Whirlwind of weekend trips

I'm really not going to give much more than little snippets from each trip since there are so many. 

Potsdam: Sansoussi Castle and German BBQ with friends from my work program (such amazing food!).

Leipzig: Tried to go to where Bach is buried and built some organs but it closed right as we approached.

Dresden: Amazing that it was rebuilt. Beautiful city. Great Apfelstrudel.

Saxon-Switzerland: Nothing like the rest of Saxony, nothing like Switzerland (or so I hear). Beautiful nonetheless. Actually reminds me of Maple Canyon if Maple Canyon had some castles.

Amsterdam: Rainy. Van Gogh. Not my favorite. 

Rugen: Island at the Baltic sea with lovely white chalk cliffs and great ice cream. I didn't know swans swam in the sea, but it alliterates well so there you go.

Prague: Lovely town. Went with some friends from church (which we have actually only been to a couple of times here...ah covid19, how you have messed with the status quo). This is the oldest astronomical clock still working and has the 12 apostles come out and dance every hour. 

 

Berlin: Pandemic Pandemonium: Moving to Wannsee

 

A few weeks into the pandemic we were pretty worn thin. I worked with ebay and we were able to get a nice house on the outskirts of Berlin in a neighborhood called Wannsee. IT CHANGED EVERYTHING! We live in a forest surrounded by lakes and historic beautiful houses. We went from 400 sq ft to probably 2000 sq ft. My job ended up going much better, Cambrie's mental health improved, my running was much more enjoyable. We even decided we wouldn't mind at all living here after the program. The only downside really is that I really liked some of the items at the bakery near our old house. Oh quarktasche, how I miss you so...

This is a view from the Wannsee House, where a few small men decided to eradicate the European continent of Jews. I found the stark serenity and beauty haunting with such a macabre history. 

There are TONS of foxes here. This one just followed us on one of our forest walks until I chased it away. One time, we were making enchilladas and we left the door open to get a breeze through the house. Suddenly Cambrie screamed. I looked over and a fox had walked into the doorway and was licking his chops. I couldn't blame him, the enchilladas smelled divine. And it's just so hard to get good Mexican food here. The poor little guy. He only left when I shooed him out, but now I wish I had snapped a picture. 

Berlin: Pandemic Pandemonium: First Weeks

 

I am writing this in August 2020 based on reflections of Berlin:

We arrived in Berlin in early March, just weeks before the pandemic hit full swing. We were jet-lagged, exhausted, and excited. A new chapter was beginning. Filled with anticipation and the wonder of things to come, I ventured into the city for the first time on day 1 while Cambrie took a much needed rest. I walked around the neighborhood (which I later learned is called Mitte (middle) and is one of the trendiest spots in the city). Someone told me about a meal called "currywurst" and I decided to try it. Turns out currywurst is a fried sausage with curry powder drenched in ketchup...once was enough for me.
1-2 weeks in Berlin: Corona was still shaping, and no one knew quite what it was yet. I went to the office for a couple of weeks before the abrupt announcement that it was all coming to a head and we would be working from home for the foreseeable future. 

I texted Cambrie in a bit of a panic and told her that I would be working from home for a bit and that "we may want to stock up at the grocery store". We stocked up on canned goods, potatoes, boxed milk, and of course German chocolate (enough for a few weeks if we were careful and not picky). It really was just so much chocolate.
3 weeks in Berlin: Cambrie is pregnant! I didn't react in the best way. I was a bit depressed and in shock about corona at the time. I feel quite bad that I didn't show excitement when she told me. I was nervous. I was afraid. The world was changing underneath our feet and now we have a baby coming into the picture...what were we thinking? We lived in a tiny hotel room, it looked like the world was going into lockdown (it was) and Cambrie's hormones would soon take the roller coaster of roller coasters. While I was understandably afraid, I still wish I had put on a brave face and shown the proper amount of excitement...I never really do show much emotion. Cambrie complains about the fact that I never cry and my reactions are just not that strong. I've never known how to do that. How to let go... Luckily Cambrie did enough crying for the both of us over the next few weeks. She was going crazy, and for good reason. Cooped up in a tiny hotel room with me working all day and a little creature growing inside of her. That baby better be stinking cute.

On the bright side we lived right by museum island. And during the pandemic's worst it was completely abandoned. We would go for at least 2 walks/day and it was like the entire city left for spring break. I would go running along the Spree river to the Reichstag, through Tiergarten, and just explore this abandoned city so full of history there is no way you can soak it all in. We both started taking German classes, but it was really hard to feel motivated when we couldn't really interact with anyone.Our favorite phrase became "Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut" (My German isn't so good).