Proud

This weekend was a weekend full of firsts for me. I had the honor of sharing these firsts with my very first visitors, Sarah K, Sarah P, Alyssa and Kelsey. I couldn't have asked for better visitors this weekend. Not only did they bring tasty treats (plus the box!!!), they also were relaxed, go with the follow, and see as much as we can kind of travelers. (Dr. Yingling also sent this great inspirational quote book that is already on my desk.) They didn't get upset by the rain or getting up early. I'm so thankful! As you know, they flew in Wednesday evening and stayed in Berlin until Saturday evening. (They are about to board right now.) We did so much in the last three days and a lot of firsts for me, too.

The "She believed she could..." I love it! Thank you, Jack and Jane. 

The biggest first for me was being the tour guide. I take this position very seriously. I want my visitors to have a wonderful time in Berlin and not worry about getting from one place to the next. I don't know how they felt, but I felt like it went way better then I thought. I had a good idea of what we should do and how to get there. The phone GPS did come in handy a few times. Otherwise, we got to where we needed in plenty of time. 

The GPS directions. 

The real tour started Thursday afternoon. I got to leave school early so we set off around one. We started at the Brandenburger Tor. It is a great place to start because when you come up from the S1 it's the perfect "wow" moment.

Brandenburger Tor

Then we made our way over to the Reichstag Building. Next we saw the Jewish Memorial. By this time, we were hungry! So I took them to my favorite pizza place, I Due Formi. Of course, I don't disappoint when it comes to food!

Reichstag Building

After devouring our pizzas, we went to Alexanderplatz. There we saw the TV Tower, the Berliner Dom, and bought some souvenirs. We got some refreshing gelato. Strawberry for me -- I know not chocolate... crazy!?! But it was nearly 90 and the strawberry was very refreshing. After sitting in front of the Berliner Dom, we decided to take a boat tour of the city. It was really cool and very relaxing. We finished the night with some shopping in Friedrichstraße and a very late dinner at The Bird. The Bird is my favorite burger place. It's always so tasty! Oh, on the way to The Bird, we passed a hockey field. I got the courage to go ask what the deal was in Berlin. He said there are a lot of recreational teams that I could possibly join. I would need equipment though. But now I have a place to start.

View of the TV Tower from the boat tour

View from the boat tour

Quick photo stop on our way to dinner. 

We got home late and knew we needed to wake up early. We spent Friday at school. I think this was a great experience for them. I felt bad that Friday ended up being very crazy but it all worked out. I even got an hour and half of exercise by playing soccer with the boys during Sport. Awesome! I love bonding with my kids during this time. After school, we went to the little German restaurant across the street. We had authentic German food. It was delicious! While we sat and talked about the day, it started to rain. There went our plans to go out... we ended up buying chocolate and wine and having a very relaxing evening in. I think we all needed a little break. By the way, these girls are fabulous and have great in-sight into education. I loved talking with them and found their words encouraging and comforting.

Now today... we got up and had a tour of the Reichstag Building. It was amazing to see the dom and the rooftop view. 

Inside of the dom.

Outside of the dom. 

We were on a tight schedule today to see the last of our "must do list." We hopped over to the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, then to Checkpoint Charlie, East Side Gallery, and our last stop was the market in Prenzlauer Berg. I couldn't not have them experience this. We had currywurst for lunch and sampled some delicious desserts. The market grew this week with more vendors. I found some new things I loved but didn't buy. I left the girls walk around on their own for a bit while I found a place to read. It was getting closer to their time to leave. We decided to head back to the house and grab a few more souvenirs on the way. We relaxed at the house for a bit before we went to McDonald's for a quick dinner. Thank goodness we planned extra time... something happened with their train and it never showed. No worries- I got them on a bus after 4 attempts of finding the right stop. But they did make it safely to the airport.

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery

I left them at the bus stop with a sad, pit-in-my-stomach feeling. While they were here, we talked about finding friends in Berlin. We all agree it will take time, but I know this will be a year of lonely times too. And it needs to be. I believe God is speaking through this. I am someone who loves and needs people! I believe God puts those people in my life but sometimes I turn to them before God. I think this is a lesson I'm learning. The Bible states:

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26

Sounds harsh, huh? At times, I think so too. But I heard someone speak about this and it makes sense to me. If we love our families, our lives more than we love God. Then who is my god? Who am I following? I trust in Him that my bonds are safe but I must not let them be what I worship. I cannot make them little gods in my life. I adore, love, respect, and find my family really hard to be away from but I trust that this is God's will. There is reason, there is purpose.

This weekend and weekends in general have been fabulous in Berlin! I know many look at pictures and think "Wow how neat!" Just remember I look at your photos and think the same thing. You can do exciting things wherever you are. We are all living, working, socializing, and trying to do our best. George Clooney's character in The Descendants state's it well.

"My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation - we're all just out here sipping Mai Tais, shaking our hips and catching waves. Are they insane? Do they think we're immune to life? How can they possibly think our families are less screwed-up, our cancers less fatal, our heartaches less painful?" 

I'm just making the point that life is what you make of it- where you are. I'm making it positive with purpose and reason. And that we all have our "stuff." On a different note, I know my vacationing will be a bit different... fair enough! Italy and the other countries I should visit too. I am jealous of those of you traveling to San Fran and San Diego, going to Iron Hill and sitting outside, or eating at The Cafe or The Fence and getting more ice cream from the Purple Cow, later. I could go on to tell you that I'm jealous that you may see my family, my grandma's cooking especially her ham pot pie and her mac-n-cheese, of those of you who will see my church family... but the list is endless. This weekend has taught me to love a new city. I do love Berlin and after sharing it, I'm very proud to live here but proud of where I come from too. No matter how small. 

Until next time... with the most love. 
xx.