Berlin!
Last weekend, I flew to Berlin to see my extended family! The last time I was in Berlin, it was 1990, I was 8 years old, and the Berlin Wall had just fallen the previous year. After almost 20 years, it was great to go back!
I arrived Thursday evening at Tegel airport where my Aunt Hanne picked me up. I stayed at her and my uncle Knut's house in Hohen Neuendorf, which is a village right outside of Berlin. Friday, I spent the early afternoon shopping with my aunt and had a great schnitzel lunch! My cousin Simone took me sight-seeing in the late afternoon in West Berlin, where I saw the famous church Kaiser-Wilhem-Gedach
Saturday was a really fun day! My uncle Knut took me on a tour of Tegel, the neighborhood in Berlin where he, my dad and my other uncles grew up! It is also where his current office is located. I saw all three of their childhood apartments, my dad's elementary school, and the bar where they hung out. (The bar is now a coffee shop, so we went and had a cappuccino there!) After the tour, he dropped me off at my cousin Simone's house, where I met her family: her husband Michael, and her daughters Nina and Julie. (Her other
daughter Marie is currently in Australia). Simone then took me on another sight-seeing tour, this time in East Berlin. We started out at Museum Island and walked around a popular outdoor flea market. From there, we had a beautiful view of the Berliner Dom. Then we walked to Alexanderplatz, passing the FernsehturOn Sunday morning, we went for a walk in the forest behind my aunt and uncle's house. Berlin has so many trees and parks. I can't wait to back in the summer and see all of the green foliage!
It was a lot of fun to reconnect with my family and I look forward to seeing them again next year!
That sounds so fun! I admit I am a bit jealous of close you are to everything over there. It seems like you are making the most of your time. When are you going to start offering tours to siblings of friends now that you have seen so much? : )
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