Laundry Day

Yesterday I spent a few hours at the laundromat -- I know, pretty glamorous. There aren't any laundromats close by because everyone who lives in this area is pretty rich, and I guess they don't do their own laundry (that's what the concierge told me). And, there truly weren't any laundromats in the immediate vicinity. I had to take a 15 minute train ride before I was even within a 10 minute walk of the place.

The washer/dryers were pretty hard to figure out -- they aren't like the US machines that you put money right into the machine. Lucky for me I asked just the right person for help -- she was from Hungary and had a sweet little baby about Sky's age; and the best part, she also only spoke English but could read German. So, we hung out together at the laundromat; she helped me learn how to start the machines, and I took care of her baby while she folded her clothes. It was fun to have a friend in the city for a few hours. It made the time go by much faster. It was kind of hard to find the laundromat from the subway, and way hard to find my way back, but eventually I ended up at the right place (after asking for directions from about 4 different people).

On Friday night Jon was done with work by 5, so I took him out to see some of the places I've been spending my time. We went to Gendarmenmarkt, Bebelplatz, and Museum Island. Of course we didn't go in anywhere because everything was closing, but at least he got to see all the different places. I've been on vacation since we got here, but Jon's vacation had just started that night.

On Saturday we went to Potsdam (a little city to the South of Berlin). There are a million palaces in that city. There is a big park called Sanssouci Park, and within the park are 4 palaces -- actually they were all built by the same king, but there are 4 different buildings. The first one we saw was the Sanssouci Palace. Apparently it was the first palace that Frederick the Great built.

The whole palace was so over-the-top fancy, so I was getting pretty excited to see the bedrooms, especially the big, grandiose beds, and then this teeny little bed was all they had. I couldn't even believe it.

These were what the park grounds looked like. It really was a park (just like Charlottenburg's grounds), so there were tons of people going for bike rides with their families, etc.

This was the Orangery -- and yes, it really was used to house oranges in the winter. But, not only was it an orange house, it also was a humongous palace, because 2 just wasn't enough.

Last but not least, was the New Palace. It was built by the same guy as the first 3. Apparently there just wasn't enough room in his other palaces to hold all his closest friends, so he built one more just for good measure. It was so crazy. Who needs 4 palaces all within a 25 minute walk?

On the way back to the train station, we stopped at a little cafe that served Austrian food. We both felt slightly nervous, but it was really good. I can now officially say that I like wiener schnitzel (although, I still don't know exactly what it is). They also had a super delicious chocolate cake which restored my faith in European delicious desserts -- I was starting to doubt their dessert making abilities because up to this point I hadn't had anything that great.

This is one of 2 identical buildings that used to be a University.

On Sunday we went to a German speaking ward. Luckily, a missionary couple noticed us and gave us a little headset that had someone translating into English. We must not have looked German enough. Although, I felt quite pleased with my memory of German pronunciation while we were singing the hymns. I listened to the people around me and I said my words just like them. I was obviously meant to be German.

After church we went to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. We only took a picture of the front gate because it was just a sad place, and I didn't want to have all the pictures to remind me of it over and over again. Luckily, it wasn't as sad as I was expecting because it was pretty factual. They didn't have a very personal spin on anything, which was helpful to me because I can read the factual things with no problem; it's the personal letters and experiences that are too hard to handle. Anyway, we were glad that we went, but I don't think I would want to visit again.

This is our hotel. From the outside it looks just like any other building, but it's super fancy inside. I love Jon's work that pays for us to have awesome accommodations!

Today I decided to visit Alexanderplatz, which is just a big shopping area with a big square in the middle where you can hang out. They have the biggest department store I have ever seen. Seriously, it was ridiculously huge! It took me over an hour just to walk through the whole thing, and I didn't even stop to look at -- or try on -- anything. There were 6 floors -- can you even believe that? And they were all just sprawling. It even had a grocery store -- like you walked in, looked at a million watches, perfumes, etc. -- you know, your regular department store stuff, but then there was a surprise as you walked further into the store. Seriously an entire grocery store like the size of a Smith's or something similar -- way weird. Despite the huge department store, I did find a super cute red tunic which I purchased (for way cheap), so wahoo for Alexanderplatz.

On the way home I decided to try and find Museum Island (it's an area where there are like 4 or 5 museums). A daring venture considering I don't like to wander and look like I don't know where I'm going. So, I didn't even pull out my map -- it was a nice area, so I just walked around like I knew what I was doing and I eventually ran into the first museum. While I was wandering I found yet another randomly cool building. I don't know what it is, but it was lovely (it's the one in the back that doesn't have a crumbling wall).

So, I didn't actually go into the first 2 museums I came to because the lines to get into them were ridiculously long -- like waiting for a ride in Disney Land long. It was crazy. Sterling (you know, Amber's Sterling) gave me his yearly museum pass (thanks Sterling!) and I know he said it made it so I didn't have to wait in the lines, but I just was not brave enough to try and walk in front of all those people who had been waiting forever. Maybe that will be another day.

So, I walked past the super crazy busy museums and came upon the National Gallery and the Altes Museum. They were pretty awesome. The National Gallery is surrounded by a columned wall (who knows why), which was cool. There were all sorts of performers, I'm sure trying to make some money, so it was fun to eat my lunch in the little square and listen to the violinist play some classical pieces.

The Altes Museum was full of Greek/Roman statues and burial artifacts. You have to keep showing your ticket (in my case Sterling's ticket) at different points throughout the museums. It was no big deal until one guard asked for my passport, which I didn't have. Maybe it says on the back that I'm supposed to have it with me or something (remember? I have no German speaking knowledge), but I didn't. The guard seemed pretty annoyed but he didn't kick me out or anything, so I guess it was a-okay.

Across the street from the museums is the Berlin Cathedral. It is so beautiful. I walked all around it, but didn't have the heart to pay to see the inside -- maybe I'll change my tune next week when I'm looking for things to do while Jon's at work.

Jon and I went to the Brandenburg Gate a couple nights ago. It had lights shining up onto it, so we could see it really well. That's pretty much the first thing that Jon has seen in Berlin, other than the Berlin Wall since he passes that on his way to the office. It made me excited for the weekend so we can see some sights together.

This random face is on the building right next to Jon's office. At night it shows peoples faces on it (I don't know how or why, but there it is), and people love it. The guy at the front door asks us every night if we saw the face. He can't get enough of it. Way weird.

Today I went and visited Schloss Charlottenburg (that's code for Charlottenburg Castle). It was way cool. I only saw half of it (lame), because for some reason they charge extra to see the whole thing (double lame) -- and come on, it was pushing it to even pay for the main section. Anyway, the part I saw was super cool.

First, I had to try and find my way there. I studied my maps and decided it wouldn't be a big deal because there was a train (one I hadn't taken before) that would take me directly there. So, I found said train and settled in for a nice long ride. Unfortunately, the rail was under construction after about the 3rd stop, so they made us all get off and find another way. No problem under normal circumstances, but I hadn't bothered to bring my city map because I knew exactly where I was going and my train map doesn't have street names or anything to tell you where the next station is. So, I got off the train and then wandered aimlessly hoping to find another station.

Amidst the wanderings (which made me kind of nervous because I wasn't familiar with the area and there was graffiti everywhere I looked) I passed a random cool old building that they were renovating. I love old buildings (like the abandoned ones). It makes me wonder what happened there and why it fell into disrepair -- I just know there's some fantastic story behind old buildings. Anyway, long story short, I finally came upon a different train station and figured out a new route to the palace.

All along the street leading up to the palace there is a big walking trail type thing down the middle of the road. It was nice to walk on the trail and see the palace getting ever closer. There were moms with their kids, people walking dogs or riding bikes, etc. I loved it. It was nice to be in a residential area, because up until now I've always been in the business district of Berlin.

I toured the palace (the parts that I could), and then walked around the grounds. The palace gardens are just open to the public, so there were tons of people jogging, riding bikes, and just sitting on benches reading books (even though it was windy, and therefore freezing cold). I loved learning about the royalty who had lived there, and I could just envision them in their fancy gowns hosting lawn parties, and strolling through their forested gardens. The top floor of the palace was redone almost completely because of the damage to it during WWII. But, the main floor still had all the original flooring and some of the original ceilings and wall hangings. It was pretty amazing.

Now, back to yesterday. I visited the Brandenburger Gate and also the Holocaust Memorial. The picture of the Brandenburger Gate is not awesome, but I have this strange anxiety about letting people know I'm about to take pictures. Therefore, any time I get out my camera, while there are people around, I immediately go on stealth mode and try to take the picture as fast as I can. In fact, all the pictures that have me in them are torture for me to take. I turn on that little timer and then agonize over how long it is taking to actually take the picture, all the while I'm standing there posing for myself. I don't know, it just makes me feel too weird and obviously touristy, which apparently is not okay with me. So, there you have it. If there are bad pictures, such as the Brandenburger Gate, you now know why.
I figured the Brandenburger Gate picture disaster wasn't too big a problem since I'll be going there with Jon and I can take a picture with him in it (strangely, this doesn't seem as bad as being a solo picture taking tourist -- I know, weird).

The Holocaust Memorial was pretty cool. There is a whole big block that is covered by hundreds of different sizes of rectangle stone slabs, and then there is an information center underground. It takes you through the factual persecution of the Jews and then has a display of personal writings from Jews and prison guards alike. It was terrible and yet amazing at the same time. Sometimes, I had to stop reading halfway through (especially when any mention of children was made) because it made me too sad. Overall, I'm really glad that I went even though it was sad.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Some of the Berlin Wall is right across the street from our hotel. Like, I literally can see it from the front door. At first I thought that they had just moved these pieces here because it's sort of a touristy area, but the wall really ran right along this big main road. Pretty crazy!

Our first day in Germany

So, we have now spent an entire day in Berlin and I think it's been pretty awesome.
Our flights were uneventful and the transfer in Amsterdam was easy because all the signs had English translations, so we knew right where to go. Unfortunately, the airport in Berlin wasn't quite as easy.
We got off the plane and waited a good long time for our luggage which never came. So, we had to go to the lost and found. Easily done in theory, but slightly tricky when you don't understand German. I noticed a sign above the baggage claim that said Lost and Found and then had the German translation, so I tried to remember what the word had looked like as we roamed the halls of the airport looking for the elusive lost and found.

As it turns out, the airline lost everyones bags that came in on our flight. So, we waited in an hour long line to give the airline our information so they could get our bags to us when, and if, they found them. Next we tried to find an ATM so we could pull out some euros because the conversion rate was better than at the exchange stands. Sounds easy enough, but again, everything is in German. We couldn't figure out what to do, so Jon just asked every taxi driver we saw if they took American Express until he found one that did.

Our first order of business after checking into our super fancy hotel (thanks PWC) was to find some emergency supplies (deoderant, hairspray, etc) in case the airport didn't get our bags to us by morning. We bought our transportation passes for the week and then set off to figure out the train systems. Our hotel is right across the street from one of the main stations, so at least that part was easy to find. It was pretty funny trying to figure out how to say all the different stops -- German has the longest words ever!
After all was said and done, we spent a relaxing night at our hotel -- minus the midnight interruption because our bags had come -- Wahoo!!

Today I was on my own (of course) since Jon is here to work. So, I talked myself into feeling brave and went out to explore. I think I've pretty well got the sbahn & ubahn (trains) figured out now, although I still get kind of nervous before the first stop because I always think I'm going the wrong way. I realize it doesn't really matter because I can always get off and just cross the platform for the right train, but I still feel nervous somehow.

I spent my time at Gendarmenmarkt and The German History Museum. Gendarmenmarkt is a big plaza that has three beautiful buildings and some statue. Honestly, I don't know who the statue is of, but the buildings are the French and German Cathedral and then a big concert hall. The pictures above are of the concert hall (left) and the French Cathedral. The pictures below are of the German Cathedral (and I guess the concert hall on the far right). Unfortunately I couldn't go inside today because for whatever reason, they were closed on Monday. So, I'll have to venture that way again.
As a result of not going into the buildings at Gendarmenmarkt I had lots of time still, so I kept wandering around until I came upon the Museum of German History. I was completely enthralled. I had planned to be back at the hotel around 3 so I could just relax until Jon got back, but I was having too much fun. I got carried away in the museum, and by the time I asked someone for the time (I need to get a watch) it was already 4:30. I hadn't even seen half of the exhibits, but the plaques were so informative and interesting that I couldn't tear myself away fast enough. I somehow got turned around trying to find my way back to the ubahn (I know it's surprising), mainly because I didn't notice what street I came up on, but luckily I figured it out and still made it home before Jon.


So far I am loving being in Germany and hearing the people speak this language. It makes me wish that I actually understood German instead of just being able to pronounce some of the words. I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow, but I know it will be fantastic!

Wahoo for Hallie!!

Hallie just read her first words today! She's been asking me lately if she can learn how to read, and I just keep telling her that first she has to know all the different sounds of the letters.

While we were outside playing today, she started drawing her letters (which was surprising in and of itself -- when did she learn all the different letters and their names?). Once she was done writing her alphabet we went through and checked all her sounds, and sure enough she knows almost all of them. Maybe she's been practicing in secret or something.

Hallie immediately wanted to try reading some words. So, I wrote a few words and then she sounded them out and drew a picture for what she read. It was pretty amazing to me. I was most worried about Hallie learning to read because talking was so hard for her, but apparently I didn't need to worry. Wahoo for Hallie!!

While Hallie and I were busy doing her words, Kale was busy wearing his sisters Barbie elbow and knee pads. Sky, on the other hand, was busy eating the nasty raspberries that are still on our bushes. Yuck!

Oh yeah, check out that sweet ponytail on top of Sky's head -- she wouldn't hold still long enough for me to do a good side pony, so I just shoved it where I could reach. At least it kept the hair out of her eyes.

"This is Halloween..."

Is that the same heading I put at the top of every Halloween post? Probably because I can only ever think of the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas" when I think of this holiday.
My kids have been super excited about Halloween this year and they can't get enough of making Halloween crafts (in lieu of real decorations, which we don't have). So, this is what we've come up with for our Halloween decor.

My kids like to refer to the eyes we made as the "spooky eyes" (obviously said in a spooky voice). They love all the different decorations we've made so far. Still to come -- we will be making costumes to tape onto our family pictures that are hanging on the walls. They are pretty excited about it.

Drywalling stinks!

Yes that's right. I obviously have no kind feelings about hanging the drywall. Jon and I have been working like crazy in the basement, and after 4 full days of dry-walling, we decided to call in the professionals. It wasn't so much the work that made us decide to hire it out (although it was super hard work), but more the fact that we wouldn't be done hanging the sheetrock and doing mud and tape until next December. We decided it was just too dirty of a job to last for a full year.
See that first picture? We finished that room in about 2 days. See all those other pictures? It took the drywall guys about 2 days to finish the remainder of the basement. We could not believe how fast they were! We are so glad we made the decision to hire out the rest of the drywall. Wahoo for not doing this part by ourselves!

St. George Marathon

Yes, it happened again. The Hansen boys and Amber ran in the St. George Marathon again this year. Of course the spouses are very supportive of this event because not only do the runners love it, but it's a vacation that we can look forward to as well.

We had a great house that had a hot tub (with phantom jets that turned on and off at will), pool, and tons of space. We were all feeling pretty excited about the master bedroom because the shower had 8 shower heads, and then Jon and I won that room!
I was so excited about using the shower until I actually used it -- it was freezing cold! We couldn't figure out why it would be so cold because all the other bathrooms had hot water. After using the freezing cold shower all weekend we discovered that there was a temperature knob as you walked into the shower (it was definitely not noticeable), and it was set at 60.
Anyway, on to the race. Nick had pneumonia and some other ailments the past few months, so was unable to run the race, but he did meet up with Jon for the last few miles. Jon said it was one of the only things that kept him going those last few miles, so we're glad Nick was able to find him.

After Jon came in and had rested a while, he and Nick went back to meet up with the other racers. Jon came through again with Andy, and Nick ran through shortly after with Amber and Dan. It was so much fun to be with all the Hansen's and to see Team Hansen (aka: Sons of Stu and Spandex) run the race.

Just a few super adorable pictures of Sky. She's getting so big!