Coolest City in the World

So last fall, in preparation for this spring, Eric started booking a whole slew of vacations. First there was our ski week from our last post - the next up was a weekend in Berlin, of which, in his arranging glory, he had arranged with my cousin Britta to join us there. Less arranged and more by happenstance was that our trip was the same weekend as good friends here in Basel - so a full weekend of fun, guaranteed!

The whole exciting weekend started on Friday morning, where the entire 4th grade had their science fair - Karl was so proud and did a great job with his presentation - again, all our energy is going into making our two kids future scientists!

Later that afternoon we caught the EasyJet flight to Berlin with our friends here in Basel, and then enjoyed a great dinner with them and their kids (95 euros for dinner for four adults and four kids - complete with a few rounds of beer and wine - unheard of cheap compared to Switzerland!)

We stayed in this cool apartment near Checkpoint Charlie - themed with Boxing and Chess, which really was fun - from the wall murals to the inspirational quotes above all the beds. It was quite a fitting place for such a surprisingly cool city: lots of unique boutiques (be it clothes, furniture, home decor, or even funky flea markets!) - the kids loved their beds, and Bennett's quote shown here was quite fitting for such a confident boy... And I have to say, the beds, despite their thin appearance, were the best sleep Eric and I have had in years - we have to work on all that mattress company hype - thin and hard seems to be the way to go...

We met up with my cousin the next morning (she was staying at the Ritz Carlton - I am sure her bed was nice, too), and though she has done a lot of business in Berlin working for Deutsche Bank, she actually had not done a lot of sightseeing. So off we embarked to Checkpoint Charlie and one of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall. Eric was blown away - such recent painful history, and so well documented to try and get close to feel how it must have been. What if you were 40 years old, trapped in East Berlin with kids you wanted to give all the opportunities in the world?Or could you not even go there? The kids got it some, with lots of questions of Hitler and why people let him do the things he did - hard to answer without feeling the overall fear that came from so many personal freedoms being taken away. Clear lessons that I know some feel we should just move on from - but still valuable to remember as you don't know how fast things can deteriorate...

So enough heavy stuff. Britta suggested we swing by the "Bank Branch of the Future" - a special Deutsche Bank branch in the neighborhood that tests out lots of concepts that are then later introduced (or not) in other branches. When was the last time your bank served you fruity drinks, walked you through your investments on a a touch-screen table, and let you pick the meeting room decor of your choice to ensure you had the best banking experience possible? On top of that there was a full cafe, a kid's playroom, changing shop fronts that get you to spend more time and lure you in - it was super cool (and getting the special treatment for being with Britta wasn't too shabby either).

From there we went around the corner to a Ritter Sport Chocolate "Factory" - with truly a MULTI million dollar idea for you entrepenuers in the US: for a mere 5 euros you can pick your "add-ins", and by choosing milk chocolate or dark chocolate, they whip up your own personal chocolate bar - after 30 minutes in the fridge, which you spend touring the mini factory and the extensive gift shop, you walk out with your own creation. The kids loved it (almost as much as I did) and I am certain this would be a super hit in the US.

The next day (after another phenomenal night's sleep)was a tour of the Pergamon Museum - a stunning display of Greek and Persian artifacts.It absolutely makes you question - why are these things here? The Greek temples were in some ways more extensive than what we saw in museums in Athens! To be clear, these were not war plunders - most of the objects came from German excavations during the era at the beginning of the of the 20th century when it seemed to be fair game to take home anything you found. You can see us here next to parts of the Ishtar gates/ walls of Babylon - the kids loved it, and if you are in Berlin, be sure to not miss this.

We then ended our trip with a stop for currywurst - a local delicacy (though not sure it was invented in Berlin) but so special they even have a special museum dedicated to it. We didn't get around to the museum on this trip, but will be sure to catch it on our next visit...