01 02 03 Kangaroo Spotting: The Honeymoon Odyssey: Berlin 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

The Honeymoon Odyssey: Berlin

34

After a whirlwind four days in Buffalo- the flight over to Europe seemed peaceful.  And quick! Compared to the haul from Melbourne to New York.

But first- the only snag of our entire trip: Which seemed like a bad omen at the time, our flight from JFK to Berlin was cancelled.  We were rescheduled on another Swiss air flight which left three hours later and it would mean a stop in Frankfurt before Berlin, after a 9 hour layover in JFK. 

After all the traveling I've done, it still stresses me out when things go wrong. I often need to remind myself that this is all part of the journey.

Hey life and your lemons….How about a massage and pedi in the airport terminal?  Lemonade please for the journey.  I wish every airport had one of those little spas.  It was just what I needed.  They even let me hang out in one of the massage chairs for a while because it was slow.  Plus there was a Duty Free.  A black and brown Longchamp bag ended up coming along on the journey too.

By the time we arrived in Berlin to say we were exhausted would be an understatement.  A fact that was lost on my high school buddy Clark, whom we would be staying with for the next three nights.

He was excited to have visitors and ready to be our “Berlin Genie.”  He asked me what I wanted to see and do but it seemed he already had a plan in mind- luckily it was a good one because he likes to be in charge.  On that first night I had to argue with him to take us home once I hit my final wall of exhaustion before getting seriously ill.  

The following two days we had the perfect strategy to see Berlin.  Clark and his wife belong to a car-share where they are able to book convertible mini-coopers.  The four of us piled in and drove around the city checking out the landscape to get a feel for the layout.

We stopped at the Berliner Dome and claimed to the top. I’m not great with heights but it was a great way to get a bird’s eye view of the city.  The architecture clearly shows where East and West Germany met.  Stark simple buildings on one side and “normal” architecture on the other.

The sense of history in Berlin is unreal.  It’s still being rebuilt brick by brick.  Tower cranes scrape the sky in every corner, constantly changing the skyline of this rapidly growing metropolis.

We parked the car near the Berlin wall and had a little scribble on it.   

Then we took a boat ride at sunset.  I got a little camera happy after a couple Weiss Bier’s and shot a few beauties.

We hung out in a Biergarten that night and the next day rode bikes around the city, taking in the sights, sounds, people and traffic.  It was as if we started out in the sky and zoomed in on bits and pieces that make this city so unique.

Apparently there is a low cost of living so Berlin is attracting lots of up-and-comers.  Clark thinks it has some real  potential for a boom in the next 5-10 years and he's happy and proud to be there to be a part of it.  It's funny how mature he seems now, as I'm sure I do to him. We were both a little wild and left-of center growing up.

Clark and I were reminiscing about our cheeky high school follies while our spouses could only smirk at our idiotic tales.  It was awesome to shoot the shit with a mate like I often see Matt doing.  It makes me homesick sometimes so I didn't mind that he had to sit through a few laughing fits and inside jokes.It’s so strange when all the sudden we are grown-up, married, with adult responsibilities.  I’m proud of myself for getting into trouble, and living such a fast-paced youth.  I ignored warnings to slow down because I was hungry for life.  

Slightly rebellious but still responsible, I would always do my homework before going out to clubs and pubs.  My roommate used to wait for me to get out of class at 10:00PM, where I would jump into the passenger seat of my car while she drove us out.  Sometimes I even painted my nails on the dashboard.

I always wanted and needed to have it all.  This is partly why I’m so ready and excited for a (slightly) quieter life.  It's just a different type of fun this time.  I can enjoy every second because I didn’t miss out on one thing about being young.  I went to parties, made mistakes, kissed the wrong boys, bought clothes on credit, and ran around the globe searching for something.

A weekend night, a bottle of wine and Matt are honestly just as entertaining to me now as going out drinking & dancing was to me then.   Maybe even more so.

This stage in life comforts me in a deeper way than I have ever known.

People ask me what it’s like being married.  My answer is simple.  My husband and I are officially family.   

It’s difficult to explain what that feels like without being cheesy or trite but it really is wonderful.  I’m building my own family and that is more satisfying to me than building a city, skyscraper or business.

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35 36 37 38 Kangaroo Spotting: The Honeymoon Odyssey: Berlin

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Honeymoon Odyssey: Berlin


After a whirlwind four days in Buffalo- the flight over to Europe seemed peaceful.  And quick! Compared to the haul from Melbourne to New York.

But first- the only snag of our entire trip: Which seemed like a bad omen at the time, our flight from JFK to Berlin was cancelled.  We were rescheduled on another Swiss air flight which left three hours later and it would mean a stop in Frankfurt before Berlin, after a 9 hour layover in JFK. 

After all the traveling I've done, it still stresses me out when things go wrong. I often need to remind myself that this is all part of the journey.

Hey life and your lemons….How about a massage and pedi in the airport terminal?  Lemonade please for the journey.  I wish every airport had one of those little spas.  It was just what I needed.  They even let me hang out in one of the massage chairs for a while because it was slow.  Plus there was a Duty Free.  A black and brown Longchamp bag ended up coming along on the journey too.

By the time we arrived in Berlin to say we were exhausted would be an understatement.  A fact that was lost on my high school buddy Clark, whom we would be staying with for the next three nights.

He was excited to have visitors and ready to be our “Berlin Genie.”  He asked me what I wanted to see and do but it seemed he already had a plan in mind- luckily it was a good one because he likes to be in charge.  On that first night I had to argue with him to take us home once I hit my final wall of exhaustion before getting seriously ill.  

The following two days we had the perfect strategy to see Berlin.  Clark and his wife belong to a car-share where they are able to book convertible mini-coopers.  The four of us piled in and drove around the city checking out the landscape to get a feel for the layout.

We stopped at the Berliner Dome and claimed to the top. I’m not great with heights but it was a great way to get a bird’s eye view of the city.  The architecture clearly shows where East and West Germany met.  Stark simple buildings on one side and “normal” architecture on the other.

The sense of history in Berlin is unreal.  It’s still being rebuilt brick by brick.  Tower cranes scrape the sky in every corner, constantly changing the skyline of this rapidly growing metropolis.

We parked the car near the Berlin wall and had a little scribble on it.   

Then we took a boat ride at sunset.  I got a little camera happy after a couple Weiss Bier’s and shot a few beauties.

We hung out in a Biergarten that night and the next day rode bikes around the city, taking in the sights, sounds, people and traffic.  It was as if we started out in the sky and zoomed in on bits and pieces that make this city so unique.

Apparently there is a low cost of living so Berlin is attracting lots of up-and-comers.  Clark thinks it has some real  potential for a boom in the next 5-10 years and he's happy and proud to be there to be a part of it.  It's funny how mature he seems now, as I'm sure I do to him. We were both a little wild and left-of center growing up.

Clark and I were reminiscing about our cheeky high school follies while our spouses could only smirk at our idiotic tales.  It was awesome to shoot the shit with a mate like I often see Matt doing.  It makes me homesick sometimes so I didn't mind that he had to sit through a few laughing fits and inside jokes.It’s so strange when all the sudden we are grown-up, married, with adult responsibilities.  I’m proud of myself for getting into trouble, and living such a fast-paced youth.  I ignored warnings to slow down because I was hungry for life.  

Slightly rebellious but still responsible, I would always do my homework before going out to clubs and pubs.  My roommate used to wait for me to get out of class at 10:00PM, where I would jump into the passenger seat of my car while she drove us out.  Sometimes I even painted my nails on the dashboard.

I always wanted and needed to have it all.  This is partly why I’m so ready and excited for a (slightly) quieter life.  It's just a different type of fun this time.  I can enjoy every second because I didn’t miss out on one thing about being young.  I went to parties, made mistakes, kissed the wrong boys, bought clothes on credit, and ran around the globe searching for something.

A weekend night, a bottle of wine and Matt are honestly just as entertaining to me now as going out drinking & dancing was to me then.   Maybe even more so.

This stage in life comforts me in a deeper way than I have ever known.

People ask me what it’s like being married.  My answer is simple.  My husband and I are officially family.   

It’s difficult to explain what that feels like without being cheesy or trite but it really is wonderful.  I’m building my own family and that is more satisfying to me than building a city, skyscraper or business.

Labels: ,

posted by Anonymous @ 3:06 PM   1 Comments

1 Comments:

At September 24, 2012 at 10:43 AM , Blogger susan d said...

My sister and I are so happy you are blogging again. Everyone is writing such good stuff, I feel janky about putting words to paper (screen).

 

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