Busy Sunday

Juli said we didn't need to bring anything but
Marty remembered to buy flowers for the host
in the train station on our way

We normally don't schedule too much on the weekends but somehow we booked the last weekend in April chock full.  On Sunday we were invited to one of Benjamin's classmates for lunch.  Marty took a parenting class taught but our good friend, Fionnuala, and from that class met a few other JFK parents.  One of which was a very nice woman named Juli who happened to have a son in Benjamin's class.  She invited us over and I have to say it was one of the very first times that Marty planned the entire outing!  I wasn't involved in the back and forth over when and where and what should we bring.  He did it all.  And it was lovely!!  We hopped the train and then a bus and within 30 minutes we arrived at their lovely home near Wannsee.  She served a delicious meal followed by an even better cake!!  She clearly likes to cook and is very good at it.  I have lost my creative cooking while here but she lent me a few of her magazines and I'm feeling inspired again.

The kids played in their yard, the sun was shining and it was actually super warm, we had a tasty bottle of white wine and really relaxed.  I have to say that the Germans have somehow found the balance in working hard and really truly relaxing.  It is something I really want to take away from this experience living here... to really just embrace Sundays or weekends or holidays and truly relax.  I do it so rarely.

Busy Saturday

We started off the weekend a bit early.  On Friday Marty and I picked Benjamin up at 1 and decided to all go out to lunch together.  There aren't many places here (or at least not many that we frequent) that serve burgers.  Living in a house of nearly all vegetarians, Benjamin misses a good burger.  We biked to a place i Zehlendorf that serves a mean burger. He was in heaven!!
And our final Saturday in April began the way nearly ever Saturday has since late November with Benjamin going to soccer practice.  Several weeks ago his best buddy, Clayton, also joined the team which makes it more fun for all of us.
After practice we all walked up to Sixteen Bites (our favorite and really only Mexican restaurant around)

It isn't really anything special and pretty much just like a Chipotle from the US but when you don't have Mexican food, in grocery stores or restaurants, readily available it feels pretty special.   And just because the sun was shining and we were among friends on a sunny Saturday we decided to treat ourselves to ice cream.

After a bit of downtime back home we headed into town,   to meet some fellow Northwesterners for dinner.  Hollis and her family moved to Berlin just a few weeks after us.  She had listened to Marty on the radio and saw through FB that we were headed to Berlin and she reached out.  We met up at the zoo in August and have seen each other a few times since.  We became fast friends but we live so far apart we barely see them, unfortunately.  They live in the center.  Like really IN the center.  Directly across from a Ubahn station and right above a handful of awesome restaurants in a very hip part of town.  We couldn't get over the fact that although we both moved to Berlin around the same time, have had to navigate a new country, language, rules, schools, etc. our experiences are so completely different given that we live so far out of the center in a sleepy little area.  Directly under their apartment was a fantastic Greek restaurant.  We ate dinner and connected over our Berlin experiences in ways that really only someone that in a very similar position could.  They have 3 boys ages 13-8.  The kids walked down to a park while we ate and drank and talked, we then went up to their apartment where the kids played hide and seek and had a ball.  It really is fun to see our kids become friends with others so quickly.  I think, like us, they know that these boys understand the living in a different country, recently having been uprooted from your home and friends. 
Anyway, a very full Saturday for us filled with good friends, great food and connecting and satisfying conversations.  Unfortunately no photos of our time with Hollis and family.  Next time.

Still Celebrating 8

On Benjamin's actual birthday he woke up to gifts from us, cards with money from both sets of grandparents and gifts from Aunt Liz and Ed shipped via Amazon and delivered a few days before.  He painstakingly waited to open them.  Marty decided to get him a

laptop for his birthday... I was pretty against it as why tempt him with more ways to be addicted to a screen but he has used it to create a power point, it connects to his new Lego Robotics gift from his friends and he now emails both his grandparents, aunts and friends.
We went out to his favorite restaurant here, Nirwana, Indian food.  He was in heaven. 
Happy Birthday Benjamin.  We love you to the moon and back.

EIGHT is Great

On the 23rd of April, our not-so-little Benjamin turned 8 years old!  How could it be?  What a special, curious, spunky, smart and cuddle-y guy he is.  He has grown leaps and bounds since arriving in Germany.  He has made a ton of friends at school, he gets along extremely well with his teachers and seems to really have blossomed in the past year.
Since his birthday fell on a Monday we decided to have his friend's party on the Sunday before.  Apparently it is taboo to

do this in Germany.  You are not supposed to wish anyone a "happy birthday" early nor have a party or cake or anything. 

 Well, since the weekend that followed his birthday was a holiday weekend we decided to break tradition and have it the day before anyway.
Josie had been planning his party for MONTHS.  I think it was back in February when they sat down together and they mapped out what type of party he would have. 

I suggested we do it at a Jump House or a laser tag place or ANYWHERE other than our house. But, nope.  They wanted none of that.  They wanted a home party.  If it was to be sunny

we planned to have it in the sizable backyard.  If it was rainy we thought we would have some games up in our apartment.
Yes, you can imagine my relief as I watched the weather forecast call for sunny skies and a temp in the mid 70's.  Thank GOD!! 

His guest list also grew as the party got closer.  Several boys at school that had not been originally invited came up to him the week of and asked about his party "When is it? Where is it?" and then the not stereotypical question of "Can I come?"  In the end his

guest list grew from 8 original invited guests to 13 who actually came!  Again, thank GOD it was nice outside and we could have the entire thing outdoors.
Josie had planned the games the kids would play. 

She made a huge hand drawn pin the cape on some character from "Plants vs. Zombies" which was to be the theme of the party.  She also hand made/hand drawn another throw the ball in a cup game. 

Our cool downstairs neighbors said that they could contribute Cornhole and Marty, after being at the Espionage Museum with Benjamin the week before came up with a laser maze for the boys to go through.
Josie helped make the cake and decorated it all by herself.  She was so proud.  The kids really wanted me to do a theme cake like I did for his Minecraft Party a few years back but there was NO way I was going to go to that much trouble for a theme cake here.

This was my time consuming Minecraft cake
from a couple of years ago.

I just don't have all of my kitchen tools nor the patience in the kitchen I once had, sadly.  But the cake turned out delicious and beautiful.
Marty and the kids went out back and decorated the fence with balloons.  They set up and tested out the

 Laser Maze and then we waited patiently for his friends to show up.
They all seemed to have a really nice time.  After the main games, Marty pulled out a couple of decks of cards and had the kids rapt with his magic skills.  Haha!!  He has done this for nearly every one of the kid's birthdays and I have to say the kids are always, surprisingly, a big fan of watching Marty do his magic.
After the magic we all sang a hearty Happy Birthday. 

It was super windy so I had to step inside the apartment hallway to light the candles.  Everyone devoured Josie's delicious cake and snacks and then Josie led them all in a game or two of "capture the flag"
Benjamin had a great time. His
One of the mom's thoughtfully collected money from the majority of the guests and they all went in to buy him a VERY cool lego robotics set.  He can build the legos and then it syncs up with an app and he can program his lego creations to do things. 

friends all went home sweaty, happy and sugared up. 

I LOVE this hand drawn wrapping paper.  These represent the kids who contributed to the group gift.  It is now hanging as a poster in his room 😊

Spring Blooms

OK, I know I've already said it but Berlin really does shine in the Spring.  Even though it went from Winter to Summer overnight temperature and weather-wise we still have all the beauty of Spring time flowers, flowering bushes and trees and various blooms.  I have never, ever seen so many lilac bushes and trees.  They have all different variety of colors and they line the streets so you walk down or bike down and are greeted with such a sweet, sweet scent.  Apparently this year is a unique year and called a "Mast Year" where the spruce trees are producing a significantly higher amount of pollen which you can see in the form of yellow dust EVERYWHERE.

All over our apartment there is a layer of this yellow dust that I'm trying, unsuccessfully,  to stay on top of. Poor Benjamin's allergies have been in full force.  We picked up the Zyrtec equivalent (for 1/5 of the price!) and it seems to keep them in check for the most part.

But the blooms!!  They are everywhere and they are GORGEOUS!  We started with the cherry blossoms and magnolias, then the lilacs and the rhododendrons.  And then all the flowering trees.

Seriously Sunny and Warm

Pretty much since the beginning of April the sun has been shining here.  And by mid April it was downright warm.... like tank tops and flip flops warm.  So SO nice after the long, dark cold winter.  It really did seem like we went from winter to full on summer overnight.
On Sunday Marty and I went on one of our "Day Dates" into the city.  We went to Mauer Park to look around and then along the Wall Memorial.  It was bright and sunny and warm. What a day!!

When we got home we convinced the kids (it wasn't difficult!) to bike to our newly favorited Italian restaurant which we discovered because our friends, The Kitcheners, stayed right near it when the visited us.  The bike ride was lovely, dining "al

fresco" is now just the new normal and the food was tasty as usual.  Spring, I'm so so happy to see you!! You have my permission to stay around as long as you want.  You can make way at any time for Summer but Winter I'd love it if you stayed away as long as possible.

Hackescher Markt and Goodbyes

On Josh and Jodi's last night in Berlin we met them for a farewell dinner and sweet goodbyes.  The sun was shining, we ate out at one of our old time favorite outdoor eating areas and had a fun time just soaking in the food

friends, drinks and sunshine.  Berlin really does shine so brightly in the Spring time. 
After dinner we found this amazing little ice cream shop that served up ice cream (as many different flavors as you wanted) in the shape of a rose with each pedal a different flavor.  Beautiful.

THANK YOU Jodi and Josh for making the trek.

Espionage Museum and Dinner Dates

Marty and Benjamin headed downtown to meet Josh and Jodi at the Spy Museum on Thursday after school. Benjamin gets out of school at 1PM on Thursdays so they actually were able to get there by early afternoon.
They had a good time exploring the museum but it sounds like the highlight was the laser maze area.  That is about all that Benjamin talked about from the museum so I'm assuming he had a nice time.

After the museum they got something to eat.  Berlin really opens up their outdoor seating area in each and every restaurant the MINUTE the sun comes out.  It really is one of the highlights to eating out here.  It is sad that outdoor seating is so rare in Seattle.
In front of the

restaurant was a huge field where the boys played catch. 
Josie and I were still here in Zehlendorf so we decided to go out to dinner just the two of us.  She opted for Sixteen Bites, our favorite - really the only - Mexican food restaurant in the area. It is mostly just like a Chipotle but salsa and Mexican food is so hard to come by here it serves the purpose.