Berlin - Days 1 & 2

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NOTE: As some of you know this web site lost it's server and all of my previous blogs. I will just start posting new stuff and perhaps if I have the inclination will go back through my journal and repost old entries. Here we go...

Travel Day. Why is it that no matter where you are traveling to travel days seem to be infinite in length? We had an afternoon flight to Berlin which worked out well because we weren’t rushing around but it also left more time open for anticipation and excitement. Jonathan worked from home for a little while and I was able to take a run while the girls played. It was our ambition not to check luggage so we went with two small rolling suitcases, Emma’s backpack filled with toys for the kids and Jonathan’s camera bag. We scrapped the idea of bringing the stroller since it seemed like it was just one more thing to lug around. While it can be handy for carting stuff around, and is most convenient should Eliza nap in it, it is also a hassle sometimes. However, Brussels Air, the carrier we flew, is very strict on carry-on luggage so we ended up checking the two suitcases anyways. They were legitimately heavy since we opted for certain pleasure items like the laptop and the ipod and docking station. Oh, and we were carting around about 10 pounds in guidebooks, along with the newest Harry Potter.

It is only 15 minutes by train from Leuven to the basement of the airport. We had brought lunch with us so we ate that and then checked in; we had gobs of time to spare. The flight was fairly uneventful. Eliza chose not to nap until we started our decent at 4:35pm. We were able to move her into the backpack though and she stayed asleep until we stopped for dinner at 6pm. We bought 7 day unlimited subway tickets for Jonathan and myself (the kids ride free). We felt that this would give us the most flexibility for touring around the city. It is a big city and there can be lots of ground to cover between sights. As long as we used it at least twice per day we will have made our money on it. The subway from the airport, in southeastern Berlin, took almost 40 minutes to get us to central Berlin. From there we had to transfer and go in the other direction to our apartment in southwestern Berlin. We were trying to decide if we should trek to the apartment, dump our stuff and return to the city to do some things or just eat in the city now and call it a day. Once we got off the first train the smells running through the station made up our mind for us: doner kebabs were calling. YUM. Jonathan and I frequent the same doner stand every time we go to Berlin (which has been at least once a year for the past three years now). It is right at Friedrichstrasse which is a main station that a lot of transfers take place in. It was the first time the kids had enjoyed doners (note: there should be an umlaut accent over the ‘o’). Basically it is a thick pita-esque bread that is toasted. Lamb is marinated and cooked on a spit for hours and then thinly shaved. They put garlic sauce on the bread, then lamb, then onions, lettuce and tomatoes. Heaven accompanied by a nice German beer.

Then we went back through the train station and found a grocery store open. We weren’t sure if there would be one open where we are staying so we decided to stop and stock up on a few things. We got cold cuts, yogurt, milk, muesli, pretzels and beer. We also got some great German bread at a bakery. We made our way out of the city via the S1 to Zehelendorf. This is one of the greenest sections of Berlin and an area I had not visited when I lived in the city in college. Jonathan has a colleague that owns an apartment there and they teach a short course together every other year in Berlin. Two years ago I was able to join Jonathan and we all stayed at the apartment. He was very nice to offer to let us use it while we were in Europe. Specifically the apartment is three blocks from the Botanische Garten stop. It is a very residential area with lots of families. The apartment is great: two big living rooms, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a balcony. We unpacked a little and organized the sleeping arrangements (Emma and Abigail in one bedroom, Eliza on a mattress on the floor in our bedroom).

I just love Berlin. I have such a comfort level being here. Sure my German isn’t what it used to be but I can understand a lot and at least don’t get stared at too bad when I speak. It is a gritty city in many ways but with so many redeeming qualities. It will be fun to share it with the kids and at the same time see it from their perspective.

July 26, 2007

Unfortunately the combination of the excitement of a new place and the light streaming through the windows had all the kids up by 7:30; this made me concerned about the whining factor during the day. We had breakfast (muesli, yogurt and honey) and I went for a run while the kids played. We left the house a little before 10 and ended up stopping at the café next to the train station for coffee for the grown-ups and treats for the kids. Emma devoured her chocolate muffin and Abigail did similar damage to her apple filled donut but Eliza mostly wanted to go potty several times in the 15 minutes we were there. At least she is going, right? We took the S-bahn one stop to transfer to the U-bahn which we rode to Zoo-Garten. The lines for the zoo were quite daunting, however they moved very quickly once you got in the correct one.

I can’t say enough about this zoo. It was amazing. I have been to some great zoos in the States (most notably the Bronx Zoo and the National Zoo) but even they couldn’t compare to this place. My only complaint was that for the 30 euro entrance fee for the family (which wasn’t that atrocious) we didn’t get a map and there weren’t enough of them throughout the zoo. Other than that, the zoo, in Jonathan’s words, ROCKED. Every exhibit of the animals had not just two or three but dozens. There were at least 10 huge elephants and giraffes. The orangutans were a big hit; there were at least 20 of them spread out over a few sections. Some of them were massive with hair hanging down to the ground. The other amazing thing about all of the animals, aside from their numbers, was the activity level. Most often at zoos the animals are just lounging in a corner sleeping, but here they were all active, playing and running. Perhaps the highlight of the day happened at lunch. We stopped by a big fountain and found benches in the shade to enjoy the lunch we had packed (another plus: not being forced to buy concession stand crap; everyone we saw brought their lunch). We didn’t know what was behind the bushes across from us but thought we would check it out after lunch. Soon after we sat for lunch one of the girls asked if we would hear a lion roar, and then, on cue, we heard it, and it was intense! Across from us we could see a huge male lion battling a female. He quickly put her in her place with a few roars and a slap across the face but it was, quite literally, a wild scene to witness.

After lunch we meandered around some more, enjoyed some ice cream, and just as we were about to call it a day and bring Eliza (and the rest of us) home for a nap we came across one of the best playgrounds we have come seen. So we spent time enjoying that before hitting the polar bears on our way out. It was a terrific first stop on our Berlin itinerary and could even be worthy of a revisit at the end of our trip. Eliza fell asleep in the backpack at 3:30 on the way back to the apartment. We came home and all three girls ended up napping until we woke them at 5:30. We fueled them with a snack and drink and decided to go back into town and get some dinner. We left the apartment a little after 6pm and headed for Friedrichstrasse.

I had decided I wanted to go out for some “authentic” German cuisine. I had starred a restaurant in my guidebook more than two years ago and wanted to go there. It turns out that Jonathan had actually been when he was here in April and wanted to go back there for one meal in particular. The restaurant is called Stav (umlaut over the a) which is an acronym for Standige Vertretung, the eurphemism used for the West German embassy in the former GDR. It began as a place where homesick Bonn politicians could enjoy Reinish food but now includes various Berlin specialties as well. We were able to enjoy the beautiful night and sit outside and have a beer while we waited for our meals. Eliza and Emma had sausages, which came with delicious potatoes (which for some reason our kids don’t eat) and pickles, which were of course consumed instantly. Abigail had the goulash. I had Berliner meatballs with sauerkraut, mustard and potatoes. Jonathan had the meal he had been dreaming about: liver with fried onions, apples and potatoes. It met his every expectation. There is something very satisfying (and incredibly filling) about German food; it is fairly simple but so good. There were only the remains of potatoes on everyone’s plates when we finished. We have noticed that things in Germany are less expensive than Belgium. A small doner in Leuven is about 3,50 whereas in Berlin they are 2,50. Another example: a kid’s meal in Lyon France was 10 euro, in various cities in Belgium it is between 5 and 7,50 and in Berlin the kids’ meals were between 2,50-3 euro.

We ended up walking back over the Spree River toward Unter den Linden, perhaps the biggest street in Berlin and which runs straight across East to West. We initially had ambitions to go to the Reichstag and take the kids to the top to walk around the glass dome (something I wasn’t able to do when I lived here because of construction, but which Jonathan did on one of his trips and said was fantastic). We made it as far as Brandenburg Gate (Eliza making horse noises because of the statue on top) and decided it was getting to late. As it was, once we made it back to a train station and home it was 9:40. Kids got in bed quickly though and Jonathan is back fully engrossed in the newest Harry Potter; aren’t I so nice to let him read it first! Tomorrow will depend upon the weather, castles or museums…

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