'm pretty sure as I started she stopped because her kids had gotten too big.

Well, it was Valentine's Day here in Berlin and I knew I didn't have my Kitchen Aid here, nor my dough hooks and I didn't want to mess with the Back Pulver - which is supposed to be baking powder but isn't really.  And I knew dealing with yeast here with my limited knowledge of German and my limited kitchen tools and my limited time, really now that I'm in class all day was going to prove problematic.

Luckily Marty and I spied these little bad boys at my favorite after school drop off/before German class hang out - Lidl, the cheap, discount grocery store. And it was as if they were calling my name, they were even on sale for 1.15 Euro per pizza.  Score.

The kids both had friends over on Valentine's day so they helped with our cookies.  Unfortunately, I could not find heart shaped cookie cutters anywhere!!  But things had already been set up for Easter so we opted for "Spring/Valentine's cookies" in the shapes of butterflies, eggs, rabbits and tulips.  The cookies are really just a vehicle for the frosting anyway, right?  Also, no rolling pin, but my large Hydro flask worked pretty well.

Josie helped me with the pizzas.  The boxed package came with a rolled up dough and a small jar of sauce.  That was it.  Thankfully Marty

alerted me to the fact that nothing else came in the package.  so I bought toppings.  I would have just assumed that at least there was cheese in there.  He was familiar with this type of mix because apparently back in the 70's Chef Boyardee put out a similar item.  His dad, being frugal, always bought the boxed pizza with JUST sauce, not the more expensive one with cheese as well.  It wasn't until Marty was in middle school did he know that pizza typically comes with cheese and toppings. 

So, in honor of his nostalgia and love for just sauce on his pizza I make him a huge helping of just sauce pizza.  Have been doing it since this tradition started.

It was a lovely Valentine's Day complete with heartfelt, homemade cards.  Happy Valentine's Day from Berlin!!!

And because I couldn't help it.  I had a look back at a few previous Valentines days.  Traditions are good!!😊

End of Winter Break Fun

To celebrate (again) the end of our staycation we decided to surprise the kids with a couple of fun outings on the last Saturday of break.  Josie has been wanting to go to the Berlin Jump house for months and it is no where near our house so we kept dragging our feet.  Saturday was the day!  We packed up and heading on the bus to the train to a bus to the Jump House. 

The long journey (about an hour and 15 minutes)was definitely worth.  The kids jumped and jumped and jumped and sweated and jumped.  They had so much fun!!
At the end of the their jumping we told them we had another surprise for them.  Josie then said "Well, I don't know what it is but it could NEVER be better than this!!"  It is always nice for things like this to be appreciated. 

We jumped on the bus again and after a quick lunch headed toward Potsdamer P

latz.  We had yet to go to the movie theater here to see a movie.  We've been meaning to go we just haven't.  When I heard that the movie Wonder was playing here in English I knew this should be our first English movie in Berlin.  I had read the book a couple of years ago to the kids over a few week period before they went to bed each night.  We all loved the book and they were actually BOTH (it is always hard to please both at the same time) thrilled to get to see the movie. 

What thrilled them more was that there was some family pass that for just 2 or 3 Euro more you got snacks.  Like 3 huge bags of popcorn, large drinks for all and some other candy.  At this point I think the kids would have been fine to just eat the snacks.  They informed me that this was only the second time they actually had theater snacks at a movie. The other time was with Liz and Ed.  Normally I sneak in a bag or two of popcorn and a bottle water. 

Oh, they are so deprived😆
We all LOVED the movie.  Of course the book is always better as was true with this but the movie was so sweet and so good.  I think Marty I cried from the opening scene to the final scene. 
After the movie we headed back to our neck of the woods and tried out a new (to us) Greek

restaurant.  Ever since have such delicious food in Athens we have been wanting to eat Greek again.  This place was just OK.  We will likely go back but we are still in search of real, authentic Greek.  I have a friend who lives more in the center and they say they have a great Greek restaurant near them.  Hopefully we can join up with them there soon.

All in all, a really super fun day with the kids.  And to top it off they were overly appreciative of everything.
OK, I would still have loved to travel somewhere else but I have to admit this break week ranks in the tops of school vacations.