It’s been a week full of ups, downs and general adventure. Along the way, we all got older, but two of us celebrated a birthday.

It was great to have the family all back together this week after Doreen and Logan’s visit to Frankfurt. The beginning of the week was back to the routine (as much as you can have a routine in a temporary living situation) while the end of the week was anything but ordinary.

Valentines Day is not a big deal in Germany. While Germans celebrate it, it’s not the “hallmark holiday” that it is in the US. There are no mass flower deliveries or constant reminders of chocolates in the store. As a matter of fact, Chad had to hunt for a Valentines Day card on his lunch break. Upon finding one, he was unsure of what it actually said but the hearts and craftsmanship was convincing enough. Doreen seemed to like it so all is good.

Thursday was Chad’s birthday which doubled as the day we moved from our first temporary housing situation to our second. The short story is that our container was delayed in the Panama Canal and has correspondingly delayed our plans to move into our new flat. Chad’s company is supporting us during our transition but the relocation company they employ has been less then ideal so we had to change places in the meantime. The new place is great. It’s like an Ikea & Bosch showroom (literally). The owners actually bought the showroom finishes from both stores.

Like a well oiled machine Doreen and Logan packed all of our belongings and prepared them for the transport. Chad came home at lunch and helped load the bags and boxes into the van. Maya, Georgia and our belongings rode in the van. Mommy, Logan and Vero (our amazing real-estate agent) rode in her car while Chad biked to the new place so he could bike back to work. If this was a test of logistics & speed for the Amazing Race show that we would have won immunity.

After work Chad rode home and we all headed to dinner for his birthday at a brewery in our new Kiez (it’s worth noting this is also going to be our permanent Kiez since the temporary flat is 300 meters from our actual flat). This place was great. It had outdoor space and a wonderful atmosphere. The food was outstanding and just an excellent place for a birthday dinner. We had a nice stroll back to the flat and settled into a happy 39 years with some good ol’ American TV courtesy of the ABC App.

On Saturday morning Chad and Logan got to have some much needed Father & Son time. Mommy was in need of some alone time so this could become an ongoing thing.

We walked to the bakery that will be just below our new flat. The smell of cinnamon rolls wafts through the air about 100 yards before you even see the door. Upon entering you know you are at a special place. The staff is pulling freshly baked goods from the hot oven to the showcase every 10 min and there is a line out the door.

Logan patiently waited in line as we every so slowly approached the counter. Once it was our turn he knew exactly what he wanted, an Apple Streusel Cake and an Apple Mango juice - Dad had a coffee crema. This was an amazing opportunity for us to goof off, take pictures and generally talk (something we don’t get enough time to do these days). We had fun and after about an hour went back to get Mommy because it was time to get the day started

In the lead to the weekend, it became painfully obvious that we needed to do our run to the furniture stores. Let’s take a break here to explain to our America friends the complication here. First, we have no car so we must rely on the train system to get to and from the East side where the big box stores are (about 30 min & 2 trains). Second, anything we buy is for delivery or we hand carry it back. Third, if you buy and it doesn’t fit, you on’t like it, or you are generally dissatisfied; not all items are returnable but the ones that are have to be returned the same way you purchased them (30 min on the train, 45 min at the store, 30 min on the train, NO THANK YOU).

So, with all this in mind, we set out for Hoeffner (a German furniture store) and Ikea. Both located next to each other, both huge big box stores, both full of people with the same game plan. Armed with our list, Chad’s backpack and a pocketbook we headed to Hoeffner first. This place was massive (4 floors) and had everything you’d need from furniture to building out a kitchen and bathroom. We found a dinning table and bench along with a matching TV stand. We also found a wardrobe (German apartments don’t come with closets, you need to buy the closet as a piece of furniture). Everything was in stock except the TV stand which made Chad very sad.

This is how you feel when you find the perfect TV stand and they tell you that it's out of stock!

It was at this point that Chad had noticed the man dressed in an all white suit who was shouting into a microphone for the entire store hear. As you can imagine this caused us to turn our heads. Chad couldn’t help himself and grabbed a selfie with the man in the white suit.

From here we headed to Ikea where we went to the cafeteria first. We have been to many Ikeas but never seen a cafe like this before. They had desert (with you picked first in the line), hot dishes, cold dishes, breakfast, lunch, dinner and beer & wine - along with these nifty carts that carried your trays for you. After we filled up we hit the floor with our list and got some of our items.

After about 6 hours we were back on the train headed home with our loot. Chad had to throw some elbows but we managed to fit on the train.

On Sunday we decided to go over to our actual flat with our purchased items and take stock of what else we needed to buy. We also made the brave decision to go back to the stores and fill it up again. Normally, this would not be possible since everything is closed on Sundays, but since this was the one Sunday a month when the stores were open we had to do it. 

For as stressful and exhausting as it was we crushed the double shopping day. We got about 90% of what we needed and what we couldn’t carry will be delivered in the coming days.

Each week we try to do something a little historical/cultural/or otherwise educating and this weekend we didn’t have the time. However, it was interesting to be in the East side of Berlin. It’s very different from the West even to this day. Culturally it’s similar but still feels the pain of the wall years. As we’ve gotten to know locals and speak to them about the history one common thread continues to come up. Local’s always ask each other the same basic question “East or West?” - Meaning where are your roots. I can’t think of a question in America culture that cuts to the quick of an experience so deeply. The rise of the wall and the corresponding years after defined generations and to this day they define themselves by the unshared experiences as opposed to the shared. It’s a fascinating look into a culture that I was never a part of but can only see the scares left behind from the years of oppression. The juxtaposition of the dilapidated buildings compared to the commercialism of the big box stores across the train track was never lost on us.

P.S. In case you’re wondering which other one of us celebrated a birthday this week it’s Maya. Maya and Chad have celebrated the same birthday for the past 10 years. This year Logan sang her Happy Birthday when he woke up. At the end of the evening Maya was tired form all the change and we could rest the iPad stand on her belly as we went to watch a little TV.