Josie's J.O.B.

On Thursday Josie had her very own J.O.B.  If you remember Benjamin had his first job debut back in June.  He went in and played a video game for about 30 minutes and afterward was asked a series of questions.  He was given a few chocolates and a 15 Euro gift card to Amazon for his time.  He was in HEAVEN. Not only for the one off job but to know that grown adults can do this for a full time job.  Really, his mind was blown.
A week or so after Benjamin had gone in the company emailed me asking if Josie would also like to come in.  It was met with a resounding YES.  Not only did she want the 15 Euro gift card but it was one of the first times that he
had done something that she hadn't done and more importantly that he did it first.   Back in June we scheduled a date in August after our return from Seattle and Thursday was the day.  And because the appointment was early enough in the day Marty came along too.
Josie was given a cell phone, much like Benjamin, and told to go ahead and play and if she got stuck or had questions to ask.  There were two people in the room with us - one woman took several pages of copious notes about which buttons Josie was pushing and how she was navigating through the game.  The other guy watched too but didn't ask questions.  They are always so so nice to us.  I think having kids come in is quite a novelty but they really bend over backwards for us.  They handed Benjamin an iPad to play on while Josie was testing.  He was in heaven again.

At the end of the testing they asked Josie a few questions.  I don't know why she always clams up when asked a direct question by an adult.  She gave a few one or two word answers and then the interview was over.  They thanked us again and gave us popsicles.  It was another brutally HOT day.  Well into the upper 90's.
After Josie's J.O.B. she was also happy but really just to have earned 15 Euro and to make sure her brother didn't get to do something she didn't have the chance at as well.
We headed to Steglitz on our way home to grab the VERY best falafel in the city.  Afterward Josie and I stayed as our falafel place is in a shopping area and she needed a few things for her upcoming

5 day hiking camp with school.  We head there and are thankful for the air conditioning... until we have to walk back out into the heat again.
We eat a light dinner of fruit and salad again.  It is just too damn hot to cook or eat.  We end up in Benjamin's meat locker of a room. His is the smallest and the coolest by far.  We play a few games of exploding kittens and then realize it was a mistake to be in the comfy cool room for so long as the hallway and rest of the house was still so hot and humid that when we walked out it was like getting punched in the gut with the hot stagnant air.  But that night it rained and stormed and thankfully brought along breezy cooling winds.  Thankful for the cooling off for a bit.

Endless Summer

Wednesday the temperature was set to be another nearly 100 degree day.  We had made plans to go to the lake again to try to beat the heat.  We make it there around 11:30 and it is just packed.  Apparently the rest of Berlin had the same idea.
We blow up our 2 tubes and jump straight into the lake.  I remember when we went to the lake last year it felt so cold that it took your breath away.  Now it is slightly cool and does indeed cool you off but it just takes a mere second or two before your body is used to it with very little breathlessness when getting in.

After an hour or so of swimming around Marty realizes he has to bike back in the heat to get lunch and home in time to do the radio show.  The kids and I decide to stay because really, there is no better place to be on days like this and our we know our apartment is going to be steamy.  However at the very last minute Benjamin decided he didn't want to stay with us but rather bike back with Marty.  Josie and I make a plan to read and swim and eat and then do it all again.  Why rush our relaxing day at the lake.  After one cycle of this we get back in the lake and decide to swim across lengthwise with our floaties. We have a good talk and swim and giggle and she does back flips off the back of her tube.  However on our return trip back a VERY strong wind kicks

in and it takes us over an hour to return.  For much of our return trip it literally feels like we are swimming on a treadmill.  Kicking but not moving.  We get out, stop by the store and I tell Josie I'm so sorry as we both are wiped out and tired and our legs are already sore from the kicking.  She gives me a side hug and says "that's OK. If that didn't happen we wouldn't have been able to spend so much time together"  Awwww.  It made me realize how infrequently we get to have one on one time together.  I'm really going to try to do more of that this year.
Benjamin also enjoyed his one on one time with Marty as they stopped by our favorite Italian restaurant in Mexikoplatz for lunch before heading home for the radio show.  Marty and I both agreed that we need to do more of that.  Preferably not on a 100 degree day.  Man, it has been SO SO hot. 

Abenteuerspielplatz Day 2

As we were leaving the adventure park, Josie's friend told her that she had planned on returning the next day and wondered if Josie wanted to join.  We had no plans for the day so we happily agreed. 
As is often typical with Benjamin he decided he "did NOT want to go back to that STUPID park"  Of course, he had already forgotten how happy he was at the end of the day the day before.  But I've been down this road so many times with him that I told him we would pack for the park.  He could go in and try it out for a bit and if he didn't want to stay he and I could go and spend the day at the zoo.  Josie said she felt comfortable doing the nearly hour long commute from the park back to our house by herself.

We arrive and Josie's friends are already there.  We had remembered to pack swim suits to use the skim boarding set up.  The day before Benjamin was able to just take his shirt off and do it but Josie didn't have the luxury. 
As soon as we arrive they both get into their swimsuits and line up to do the skim boarding.  I can tell he is pretty happy although I ask if he would still like to go to the zoo.  "Maybe later" he says so I give them each a hug.  I remind Josie to call or text if she needs something or if/when Benjamin wants to leave and I head to the nearby park I had gone to the day before.  Tuesday was another 8

degrees warmer than Monday and by the time I arrived at the park I was dripping.  Even in the shade it was hot.  Thankfully inside the abenteuerspielplatz it is mostly shady and relatively cool comparatively.  I read for quite awhile but then start to get hungry.  I packed the kids a lunch but since I assumed Benjamin and I would go to the park I assumed I would share his lunch.  I kept checking my phone for a text or call for Josie but none came.  I decided to walk to find something to eat when I realized I didn't have any cash.  As I was walking to try to find a bank I passed by the abenteuerspielplatz and am able to catch a glimpse of the kids building something.  Benjamin had said if they brought the tools out he would want to stay.  I overhead hammering and sawing and

they seemed really into it.  I didn't let them see me but kept walking on to the bank and to run a few other errands.  After returning back near the park I decided to sit and get some food right next to the playround.  If Josie wouldn't email or text at least I could sit right next door and overhear if there was any screaming?  Actually by this point I wasn't really that worried about them but it was getting late in the afternoon and it was still unbelievably hot so I figured the closer I was the better and the less walking when it was time to pick them up... whenever that might be.  Plus the

Indian restaurant right next door had shady outdoor seating with an outdoor plug that I could recharge my dying phone battery.  Score.
The day lingered on as if I were on vacation.  I read more of my book, answered some emails and texts and slowly enjoyed a beer and a delicious salad. 
By 5:00

I figured that they would be ready.  I walk next door to pick them up but they are not ready and beg to stay longer.  What is another 30 minutes to an hour for me?  We eventually leave by 6PM which means that they spent another 6 hours at this playground.  I had another completely free day to myself and we all were sweaty hot and tired but happy. 

Abenteuerspielplatz

I had read a lot about these Abenteuerspielplatz places in Berlin.  It translates to "adventure playground" but it is more than just a playground for sure.  I have talked before about the awesome way playgrounds here are so very different from our cookie cutter type playgrounds in the states.  It seems that every few blocks, even in the densest part of this huge city, you will find a playground for kids.  And each and every playground is unique and different from the others.  I haven't seen two identical playgrounds and none are like the ones you would find in Seattle.
Last year many people told me about the book Achtung, Baby about the art of German parenting and suggested that I read it.  I was too overwhelmed and tired last year to read much (only two books the ENTIRE year... what a shame) but anyway, this book was the first one I read upon our return to Berlin.  Really, I could have written that book as it mirrored so much of our experience and observations about life here.  The author talks about these Abenteuerspielplatz in her book and when I read I remembered hearing about them before we moved here and I put in on my mental list of things for the kids to do before school starts on the 20th of August.

Josie's friend just happened to invite her to go on Monday to her favorite one and apparently the best one in town which is in Prenzlauer Berg. Even though this is clear across town - nearly an hour by public transport we agree and Benjamin decides to join Marty and I drop off the kids in what looks like a make shift little wooden town built by kids. There are rickety wooden structures, a huge trampoline, tools - axes, saws, hammers and some building material strewn around.  There is no grass but just dirt ground which adds to the chaotic jumbled up look to the place.  Up front near where we walked in there is a large slip and slide type plastic thing but with sides that is filling up with water from a nearby hose. 
in.

There are no sign ins or sign outs sheets and more notably no release forms of any kind.  A couple of "staff" - guys in their upper 20's low 30's greet us with a friendly hello.  They seem like the chill hipster/outdoorsy type guys you would see working at REI.  There are several signs that say "no parents allowed" and "No photos"  Happy to say I broke both of those rules.
The kids race in and Marty and I head off a stop or two away on the Ubahn to go to lunch.  We enjoy a very tasty Vietnamese meal and a couple of drinks and it feels like we are on holiday... other than the

fact that Marty notices the time and has to race off to get home to do the radio show.  I brought a book and planned to stay in the area until 5ish when Josie's friend was supposed to be getting picked up.  I walked past the Abenteuerspielplatz on the way to a nearby park in hopes of reading my book.  As I'm

passing the 6 kids (Josie, Benjamin, Josie's friends and younger sister and two other girls - friend's of Josie's friend) Benjamin is in a bad mood and looks sad.  I ask how it is going and he bursts into tears!  He says it is the worst!  Turns out he didn't get a turn on the trampoline and when it was finally his turn the other 5 girls decide it is time to walk to the nearby corner market to buy ice cream.  I told my kids  to stick together and so I imagine he was frustrated by not getting his turn and of course didn't want to miss out on the promised ice cream treat.  Josie buys him his ice cream, he eats in reluctantly and then I tell him I'm going to a park and he is welcome to come with me or head back to the park.  He walks back into the park with the 5 girls (this might also have been part of the problem.... FIVE girls and him.  I imagine they had different interests)
I go to a park and read and finish my book (about German parenting and start a new one - Handmaid's Tale.  I know I'm late to the game on this book but WHOA!!) Anyway, my friend Hollis who lives very near and has three boys drops her boys off at the spielplatz and now when I head back at 5PM to pick the kids up neither of them is ready to leave.  I think having 3 boys to play with has changed Benjamin's tune but Josie said even before Hollis' sons turned up he was having a great time.

Like I said there are tools, dangerous ones, really - if in the wrong hands, are everywhere.  They were building something, or whittling or who knows what as we were corralled and told to stay in the "parent's area" far from the action.  The kids had to turn in something valuable as collateral to check out a tool.  They gave their bus/train passes and went to work.  Sadly, Hollis' youngest son (Benjamin's age) came running out with an index finger dripping blood.  He was apparently using a pocket knife and sliced his finger.  I get their whole mission is to teach kids to use these things responsibly but what would they have done had we not been there?  Bandaged it up I guess and then the child along with anyone nearby to see him cut his finger have now learned a valuable lesson.  My kids stayed until closing time - 6pm, so the second half of the day was clearly more successful than the first.
They were both dirty, and sweaty and hot and happy.  I guess that is the whole point of these parks.  I was impressed and still a bit in awe.  Oh and by the way, they are free.  You can leave a donation if you would like but there is no pressure at all to do so.

Benjamin's New Ride

Benjamin had outgrown the bike we bought him upon arrival in Berlin and so on Sunday we set out to find a new, bigger one.  Last year on the same Sunday of the year (first Sunday in August) we headed out to to get a used bike.  Last year, however, we all needed new bikes and it was at the end of one of the busiest and most overwhelming yet productive weeks of our lives.  This year we had been hibernating (or trying to stay cool) and getting over jet lag the week previous so there really couldn't have been a bigger difference in our stress levels.

All that to say we needed to replace Benjamin's too small bike.  Last year we erred on a bike that was a touch too small rather than too big as he wasn't all that comfortable riding bikes in city traffic, or really riding bikes that much in general.  So that plus the fact that he grew about 3 or 4 inches over the year he was in dire need.  We found that with his small wheels, no matter how hard or fast he pedaled he just couldn't keep up.  His wheels were just too small. 

There are used bike markets all over Berlin and we happened to end up at the same market where Marty bought Benjamin's bike last year.  The three of us bought ours at a separate one and Benjamin was so upset not to get one at the time.  Then Marty found a different one and scored. 

We arrive this year and have a look around.  It was definitely smaller than the first one went to last year.  But in the end we found a super deal on a super bike for Benjamin.  He hopped on and was off and running. 

It has only been a couple of days since the purchase but he not only keeps up with us now he often passes us yelling over his shoulder "see ya later suckas!" as he passes 😄

Josie, the ever doting sister, guiding Benjamin through
Berlin streets to the train

It is funny to go back and read that post I wrote last year about buying our bikes.  What a different world it is now for us here in Berlin.  I remember that complete and utter

Although he looks grumpy, he's not.  Taking
his new bike home via the Sbahn. 

exhausted feeling we had at about a week in.  We were still barely running on adrenaline but that was waning and we were left with pure fatigue.

Enjoy The Heck Out Of It

On Friday after biking to the lake, cooling off and then biking back and stopping half way home to have lunch complete with a beer for us and ice cream cone for the kids all before Marty had to be home for the radio show I was struck with how idyllic life here can often be.  Who gets to do that?  We certainly didn't when we lived in Seattle.  First, we don't have a lake that is a 15 minute bike ride away.  I guess we could always bike to Alki or Lincoln Park but I don't think we ever would.  Biking on Seattle streets is not even close to as safe as here not to mention the many hills. 

Plus, we have a car and somehow once you are used to using your car for things like this, those habits are set in pretty deep.  But the biggest difference is the fact that Marty's work schedule allows him much more time to spend with us.  On Friday, he had gotten

some video work done in the morning but by 10AM he was pretty much done and ready for a break.  The 4 hour bike, lake, lunch was just the thing.  And we all get to do it together.

 I had written to my friend Erin about our 15 minute bike ride (with lunch break in the middle) and marveling how cool it is that we get to live like this here and her response was brilliant.  First, she noticed how hard it is for us to decide where we ultimately want to live given the choices between here
in Berlin our back in Seattle and days like that just highlight how cool it is in Berlin.  But she didn't leave it with just empathizing with our tough choice - we won't have to decide to extend another year until January or February but it really is a daily thought for me

- she added in that the moral is probably to just "Enjoy the heck out of it for now" Which is so true.  I wish I could just enjoy the heck out of it and not stress myself out about what will be next.  We have another awesome year ahead of us and in the end we know beyond a shadow of a doubt we would be happy in either Seattle or Berlin.  There really is no wrong decision.
If we were to write down a list of pros and cons Berlin wins in nearly every category except two: Family/Friends and Roots.  When I was newly back in Seattle I really REALLY was sold on the fact that one more year in Berlin would be enough and then I really wanted us to move back to Seattle.  I wanted to plant my vegetable garden, I had house projects I wanted to do, I wanted to get involved in the local refugee community volunteering.  I had plans.  I could see us back there in the summer of 2019.  But now being back here in Berlin I'm doubting all of that.  I like the way our family spends time together here.  I like how we do things

differently here, I like how our life is just simplified here, I feel so much more alive here.  I'm not sure if that is because even though significantly more comfortable here than I was a year ago it is still newish for me.  I'm not just on auto pilot all the time.  I ride my bike everywhere or walk and even though a car is clearly way more convenient, biking and walking makes you interact with the outside

world in a way a car does not.  But, as I said, we don't have to decide for quite some time.  So... Until we have to "decide" I'm going to try my best to "enjoy the heck out of it"  Sage advice, Erin!!
Clink this LINK to see our route from our apartment to the lake.  Pretty dreamy.

Lake pics are from our Saturday return trip to Schlachtensee Lake.  We didn't stop by for lunch on our way home this time because we were invited to an early dinner with friends.  We had an awesome dinner and dessert.  So yummy.  Then after dinner as we were hanging out outside we all started getting eaten alive by the

mosquitoes. It was after 9PM and it was still nearly 90 degrees.  They suggested a fire to keep the mosquitoes away which was a good idea however being that fire is HOT and it was HOT outside, the fire was lost on nearly all of us except Benjamin and their son, Luis.  Benjamin LOVES fire!!

Getting Out Despite the Heat

After three days of hibernation... or whatever it is called when you stay inside to avoid the heat.  Man, it has been HOT here.  I was going stir crazy.  I had to get out!!  Our friend, Hollis, invited us to join her and her three boys at a splash park in the center of Berlin.  We hadn't left our apartment (not much anyway) let alone our little town of Zehlendorf since our return to Berlin.  This was going to take some effort. We had to go get new bus/train cards.  The kids get a very discounted priced ones and Marty and I typically share a monthly pass as it covers all of us on the weekends which is typically when we use public transportation.
We hop the train and are pleased to not feel nearly as hot as we were anticipating.  It was still morning and you could tell things

were still heating up.  But I've realized that our top floor apartment really is warmer than the average space as we have huge windows (mostly South and Southwest facing) without proper sunblocking shades and so by the afternoon/evening our place is really cooking, even with the AC.
We arrive at the park and are also pleased to see there is plenty of shade and there is even a slight breeze.  The kids play in the only half functioning sprays at the park.  They climb on the fish and

 seem to be having a good time.  Marty notices the time and realizes he has to book it home in time for the show.  Josie decides there are just too many boys and is too hot to stay any longer.  Plus she knows if she goes with Marty the chances of them going to lunch together are pretty high.  And they did, in fact, go out to our new favorite Vietnamese restaurant.  I am absolutely loving the fact that both Marty and Josie are beginning to LOVE Vietnamese food nearly as much as I do.
Benjamin stays, reluctantly, - right now Marty is all the rage with kids.  I remember when they were younger it was me.  Not anymore.

It is Marty all day every day and as much of him as they can get.  I can't help but wonder if we moved here at just the right time in their lives to really establish a very strong bond with their father that they wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to do had we stayed in Seattle.  In Berlin, Marty has so much more time to spend with them.  He is present in ways he never had time nor energy to do or be in Seattle.  Because he isn'tconstantly tired from getting up at 4am and the life/work balance here is just more humane he has bonded with each of them in a beautiful way that most working parents don't get.

Anyway, Benjamin and I decide to stay a bit longer and then head to a burger joint that Hollis' boys like.  Burgers are one of Benjamin's favorite things and although people keep telling us that burgers have infiltrated  Berlin, we have yet to find one.  He was excited to have a real, American burger complete with skinny American french fries. Along with a little burger gummy candy which came in its own cute little to-go container.
On Friday we rode our bikes to the nearby Schlachtensee Lake.  It is a 15 minute bike ride.  Why did we wait nearly a week to ride our bikes there?  Laziness is my only answer.  It felt so SO good to submerge in the cool lake water.  Schlachtensee is the a bit bigger than Green Lake in Seattle (maybe one and a half)   So a bit bigger but VERY clean and swimmable.  We brought back two blow up inner tubes that we always bring with us on beach/pool vacations and the four of us share the 2 tubes and have a great time.  We have to inflate when we get there and deflate when we leave so that we can transport them on our bikes but it is all worth the hassle. No pics though as we were all too busy and happy to cool off in the water.
On the way home we stop by an Italian restaurant for lunch.  Beer for us and ice cream cones for the kids and we were back at our hot home with time to spare before Marty has to be on the radio show.  Life, even though hot, is pretty good.