Berlin

We figured that we couldn't possibly live in Germany and not visit Berlin, so we finally made it there for a weekend. The purpose of the trip was two-fold; first, to see the sites and history and second, to run the 1/2 marathon. I will say that Berlin did not disappoint on either front, and it didn't hurt that the weather was perfect. We had a great little apartment in the Eastern part of the city and there seemed to be a playground on every corner, so the kids also approved. On several occasions Bill commented how cool it was to be watching his kids play at a playground in East Berlin.

The first morning we took the metro to the marathon Expo that was at an old airport (Tempelhof Airport) on the south side of Berlin. As soon as we walked in Bill commented that this was the airport from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." I of course laughed this off, but turns out he was right! 

                          The kids are thrilled to ride any kind of transportation that resembles a train.

                                                               Berlin Tempelhof Airport

                      They had a huge kids area at the expo and of course Jacob had to see the airplane.  

Next stop was Checkpoint Charlie which was named because of it's checkpoint number (1-alpha, 2-bravo, 3-charlie, etc). Checkpoint Charlie (or checkpoint #3) was the checkpoint between East and West Berlin where most foreigners passed. While the original checkpoint is no longer there, a mock border crossing guard station stands in it's place. 

          There is a large picture with a Soviet Soldier facing west and an American Soldier facing east.

                              Appropriately, the American side comes complete with a McDonald's.

                                                    Picture of the original Checkpoint Charlie.

                                                        The side with the American Soldier.

                                                                 Piece of the Berlin Wall.

Right near the Checkpoint museum we stumbled upon an old photo booth and I insisted on getting a few pics with Jake. We didn't purposefully leave Bria out, she just happened to be asleep in the stroller. At first Jake wasn't sure what to make of it, but by the final picture I think he had gotten a hang of it. I just love how they turned out and hope to give these to Jake when he is older. 

Next, we went to see another fragment of the wall that happens to be located in the same area where the Gestapo and SS headquarters used to be.

Made a quick pit stop at Starbucks to refuel before continuing on. 

Next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The 2,711 gravestone looking concrete pillars (this number has no significance) from afar seem pretty ordinary in appearance, but when you get close and walk between the pillars this is not the case. 

Now on to the Brandenburg Gate. The gate (1791) is the last remaining gate of the original 14 in Berlin's old city wall. On top of the gate there is a statue of the Goddess of Peace and a 4 horse chariot. At one point Napoleon took the statue to the Louvre in Paris, but once he was defeated by the Prussians, they returned it to it's original location on top of the gate and renamed her the Goddess of Victory. The gate remains a symbol of peace in Berlin. The highlight was being able to run through the gate the next day. 

I am pretty sure we walked our own 1/2 Marathon that day, but the last stop was the Berlin Dom before heading home to get off our feet. 

And that brings us to race day. I have done a lot of great races over the years, but this one is definitely going in the books as one of the most memorable. The entire course consisted of running by/through Berlin's history. Got to run through the Brandenburg Gate, next to Checkpoint Charlie, etc. etc, not to mention doing it with 30,000 others. One more item checked off the bucket list. 

 For this first time runners had to wear an orange bracelet to be allowed in the starting and finishing area. I am assuming this was a result of the Boston Bombings. 

 Good luck hugs from my little pirate.

 Messing around while Daddy babysits.

 Waiting patiently for the runners (*side note- Daddy was in charge of dressing Jacob that day)

 Most of the time these two are best friends.

 Bria was yelling "yay" and cheering for all the runners. Any time Jake sees someone running he will tell you "Look, they are running a race."

                                        Bill was only able to get one picture of me after I passed.

                Great race, great sites, the best cheering section and a PR too. All in all, a great day! 

 Post-race cool down. 

 Found a RS' recommended deli for some lunch. 

 Bria is REALLY into animals these days and insisted on carrying her bear all over Berlin. 

 Decided to do a boat cruise on the Spree River. You can see Jake enjoying the audio guide and had to get "Capt. Morgan" in the back. We were shocked to learn that Berlin actually has more bridges than Venice. 

 The classic beer and bottle picture that we have from every country.

We didn't actually have time to visit any of the Museums, but we did pass by Museum Island. 

Just enjoying some gelato before we head home. Jake received lots of compliments on his outfit. 

And that wraps up yet another memorable trip...

Bria Ali

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to document Bria's "accident" so we can show her when she is older. As of February, Bria has been to a total of 6 hospitals in her first year and a half of life, and one ambulance ride as well. The outcome this time was surgery, a damaged tear duct, several stitches and a three night stay in the hospital, but in true Bria fashion, she handled it like a champ and was back to her usual shenanigans in no time. The doctors even commented on how agreeable she was when they had to cut the stitches out of her eyelid. It was quite scary there for a bit, but we got extremely lucky there was no damage to her vision. Here's a few pics of our feisty little scrapper-

"You should see the other guy!"

When we took Jacob to the hospital the first night to visit he said, "Look Daddy, Bria is a pirate!"

We would like to think this is our last visit to the hospital with Bria, but given her fearless personality, probably not. You keep us on our toes Bria!

Haarlem

 I think the very best Christmas present was my parent's offer to babysit so Bill and I could get away for a night. This was our first overnight in Europe sans kiddos. And while we love taking the kids everywhere, it was a nice change to be able to have a leisurely meal, not push our massive double stroller down cobblestone streets, change diapers anywhere and everywhere or chase 2 toddlers through ancient, serene churches.

We hopped on the train and headed to Haarlem, Netherlands. It's similar to Amsterdam, but smaller and more quaint. America's Harlem got it's name from here when New York was the Dutch colony New Amsterdam.

Our first stop was to visit the ten Boom House. The ten Boom family owned a clock shop in Haarlem which was run by the father and his two eldest daughters. They all lived in a house attached to the clock shop and for years during the Nazi Occupation they protected and hid many Jews. They had a secret room built in one of the bedrooms where they could hide 6 Jews at once. When the Gestapo raided their house on the 28th of February 1944, they did not find the Jews in the hiding place, but arrested the family anyway because of a suspicious number of ration cards. The father and eldest daughter died during their imprisonment, but Corrie, the other daughter, survived her time in Ravensbruck concentration camp. Her memoir The Hiding Place, which later became a movie, tells her families' story and of her great heroism. After being released from the camp she spent the remainder of her life telling her story and spreading her faith.

Entrance to the ten Boom house. 

At the age of 91 Corrie died in California on her birthday.

The ten Boom living room.

The secret hiding place that was built in Corrie's bedroom.

Entrance to the hiding place was a small hole in the closet.

After our visit to the hiding place we enjoyed the rest of Haarlem.

The Grote Kerk (Great Church) was built over a span of 150 years (1390-1540)

It is remarkable on the outside and the inside-

At the age of 10, Mozart played on this magnificent organ in 1766 during a tour of Europe. 

It has over 5,000 pipes and the lions at the top are holding Haarlem's coat of arms.

Ships like these helped make Holland the top sea-trading nation in the 1600s. These three ships hang from the ceiling. 

Grave of famous Dutch artist Frans Hals.

Big thanks again to my mom and dad for making this visit possible and for holding down the fort with 2 kids and 2 dogs! 

On a completely unrelated note, we found out last week that our request for an extension was approved, and we will get to stay in Germany an additional 6 months. We are thrilled for many reasons, but mostly because we are not quite ready for this adventure to be over!