Berlin

We thought we'd happily live without foods & conveniences that we're accustomed to at home, but we arrived in Berlin at the home of Gayle & John Butrin and were delighted to have ice in our drinks, a washer and dryer, and delicious meatloaf for dinner! We've hit the one month mark and, as you know, all's well. It's difficult to miss weddings, babies being born, Cal games, and big birthdays, but we trust that it'll be okay in the long run.

Berlin . . . constant reminders of WWII, east/west conflicts and moving forward. Some travellers we met in Poland warned us that the city was still very colorless and serious, but we had a different experience. It is, however, inadvisable to be very friendly or smiley on the streets, because they'd view you as simpleminded. I'd catch myself walking past people at a sidewalk cafe and smile briefly before I tried to scowl a tad. I'm not sure the drama mask effect was any better.

The Butrins were amazing tour guides, taking us to a mass in the Berlin Cathedral (with English audio translation), the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Holocaust Memorial, and Grunewald deportation station. A nice compromise we made one day (our family is really maturing) was to send the kids to the zoo with Gayle, so that Charlie and I could visit Potsdam and do the "boring tour thing". It was perfect. We've learned that Jane, Chase & Mary are always happy just to take silly photos in any of these destinations . . .