Fischer's in Berlin

Brian and the ladies outside our apartment

85 euros a kilo for one angry fish!

Rogacki's butcher counter

Pergamon's Roman Ruins

Museum Celia

The Fischer Ladies

Faith in Humanity

The Fischers had a rough October. Well, perhaps it wasn't rough per se, just frustrating. Near the beginning of the month, while in Lyon, my cellphone was stolen. Then later in the month as we walked up the street to our apartment after a long day of traveling home from Austria, we noticed that Brian's bike was stolen. Two very important items that were essential to our daily lives, (Brian biked to work every day), were taken from us. It was a disappointing time in our lives and I personally lost faith in humanity.

That was a difficult felling for me to grasp and deal with. Normally I feel very good about people and life in general. I can't count the number of times a stranger has offered to help Elise down the stairs of the metro station while I carried Celia in her stroller. On a daily basis, I notice complete strangers looking out for one another's well being. The world is orderly and people are good to one another.

But then October happens and we get nailed. And since the evil coincided with a turn in the weather, I became angry, disappointed, and lost the faith. It was an ugly, grey time. Fortunatly this evilness also coincided with a trip back to sunny Southern California, my family, and a break from France, french, and this life. (Not that this life is hard...I did mention that I spent October in Lyon and Austria, right? What am I complaining about here, really? Don't I make you crazy?) Anyways, I got away and it did wonders for my spirit and I returned a happier person with a better outlook on humanity. Not completly ready to trust the world again, but feeling better about life in general.

Then December comes around.

Our friend Pamela came to visit us for the weekend before heading off to the States to be with her own family for the holidays. Unfortunatly for Pamela, snow hit Europe and they didn't know what to do with themselves. Fligths were canceled and life as we know it stopped for all travelers. Pamela's Saturday arrival turned into Monday night after an entire day of sitting at the airport, on the runway, and on her flight. Yet even though she made it to Paris after a horrible day of travel, her troubles had just begun. She waited in line for an hour to buy a train ticket only to learn that she couldn't buy one at the kiosk because they don't take cash. (Aren't we great friends? We really helped her prepare for this trip.) After learning that the ticket counter was closed and she had no way of buying a train ticket, a lovely couple offered to buy her a train ticket, for free! They totally hooked her up with a ticket and saved the day!

But oh wait, it gets better....

While waiting for the train, Pamela's belly reminded her that the only thing she had to eat that day was a banana that morning for breakfast at like 5 AM. It's now almost 6:30 PM and Pamela would love nothing more than a tasty Orangina from the vending machine. However, the 50 she has in her wallet is not going to cut it so she roams the platform for anyone who can break her 50 and allow her to buy a drink without getting 5 and 10 cent coins worth of 48 euros in change. And guess what happens? A saint sent down from Oragnina heaven offers to buy her a drink, for free! He saves the day and Pamela's sanity after a terrribly long day of travel. A wonderful ending to a horrific day.

So, why do I share all this you ask? Well, the goodness continues. While waiting for the metro in Berlin, a young man was trying to buy a ticket with his 20 euro bill. Unfortunatly, the machine only took coins and he was unable to buy a ticket. Thus, he was stuck in Pamela's CDG/Orangina situation and needs to find someone, some saint, to break his 20 so that he can continue on with his travels. I watched him approach one person who was unable to provide him with the proper change. The next person he approached was also unable to break his 20, but went above and beyond the expectations of humanity: just like Pamela's angels, this kind soul offered the young traveler the change he needed to buy a ticket, no charge, no 20 exchange, no questions asked. It was awesome!

Its New Year's Eve and while some people out there are going to spend wiser this year or try to lose weight, (I wouldn't mind losing some Paris Pounds...), I've decided to not make a New Year's Resolution per se. Instead I'm decided to carry on the torch of the good karma that's been evident in my life over the last 10 days. I have seen, heard, and expereinced some of the kindest acts of human kind and my hope for 2011 is to be a person that makes those good things happen to others and to continue the flow of good karma to those around me. Now, I'm no saint by any means. I'm not trying to change the world and I can guarantee you that I won't be giving out my euros to any beggar on the street. I'm easily frustrated and there are times when my kids drive me crazy. However, in these past few days I've had a revelation to be better because it's been evident all around me and I really want to do good!

I am going to do my best to be my best on a daily basis. When I can go the extra mile to help out a Pamela of the world or single traveler of Berlin, I hope that my heart is open and that I do the right thing. And I want to remember that although I may get my phone/bike/something or other stolen again during the 2011 that I keep in mind that my one occurrence of badness is not outweighed by the good karma that is all around me.

Thus, as the New Year is rolling on and my eyes are rolling down, let us all cheers this New Year as a time to not start a new but to continue and rejoice in all the goodness that is around us. Happy New Year to you All!!!! It's going to be a great year!

Teil zwei

Alright, we're back....

Tuesday night in Berlin: after thawing out in the apartment and resting our legs and our bellies, we headed out to find some dinner. I was done with the metro and exploring for the day, (I probably could have done more and wanted to do more but my two tiny travel companions were done!) so we headed down the street in search for something to eat. At the Strausberger Platz we discovered our options: Italian or Chinese. Not being super excited for either, we walked back in search of some quick take out. By this time however, our feet are cold and we can no longer feel our noses, so I took some cold sad ladies home and Brian ordered us some Vietnamese Thai fusion takeout. Quite the Berlin night, eh?

(Celia in search for some food...have I mentioned before how much she LOVES to eat snow? Get this lady a glass of milk and she's set for dinner!)

Moving on, we wake on Wednesday for some toy shopping and Christmas Markets. Brian

headed off for his Berlin Tour, (we divided and conquered on this trip...although the ladies would probably be great on the tour, it was way to cold to drag them around. So B went first on Wednesday while the ladies and I went shopping!) and we headed out for the Ka Di Wi Department Store. We made it to the 5th floor and discover a floor dedicated to doudous! It was awesome! Every kind of doudou you can imagine was stuffed and on display, ready for small hands to grab and play with! The ladies went NUTS checking out all the fun toys and after 35 minutes of debate were able to select our German Doudou: a dinosaur for Elise and a small cat for Celia!

We left the Ka Di Wi in great spirits: we were warm, we had new doudous, and the fun was only beginning. Walking towards the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche, (which turned out to be completely covered in scafolding while they do some reconstruction), we came across an awesome Christmas Market! It was a perfect time to stop and enjoy a pretzel, a carousel ride, and a few spins on the merry go round before our feet freeze and it's time to return home!

Can you find Elise?

Wednesday dinner was a much bigger success than Tuesday. Germany has a very large Turkish population and during our Berlin trip we made it a priority to head down to Kreuzburg and taste some authentic turkish grub. We found Doyum Grillhause online and headed down there for an incredible dinner. We all shared some fabulous red lentil soup, lamb kabobs in garlic eggplant yogurt sauce, spiced kabob, salad, and turkish pizza. The dinner was outstanding!

Finally it's Thursday and it's my turn for a Berlin tour before we all head off to the airport. I met my group at 9:00 in front of the Brandenburg Gate and our tour guide Sam, a fine englishman who is working towards a masters in German history, took us off to explore some of the amazing sites and secrets of Berlin. Although it was freezing cold and I eventually lost all feeling in my limbs, the tour was fascinating. After talking about the Brandenburg Gate and the Pariser Platz, we went on to the Holocaust Memorial. Every part of the tour was a learning experience. We stood on the grounds of the bunker where Hitler took his life. Now a parking lot, the German government made a decision to not memorialize the location in any way. There is little acknowledgment or remembrance for the Nazi Army in fear that any memorial will turn into a place of hatred. Instead there is a small sign at the entrance of the parking lot asking you not to bother the residence of the surrounding apartment buildings about the location. Sam informed us that although most of the bunker has been destroyed, there are still some remains of the 4 meter walls that surrounded the structure.

The tour continued with a stop at the former SS Headquarters and along the Berlin Wall. We stopped off at Checkpoint Charlie and learned about some fabulous escape attempts. It was really an amazing experience to go through the city and learn about all the history. From the Huguenots migration to the book burnings of the past, I feel like my tour was just a small taste of what all happened in this amazing city.

As we were finishing our tour, I was quite amazed at the number of tour buses and other walking tours that were taking place around us. So many people flock to Berlin to learn about the past and experience it's history. And I just can't help but wonder what it must feel like as a Berliner to live in a place of such history: for both the beauty and the evil. This city once housed one of the most evil humans of all time and I imagine that must affect at least some part of your life. At just about every moment of the day in Berlin there is a guide discussing some aspect of that evil past. But then again, they are also pointing out incredible museums, beautiful monuments, churches, and buildings. It's quite the dichotomy that must make living and experiencing Berlin an amazing experience! One that I'm glad to have taken part in!

Ich bin ein Berliner

Okay, so I'm not a Berliner but I sure did enjoy the city. I did a fabulous job of eating all their meats and potatoes, drinking their beer, and taking in as much history as I could in a freezing cold 3.5 hour tour. (Sounds a little bit like a German Gilligan's Island, eh?)

Despite a rocky start on the airlines, our vacation in Berlin turned out fabulously. Like I said, we ate a LOT of meat and took in all the cool history the city has to offer. We battle some seriously cold days but still managed to have lots of fun!

We left Paris Monday night with no clue that Berlin was getting hit hard with the European Snow Fall. And unlike the wusses at Heathrow or CDG, Berliners know how to handle the snow...well, their not experts, but they are better. As our piolets requested permission to land, they were denied at Tegel Airport because the runways were not ready for any plane landings. Thus, we hung out in the sky for a little while and waited for Tegel to clean off some road. Eventually we were told to land in Dresden while everyone figured out what to do with all these planes that were supposed to land. Hmmm.....

B and I took out our Lufthansa Air Magazines to learn that Dresden is NOT Berlin. It's a good train ride away or something. So we land and we sit. Dresden doesn't want us so we can't deplane but they will allow us to sit on the runway while Tegel clears it's runways. But to make a long night and long story short, I'll sum up with that we eventually leave Dresden for Berlin, land in Berlin, and safely make our way to our apartment via taxi. We finally get in around 1:00 AM. Not a good start, but we're safe, warm, and we have beds for the night!

Tuesday!! What adventures await us as we tackle Berlin? Well we fortunatly slept until about 10:00 and slowly got rolling to the Pergamon Museum. Now, if you ever get to Berlin, you MUST hit up the Pergamon Museum! It is outstanding. The museum is by far the best antiquity collection I've ever seen! Even the ladies got into the amazing artifacts, friezes (not sure if that's the correct use of the frieze...), and displays!

After finishing up our culture for the day, we headed to lunch at Rogacki's. Another must on your Berlin To Do List. (We learned about Rogacki's the night before we left for Berlin by doing some serious research: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in Berlin.) Anyways, we had a late lunch of fried fish, potato salad, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, a brat, and Elise's favorite: green olives wrapped in anchovies. (She really ate two of them! See picture at the right if you don't believe me....). It was a great lunch, cafeteria style, and the place itself was worth the trip. There were fabulous butcher and fish stands. Some of the most amazing looking things that I would have loved to explore had I (a) had the slightest clue what it was and (b) could deutsch sprechen! Either way, it was really fun just to be there, take in the experience, and watch all the people!

Alright, this is getting to be a novel of Berlin and I've had a long day. We'll do some Part Two of the trip tomorrow and I'll upload some more pictures to share. (BTW, being the smart, worldly traveler that I am I brought a 98% empty camera battery on our trip without a charger. Smooth, eh? So not a ton of pictures but some keepers that I'll share. I gotta keep you coming back to the blog for more....)

Off to bed. Here's a teaser for what's to come: Ka Di Wi shopping, carrousels and merry go rounds, and a 3.5 hour tour!

Good Night!

Sara's TTS

Today I mark as the beginning of my Time To Shine! For the next 3 months I am sans enfants every Tuesday and Friday and today I totally took advantage of it. And it was awesome!

I think today is a great day to start too. After defeating 1.5 weeks of the evil jet lag, readjusting to life in Paris, and trudging through a huge snow storm, the sun was out today and just begging me to get out and enjoy it! So I did.

Although the adventure started on a lame note, it all turned out pretty awesomely. I gathered up all our recyclable beer bottles and headed to the Bastille to exchange for them for money and buy some new, full ones. However, due to some electronical error or something, the store was shut down for the day. Lame. I debated returning home and napping the day away for about 2 minutes. Although my backpack and shoulder sack were weighing me down, I couldn't resist the other fabulous idea that popped in my head while riding the metro: a vietnamese sandwich! Thus I clanked my way up the streets of the 11th, 12th, and 20th, (it's really quite fun how much attention you get as your empty beer bottles sing as you walk along the streets. I got a lot of nice looks as I rattled away on the streets and even more in the metro!) to a tiny vietnamese sandwich shop that's really off the beaten path.

The journey to the Sandwich Shop was absolutely wonderful. In a matter of three arrondissements, I went through 4 different countries. There was the Moroccan area with many fine looking restaurants full of couscous and tagines. Lebanon and Turkey were up next and I was able to discover a fancy spice market which I will have to return to once I learn how to make some interesting meals! And then it was off to Asia. Okay, so Asia is not a country, let's narrow it to l'Orient. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Taiwanese markets and restaurants lined the streets and every one of them was packed. (If I wasn't dead set on my sandwich, it would have been hard to choose just one restaurant!)

I made it through the open market, (one of the angriest I've ever seen...I wanted 500 grams of mushrooms but the seller INSISTED I go for 2 kilos! I was scared and ran away! All the vendors were shouting and were very entertaining, I think??? :) Anyways, I miraculously found my sandwich shop from memory and sans iPhone. I was pretty stoked about that. And as I payed for my sandwich and walked back out to the street, all the clouds disappeared and the sun shone brightly. Thus, I headed to Parc Bellville to look for a nice bench on one of the highest points of Paris. It was grand and I got a great view as I gobbled up my delicious sandwich.

Then I took the long way home on Rue Oberkampf via Boulevard de Belleville and stopped at every ethnic market I could. It was so neat! The only problem I ran into was that I wanted to buy all the fabulous looking spices, sauces, and interesting looking canned goods that were on the shelves. A great dilemma to be in on my first day of shinning.