happy birthday to me

so Monday was my birthday and David got me a beautiful German crystal vase with flowers to go in it! "Moe" got me a necklace, too, so it was a pretty generous birthday. we went out to dinner at the Blockhouse, the resident chain steak house. the steak was good for Berlin but probably about average in general--the bread, however, better than texas toast....

Wednesday was the German National Unity day, so we headed down to Pariser Platz to check out the scene. They had big tents set up with lots of food and 2 or 3 huge stages inside where I imagine concerts were going on later in the day. We just snuck in and got some food (not a huge fan of the currywurst but the nudeln mit gulash was pretty tasty) and then stayed outside because our friend had her dog with her and apparently this is the one place in the entire city of Berlin where dogs are not allowed. (did we mention that a subway ticket in Berlin is good for one person and one dog???)

so, nothing too exciting so far but we have our first three day weekend coming up so hopefully that will change...

diplocat update

it occurred to us that you may all be wondering how the diplocat is doing :). Here he is, settled in his new favorite chair in the living room. He had a bit of an adventure yesterday when he climbed through a hole for the sink pipes under our kitchen sink back behind the dishwasher and we weren't sure we could get him out... fortunately we were able to lure him close enough back to the opening that with a bit of flexibility and acrobatic skill David managed to pull him out. whew!

Oktoberfest and crepes

As for the rest of our weekend... no pics to share, but we are enjoying a quiet fairly lazy rainy weekend in Berlin. Friday night we celebrated Oktoberfest at the Marine House... not exactly Muenich but we did get huge beer steins with the Hoffbrauhouse seal. We hear the tickets for next year in Muenich are selling out fast so for those of you who are serious about making it out for a visit we need to start planning! Today we joined a few other people in search of the rumored coffee in a bowl... and we found it in a cute French cafe about a 15 minute walk away (and hausgemacht heisse Schokolade for Christy). Not only did we enjoy our coffee in a bowl, we also enjoyed some delicious crepes. I see a Sunday afternoon tradition in the making.

sights of Berlin II

so we can only post 5 pics at a time-- this is a Konzerthaus, formerly Schinkel's Schauspielhaus, also at Gendarmenmarkt. The last picture is Fenway, Bonnie's dog.

David and Christy by the pieces of the Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz

Pariser Platz, the Brandenburg Gate, the Quadriga

French Cathedral at Gendarmenmarkt

Happy Sunday

Good Morning All,

I am up early to check the Ohio State score...Go Bucks!!!! Christy and I went to a nice restaurant last night by Checkpoint Charlie it was really kind of an interesting setting with tons of old German men smoking and drinking coffee. Christy had a henchensalat, or a chicken salad, and I had some bratwurst and potatoes and sauerkraut, delicious! Since we don't have our car yet we took public transportation to get there...three buses and two train connections to get there alone...ha. Otherwise we are getting along fine...my phone is temporarily not working due to several factors...Verizon and i might have dropped it :) Hopefully that will be remidied next week. But for those who would like to leave us voicemails you can do so on our Skype by calling 440-490-4482. Have a great Sunday and good luck to the Brownies in Oakland!!!

arrived safely in Berlin

Happy Birthday to David! The diplo-cat survived his first airplane trip and we made it safely to Berlin, luggage and all. We are getting settled in our new apartment (temporary until January) and spent the day checking in at the embassy. Christy and David enjoyed David's birthday dinner at a German restaurant with Christy's boss, who is celebrating her birthday tomorrow, and her family. The potato soup with sausage hit the spot--go Germans! We will be getting a lot of exercise though, especially until the car arrives, because everything is a long walk. We are exhausted but will post more soon--it looks like a pottery-shopping trip to Poland is in our near future.