Heaven or Hell

I have been using the Berlin Friedrichstrasse train station for the past month and never once stopped to think about its amazing history. It is one of the largest and most central stations in Berlin. This station not only connects most of the subway lines in the city, but it also is the main starting point for train travel outside of Berlin.

This train station was where children were either boarded to leave the country and taken to freedom or fatally shuttled away to concentration camps. The amazing buildings that I have been so casually snapping photos of along the tracks for weeks now would have been the last few things they saw of Berlin as they traveled to their fate. I can’t help but wonder how they must have been feeling and who was there to comfort them. It’s just simply heartbreaking.

This Memorial Day, I am so grateful for the men and women who risk their lives defending the freedoms I take for granted. I am in awe of the sacrifices they (and their families) make. While living on a military base for the past four years, I have seen soldiers kiss their loved ones and leave for battle. I have seen them return home and try to catch up on all the wonderful moments they have missed. They are so brave and ask for so little.

Because of the amazing things that they do, I was able to ride the subway with my family tonight and not have to worry if the train was taking us to heaven or hell.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Likes and DIslikes

Germany is nearly perfect, but I still have a few dislikes...

I dislike all the graffiti. It is on EVERYTHING -- all over the subway, restaurants, public attractions, sidewalks, trees in the forest, even kindergartens we checked out for Abby. It gives the city a rough and edger feel, which is kind of unnerving sometimes. It is such a shame.

I dislike that Germans don't use ice. It's not very refreshing to get a luke-warm coke at a restaurant. They only use mini-fridges here for the most part, and there is NO room in the freezer for ice. We're going to have to get a ice maker for the counter.

I dislike that Germans put the alarm bell in the elevators at Abby's eye level. It catches her eye and is way more fun to press. Let's just say that we've been "rescued" from just about every elevator in the city.

I love that dogs go everywhere with their owners. Here is puppy parking at Ikea. Jeremy is afraid some of the dogs will be stolen while their owners are in shopping. I would be more concerned that Gracie would be outside maiming people while I am buying a futon. I'm sure the dog-loving Germans would just pick up their amputated limps and continue to pet her.

I like that Abby will stay in her stroller if she has an ice cream cone. I also like her Ronald McDonald mustache.

I like that Ikea hotdogs have crispy fried onions and sweet pickles. Delish.

I like when Abby falls in love with herself in the subway window and then practices German:

Down by the Lake

Monday was a holiday in Germany, and everything here was closed. Holidays are huge shopping days in the West, so I was hoping to get a ton of things I needed to buy and was a bit disappointed that the middle of the city was a ghost town.

So we decided to spend the day down by the water. Germany has seven natural lakes, and we are so lucky to live 10 minutes away from one of them. It's still a little cold to hang out in our swimsuits on the beach, so we bundled up and took a boat ride to a fun wilderness/cottage area.

There is a yacht club and a rowing club near our house. I look forward to joining one of them.

I always want Abby to be safe, but I think wearing a helmet on the boat is a little much.
I wish that I owned this fun cottage!

We had so much fun strolling up and down these tree-lined streets.

This island is fun of bike paths and running trails that follow the water.

This is Abby's German friend, Lenny. They totally can't talk to each other, but that doesn't stop them from living it up!

Spring is here!

People here are obsessed with Nordic walking. Someone should really tell them poles aren't really necessary on flat ground. They should also let them know that unicycles --their other obsession --are so '80s.

Abby was pretty afraid of these swans and ducks and hid behind Lenny for protection.

This and That

People in Japan have no problem peeing in public, which is really funny because it's so clean there. I thought we'd bypassed that fun until a man in front of me dropped his pants and crapped on the subway platform yesterday. Totally awesome. I wish I had my camera.

In less disgusting news, I have become a HUGE fan of the pizza place across from our hotel. They sell it by the slice and there are about six different kinds of pizza you can get. The crust is so thin and crispy and it isn't super saucy or cheesy. I'm a huge fan of pizza that doesn't drip with grease. I think being able to order real authentic ethnic foods and shopping at healthy fresh farmers markets are two of my favorite things about Europe.

Berlin has a TON of beer bikes that travel around town and take people from A to B. They have a keg on the front and a bar lines the middle. Everyone who drinks has to peddle, which I'm sure gets pretty hysterical as the night wears on. They play super fun music and Abby gets to excited when she sees them coming. Germans can even make being stuck in traffic fun!

We took Abby to a festival on the weekend. She really wanted to ride on the flying swings but the man said I couldn't ride on them with her. In fact, he said, "I wouldn't call you fat but I don't think you'd fit." Um, whatever.

Here is a random video of Abby playing at one of the attractions. I just like hearing her narrate what other people are doing. She's quite the little chatter.

Fundraising Results...

Success!!

We reached 100% of the 2010 school year budget ($2,800) and 66% of the 2011 budget ($1,861) – a total of $4,661 for Grace Junior Elementary. Amazing!!! There is still another $250 in donations that are currently being processed.

As well as paying for the rent, the teacher salaries, the school supplies, uniforms, teaching materials, the food program and the sustainability program, the school was able to start a new homemaking program teaching the children and their parents to sew their own school uniforms. Once they have a strong grasp on dressmaking, they will be able to use this knowledge to fulfill uniform orders from other schools and help them become more self sufficient.

The parents, students and teacher are so grateful for your love and support. Sally was overcome with praise and excitement when she was able to bring the material donations to the school.

Here are just a few photos she was able to send over the horrible internet connection:

In regards to the abused children Stepwise and their partner NGO were in the process of helping, they have all been successful relocated to a new orphanage and enrolled in new schools. They are currently in the process of finding resources to meet the affected children’s emotional and therapeutic needs to overcome such a traumatic experience. What a tremendous relief to know that they are safe and in loving hands.

I want to thank Sally (Stepwise) for taking such good care of the children they serve in Kenya, especially those at Grace Elementary that are so near and dear to my heart. I know first hand what a challenging and emotionally trying place Kenya can be and it means a lot that they have sacrificed so much to make it such a big part of their lives.

Please do not forget about the wonderful things that Stepwise is doing in Africa. They always welcome donations for Grace, as well as their many other East Africa initiatives. Their website can be reached at http://stepwise.org/.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your thoughtful and generous donations. It never ceases to amaze me how AWESOME my friends truly are. You have no idea how much I love you all.

Sweet Sunday

Sunday afternoon we decided to stop at a random subway station and walk around. Luckily we picked to stop near the Berlin Cathedral, an absolutely stunning church. The whole surrounding area was full of old bridges, farmer's markets and beautiful rivers. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the sites and sounds of Berlin.

I love street performers.

The Berlin Cathedral:

Abby places her hands on her hips whenever she doesn't want us to hold her hands. She is quite the diva.

This is now a museum for Islamic and Near East art, as well as Berlin antiquities.

Since we didn't get a dinner date and we had no food at the hotel, we totally went out of Tapas. Regardless of Abby's stank eye, it was delicious.

Random Photos and Thoughts

This is the hospital where I will deliver Baby Boy Robertson. The hospital will give me a midwife that will attend my appointments with me, be there at the delivery (and I think do most of the work) and give me at-home care after the baby comes. They also have training in acupuncture and pain reducing massages to perform during the labour; although I just want to have an epidural and push that boy out as quickly as possible. Luckily, they have a few English speaking midwifes that I can select from. The Germans are kind enough to offer an extended stay in the hospital for the mother to rest up, especially if a C-section is needed. I'll get all the details during my first visit next week.

Abby is all prepared to be a big sister.

Here are some more houses I fell in love with this week.

Random Thoughts:

It's really weird to see people drinking on the subway. Every train is a party train 24/7.

Every time I hear a police siren I think of the movie the Bourne Identity and want to start running.

Every time someone says 'auf Wiedersehen' I look behind me to see if it is Heidi Klum and we're on Project Runway.

Everything shuts down on Sunday and the subways and roads are dead. The German religions are pretty hardcore about the Sabbath and spending it with your family, but aren't so hardcore about actually using the day off to go to church.

Subways and trams require you buy a ticket, but it's on an honor basis only. You don't have to use a ticket to get onto the platform and no one checks to see if you bought one. A few times I have just forgotten to get a ticket because there is only one machine on a platform and I don't think to look for it when I'm running for my train. It's pretty dang expensive, so I would guess only about half the people actually pay.

The pool staff are dying to see me naked. They want us to change in a room that is open for anyone walking by in the hallway to check out the people changing. It's not my fault if you go blind....

Germans aren't afraid to tell you what they think. For example, yesterday a lady said I was a typical American because I was wearing flip flops when it was raining and cold. It could have been worse -- in Japan they would have also pointed out I was a typical American because I was also fat. You win some, you lose some :P

House Hunters International

My friend Crystal loves House Hunters International, so I promised her that I would document our house hunting adventures. They are all located in the district we wanted, have great schools, and are close to work and church. Here is what we saw today:

House #1

This house is located at the end of a private lane.

They are currently remodeling the house and redoing the landscaping. This is the back of the house.

I love that the deck is right off the kitchen and the sun room is awesome.
They are totally redoing this play center (but half as high). It will have a slide from the top and a sandbox in the bottom. It will also have two swings.

This path leads to the front of the house.

Here is a side view.

Some views of the first floor -- The kitchen.

Here is the view from the front door.

The kids playroom would be here.

The sun room.

Some views of the second floor -- there are four bedrooms and a ladder to the loft (which will be able to go up and disappear).

Each floor has a bathroom with a shower. The upstairs also has a bathtub.

Two of the bedrooms.

The staircase to the second floor.

Here are the rooms in the loft. Jeremy would get one side with a reading chair and his electronics.

I would get the other side for my scrapbooking and whatnot.

This would be the gym (treadmill, weights and rower).

This room would be Jeremy's home theatre room.

Here is the guest bedroom (with their own bathroom).

House #2

We would get the left side of this house. It is fenced all the way around with a private buzzer to let in guests.

Here is the back of the house.

Here is the car garage we would share with the neighbors.

This is the HUGE backyard.

The main floor has four of these huge rooms.

The second floor has two of these huge rooms and one super large carpeted room.

The master bedroom is in the loft with a spiral staircase leading up. This picture is only one side of it.

House #3

The backyard is fully fenced. It has a fun balcony and a deck off the kitchen.

The backyard.

The shed in the back.

The kitchen.

Looking into the playroom from the kitchen.

The playroom/living room.

The other side of the playroom/living room.

Upstairs/downstairs staircase.

The second floor has three bedrooms.

The bathroom is on the main floor, which is a little weird.

The basement would have Jeremy's home theater.....AND.....

... a super sweet sauna.

We still have more houses to see. We'll keep ya posted.