Berlin

Our trip has been fantastic so far. I never knew that three years of high school German would win me life-long relationships that I treasure so much. We've been so lucky to have been hosted by our friends.

We flew into Berlin on Wednesday afternoon. After getting settled, eating some homemade tomato soup, and bundling Ada, it was nearly dark by the time we left the house. We went to the Brandenburg Gate and toured the Bundestag after that. The next morning we went to Tempelhofer Feld, the airport (turned public park) where the Berlin Airlifts (and the famous "Candy Bomber") brought goods to the blockaded city and citizens.

The park is huge and flat. And windy (but I'm blocking the cold windiness from my memory because our time there was too beautiful to be muddied with memories of frozen fingers). Ada walked and walked and walked and walked. She thinks she can run. She also thinks she's pretty-much autonomous now. I swear the girl would move out tomorrow if we let her.

The next day we walked through Tiergarten and went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and did general poking around the city. We had such clear and sunny weather. Ada thought the memorial was especially fun. It was a giant game of hide and seek with a parent or friend peeking around from every corner.

Walking through Tiergarten

Our hostess in Tiergarten. She's such a beauty.

 Friday we visited the German Historical Museum. It was definitely a highlight for me. We spent a lot of time in an exhibit on the German Forest (which may sound boring, but I feel like it has contextualized so much of what we have seen since, it's crazy). At the museum Ada fell in love with the red carpet. She would walk all over it, lay down and start stroking it with her hand . . . We're in for trouble for sure.

At Caro's flat. This is pretty much what every night looked like. A perfect vacation.