We finally made it into the United States Saturday, but not without drama.
The Cat had gotten us a great flight. It left at around 2pm. No early morning dashes to the airport for us unlike all our other expat friends leaving that morning. We leisurely got up around 7:30, at breakfast, ransacked the house to make sure we were not forgetting anything, threw away every leftover anything we had - just the regular morning routine when you are moving to another country.
We were picked up the Embassy van at 11am. When I say we, I mean my two children, myself, my dog, 6 suitcases packed to the max, a stroller and a car seat. There was barely any room in the van for anything else.
We get to airport around 11:30 with plenty of time to spare. I get in line at the Lufthansa ticket counter and when they see I have kids, they wave us over to check in at Business Class, which was empty. When the agent saw the two carts of stuff and the dog, she rolled her eyes in disdain and began complaining in German. She said I would be holding up the Business Class line. Now, the Cat had gotten us bumped up to Business Class for the long flight from Frankfurt, but not Warsaw to Frankfurt, which I mentioned to her. I also mentioned that there was no one in the Business Class line at this time. So, she did her job and checked us in. I was overweight for every bag, but they didn't charge me for anything accept the dog, which I expected. She told me that while she was able to check in the kids for the next leg of the flight, I had to go to the ticket counter to get my ticket in Frankfurt. Did I mention I only had a one hour layover in Frankfurt?
We got through security without much brouhaha, grabbed some water and went to sit at our gate and eat sandwiches I packed. While there, we ran into Thing 1 now former school principal who was on the way to Madrid with his wife. We always run into our fellow expats at the airport.
The flight to Frankfurt was effortless with the exception of Thing 1 insisting on taking things out of his backpack which I kindly (biting my lip and mentally counting to 10) told him that he could hold out for another two hours. I was not repacking that thing for him!
We deplaned at Frankfurt around 15:55. Our next flight left at 17:00. So I popped Thing 2 into the stroller, hung backpacks on it, gave Thing 1 the coats and told him to run. Luckily I know this airport and found the United Airlines counter without problem. I kindly (in hysterics) asked her for my boarding pass. Which she printed for someone else without so much as checking my passport? Thankfully I noticed and she then asked me for my passport. I got my pass, but it had me seated separately from the kids and I was told I still needed to go to the gate counter for my business class bump. All that and I still had to go through security.
I have always felt this double security check to be pointless. Those of us in the terminal have likely already gone through security somewhere else or we would not be in the terminal. The line was like a mile long. Frantic passengers kept trying to cut in saying their flight to Dulles was leaving and they had to cut in. I told one guy to take a number because I was on the same flight.
We finally get to security. The kids know the routine and took off their shoes. Still they set off the alarm and they along with me were patted down by the German officers. One of the things that I can't stand about Germany is that their collective consciousness makes them a bunch of rule following goody two shoes. Everything has to be by the book which is very annoying under extreme circumstances like being late for a flight.
So, it was no surpise when one of the officers tells me to open my backpack. This thing had to weigh 25 pounds and it was packed with way too much stuff. This woman rummaged through it trying to get to the bottom where she pulls out my jewelry pouch and manages to throw almost all my jewelry on the counter. I was livid and bitched her out asking her if they considered jewelry a weapon in their country. She seemed to be taken aback by all the jewelry and I told her I was moving back to the States and was not about to pack valuables for shipping. She did her best to pick it up, but in the end the pouch I had with Thing 2's jewelry which had all the sentimental value (there were some things in there that my dad had given me that I wanted to pass on to her as well as her baby ID bracelet and her birthstone rosary) went missing. Ironically, I posted something earlier this month about not being attached to many things unless they were of sentimental value and in a sense the loss became a self fulfilling prophecy. I am quite upset about this and will be placing a call to United Airlines to find this pouch at gate C2 in Frankfurt. I would sue if it were possible! If you think I have a case, please let me know.
After that fiasco, I ran to the counter and got my BC bump which more than made up for security. However, again they set us up in three separate rows. So, I went into BC and I made an announcement explaining the seating arrangement I had been given and asking for volunteers unless they wanted two hyperactive and one sick kid sitting next to them on the flight (I actually did say this!). Immediately two passengers gave up their seats. I got everyone settled with some snacks and we set off on a rather uneventful flight back to America.
When we finally got there, I had to get through passport control. I felt herded like cattle until I saw the glorious sign saying "Diplomats only." Kaching! I skipped about 100 people and went right to the counter. I think I'll hold on to that passport! After finding someone to help me gather my multitude of belongings and lying to the custom official that I was not bring any food of any kind into the country (my bag was stuffed with Kinder Egg Chocolates). I was finally on my way to a reunion with my husband.
Despite the jet lag, I had to unpack and then repack for the drive to FL the following day. So, while the kids spent time with dad, I managed to do it all and went to bed at 1am, over 24 hours after waking.
My kids were up and ready to go at 4am. Such is life. So I now sit here writing this opus at 5am as I wait for my tired husband to wake so we can get on the road. And somewhere in this great country of ours, my friends who traveled out Saturday are probably all up right along with me and their kids as our bodies try to figure out that we are not in Poland anymore.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Through the sands of time
I have been reminiscing a lot this week. Time here has passed ever so quickly. When I look at Thing 2, I can see how quickly. She arrived her at 7 months, drooling, teething and barely sitting up. She is leaving with a full set of teeth, running, and jumping. I can hardly get her to sit still. She has gone from babbling to being a non stop chatterbox and speaking PolSpanGlish, her own made up language. She can dress herself, put her shoes on and loves to role play with other children. Mini me in the making. She has no clue what is happening right now and if she is anything like me, it will hit her later when she realizes that she is going to a different preschool without her beloved Pani Kinga or Pani Ula. To them, I thank for making Thing 2's first preschool experience so rewarding.
Thing 1 arrived here 2 days after his 4th birthday. While he had learned basic writing, he was still trying to work out a deal where he would not have to write anything. Today, he writes sentences on his own, journals, and he can read most Dr. Seuss books to his eagerly listening sister. He has also learned to swim, speak a little Polish. He knows about many different cultures, languages and the boy can identify more flags and capital cities than I can. His simple awareness and acceptance of differences has made this entire journey worthwhile. Socially, he learned how to be a friend and found one of the best joys in life, a best friend who complements him very well. While he understands what is going on, he is a sensitive boy who intensely feels the loss of his friends. His friends gave him a book today with pictures of the past few months where they wrote all the things they liked about Thing 1 and wished him well. It was very sweet and I am sure he will treasure it when he looks back at his early school years in Warsaw.
As for for me, I am reminded of a verse in Rent's Seasons of Love - "how do you measure a year in the life? Or two and half years for that matter! In the short time I have been here, I have hopefully targeted every neuron and created so many new synapses that Alzheimer's better beware.
I learned a new culture, new language, new way of life. I learned to make triple U-turns with perfect strangers, ride up on sidewalks just because, and jump medians when I didn't feel like waiting. I mean seriously! I would sit there waiting to turn and then it would hit me - I can just jump this median and make my u-turn because no one cares! I also became a parallel parking queen. I have managed to squeeze my SUV into the tightest spots imaginable without even making a dent. Wish I could say the same about the stupidly placed columns in certain parking garages I will not mention and random untrimmed tree branches that have placed my car in need of a major paint job.
I recently learned that driving through Nowy Swiat is not allowed. The street is closed to buses and taxis only. Not that this stopped me as recently as this week from driving up that way to get into the Old Town. And probably, the most illegal thing I have done in this country is drive for the past two years without a license. When the Cat finally realized that our international driving permit just would not do, we applied. This was back in October. I am still waiting for my license. Lucky for us, we didn't get into any accidents with actual people. Just inanimate objects!
I learned to survive on a constant coffee drip and nothing more until after noon thanks to the Mums and Tots and AFW. I learned to perform mathematical somersaults for everything from currency to kilometers, pounds to kilograms and even decagrams. I learned the Metric System people! And this, folks, I must say makes us the odd man out. Why the heck aren't we on the metric system? It would make things so much easier.
I learned Polish. Sure, I have always had a knack for languages, but Polish is no easy feat. The other day, I was finally able to watch Borat and when he broke into Polish, it didn't even sound foreign to me. I did not know they spoke Polish in Kazakhstan. Who knew? I especially notice how much I learned when i listen to children speaking and can understand what they are saying. They are the best people to practice Polish with because their Polish isn't any better than mine.
Probably what I learned the most was from my international group of friends. We all live in our little worlds focused on everyones apparent differences. We fight wars over differences of religion and politics. But, the reality is that we are all more similar than we are different. I really believe that everyone should afford themselves such an experience if only for that reason. I can no longer look at an immigrant or foreigner in my own country without understanding the difficulty they may be going through and offering assistance. It has made me far more compassionate.
I have enjoyed my time here and it will take a while to readjust to my own country. Life went on there when we left too and I now need to try and catch up with it.
Thing 1 arrived here 2 days after his 4th birthday. While he had learned basic writing, he was still trying to work out a deal where he would not have to write anything. Today, he writes sentences on his own, journals, and he can read most Dr. Seuss books to his eagerly listening sister. He has also learned to swim, speak a little Polish. He knows about many different cultures, languages and the boy can identify more flags and capital cities than I can. His simple awareness and acceptance of differences has made this entire journey worthwhile. Socially, he learned how to be a friend and found one of the best joys in life, a best friend who complements him very well. While he understands what is going on, he is a sensitive boy who intensely feels the loss of his friends. His friends gave him a book today with pictures of the past few months where they wrote all the things they liked about Thing 1 and wished him well. It was very sweet and I am sure he will treasure it when he looks back at his early school years in Warsaw.
As for for me, I am reminded of a verse in Rent's Seasons of Love - "how do you measure a year in the life? Or two and half years for that matter! In the short time I have been here, I have hopefully targeted every neuron and created so many new synapses that Alzheimer's better beware.
I learned a new culture, new language, new way of life. I learned to make triple U-turns with perfect strangers, ride up on sidewalks just because, and jump medians when I didn't feel like waiting. I mean seriously! I would sit there waiting to turn and then it would hit me - I can just jump this median and make my u-turn because no one cares! I also became a parallel parking queen. I have managed to squeeze my SUV into the tightest spots imaginable without even making a dent. Wish I could say the same about the stupidly placed columns in certain parking garages I will not mention and random untrimmed tree branches that have placed my car in need of a major paint job.
I recently learned that driving through Nowy Swiat is not allowed. The street is closed to buses and taxis only. Not that this stopped me as recently as this week from driving up that way to get into the Old Town. And probably, the most illegal thing I have done in this country is drive for the past two years without a license. When the Cat finally realized that our international driving permit just would not do, we applied. This was back in October. I am still waiting for my license. Lucky for us, we didn't get into any accidents with actual people. Just inanimate objects!
I learned to survive on a constant coffee drip and nothing more until after noon thanks to the Mums and Tots and AFW. I learned to perform mathematical somersaults for everything from currency to kilometers, pounds to kilograms and even decagrams. I learned the Metric System people! And this, folks, I must say makes us the odd man out. Why the heck aren't we on the metric system? It would make things so much easier.
I learned Polish. Sure, I have always had a knack for languages, but Polish is no easy feat. The other day, I was finally able to watch Borat and when he broke into Polish, it didn't even sound foreign to me. I did not know they spoke Polish in Kazakhstan. Who knew? I especially notice how much I learned when i listen to children speaking and can understand what they are saying. They are the best people to practice Polish with because their Polish isn't any better than mine.
Probably what I learned the most was from my international group of friends. We all live in our little worlds focused on everyones apparent differences. We fight wars over differences of religion and politics. But, the reality is that we are all more similar than we are different. I really believe that everyone should afford themselves such an experience if only for that reason. I can no longer look at an immigrant or foreigner in my own country without understanding the difficulty they may be going through and offering assistance. It has made me far more compassionate.
I have enjoyed my time here and it will take a while to readjust to my own country. Life went on there when we left too and I now need to try and catch up with it.
Saying Good-bye
Saying goodbye is never easy, whether it comes when you expect it or when you least expect it. I have spent the last few weeks going through the moving motions and now all that is left to focus on is what I wish I didn't have to do so soon.
I have made wonderful friends here in Warsaw. Some through our Embassy, some native Poles and many from almost every continent in the world. My only regret is that I did not get to know them sooner. There is a grief process to be had here and I am still somewhere in the first three stages. I am a bit hesitant to move in the 4th because it is depression and I don't do well with that. I think that all of this will hit me in January when the holiday buzz is gone, Thing 1 starts a new school and I go back to work. So until I have my breakdown and eventually accept all this, I will keep in touch through my virtual world and pretend that all of them are just a few kilometers away. And hope that there are some great drugs to help me get through it!
Today was especially hard. Saying good bye to my friends from Mums and Tots was difficult because the group itself offered so much support to me during those early days in cold, dark Warsaw. Some of these special people have moved on. But, I still remember my first meeting where I met Marjolein from the Netherlands. Little did I know then that we would be literally taking over the group within months as postmaster and webmaster for 2 years. Both of our kids were babies then. I met a very pregnant Ambra from Canada when I was selling Thing 2's baby furniture last summer. She bought Thing 2's bedroom/crib set, but we had so much in common that we became friends right away. Now Zoe is almost 5 months old and delights in hearing us talk. I met Marisa quite by accident. I noticed on the membership list that her son and Thing 2 shared a birthday. She was also from California so we started emailing, calling and started setting up play dates with our kids. While I didn't get to see her too much once she started her business, when I got together with her recently, it was as if I had seen her yesterday. Through it all these friends from all over helped with all the WTF moments that came with living in Poland. How else would I have known to make sure that my kids wear hats even in the spring to avoid dirty looks or reprimands from older Polish, well meaning women!
Agnieszka, Alicja, and Joanna are my Polish friends who were more eager to practice their English than I was in learning Polish. While our hectic schedules made it hard for us to see each other often, we did share in some nice playdates, meals and outings with and without our children. They have also been very supportive and helpful to this foreigner trying to figure things out in Poland. Without them, I would have never found sand for Thing 2's sand table last summer (all of which I just threw out yesterday, by the way), or learned to make pierogies with Aga, or I would have been stuck in traffic for hours near Wroclaw on the way to Prague had I not listened to Joanna who told me to avoid Piotr Trybunalski at all cost! Little things that make a big difference. There are many more friends like this, but these are the ones I spent the most time with. All of you have made my experience in Warsaw that much more pleasant.
And, I cannot end my ode to friends with out mentioning Kylie aka Slightly Cracked, my fellow blogger in crime/real life friend, who has to be as neurotic as me. I remember meeting her and her family while ice skating last year. Thing 2 confused her husband Thrifty Expat for Josh on the rink and hugged his leg and thus a connection was made. It wasn't until months later that we saw each other again at Thing 2's new preschool and learned that all our children were now in school together. This year, we were the guardian of the zloty for the PTO store every Monday morning. I actually looked forward to Mondays not just for the fact that my children were alas off to school, but because I really enjoyed our conversations. We have so much in common and my only regret is that we didn't get to know each other sooner. I haven't said goodbye to her yet, but I know I will see you again someday. You can count on that!
Are you crying yet? It doesn't end there. This afternoon, after learning that I owe no more than a few bucks to the property people in the housing department, I paid a visit to my "atelier urody" or aesthetician. Ania has kept my hands, feet and face in top condition for almost 2 years. She gave me a lovely picture of Warsaw along with my last manicure and pedicure in Warsaw. I have enjoyed talking with her about our cultures, life's ups and downs, and everything else you can imagine. I can only hope to find someone as good as you back in the States.
Not in tears? Read on...this evening, I said goodbye to my Polish babcia and dziadek, my housekeeper, Grazyna and her husband, Josef, who have become as much a part of our family as they can be. That was especially hard because while she was my employee, she also became a surrogate grandmother to the kids and in a way they were both like surrogate parents to us. We were guests in their home and they in ours. It broke my heart tonight to see Thing 2 struggling to say good bye to her "nina". And it was sweet to watch Thing 1 speak the little Polish he knows to them as he said good bye. I will miss her (really both of them) terribly and not just for being a phenomenal housekeeper, but for making my Polish experience so much more personal. It is especially hard knowing that unless I am able to make it back to Poland someday, I may never see her again except for pictures and emails. So with my fairly decent Polish and my dictionary, I will write.
Everyone says that coming home is harder than leaving. I don't know the logistics of all that yet although I am sure there is no learning curve there. But, emotionally, coming home is harder. When you move overseas, you know you will come back home. But, when you have friends from all over, it is hard to know when and if you will ever see them again. At the same time, the world doesn't seem as large a place as it one was.
Warsaw is a place that you either love or hate. I find that it is the people you meet along the way that help you make that decision. So, for me, Warsaw and the people I met here will always hold a special place in my heart. I truly hope our paths cross again.
Do widzenia Warszawa! Dzien Dobry Ameryka!
I have made wonderful friends here in Warsaw. Some through our Embassy, some native Poles and many from almost every continent in the world. My only regret is that I did not get to know them sooner. There is a grief process to be had here and I am still somewhere in the first three stages. I am a bit hesitant to move in the 4th because it is depression and I don't do well with that. I think that all of this will hit me in January when the holiday buzz is gone, Thing 1 starts a new school and I go back to work. So until I have my breakdown and eventually accept all this, I will keep in touch through my virtual world and pretend that all of them are just a few kilometers away. And hope that there are some great drugs to help me get through it!
Today was especially hard. Saying good bye to my friends from Mums and Tots was difficult because the group itself offered so much support to me during those early days in cold, dark Warsaw. Some of these special people have moved on. But, I still remember my first meeting where I met Marjolein from the Netherlands. Little did I know then that we would be literally taking over the group within months as postmaster and webmaster for 2 years. Both of our kids were babies then. I met a very pregnant Ambra from Canada when I was selling Thing 2's baby furniture last summer. She bought Thing 2's bedroom/crib set, but we had so much in common that we became friends right away. Now Zoe is almost 5 months old and delights in hearing us talk. I met Marisa quite by accident. I noticed on the membership list that her son and Thing 2 shared a birthday. She was also from California so we started emailing, calling and started setting up play dates with our kids. While I didn't get to see her too much once she started her business, when I got together with her recently, it was as if I had seen her yesterday. Through it all these friends from all over helped with all the WTF moments that came with living in Poland. How else would I have known to make sure that my kids wear hats even in the spring to avoid dirty looks or reprimands from older Polish, well meaning women!
Agnieszka, Alicja, and Joanna are my Polish friends who were more eager to practice their English than I was in learning Polish. While our hectic schedules made it hard for us to see each other often, we did share in some nice playdates, meals and outings with and without our children. They have also been very supportive and helpful to this foreigner trying to figure things out in Poland. Without them, I would have never found sand for Thing 2's sand table last summer (all of which I just threw out yesterday, by the way), or learned to make pierogies with Aga, or I would have been stuck in traffic for hours near Wroclaw on the way to Prague had I not listened to Joanna who told me to avoid Piotr Trybunalski at all cost! Little things that make a big difference. There are many more friends like this, but these are the ones I spent the most time with. All of you have made my experience in Warsaw that much more pleasant.
And, I cannot end my ode to friends with out mentioning Kylie aka Slightly Cracked, my fellow blogger in crime/real life friend, who has to be as neurotic as me. I remember meeting her and her family while ice skating last year. Thing 2 confused her husband Thrifty Expat for Josh on the rink and hugged his leg and thus a connection was made. It wasn't until months later that we saw each other again at Thing 2's new preschool and learned that all our children were now in school together. This year, we were the guardian of the zloty for the PTO store every Monday morning. I actually looked forward to Mondays not just for the fact that my children were alas off to school, but because I really enjoyed our conversations. We have so much in common and my only regret is that we didn't get to know each other sooner. I haven't said goodbye to her yet, but I know I will see you again someday. You can count on that!
Are you crying yet? It doesn't end there. This afternoon, after learning that I owe no more than a few bucks to the property people in the housing department, I paid a visit to my "atelier urody" or aesthetician. Ania has kept my hands, feet and face in top condition for almost 2 years. She gave me a lovely picture of Warsaw along with my last manicure and pedicure in Warsaw. I have enjoyed talking with her about our cultures, life's ups and downs, and everything else you can imagine. I can only hope to find someone as good as you back in the States.
Not in tears? Read on...this evening, I said goodbye to my Polish babcia and dziadek, my housekeeper, Grazyna and her husband, Josef, who have become as much a part of our family as they can be. That was especially hard because while she was my employee, she also became a surrogate grandmother to the kids and in a way they were both like surrogate parents to us. We were guests in their home and they in ours. It broke my heart tonight to see Thing 2 struggling to say good bye to her "nina". And it was sweet to watch Thing 1 speak the little Polish he knows to them as he said good bye. I will miss her (really both of them) terribly and not just for being a phenomenal housekeeper, but for making my Polish experience so much more personal. It is especially hard knowing that unless I am able to make it back to Poland someday, I may never see her again except for pictures and emails. So with my fairly decent Polish and my dictionary, I will write.
Everyone says that coming home is harder than leaving. I don't know the logistics of all that yet although I am sure there is no learning curve there. But, emotionally, coming home is harder. When you move overseas, you know you will come back home. But, when you have friends from all over, it is hard to know when and if you will ever see them again. At the same time, the world doesn't seem as large a place as it one was.
Warsaw is a place that you either love or hate. I find that it is the people you meet along the way that help you make that decision. So, for me, Warsaw and the people I met here will always hold a special place in my heart. I truly hope our paths cross again.
Do widzenia Warszawa! Dzien Dobry Ameryka!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Exhaustion Junction
There are freezing points and melting points and somewhere in between there must be an exhaustion junction - a place where stress meets an immune system on overload and just becomes enmeshed with each other. If there is, I think I have arrived there and I do not like it.
For the past 2 weeks, I have run around my house throwing stuff out, donating useful items, organizing our stuff into three parts - stuff for the plane, air freight and household effects (HHE). While I don't necessarily enjoy moving, there is one very positive thing that happens with every move. You get to get rid of stuff!
When i was in college and graduate school, I moved so much that I realized one thing: stuff is just stuff. It isn't that important. Certainly I have my own things that I value (mostly stuff my dad gave me), but I have little attachment to all this stuff in general. In other words, if the house was burning, I would leave those heirlooms behind. I would probably take my photo albums and hard drive that holds my pictures. That's probably what I would cry about if I lost it and thanks to Snapfish all my pics for the last 8 years can be recouped.
While I love this part of moving, my dear husband, while not quite the packrat, hates giving away stuff or losing stuff to a break. When things break as they often do in moves, I don't tend to get upset with it. I glue it back is it is possible or I move on. Not so with my husband who depending on what broke goes through the grief process. He still won't let me live down the green bachelor couch I encouraged him to give away to a cousin who (being a bachelor himself) trashed it within a year (or so I hear). So, isn't great that I am handling this pack out by myself?
The whole moving process is stressful, but luckily, the giving away stuff is quite easy. My kids can now visit Slightly Cracked and feel quite at home with the toys they so generously (I snuck them into the garage while they were at school and, if no one asked, it went) donated.
Having my children out of the house has been a blessing during this time. Thing 2's wonderful Happy Montessori school allowed me to let her go full time without charging me the other half of the tuition. She is happy and I got a lot done. Thing 1's friends (or should I say their parents) let Thing 1 come over on play dates after school to help maximize my time. All of you have been great and I really appreciate the help.
And so, yesterday, the movers showed up. And I was pleasantly surprised that they spoke more English than the Hispanic guys who packed us up in Miami. Miami Latinos - get with the program! It would not have mattered since with my wonderful Polish teachers who taught me for 2 years, I know the names of everything they were writing on the boxes.
Things went well and they were able to the whole house in 8 hours. Quite an accomplishment! Today they did the furniture and now they are loading. I am hoping to have them all out of my house by tomorrow morning at the latest. And through it all I discovered that my stress response is quite interesting. I rock under stress! It is when you leave me idle that I crash and burn.
I was so exhausted last night (from doing nothing but supervising) that when Thing 2 asked me to lie with her in bed, I didn't just lie there and then leave when she fell asleep. I passed out. I was so exhausted that when the Cat called an hour later and the phone was ringing, I started hitting the snooze button determined to break my alarm clock that would not stop "ringing." I was so exhausted that when I went to get clothing for the next day (mover pack everything that isn't bolted down or clearly marked as "nie pakowac", so I packed all my clothes before their arrival), I could barely walk back up the stairs and ended up falling and huring my knee and elbow. It wasn't pretty, but at least I didn't break anything.
Then, to top it all off, my body had no idea what to do with itself after two weeks of situationally induced stress, so it decided to attack me to bring back the stress. I woke at 4am feeling nauseated and proceeded to vomit intermittently for three hours (more weight loss for me - goody) while trying to shower, get ready, get kids ready for school and make breakfast, multi tasker that I am. What is it about a toilet that induces a gag reflex other than it's overall germs? I swear that every time I even came close to one, I would have the need to vomit. Don't feel bad though - throwing up was a great relief to me. I was actually feeling better when it was all over. Note to self: Haagen Daz from Warsaw should not be considered "dinner."
Later, I found out I had a fever. Tip off: the house is heated and I was freezing. Those who know me know that I am rarely cold. So, I searched for a thermometer, praying that I had placed it in a "nie pakowac" drawer and ever so grateful that I did. 101 F! So, a few pain relievers later, the flu seems to be gone and I think my fever is breaking. I am still exhausted and have to pick up Thing 2 soon. Tonight, Thing 2 will have mommy in bed with her at 8pm. No need to beg me to lie down. They may need to beg me to get up!
For the past 2 weeks, I have run around my house throwing stuff out, donating useful items, organizing our stuff into three parts - stuff for the plane, air freight and household effects (HHE). While I don't necessarily enjoy moving, there is one very positive thing that happens with every move. You get to get rid of stuff!
When i was in college and graduate school, I moved so much that I realized one thing: stuff is just stuff. It isn't that important. Certainly I have my own things that I value (mostly stuff my dad gave me), but I have little attachment to all this stuff in general. In other words, if the house was burning, I would leave those heirlooms behind. I would probably take my photo albums and hard drive that holds my pictures. That's probably what I would cry about if I lost it and thanks to Snapfish all my pics for the last 8 years can be recouped.
While I love this part of moving, my dear husband, while not quite the packrat, hates giving away stuff or losing stuff to a break. When things break as they often do in moves, I don't tend to get upset with it. I glue it back is it is possible or I move on. Not so with my husband who depending on what broke goes through the grief process. He still won't let me live down the green bachelor couch I encouraged him to give away to a cousin who (being a bachelor himself) trashed it within a year (or so I hear). So, isn't great that I am handling this pack out by myself?
The whole moving process is stressful, but luckily, the giving away stuff is quite easy. My kids can now visit Slightly Cracked and feel quite at home with the toys they so generously (I snuck them into the garage while they were at school and, if no one asked, it went) donated.
Having my children out of the house has been a blessing during this time. Thing 2's wonderful Happy Montessori school allowed me to let her go full time without charging me the other half of the tuition. She is happy and I got a lot done. Thing 1's friends (or should I say their parents) let Thing 1 come over on play dates after school to help maximize my time. All of you have been great and I really appreciate the help.
And so, yesterday, the movers showed up. And I was pleasantly surprised that they spoke more English than the Hispanic guys who packed us up in Miami. Miami Latinos - get with the program! It would not have mattered since with my wonderful Polish teachers who taught me for 2 years, I know the names of everything they were writing on the boxes.
Things went well and they were able to the whole house in 8 hours. Quite an accomplishment! Today they did the furniture and now they are loading. I am hoping to have them all out of my house by tomorrow morning at the latest. And through it all I discovered that my stress response is quite interesting. I rock under stress! It is when you leave me idle that I crash and burn.
I was so exhausted last night (from doing nothing but supervising) that when Thing 2 asked me to lie with her in bed, I didn't just lie there and then leave when she fell asleep. I passed out. I was so exhausted that when the Cat called an hour later and the phone was ringing, I started hitting the snooze button determined to break my alarm clock that would not stop "ringing." I was so exhausted that when I went to get clothing for the next day (mover pack everything that isn't bolted down or clearly marked as "nie pakowac", so I packed all my clothes before their arrival), I could barely walk back up the stairs and ended up falling and huring my knee and elbow. It wasn't pretty, but at least I didn't break anything.
Then, to top it all off, my body had no idea what to do with itself after two weeks of situationally induced stress, so it decided to attack me to bring back the stress. I woke at 4am feeling nauseated and proceeded to vomit intermittently for three hours (more weight loss for me - goody) while trying to shower, get ready, get kids ready for school and make breakfast, multi tasker that I am. What is it about a toilet that induces a gag reflex other than it's overall germs? I swear that every time I even came close to one, I would have the need to vomit. Don't feel bad though - throwing up was a great relief to me. I was actually feeling better when it was all over. Note to self: Haagen Daz from Warsaw should not be considered "dinner."
Later, I found out I had a fever. Tip off: the house is heated and I was freezing. Those who know me know that I am rarely cold. So, I searched for a thermometer, praying that I had placed it in a "nie pakowac" drawer and ever so grateful that I did. 101 F! So, a few pain relievers later, the flu seems to be gone and I think my fever is breaking. I am still exhausted and have to pick up Thing 2 soon. Tonight, Thing 2 will have mommy in bed with her at 8pm. No need to beg me to lie down. They may need to beg me to get up!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Pre-Moving Shopping Sprees
No matter where you live, if you are moving to another state or country, you always feel pressed for time to do (and in my case buy) all those things we put off to the last minute. And I do have regrets. While I have seen most European capitals thoroughly, I can't say I did the same in Warsaw. Everyday life (and small children who don't give a hoot about castles and museums) prevented me from fully exploring Warsaw. And now that both kids are in school, I have all this packing to do.
Donating and throwing out stuff has another pleasant side effect: losing weight. Not necessarily personally, although I have lost about 6 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks simply doing all of this. I mean losing packout weight which increases our overall weight limit leaving room for more stuff. We had planned to buy lots of stuff native to Poland before leaving in June.
So what to do when you need stuff and the Polish zloty is back to 2006 rates against the dollar? Gather a group of friends with money to burn (or not) and hit the hole in the wall ghetto warehouses that hold such lovely items, like Jablonski (who were moving to the Krosno factory - another lovely place in the middle of nowhere near Warsaw 5 days later - heads up shoppers), Boleslawiec pottery (courtesy of ANKO), amber jewelry, roses and decorative trees, Russian nesting dolls all while enjoying great company and Coffee Heaven coffee (even with Starbucks, I will miss thee Coffee Heaven).
Want to know a secret? Traveling to Poland at this time of year, if you can deal with the cold, is a great. Old Town is pretty much dead with the exception of their mini Christmas market set up in the square. If you go during the week, there is not a soul there. Slightly Cracked and I drove right up to ul Dluga right next to the Barbakan, met out friends shortly after and spent the morning shopping. I made it back to my the minute the ticket (parking meter ticket) ran out. Not that I care about getting a ticket at this point!
I really think that my friends and I help Poland increase it's GDP over the past week and had a great time doing so.
Donating and throwing out stuff has another pleasant side effect: losing weight. Not necessarily personally, although I have lost about 6 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks simply doing all of this. I mean losing packout weight which increases our overall weight limit leaving room for more stuff. We had planned to buy lots of stuff native to Poland before leaving in June.
So what to do when you need stuff and the Polish zloty is back to 2006 rates against the dollar? Gather a group of friends with money to burn (or not) and hit the hole in the wall ghetto warehouses that hold such lovely items, like Jablonski (who were moving to the Krosno factory - another lovely place in the middle of nowhere near Warsaw 5 days later - heads up shoppers), Boleslawiec pottery (courtesy of ANKO), amber jewelry, roses and decorative trees, Russian nesting dolls all while enjoying great company and Coffee Heaven coffee (even with Starbucks, I will miss thee Coffee Heaven).
Want to know a secret? Traveling to Poland at this time of year, if you can deal with the cold, is a great. Old Town is pretty much dead with the exception of their mini Christmas market set up in the square. If you go during the week, there is not a soul there. Slightly Cracked and I drove right up to ul Dluga right next to the Barbakan, met out friends shortly after and spent the morning shopping. I made it back to my the minute the ticket (parking meter ticket) ran out. Not that I care about getting a ticket at this point!
I really think that my friends and I help Poland increase it's GDP over the past week and had a great time doing so.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Christmas has gone wild!
After a day of much deserved pampering by my aesthetician and physical therapist, it dawned on me that tomorrow is St. Nicholas Day and St. Nicholas (that would be me) had not bought a single surprise for the kids.
St. Nicholas is a big day in Europe, even more important than Christmas Day itself. Here there are really skinny Santas giving out candy at the malls, but no pictures with Santa at the mall (that will come soon enough when someone wises up to the profitability of it all). I would be a really bad mommy if I ignored this altogether and I have a feeling that for the rest of their lives my children will be expecting something in their stocking on December 6.
I was pressed for time since I had to pick the kids up from school at 4:30. So I raced to the nearest mall, the Sadyba "Best" Mall, which really does not deserve that name. That was my second mistake, the first being waiting until today to get this together. But, can you blame me? I mean amid all this packing it's a miracle that I even remembered.
Sadyba Mall is the worst mall in all of Warsaw in addition to being the smallest. I knew I was in for it when I went into the underground parking garage to find it nearly full. That's always a bad sign here.
I headed to Smyk and I felt like I had been transported to another universe. In the 2 years I have been here, I have never seen the mountains of toys at exorbitant prices that I saw today. Our first Christmas here, I could barely find any selection. Today, it was overwhelming. And let's not forget all the people doing exactly what I was doing. The lines were ridiculously long and they only had 2 cashiers who were taking their sweet time ringing up customers.
It was not like this 2 years ago. Two years ago I got the impression that Christmas here took on a more sacred meaning. I'm sure that for some this still holds true. But consumerism in Poland appears to be at an all time high. People don't pay their bills (I don't know if they quite understand that this is part of the agreement). I have heard stories of people being put in jail for not paying their bills. It is sad to think of it.
This is why, I sometimes feel that I am reliving the 80's here. In the 80's (and the 70's too) it was all about "me, me, me". It's almost as if they had an 80's do over. Who can blame them when you think about their 80's compared to ours? I ended up getting each child one small European toy and some Kinder Eggs.
St. Nicholas is a big day in Europe, even more important than Christmas Day itself. Here there are really skinny Santas giving out candy at the malls, but no pictures with Santa at the mall (that will come soon enough when someone wises up to the profitability of it all). I would be a really bad mommy if I ignored this altogether and I have a feeling that for the rest of their lives my children will be expecting something in their stocking on December 6.
I was pressed for time since I had to pick the kids up from school at 4:30. So I raced to the nearest mall, the Sadyba "Best" Mall, which really does not deserve that name. That was my second mistake, the first being waiting until today to get this together. But, can you blame me? I mean amid all this packing it's a miracle that I even remembered.
Sadyba Mall is the worst mall in all of Warsaw in addition to being the smallest. I knew I was in for it when I went into the underground parking garage to find it nearly full. That's always a bad sign here.
I headed to Smyk and I felt like I had been transported to another universe. In the 2 years I have been here, I have never seen the mountains of toys at exorbitant prices that I saw today. Our first Christmas here, I could barely find any selection. Today, it was overwhelming. And let's not forget all the people doing exactly what I was doing. The lines were ridiculously long and they only had 2 cashiers who were taking their sweet time ringing up customers.
It was not like this 2 years ago. Two years ago I got the impression that Christmas here took on a more sacred meaning. I'm sure that for some this still holds true. But consumerism in Poland appears to be at an all time high. People don't pay their bills (I don't know if they quite understand that this is part of the agreement). I have heard stories of people being put in jail for not paying their bills. It is sad to think of it.
This is why, I sometimes feel that I am reliving the 80's here. In the 80's (and the 70's too) it was all about "me, me, me". It's almost as if they had an 80's do over. Who can blame them when you think about their 80's compared to ours? I ended up getting each child one small European toy and some Kinder Eggs.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Jedi Mind Tricks
Drinking water is one of the few resources you can't get for free on tap here in Poland. You can brush your teeth with it, but it is not potable. So, most people either buy bottled water at the market or they subscribe to a water service. We have had a water service i.e. water cooler since we arrived and I love it. I may even look into the option stateside.
This week, I requested that my water delivery be suspended because I have enough bottles to last until our departure. I needed the Embassy to cancel my regular delivery and set up a time 2 days before we leave to pick up the water cooler. A simple phone call right? Not in Warsaw! The Embassy made the phone call, but apparently no one at Dar Natury got that memo.
Usually, they deliver on Wednesdays in the evening. Tonight, I expected no delivery and I would not have been here anyway because I had a photography class to attend. So, I came home with the kids around 10pm and got my rugrats off to bed (their teachers are going to hate me tomorrow, but I will have great pictures to show for it) and went downstairs to unwind. My kitchen window was slightly open and it was cold so I went to close it and when I look outside there are two 5 gallon jugs of water at the gate. But here is the kicker: the bottles were inside my courtyard, not outside my gate. How I wish I had a surveillance to see how exactly they managed to get 10 gallons of water over my really tall gate! A Jedi mind trick perhaps?
So, now, I have 10 gallons of water that will in all likelihood be frozen by morning. Why not bring them inside? I have had a severe back spasms for months that started when I tried to change out one of those bottles. I am not about to lug two of them up the stairs to the storage area. So, one of two things will happen: The bottles will crack from the freezing cold or Dar Natury better get their truck back here tomorrow and pick them up. I may have them demonstrate their gate trick for me just for fun!
This week, I requested that my water delivery be suspended because I have enough bottles to last until our departure. I needed the Embassy to cancel my regular delivery and set up a time 2 days before we leave to pick up the water cooler. A simple phone call right? Not in Warsaw! The Embassy made the phone call, but apparently no one at Dar Natury got that memo.
Usually, they deliver on Wednesdays in the evening. Tonight, I expected no delivery and I would not have been here anyway because I had a photography class to attend. So, I came home with the kids around 10pm and got my rugrats off to bed (their teachers are going to hate me tomorrow, but I will have great pictures to show for it) and went downstairs to unwind. My kitchen window was slightly open and it was cold so I went to close it and when I look outside there are two 5 gallon jugs of water at the gate. But here is the kicker: the bottles were inside my courtyard, not outside my gate. How I wish I had a surveillance to see how exactly they managed to get 10 gallons of water over my really tall gate! A Jedi mind trick perhaps?
So, now, I have 10 gallons of water that will in all likelihood be frozen by morning. Why not bring them inside? I have had a severe back spasms for months that started when I tried to change out one of those bottles. I am not about to lug two of them up the stairs to the storage area. So, one of two things will happen: The bottles will crack from the freezing cold or Dar Natury better get their truck back here tomorrow and pick them up. I may have them demonstrate their gate trick for me just for fun!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Goin' Green in Poland
Compared to the US, Poles tend to be more environmentally friendly at the stores than we Americans. I don't know when this all began, but all I know is that when I arrived here, reusable grocery bags made of fabric were already being sold and used all over the place. When we traveled to Ireland, one of our first trips, I was taken back by having to pay for a plastic grocery bag at a Tesco in Dublin. The message was clear - plastic is out, fabric is in.
Since then, I have bought my share of these fabric bags. However, my biggest problem is that I never remember to bring them with me to the store. My other problem is that they sell the bags with the store logo. So, what if I bought the bag at Tesco, but I am shopping at REAL. It's like taking your McDonald's meal to Burger King and eating it there.
I don't know about you, but I find plenty of use for those plastic bags. The primary one is using the plastic bags as trash bags for my small wastebaskets. I also send them with Nicholas when he has swimming at school in the hopes that his swimsuit and towels will come back in that bag rather than his backpack. I also use them to make a little "carry me upstairs and put me away" bag for the kids when they leave little toys lying around. I recycle those thing like crazy.
Well, now, stores like Carrefour and Real are making me think twice about not bringing my bags. Actually, they are just making me think about driving the extra 5 miles to Auchan! Carrefour and Real have decided to charge a zloty for each plastic bag you use. Now, not only do I have to bag my own groceries at these establishments, but I have to pay the equivalent of 30-35 cents (USD) per bag for that "pleasure". It's just wrong!
Hello Auchan!
Since then, I have bought my share of these fabric bags. However, my biggest problem is that I never remember to bring them with me to the store. My other problem is that they sell the bags with the store logo. So, what if I bought the bag at Tesco, but I am shopping at REAL. It's like taking your McDonald's meal to Burger King and eating it there.
I don't know about you, but I find plenty of use for those plastic bags. The primary one is using the plastic bags as trash bags for my small wastebaskets. I also send them with Nicholas when he has swimming at school in the hopes that his swimsuit and towels will come back in that bag rather than his backpack. I also use them to make a little "carry me upstairs and put me away" bag for the kids when they leave little toys lying around. I recycle those thing like crazy.
Well, now, stores like Carrefour and Real are making me think twice about not bringing my bags. Actually, they are just making me think about driving the extra 5 miles to Auchan! Carrefour and Real have decided to charge a zloty for each plastic bag you use. Now, not only do I have to bag my own groceries at these establishments, but I have to pay the equivalent of 30-35 cents (USD) per bag for that "pleasure". It's just wrong!
Hello Auchan!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Rules of the Road...what rules?
Sometimes living in a foreign country, you just cannot believe some of the things you see. Today was one of those days.
I left the house to head over to my friend's baby shower. I am about to turn left on a major 6 lane divided thoroughfare. As my double turn lane begins to make its way, I hear an ambulance. So, our turn lane slows. Wish I could say the same for the ongoing traffic trying to cross the street. One car really thought he could beat the ambulance. But, in the end, the ambulance ended up beating him, or should we say his/her car. The ambulance plowed right into the passenger side of the car. There was definitely an impact there. Personally, the idiot deserved it for not giving the ambulance the right of way.
Ok, so I continue driving because there were plenty of onlookers who presumably spoke Polish better than me and could serve as witnesses. I get to the next intersection to make another left. This is the one intersection that requires more patience out of me than any other.
In most places (even in Warsaw) when two cars in opposite directions are making left turns, you align your cars passenger side to passenger side. Simple enough, but not at this particular intersection. For some reason, no matter when I try to turn, drivers insist on aligning the cars driver's side to driver's side. What happen is that if you have more than one car waiting in line to turn left, they literally block the row of cars opposite them trying to make a left. Do you see logic to this because I certainly do not?
While living here, I have been witness and unwillingly taken part in triple car turn lanes that are more often than not made up by drivers rather than the transportation authority. Most recently, I was part of a triple U-turn. I was where I was supposed to be, but my Polish counterparts decided to make a U-turn in synchrony with mine. It is no wonder that they have signs like this one. They actually have signs warning pedestrians that they may be hit by a car! Really, they are for drivers, but no one seems to care. For some of the more amusing road signs, you can read this blog.
I am sure this is one aspect of Warsaw I will not miss. But, then again, I may wish I am back in Warsaw where the rules of the road are really just guidelines when I am stuck in traffic and wishing I could "legally" get ahead.
I left the house to head over to my friend's baby shower. I am about to turn left on a major 6 lane divided thoroughfare. As my double turn lane begins to make its way, I hear an ambulance. So, our turn lane slows. Wish I could say the same for the ongoing traffic trying to cross the street. One car really thought he could beat the ambulance. But, in the end, the ambulance ended up beating him, or should we say his/her car. The ambulance plowed right into the passenger side of the car. There was definitely an impact there. Personally, the idiot deserved it for not giving the ambulance the right of way.
Ok, so I continue driving because there were plenty of onlookers who presumably spoke Polish better than me and could serve as witnesses. I get to the next intersection to make another left. This is the one intersection that requires more patience out of me than any other.
In most places (even in Warsaw) when two cars in opposite directions are making left turns, you align your cars passenger side to passenger side. Simple enough, but not at this particular intersection. For some reason, no matter when I try to turn, drivers insist on aligning the cars driver's side to driver's side. What happen is that if you have more than one car waiting in line to turn left, they literally block the row of cars opposite them trying to make a left. Do you see logic to this because I certainly do not?
While living here, I have been witness and unwillingly taken part in triple car turn lanes that are more often than not made up by drivers rather than the transportation authority. Most recently, I was part of a triple U-turn. I was where I was supposed to be, but my Polish counterparts decided to make a U-turn in synchrony with mine. It is no wonder that they have signs like this one. They actually have signs warning pedestrians that they may be hit by a car! Really, they are for drivers, but no one seems to care. For some of the more amusing road signs, you can read this blog.
I am sure this is one aspect of Warsaw I will not miss. But, then again, I may wish I am back in Warsaw where the rules of the road are really just guidelines when I am stuck in traffic and wishing I could "legally" get ahead.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Leaving Warsaw
It is official. We are returning to the United States. We are actually quite happy to be coming back (especially in time for the holidays). It will be a stressful time, but I am sure everything will work itself out.
I was a bit concerned about how Thing 1 would react to the unexpected news.
Thing 1: "Will the kids in my new school speak English?"
Me: "Yes."
Thing 1: "Yes!"Can my friends visit me?
Me: Of course, but it may not be for a while.
His next concern...
Thing 1: How will Santa Claus know where to find me?
Me: We will send him a forwarding address with your letter.
Thing 1: Ohhh!
So simple at this age.
The other one is not so simple. My pseudo Polish daughter has no idea what awaits her in her home country that she thinks is a "new" country. She keeps arguing with me that she is Polish and it's hard to argue with a 2 year old.
While I have started reading stories about moving, it will mean nothing to her until the movers and boxes arrive in a few weeks. She senses the impending stress and she is throwing tantrums, acting out, etc. Tonight she actually had the nerve to tell me "I losing my patience." "Losing your patience?", I replied. "You don't know what patience is - this is (pointing to self) is losing your patience." The other day she told me "You're being difficult." I think her primary defense mechanism is projection (it may be mine as well).
It is going to be a long month!
So, while the Cat heads out (with our two furry children) to find us a place to live and a vehicle, I will stay behind with my human kids to help them through their last days of schools and oversee the pack out. Instead of decorating for the holidays, I will be spending my days sifting through 2 1/2 years of stuff and trying to get rid of as much as possible so that we stay within our weight limit.
Part of me is sad to leave Warsaw, especially so soon. There are always thing you put off until next time and now there really won't be a next time. I will be very sad to leave all my friends from the Embassy, Mums and Tots and others I met along the way through AFW and ASW. For me, it has been a positive experience overall and I hope to come back in 15-20 years when Poland finally moves out of the "80's" and into the "90's" or even the new millenium!
I was a bit concerned about how Thing 1 would react to the unexpected news.
Thing 1: "Will the kids in my new school speak English?"
Me: "Yes."
Thing 1: "Yes!"Can my friends visit me?
Me: Of course, but it may not be for a while.
His next concern...
Thing 1: How will Santa Claus know where to find me?
Me: We will send him a forwarding address with your letter.
Thing 1: Ohhh!
So simple at this age.
The other one is not so simple. My pseudo Polish daughter has no idea what awaits her in her home country that she thinks is a "new" country. She keeps arguing with me that she is Polish and it's hard to argue with a 2 year old.
While I have started reading stories about moving, it will mean nothing to her until the movers and boxes arrive in a few weeks. She senses the impending stress and she is throwing tantrums, acting out, etc. Tonight she actually had the nerve to tell me "I losing my patience." "Losing your patience?", I replied. "You don't know what patience is - this is (pointing to self) is losing your patience." The other day she told me "You're being difficult." I think her primary defense mechanism is projection (it may be mine as well).
It is going to be a long month!
So, while the Cat heads out (with our two furry children) to find us a place to live and a vehicle, I will stay behind with my human kids to help them through their last days of schools and oversee the pack out. Instead of decorating for the holidays, I will be spending my days sifting through 2 1/2 years of stuff and trying to get rid of as much as possible so that we stay within our weight limit.
Part of me is sad to leave Warsaw, especially so soon. There are always thing you put off until next time and now there really won't be a next time. I will be very sad to leave all my friends from the Embassy, Mums and Tots and others I met along the way through AFW and ASW. For me, it has been a positive experience overall and I hope to come back in 15-20 years when Poland finally moves out of the "80's" and into the "90's" or even the new millenium!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Captain Underpants
We went to dinner the other night at the Pizza Hut at Arkadia Mall. Don't know why, but that is my favorite mall here with the exception of its screwed up parking garage layout. I don't know how anyone gets out alive.
Anyway, Christmas is in full swing here. The stores are all decked out in their window displays. I still can't used to the season starting this early, but I guess they don't really have a Thanksgiving to mark the occasion. They get started after their Independence Day.
Pizza Hut is conveniently located next to Smyk, the children's clothing and toy store. So, of course, my little people wanted to visit after seeing the huge teddy bear dressed like Santa that moved. Because you know we have never been to Disney World and seen a large animated character!
Most stores in this chain have some sort of tunnel like jungle gym (like those at Chuck E Cheese) that leads to a slide that dumps you in a ball pit. So, the kids wanted to climb up there. So off they go while the Cat and I stand there watching. All is well for a few minutes until I start paying attention to the kids running in and out of this thing. I had to do a double take: there was a boy, older and bigger than Thing 1, running around in his black UNDERWEAR! I mean if it was Batman I would get it. If it were summer, it might be less creepy. But it is like 30 degrees outside - where are his pants??? Is it that I am so NOT European that I am a bit weirded out by this? I promptly asked the kids to put on their shoes so we could leave.
Anyway, Christmas is in full swing here. The stores are all decked out in their window displays. I still can't used to the season starting this early, but I guess they don't really have a Thanksgiving to mark the occasion. They get started after their Independence Day.
Pizza Hut is conveniently located next to Smyk, the children's clothing and toy store. So, of course, my little people wanted to visit after seeing the huge teddy bear dressed like Santa that moved. Because you know we have never been to Disney World and seen a large animated character!
Most stores in this chain have some sort of tunnel like jungle gym (like those at Chuck E Cheese) that leads to a slide that dumps you in a ball pit. So, the kids wanted to climb up there. So off they go while the Cat and I stand there watching. All is well for a few minutes until I start paying attention to the kids running in and out of this thing. I had to do a double take: there was a boy, older and bigger than Thing 1, running around in his black UNDERWEAR! I mean if it was Batman I would get it. If it were summer, it might be less creepy. But it is like 30 degrees outside - where are his pants??? Is it that I am so NOT European that I am a bit weirded out by this? I promptly asked the kids to put on their shoes so we could leave.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Polish Independence Day Parade (or How Not to Put on a Parade)
Today is Veteran's Day in the US and Independence Day in Poland. Polish Independence Day is not connected to WWII, but more like the end of WWI when the country that had been partitioned by Prussian, Germany and Austria took that land back and once again became present day Poland. It's a big to do here with different celebrations throughout the country. So, we decided to get together with friends and check it out.
Maybe I should have watched the Polish news channel, but I figured that running a search for "Polish Independence Day parades in Warsaw" would be sufficient to bring me some information about the festivities, location and time. But, not in Poland. I didn't even care if the information was in Polish, i just wanted some info. Nope. The best I could find was the site for a local college that mentioned some festivities (in English). I forgot to ask friends before the holiday and by the time I e-mailed everyone, they were all off for their long holiday weekends. So, we decided to wing it and take the tourist bus downtown and go where everyone else was going.
Having been to other so called parades in Warsaw. I didn't have high expectations for these festivities. I actually had a bit of deja vu because everyone was getting off at the same area (Nowy Swiat/Aleje Jerozolimskie) where the last Polish "parade" that I tried to attend supposedly took place. But, we got off anyway, since we saw large crowds of people and some Polish tanks. It was a gorgeous fall day. Temps didn't get above 55 F which is fairly warm when you consider that two years ago we had already had our first snow.
We walked down the route that has become so familiar to us over our years here. I asked a police officer where to find the parade and he told me to walk towards Plac Zamkowy. Another guy told me that the parade would come down toward Nowy Swiat from Old Town starting at noon. Great! Finally, some info.
We packed lunches in backpacks since we are always warned that everything is closed on holidays. Some restaurants were open, but I was glad we packed lunches because the crowds were a bit much. We found some open benches on the street around 11:30 and everyone had their sandwiches before we moved on.
We walked towards the Copernicus monument where there was lots of hoopla going on, but it had nothing to do with a parade. It was the Independence Day 10K Run. We climbed up on the monument (yes this is allowed in Poland) and watched thinking that after the runners take off the parade would come through.
Uh....NO! We notice that the crowd is moving towards Old Town. So, we start following. My friend asked a lady about the parade and was told that it would be coming down this way at 1:30. That was almost an hour away! So, we stake a spot on the sidewalk. Mind you, there is no roped off area. If I had just arrived and was wandering the streets of Warsaw, I would have no markers to indicate that some parade or procession would soon be coming through (although I would have found the massive amounts of people odd for winter).
This is my biggest pet peeve about Polish festivals and parades. It is very disorganized. You can't tell where anything is taking place. This is the reason that this my 3rd Independence Day here, yet only the first and last that I have attended. Having an area roped off to view the parade would have been a great help in just indicating the parade route and, much more, in staking out a spot and in keeping other people out.
But, despite this, we waited. Here is where it gets dicey. I love my Polish friends - really, they are nice, polite, and very decent people. But, I can't say the same of the strangers I saw today. Get a group of Poles together (especially strangers) and it is a clusterf***. It's like the few Americans that give the USA a bad reputation. Only this was on a much larger scale.
We were on the edge of the sidewalk where we were "supposed" to be had a rope been drawn around the parade route. This did not stop large group of Poles from creating their own area in front of us, thereby blocking the view that we had arrived early to get. The police? Not very useful and you can tell that the people really had no respect for their authority. All I could think of was how orderly parades must have been when the Communists were in control. It is sad that people can't be self disciplined unless they have a gun or the threat of being shot before them.
So, our nice little spot on the sidewalk was taken over by people who really should not have been there in the first place. Finally, we hear a band playing. They march right up to within feet of us and stop. And they wait. The entire crowd that had created the fake parade route viewing area, now turns around and is made to move further away because they were looking the wrong way. Furthermore, they were blocking the street. Part of this parade is horse drawn carriages, military tanks, vehicles and personnel marching in formation. But, really the way these folks had positioned themselves, it was hard for anyone to get through.
So what do they do? They pretend they didn't know that they were in the wrong spot and proceed to come over to the real parade route viewing area (where we are) and squishing into us as if we weren't even there. People were very upset about this, but the ones that managed to squeak their way in were really jerks. People were standing shoulder to shoulder and if one person moved, you could easily topple the crowd. I could barely get my arm up to snap a picture.
Then, the procession begins with the band and as the band moves on the music fades. No music through speakers here. The band was followed by different branches of the military dressed in different military uniforms representing different eras of the Polish military. This was followed by vehicles and small scale tanks.
We had enough by the time the vehicles started rolling out. We started heading back, walking quite a bit through a street with horse manure (because their horses don't even have those bags that are attached to horses in the US to prevent such droppings) towards our Embassy to try to catch a bus that didn't look like a can of sardines on wheels. Like Thing 1's friend said "it was the worst parade ever!" But, coming from the US where parades are very well done, how can Poland compete. Anything that doesn't measure up is bound to be a disappointment.
Overall, we did have a nice time with our friends. It would have been much harder to get through that mess on our own. If you happen to stumble across this blog and wonder if you really want to go, I would recommend going at least once just for the insane experience. But leave your high expectations at the bus stop!
Maybe I should have watched the Polish news channel, but I figured that running a search for "Polish Independence Day parades in Warsaw" would be sufficient to bring me some information about the festivities, location and time. But, not in Poland. I didn't even care if the information was in Polish, i just wanted some info. Nope. The best I could find was the site for a local college that mentioned some festivities (in English). I forgot to ask friends before the holiday and by the time I e-mailed everyone, they were all off for their long holiday weekends. So, we decided to wing it and take the tourist bus downtown and go where everyone else was going.
Having been to other so called parades in Warsaw. I didn't have high expectations for these festivities. I actually had a bit of deja vu because everyone was getting off at the same area (Nowy Swiat/Aleje Jerozolimskie) where the last Polish "parade" that I tried to attend supposedly took place. But, we got off anyway, since we saw large crowds of people and some Polish tanks. It was a gorgeous fall day. Temps didn't get above 55 F which is fairly warm when you consider that two years ago we had already had our first snow.
We walked down the route that has become so familiar to us over our years here. I asked a police officer where to find the parade and he told me to walk towards Plac Zamkowy. Another guy told me that the parade would come down toward Nowy Swiat from Old Town starting at noon. Great! Finally, some info.
We packed lunches in backpacks since we are always warned that everything is closed on holidays. Some restaurants were open, but I was glad we packed lunches because the crowds were a bit much. We found some open benches on the street around 11:30 and everyone had their sandwiches before we moved on.
We walked towards the Copernicus monument where there was lots of hoopla going on, but it had nothing to do with a parade. It was the Independence Day 10K Run. We climbed up on the monument (yes this is allowed in Poland) and watched thinking that after the runners take off the parade would come through.
Uh....NO! We notice that the crowd is moving towards Old Town. So, we start following. My friend asked a lady about the parade and was told that it would be coming down this way at 1:30. That was almost an hour away! So, we stake a spot on the sidewalk. Mind you, there is no roped off area. If I had just arrived and was wandering the streets of Warsaw, I would have no markers to indicate that some parade or procession would soon be coming through (although I would have found the massive amounts of people odd for winter).
This is my biggest pet peeve about Polish festivals and parades. It is very disorganized. You can't tell where anything is taking place. This is the reason that this my 3rd Independence Day here, yet only the first and last that I have attended. Having an area roped off to view the parade would have been a great help in just indicating the parade route and, much more, in staking out a spot and in keeping other people out.
But, despite this, we waited. Here is where it gets dicey. I love my Polish friends - really, they are nice, polite, and very decent people. But, I can't say the same of the strangers I saw today. Get a group of Poles together (especially strangers) and it is a clusterf***. It's like the few Americans that give the USA a bad reputation. Only this was on a much larger scale.
We were on the edge of the sidewalk where we were "supposed" to be had a rope been drawn around the parade route. This did not stop large group of Poles from creating their own area in front of us, thereby blocking the view that we had arrived early to get. The police? Not very useful and you can tell that the people really had no respect for their authority. All I could think of was how orderly parades must have been when the Communists were in control. It is sad that people can't be self disciplined unless they have a gun or the threat of being shot before them.
So, our nice little spot on the sidewalk was taken over by people who really should not have been there in the first place. Finally, we hear a band playing. They march right up to within feet of us and stop. And they wait. The entire crowd that had created the fake parade route viewing area, now turns around and is made to move further away because they were looking the wrong way. Furthermore, they were blocking the street. Part of this parade is horse drawn carriages, military tanks, vehicles and personnel marching in formation. But, really the way these folks had positioned themselves, it was hard for anyone to get through.
So what do they do? They pretend they didn't know that they were in the wrong spot and proceed to come over to the real parade route viewing area (where we are) and squishing into us as if we weren't even there. People were very upset about this, but the ones that managed to squeak their way in were really jerks. People were standing shoulder to shoulder and if one person moved, you could easily topple the crowd. I could barely get my arm up to snap a picture.
Then, the procession begins with the band and as the band moves on the music fades. No music through speakers here. The band was followed by different branches of the military dressed in different military uniforms representing different eras of the Polish military. This was followed by vehicles and small scale tanks.
We had enough by the time the vehicles started rolling out. We started heading back, walking quite a bit through a street with horse manure (because their horses don't even have those bags that are attached to horses in the US to prevent such droppings) towards our Embassy to try to catch a bus that didn't look like a can of sardines on wheels. Like Thing 1's friend said "it was the worst parade ever!" But, coming from the US where parades are very well done, how can Poland compete. Anything that doesn't measure up is bound to be a disappointment.
Overall, we did have a nice time with our friends. It would have been much harder to get through that mess on our own. If you happen to stumble across this blog and wonder if you really want to go, I would recommend going at least once just for the insane experience. But leave your high expectations at the bus stop!
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Name Game
Polish is a very confusing language. It is even more confusing when it comes to names. In the USA, at most, you may have a nickname. In Miami's Cuban society, you can add "ito" or "ita" to anyone's name and you have an affectionate Spanish name. But neither is really complicated. Not so in Poland!
In Polish, you say a person's name different based on the context of what you are saying to them. I have no clue which is which even after lengthy explanations by the Polish teacher. The given name "Anna" which is very common here ( I know like 4 different Anna's) is said "Ania" ( with the "n" sounding link the spanish "ñ". Then on top of that, depending on how you use it, you say "Anio" or "Aniu." And your gender matters not...I have heard classmate called Nathan as "Nathana." You should see the face on any given American man when a Pole pronounces their name in this way.
Thing 2 is quite impressionable when it comes to names. They have to be pronounced the right way or else. Her little French friend is named Marie, but I am not allowed to say that with my American accent - I must strive to say it with the French pronunciation or she will make sure I know I am doing it wrong.
Thing 2's name doesn't have ending changes because it is a relatively new name - she is probably the only girl living in Poland at the moment with this name. So, people make one up. The most common one is "Mischa" or "Mischu" which I think is cute.
I have no problems with this. But, she will have to wait until she is 18 to legally change it. At least, it's not Princess Banana Hammock ala Phoebe Buffay on FRIENDS!
In Polish, you say a person's name different based on the context of what you are saying to them. I have no clue which is which even after lengthy explanations by the Polish teacher. The given name "Anna" which is very common here ( I know like 4 different Anna's) is said "Ania" ( with the "n" sounding link the spanish "ñ". Then on top of that, depending on how you use it, you say "Anio" or "Aniu." And your gender matters not...I have heard classmate called Nathan as "Nathana." You should see the face on any given American man when a Pole pronounces their name in this way.
Thing 2 is quite impressionable when it comes to names. They have to be pronounced the right way or else. Her little French friend is named Marie, but I am not allowed to say that with my American accent - I must strive to say it with the French pronunciation or she will make sure I know I am doing it wrong.
Thing 2's name doesn't have ending changes because it is a relatively new name - she is probably the only girl living in Poland at the moment with this name. So, people make one up. The most common one is "Mischa" or "Mischu" which I think is cute.
I have no problems with this. But, she will have to wait until she is 18 to legally change it. At least, it's not Princess Banana Hammock ala Phoebe Buffay on FRIENDS!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
A beautiful autumn.......Day of the Dead!
After days of rain in Berlin, Warsaw has been a welcome sight. No rain for a change and temperatures that we should have experienced in September! It is almost as if September and November switched. To put things in perspective, on 11/1/2006, our first day Day of the Dead (a major family holiday here in Warsaw) it was snowing. Today the high was 63 Fahrenheit.
It was a beautiful day today and everything was closed as it happens when every major Polish holiday. We slept in after last nights candy craze and after waking up we got ready and headed to the park.
The photo shoot I had scheduled earlier in October fell through due to all the other things going on with school, projects, etc. So, the Cat brought along the tripod and we had our own amateur photo shoot along with some time on the playground. We brought our dogs and got some great pictures of the kids with the dogs as well as family pictures.
We came home around 2, had a late lunch and waited. Waited for night to fall so we could go to a Polish cemetery to witness the Day of the Dead Polish style. The last time I actually did this was in Mexico where they go all out and make their celebration a bit more macabre.
So, we went to Cmentarz Powązkowski the oldest and most famous cemetery in Warsaw. It is famous because a lot of famous Polish people are buried there. I don't know any of them.
There were cemeteries closer to us, but several Polish friends had told us to go to Cmentarz Powązkowski. What they failed to tell us was the massive swarms of people that would be there. We drove and had to find parking. Had they recommended the bus, I would have taken our Bus line from the house that ends at the cemetery.
Day of the Dead is a big deal in most countries other than America. Every country I have visited thus far during this day, celebrates it to a certain degree. The Poles out do themselves with this one. The reason people like me (who don't have any relative buried there and don't know any of the famous people there) go is for the experience of seeing thousands of tombs lit up with candles (kept burning by candle holders they call znicze). People also lay flowers and wreaths, but what makes this different is all the candles.
We walked around for a while admiring the displays. Tradition has it that you light up the grave of loved ones and if you find a grave that has no candle, you light one on that grave on behalf of family that either could not come to this cemetery or that are no longer living themselves. Luckily for me, I was not the only tourist there. There were plenty of people with cameras and tripods. I left the tripod at home, but I certainly joined the others in taking pictures. Here is a sampling of what it was like:
It was a beautiful day today and everything was closed as it happens when every major Polish holiday. We slept in after last nights candy craze and after waking up we got ready and headed to the park.
The photo shoot I had scheduled earlier in October fell through due to all the other things going on with school, projects, etc. So, the Cat brought along the tripod and we had our own amateur photo shoot along with some time on the playground. We brought our dogs and got some great pictures of the kids with the dogs as well as family pictures.
We came home around 2, had a late lunch and waited. Waited for night to fall so we could go to a Polish cemetery to witness the Day of the Dead Polish style. The last time I actually did this was in Mexico where they go all out and make their celebration a bit more macabre.
So, we went to Cmentarz Powązkowski the oldest and most famous cemetery in Warsaw. It is famous because a lot of famous Polish people are buried there. I don't know any of them.
There were cemeteries closer to us, but several Polish friends had told us to go to Cmentarz Powązkowski. What they failed to tell us was the massive swarms of people that would be there. We drove and had to find parking. Had they recommended the bus, I would have taken our Bus line from the house that ends at the cemetery.
Day of the Dead is a big deal in most countries other than America. Every country I have visited thus far during this day, celebrates it to a certain degree. The Poles out do themselves with this one. The reason people like me (who don't have any relative buried there and don't know any of the famous people there) go is for the experience of seeing thousands of tombs lit up with candles (kept burning by candle holders they call znicze). People also lay flowers and wreaths, but what makes this different is all the candles.
We walked around for a while admiring the displays. Tradition has it that you light up the grave of loved ones and if you find a grave that has no candle, you light one on that grave on behalf of family that either could not come to this cemetery or that are no longer living themselves. Luckily for me, I was not the only tourist there. There were plenty of people with cameras and tripods. I left the tripod at home, but I certainly joined the others in taking pictures. Here is a sampling of what it was like:
Friday, October 31, 2008
Berlin: Logistics for Families
Every time we travel with our kids, I write up a list of tips specifically for families. So, if you don't have kids, this will not likely interest you. If you have kids, read on.
Getting To/From Berlin
Obviously, if you live in the US, you have to fly. Berlin just closed their famous Templehof airport known for Berlin airlifts of the 1950's (they closed the day we left). So, you will likely fly into Schönefeld or Tegel. If you are in Europe and in any country other than those in Central/Eastern Europe driving or taking the train may work. We chose to drive to Berlin from Poland because it was "only" 6 hours and a third of it was on a relatively new (not yet fully completed)autobahn. Add 2 hours for rest stops and lunch and we owuld be in berlin within in 8 hours. And so this is what happened on the way to Berlin. The trip was relatively painless. Kids slept, played, sang and only watched videos for about 2 hours which isn't bad for an 8 hour trip.
Coming back to Warsaw was another story altogether. We came back on a work day. While it was relatively smooth once we got out of Berlin, once the autobahn in Poland ended, we were stuck on one lane roads of bumper to bumper traffic. At one point, there was an actually tractor chugging along at about 20mph. We were in the car for 10 hours and only made two stops for food, bathroom breaks and gas. If we ever go again, it will be by train or plane.
Accomodations
In our experience, European hotel rooms are designed for 1-2 people. If you are shooting for a hotel room, you may have a more difficult time finding one to accomodate a family of 4. With teenagers, you can just forget about that unless you opt for reserving two adjoining rooms. This tends to cost more in the long run. We stayed in a hotel in Dublin, Paris, Cologne and Vienna and found it to be limited space wise. When you consider luggage, strollers, etc, you can see how space is consumed. Some were more spacious than others. Paris was the smallest.
We have opted for apartments this past year. Apartments are spacious and many times you get a one bedroom apartment which is what we did in Prague and now in Berlin. We stayed at the Schoenhouse Apartments. There are many apartments like this around the city, some costing more the closer you get to the Gate. For our one bedroom apartment, we paid 105 Euro which in today's economy was a quite a deal for an apartment right across the street from the U2 Line at Roza Luzembourg Platz.
I have enjoyed my stay in all the apartments we have been in this past year, but this one was the best in the sense that they provided even the most basic items: paper towels, salt, pepper, sugar, dish soap, extra trash bags and a sponge. This may sound like nothing, but every time we go on a trip, we end up at a market picking up these items. This time, I actually packed them in my suitcase. Since we were going by car, I wasn't concerned about cabin pressure blowing up salt, sugar and my beloved Cuban coffee all over the place. But, it was nice to find that they thought about this all on their own.
The reception to the apartments is also located at the same location as the actual apartment. When it comes to European apartments, always ask because the address you go to from the airport isn't necessarily where you will be staying, but only a check in office. Also, unlike many apartments, Schoenhouse actually staffed their reception from 8a-8p. They also had a small coffee bar within the reception as well as a small gift shop that sold pieces of the Berlin Wall for 8 Euro. I found the same souvenir for 13 Euro out on the street. Whether it is authentic or not is anyone's guess. But I figure that if our President still believes that Iraq had WMD, I can believe that the rock that bought was part of the Berlin Wall and no one can convince me otherwise!
The apartment was accessible by a small elevator (4 person capacity or less with luggage). This didn't bother me as long as it was a working elevator. Unlike hotels that have daily housekeeping, apartments only get cleaned once a week. Despite this, if you need extra towels or clean sheets, just ask and they will usually provide them.
The best thing about staying in an apartment is that there is no need to get up early and try to go have breakfast somewhere. You can buy continental style breakfast at any nearby bakery the night before (prices tend to go down at the end of the day since it is a sell or throw out type of mentality) and warm up your croissant or danish in the microwave in the morning. Schoenhouse had a bakery next door in addition to their coffee bar with pastries. We just brought along some cereal and bought some milk and voila instant breakfast. It really can save you money.
Dining Out
You can find American style fast food anywhere in Continental Europe. In Berlin, there was a pattern. If I saw a Starbucks anywhere, there was a Haagen Daz or Dunkin Donut shop either next door or within the block. McDonalds and Pizza Hut were near each other as were KFC paired with BK. But, we are in Europe, you may say. With all this international cuisine why would one eat at McDonald's. Do you want your children to eat? Trust me. If you have a picky eater (and there is always one in the family) choose a fast food spot for at least one of your meals or your kids' pants will be falling off by the end of the week. Case in point: we opted for lunch at an Asian restaurant one day and while Thing 2ate a little bit of everything, Thing 1 refused and went hungry until dinner (at Pizza Hut).
If you decide to forgo the fast food, look for family restaurants that cater to kids. If they provide colors and an activity sheet - bingo! Like I mentioned before, at most European restaurants you dine by candle (votive) light. But, that doesn't mean children are not welcome. This is especially true of Germany which has to be the most child friendly country in the EU. The one restaurant that worked for us was Maredo's which markets itself as an Argentinian steakhouse, but is far from it. Regardless, the food was good and the children's menu included spaghetti, fish sticks, steak, and schnitzel among other options. Maredo's is all over Berlin including near Potsdammer Platz (near Tony Roma's) and on Unter den Linden.
If you have a GPS, you're in luck. Just click on food and you will get every restaurant within five miles. Want something specific? Spell it out and there you have it. We relied on this to find McDonald's or gas stations while on the road and it never failed. It also works on finding attractions. Just plug in the address and walk.
One important note: Berliners do not eat early. This works to your advantage when you are with small kids. Have an early supper and you practically have the restaurant to yourself! We tried to get to a restaurant between 5-6. In some cases though, some restaurants did not begin serving until 6.
Transportation
Berlin's Transportation Authority (BVG) is quite efficient. Tickets are sold at electronic kiosks. Just press the British Flag for the English screen. Once you get your ticket, you validate it either on the platform or on the train or bus. In Europe, there are plainclothed police on buses, trams and trains who conduct ticket checks from time to time. You could be fined on the spot. If you have a single fare ticket, you will just have to purchase as you go along. There are also day tickets available that you validate once and are good for the entire day.
The thing about single fare vs day or multi day passes is that you buy them with the best intentions and then end up either not using them or using alternatives like taxis for convenience. After my experience in Paris, I gave up on the day/multi day ticket option. We spent more time walking by choice because this is the best way to see any city.
Aside from their construction on the specific days we were there, we were still able to get around quite easily. There is a U-Bahn that runs about 9 color coded/numbered lines underground, the S-Bahn which runs above ground and is more like a tram and then you have the buses. In Berlin, most stops have electronic switchboards that tell you what bus or train will be arriving and at what time. The U2 line runs from east to west and will drop you off at most tourist locations (when all stations are operational, or course). Bus 100 also runs this route. I have heard similar of Bus 200, but we did not ride that one. Most buses (including 100) are double decker so if you are lucky to get a front row seat up top, you have a great view of the city streets and attractions.
The City
The city of Berlin has been officially united for almost 20 years, yet the east/west mentality persists and will probably always linger. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is what makes Berlin what it is, a cultural and historical dichotomy.
East Berlin was very reminiscent of Warsaw in many ways. Remnants of the Wall can be found while walking about. Socialist architecture is found in many buildings, tenements. Other than Unter den Linden, east Berlin is not as attractive as it's western counterpart. However, to make up for it, it is east Berlin that claims most of the history visitors crave. From Potsdammer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate and on, you can find traces of the Wall or double cobblestone bricks outlining where the Wall used to be.
West Berlin is aesthetically very much like any western European city. The architecture is different and more pleasing to the eye. The Reichstag, Zoo, Tiergarten and Ku'damm area all fall to the west. Potsdammer platz borders east and west. While there are some things to do there, attractions are more abundant in the east.
So, while both are joined as one, you can't speak of Berlin as one because no matter how you look at it both sides have distinct features that make they unique.
Berlin has a lot to offer families. We spent three full days and one afternoon/evening. If I could do it again, I would have spent at least five full days in Berlin.
Berlin for Kids
Just the fact that you are in Germany makes Berlin a great place for kids. There is the Zoo/Aquarium, Tiergarten Park, Sea Life Park, and of course Lego Land. You can easily take kids to one of these each day to break up the sightseeing geared for adults.
With school age children, like Thing 1, you can make history interesting and make it relative to them. When walking throughout Berlin, history is everywhere. From Wall remnants, Nazi book burning sites, museums, you name it there are lessons for kids here. For Thing 1, I tried to help him understand how the Wall separated families, parents and children, how people gave up their lives trying to escape communism. I used our family as an example. What if someone decided to separate the county where his grandmother lives from the county where we used to live with a Wall? What if grandma could come to see us, but we were never allowed to visit her? What if you tried to climb over the Wall and someone tried to kill you for doing that? This all made it more real for him. After that he was looking for remnants of the Wall everywhere and asking what sector (American, British, French or Soviet) we were in at any given time.
Toddlers/preschooler couldn't care less about history - they just care about their-story. And part of that is nap time. Even if they have outgrown their nap as mine is getting really close to doing, traveling makes you tired. Having a stroller or one of those child backpacks helps tremendously. Have young children nap while you take in a museum of interest to you.
To sum up, if you think you can't take your young children to Europe, think again. It is quite manageable and will provide you with lots of memories and history lessons your children can access in the future.
Getting To/From Berlin
Obviously, if you live in the US, you have to fly. Berlin just closed their famous Templehof airport known for Berlin airlifts of the 1950's (they closed the day we left). So, you will likely fly into Schönefeld or Tegel. If you are in Europe and in any country other than those in Central/Eastern Europe driving or taking the train may work. We chose to drive to Berlin from Poland because it was "only" 6 hours and a third of it was on a relatively new (not yet fully completed)autobahn. Add 2 hours for rest stops and lunch and we owuld be in berlin within in 8 hours. And so this is what happened on the way to Berlin. The trip was relatively painless. Kids slept, played, sang and only watched videos for about 2 hours which isn't bad for an 8 hour trip.
Coming back to Warsaw was another story altogether. We came back on a work day. While it was relatively smooth once we got out of Berlin, once the autobahn in Poland ended, we were stuck on one lane roads of bumper to bumper traffic. At one point, there was an actually tractor chugging along at about 20mph. We were in the car for 10 hours and only made two stops for food, bathroom breaks and gas. If we ever go again, it will be by train or plane.
Accomodations
In our experience, European hotel rooms are designed for 1-2 people. If you are shooting for a hotel room, you may have a more difficult time finding one to accomodate a family of 4. With teenagers, you can just forget about that unless you opt for reserving two adjoining rooms. This tends to cost more in the long run. We stayed in a hotel in Dublin, Paris, Cologne and Vienna and found it to be limited space wise. When you consider luggage, strollers, etc, you can see how space is consumed. Some were more spacious than others. Paris was the smallest.
We have opted for apartments this past year. Apartments are spacious and many times you get a one bedroom apartment which is what we did in Prague and now in Berlin. We stayed at the Schoenhouse Apartments. There are many apartments like this around the city, some costing more the closer you get to the Gate. For our one bedroom apartment, we paid 105 Euro which in today's economy was a quite a deal for an apartment right across the street from the U2 Line at Roza Luzembourg Platz.
I have enjoyed my stay in all the apartments we have been in this past year, but this one was the best in the sense that they provided even the most basic items: paper towels, salt, pepper, sugar, dish soap, extra trash bags and a sponge. This may sound like nothing, but every time we go on a trip, we end up at a market picking up these items. This time, I actually packed them in my suitcase. Since we were going by car, I wasn't concerned about cabin pressure blowing up salt, sugar and my beloved Cuban coffee all over the place. But, it was nice to find that they thought about this all on their own.
The reception to the apartments is also located at the same location as the actual apartment. When it comes to European apartments, always ask because the address you go to from the airport isn't necessarily where you will be staying, but only a check in office. Also, unlike many apartments, Schoenhouse actually staffed their reception from 8a-8p. They also had a small coffee bar within the reception as well as a small gift shop that sold pieces of the Berlin Wall for 8 Euro. I found the same souvenir for 13 Euro out on the street. Whether it is authentic or not is anyone's guess. But I figure that if our President still believes that Iraq had WMD, I can believe that the rock that bought was part of the Berlin Wall and no one can convince me otherwise!
The apartment was accessible by a small elevator (4 person capacity or less with luggage). This didn't bother me as long as it was a working elevator. Unlike hotels that have daily housekeeping, apartments only get cleaned once a week. Despite this, if you need extra towels or clean sheets, just ask and they will usually provide them.
The best thing about staying in an apartment is that there is no need to get up early and try to go have breakfast somewhere. You can buy continental style breakfast at any nearby bakery the night before (prices tend to go down at the end of the day since it is a sell or throw out type of mentality) and warm up your croissant or danish in the microwave in the morning. Schoenhouse had a bakery next door in addition to their coffee bar with pastries. We just brought along some cereal and bought some milk and voila instant breakfast. It really can save you money.
Dining Out
You can find American style fast food anywhere in Continental Europe. In Berlin, there was a pattern. If I saw a Starbucks anywhere, there was a Haagen Daz or Dunkin Donut shop either next door or within the block. McDonalds and Pizza Hut were near each other as were KFC paired with BK. But, we are in Europe, you may say. With all this international cuisine why would one eat at McDonald's. Do you want your children to eat? Trust me. If you have a picky eater (and there is always one in the family) choose a fast food spot for at least one of your meals or your kids' pants will be falling off by the end of the week. Case in point: we opted for lunch at an Asian restaurant one day and while Thing 2ate a little bit of everything, Thing 1 refused and went hungry until dinner (at Pizza Hut).
If you decide to forgo the fast food, look for family restaurants that cater to kids. If they provide colors and an activity sheet - bingo! Like I mentioned before, at most European restaurants you dine by candle (votive) light. But, that doesn't mean children are not welcome. This is especially true of Germany which has to be the most child friendly country in the EU. The one restaurant that worked for us was Maredo's which markets itself as an Argentinian steakhouse, but is far from it. Regardless, the food was good and the children's menu included spaghetti, fish sticks, steak, and schnitzel among other options. Maredo's is all over Berlin including near Potsdammer Platz (near Tony Roma's) and on Unter den Linden.
If you have a GPS, you're in luck. Just click on food and you will get every restaurant within five miles. Want something specific? Spell it out and there you have it. We relied on this to find McDonald's or gas stations while on the road and it never failed. It also works on finding attractions. Just plug in the address and walk.
One important note: Berliners do not eat early. This works to your advantage when you are with small kids. Have an early supper and you practically have the restaurant to yourself! We tried to get to a restaurant between 5-6. In some cases though, some restaurants did not begin serving until 6.
Transportation
Berlin's Transportation Authority (BVG) is quite efficient. Tickets are sold at electronic kiosks. Just press the British Flag for the English screen. Once you get your ticket, you validate it either on the platform or on the train or bus. In Europe, there are plainclothed police on buses, trams and trains who conduct ticket checks from time to time. You could be fined on the spot. If you have a single fare ticket, you will just have to purchase as you go along. There are also day tickets available that you validate once and are good for the entire day.
The thing about single fare vs day or multi day passes is that you buy them with the best intentions and then end up either not using them or using alternatives like taxis for convenience. After my experience in Paris, I gave up on the day/multi day ticket option. We spent more time walking by choice because this is the best way to see any city.
Aside from their construction on the specific days we were there, we were still able to get around quite easily. There is a U-Bahn that runs about 9 color coded/numbered lines underground, the S-Bahn which runs above ground and is more like a tram and then you have the buses. In Berlin, most stops have electronic switchboards that tell you what bus or train will be arriving and at what time. The U2 line runs from east to west and will drop you off at most tourist locations (when all stations are operational, or course). Bus 100 also runs this route. I have heard similar of Bus 200, but we did not ride that one. Most buses (including 100) are double decker so if you are lucky to get a front row seat up top, you have a great view of the city streets and attractions.
The City
The city of Berlin has been officially united for almost 20 years, yet the east/west mentality persists and will probably always linger. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is what makes Berlin what it is, a cultural and historical dichotomy.
East Berlin was very reminiscent of Warsaw in many ways. Remnants of the Wall can be found while walking about. Socialist architecture is found in many buildings, tenements. Other than Unter den Linden, east Berlin is not as attractive as it's western counterpart. However, to make up for it, it is east Berlin that claims most of the history visitors crave. From Potsdammer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate and on, you can find traces of the Wall or double cobblestone bricks outlining where the Wall used to be.
West Berlin is aesthetically very much like any western European city. The architecture is different and more pleasing to the eye. The Reichstag, Zoo, Tiergarten and Ku'damm area all fall to the west. Potsdammer platz borders east and west. While there are some things to do there, attractions are more abundant in the east.
So, while both are joined as one, you can't speak of Berlin as one because no matter how you look at it both sides have distinct features that make they unique.
Berlin has a lot to offer families. We spent three full days and one afternoon/evening. If I could do it again, I would have spent at least five full days in Berlin.
Berlin for Kids
Just the fact that you are in Germany makes Berlin a great place for kids. There is the Zoo/Aquarium, Tiergarten Park, Sea Life Park, and of course Lego Land. You can easily take kids to one of these each day to break up the sightseeing geared for adults.
With school age children, like Thing 1, you can make history interesting and make it relative to them. When walking throughout Berlin, history is everywhere. From Wall remnants, Nazi book burning sites, museums, you name it there are lessons for kids here. For Thing 1, I tried to help him understand how the Wall separated families, parents and children, how people gave up their lives trying to escape communism. I used our family as an example. What if someone decided to separate the county where his grandmother lives from the county where we used to live with a Wall? What if grandma could come to see us, but we were never allowed to visit her? What if you tried to climb over the Wall and someone tried to kill you for doing that? This all made it more real for him. After that he was looking for remnants of the Wall everywhere and asking what sector (American, British, French or Soviet) we were in at any given time.
Toddlers/preschooler couldn't care less about history - they just care about their-story. And part of that is nap time. Even if they have outgrown their nap as mine is getting really close to doing, traveling makes you tired. Having a stroller or one of those child backpacks helps tremendously. Have young children nap while you take in a museum of interest to you.
To sum up, if you think you can't take your young children to Europe, think again. It is quite manageable and will provide you with lots of memories and history lessons your children can access in the future.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Leaving Berlin via the East Side Gallery
My husband travels a lot for a living. This makes it real difficult for us as a family because many times he has no interest in sightseeing. I have learned over the years that my husband is quite the gastronomic connoisseur. Wine shops, gourmet food shops, specialty cheese or chocolate shops are his thing. In fact, I say give him a bottle of wine in a brown paper bag with an assortment of fine cheeses and he is a happy camper.
For this trip to Germany, all he wanted was to find mulled wine or Glühwein as it is known in Germany. This wine is the drink of choice at the Christmas markets in Germany and since Berlin was already setting up for their markets, he figured there had to be some Glühwein somewhere in Berlin.
My husband also shoulders much of the child carrying on our trips. We always bring an umbrella stroller to hold one child or as our own personal cart for coats, souvenir/shopping bags, etc. The problem is that the only child that wants to ride the stroller in Thing 1. Thing 2 has no interest in the stroller, but tires easily walking and all she wants is for "Daddy carry". The Cat was exhausted at the end of every day and his back took quite a beating. And all that without a wine store that sold Glühwein.
While my Cat couldn't care less about sightseeing, I am all about the sightseeing. I love history and since Europe is just one big ball of history, I eat it up. Most people use guidebooks to look for attractions and map out their routes. I actually read the historical sections. Because of the kids, I have had to slow my usual pace and have had to make some concessions to keep all parties happy. So, it was that the day prior I had given up on seeing the East Side Gallery.
But, as I charged our GPS device on our last night in Berlin, I decided to do some research. I looked up the address for the gallery. It is an outdoor gallery where painters from all over the world left some of their art work on a stretch of the Wall. I figured that we had to get out of Berlin somehow, why not via the East Side Gallery. So, as the Cat loaded the car in the pouring rain on the morning of our departure, I plugged in our home address and inserted a via point: the East Side Gallery. I decided not to tell the Cat about my plan because 1) it was pouring and 2) he was so tired of sightseeing that I knew that if I asked to pass by the gallery he would have said no.
So, we left our hotel and low and behold, I found a Lidl (Germany supermarket). Knowing what I had already planned, I said "Hey - there's a Lidl. If there is Glühwein in Germany it may be there. Why don't you go in and check?" I prayed that he would find it because this way when he realized what I had done I could always say "You would not have Glühwein if I had not done that." And, so my very happy husband walked out of Lidl with a huge case of Glühwein, enough to last us a year although he insists that he will consume it before we move.
And on our way we go and low and behold there it is: the East Side Gallery. I act all surprised and tell the Cat to slow down. There was no one behind us so I took some pictures from the car (did I say it was pouring rain?) and then I managed to video tape a good portion of the Wall as the Cat drove along. He actually got a bit excited when he saw where we were and then he looked at the GPS and he says "Wow, even the GPS shows its location!" Then, he got a clue and I told him what I did. He had been duped, but he agreed that the would not have taken me there if I had asked.
And, so I got to catch a glimpse of the gallery, he got his Glühwein and 10 hours later we were all home having a glass of wine and laughing about the whole thing.
For this trip to Germany, all he wanted was to find mulled wine or Glühwein as it is known in Germany. This wine is the drink of choice at the Christmas markets in Germany and since Berlin was already setting up for their markets, he figured there had to be some Glühwein somewhere in Berlin.
My husband also shoulders much of the child carrying on our trips. We always bring an umbrella stroller to hold one child or as our own personal cart for coats, souvenir/shopping bags, etc. The problem is that the only child that wants to ride the stroller in Thing 1. Thing 2 has no interest in the stroller, but tires easily walking and all she wants is for "Daddy carry". The Cat was exhausted at the end of every day and his back took quite a beating. And all that without a wine store that sold Glühwein.
While my Cat couldn't care less about sightseeing, I am all about the sightseeing. I love history and since Europe is just one big ball of history, I eat it up. Most people use guidebooks to look for attractions and map out their routes. I actually read the historical sections. Because of the kids, I have had to slow my usual pace and have had to make some concessions to keep all parties happy. So, it was that the day prior I had given up on seeing the East Side Gallery.
But, as I charged our GPS device on our last night in Berlin, I decided to do some research. I looked up the address for the gallery. It is an outdoor gallery where painters from all over the world left some of their art work on a stretch of the Wall. I figured that we had to get out of Berlin somehow, why not via the East Side Gallery. So, as the Cat loaded the car in the pouring rain on the morning of our departure, I plugged in our home address and inserted a via point: the East Side Gallery. I decided not to tell the Cat about my plan because 1) it was pouring and 2) he was so tired of sightseeing that I knew that if I asked to pass by the gallery he would have said no.
So, we left our hotel and low and behold, I found a Lidl (Germany supermarket). Knowing what I had already planned, I said "Hey - there's a Lidl. If there is Glühwein in Germany it may be there. Why don't you go in and check?" I prayed that he would find it because this way when he realized what I had done I could always say "You would not have Glühwein if I had not done that." And, so my very happy husband walked out of Lidl with a huge case of Glühwein, enough to last us a year although he insists that he will consume it before we move.
And on our way we go and low and behold there it is: the East Side Gallery. I act all surprised and tell the Cat to slow down. There was no one behind us so I took some pictures from the car (did I say it was pouring rain?) and then I managed to video tape a good portion of the Wall as the Cat drove along. He actually got a bit excited when he saw where we were and then he looked at the GPS and he says "Wow, even the GPS shows its location!" Then, he got a clue and I told him what I did. He had been duped, but he agreed that the would not have taken me there if I had asked.
And, so I got to catch a glimpse of the gallery, he got his Glühwein and 10 hours later we were all home having a glass of wine and laughing about the whole thing.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Berlin: Day 4 - More rain with a mix of history...
Ah, Europe in the fall! You just can't get away from the cold and rain. And so, today on our last full day in Berlin, we again woke to light rain falling for hours on end. So, we headed indoors....to the Berliner Dome (Cathedral).
After reviewing appropriate church behavior with the little people, we headed inside. Inside it was beautiful, but I have seen more spectacular churches. Most of this church was damaged in the war, so it is actually relatively new in comparison to other European churches. Going into churches with small children can be a challenge, but we were lucky in that the organist was practicing and thereby drowning out any comments from our peanut gallery.
With your entry ticket, you can climb to the top of the Dome which provides somewhat of a view of the river Spree and the Museum insel (isle). We climbed up and then ended our tour in the crypt where all the Kurfürsten (electors) and Kaisers and Kings of Germany/Prussia are buried.
I really wanted to go to the Pergammon Museum which contains the Zeus Altar along with the Ishtar gate. And I thought Ishtar was only a bad 80's movie! But, we had a combo ticket from LegoLand for the Sea Life Aquarium and since it was our last full day, we decided to take the kids there for their daily activity.
Sea Life Aquarium is located a block from the Berliner Dom. Like Lego Land, the aquarium was located underground. Nothing phenomenal here although I am glad I didn't pay full price for it. It was simply a 2 hour diversion for the kids. The Zoo has a an aquarium as well, but since we had tickets to Sea Life, we skipped the Zoo Aquarium. Part of the Sea Life ticket is a trip into the Aqua Dome. Berliners like their domes!
The Aqua Dome runs through the Radisson SAS hotel. It is a huge circular fish tank with a double decker elevator in the middle that takes you into the tank and makes you wonder who is really in the fishbowl. Again, not something I would do on my own, but they kids enjoyed being inside a fish tank.
There was an Asian restaurant on site and it was lunch time, so we decided to have lunch. The meal was great with the exception that Thing 1 would not touch his Crispy Chicken with peanut sauce. I make curry chicken with peanut sauce at home and he always eats it. This didn't even have curry! So he didn't eat.
After lunch we hopped on Bus 100 and headed west. We walked towards the Brandenburg gate and went to the Reichstag. On the way there, we came upon a row of crosses with pictures of people who were killed in their attempt to escape East Berlin. The Reichstag is right across the street. It is home to the German Parliament not unlike our US Capitol. You can go inside and watch parliament in session and you can go to the top of their dome as well. We just took pictures and let the kids run amok on the lawn in front of the building.
We walked a bit through the Tiergarten Park, Berlin's version of New York's Central Park. We came upon a Memorial to the Soviets. Soviets? Why, you may ask, is there a memorial to such a repressive regime? Because, if you recall, it was the Red Army that took Berlin from Hitler eventually leading to the end of World War II. In essence, many Soviet soldiers gave their lives to end Hitler's rule. That's before they took over the eastern half of Berlin. The memorial is in Russian and there are some Soviet tanks and cannons that Thing 1took interest in.
So, here we are in a park and Thing 2 tells us she needs to poop. I mention this because this is beauty of traveling with small children. Just before entering the park we all used the bathroom. In fact, we PAID to use the bathroom! Now, the Cat was doing a mad dash to prevent an accident (even though she was in pull ups). There was a Starbucks near the Brandenburg gate so he was heading there when out of nowhere he encounters a city toilet, the kind that stand alone, doors opening when you pay the fee. These are far nicer and cleaner than the Parisian variety. But, you better finish using it during the alloted time or the doors will pop open. Thing 2 used the toilet and an accident was averted.
We usually try to dissect the city in quarters, but since we were also doing things with the kids that were scattered everywhere it was a bit difficult to do. With portions of the Metro under construction, we used the taxi several times to get to wherever Bus 100 did not go. So, we found one on the road adjacent to the Tiergarten and headed to Checkpoint Charlie.
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie was the only museum that we adults took in. This was made easier by the fact that Thing 1 actually took much interest in the Wall history. This museum is rich with information about what it was like to live in East Berlin and the innovative ways people tried to escape: in hollowed engine compartments, hanging from the bottom of trucks/cars, swimming underneath the river Spree, in suitcases, via harnessed pullys from a building in the East to the ground on the West, and by underground tunnels dug by East berliners themselves. There were so many stories documented here that it felt somewhat like the Holocaust Museum in DC. Thing 1 was fascinated with what people will do to be free. It was quite a history lesson.
When you leave the museum, what is left of the actual checkpoint is a recreation. Initially, I was not going to pay to have a picture taken with some fake soldiers, but Thing 1 really wanted one and it was 1 Euro so we caved. There is also a stand where one of the "fake" soldiers will stamp your passport with one or many stamps of your choosing. The guy engaged the children and talked to Thing 1 a great deal about the history of the checkpoint. We bought two fake visas for the kids with the different visa stamps and had our own passports stamped with US and Soviet stamps. My tourist passport expires soon, so now I have a reason to keep it.
We walked around the area and found a marker with a trace of the Berlin Wall on it. Despite this, I was beginning to think that the part of the Berlin Wall that I wanted to see, the East Side Gallery, was becoming more elusive with our time constraints. Again, it was dinner time.
After having dinner at the Champs Elysee of East Berlin (Unter den Linden) the other night, we headed to the Champs Elysee of West Berlin - the Kurfürstendamm or Ku'Damm for short. Like it's Parisian counterpart, this street is lined with shops, restaurants, clubs, the Kaiser Wilhelm (bombed out) Memorial church, some interesting sculptures and lots of curry wurst (a hot dog with curry sauce) and döner Kebabs. It is named after the Kurfürsten or "electors" of the Holy Roman Empire.
We spent the rest of the evening strolling along the Ku'Damm and eventually taking a cab home since the Metro station was closed. No East Side Gallery for me tonight.
After reviewing appropriate church behavior with the little people, we headed inside. Inside it was beautiful, but I have seen more spectacular churches. Most of this church was damaged in the war, so it is actually relatively new in comparison to other European churches. Going into churches with small children can be a challenge, but we were lucky in that the organist was practicing and thereby drowning out any comments from our peanut gallery.
With your entry ticket, you can climb to the top of the Dome which provides somewhat of a view of the river Spree and the Museum insel (isle). We climbed up and then ended our tour in the crypt where all the Kurfürsten (electors) and Kaisers and Kings of Germany/Prussia are buried.
I really wanted to go to the Pergammon Museum which contains the Zeus Altar along with the Ishtar gate. And I thought Ishtar was only a bad 80's movie! But, we had a combo ticket from LegoLand for the Sea Life Aquarium and since it was our last full day, we decided to take the kids there for their daily activity.
Sea Life Aquarium is located a block from the Berliner Dom. Like Lego Land, the aquarium was located underground. Nothing phenomenal here although I am glad I didn't pay full price for it. It was simply a 2 hour diversion for the kids. The Zoo has a an aquarium as well, but since we had tickets to Sea Life, we skipped the Zoo Aquarium. Part of the Sea Life ticket is a trip into the Aqua Dome. Berliners like their domes!
The Aqua Dome runs through the Radisson SAS hotel. It is a huge circular fish tank with a double decker elevator in the middle that takes you into the tank and makes you wonder who is really in the fishbowl. Again, not something I would do on my own, but they kids enjoyed being inside a fish tank.
There was an Asian restaurant on site and it was lunch time, so we decided to have lunch. The meal was great with the exception that Thing 1 would not touch his Crispy Chicken with peanut sauce. I make curry chicken with peanut sauce at home and he always eats it. This didn't even have curry! So he didn't eat.
After lunch we hopped on Bus 100 and headed west. We walked towards the Brandenburg gate and went to the Reichstag. On the way there, we came upon a row of crosses with pictures of people who were killed in their attempt to escape East Berlin. The Reichstag is right across the street. It is home to the German Parliament not unlike our US Capitol. You can go inside and watch parliament in session and you can go to the top of their dome as well. We just took pictures and let the kids run amok on the lawn in front of the building.
We walked a bit through the Tiergarten Park, Berlin's version of New York's Central Park. We came upon a Memorial to the Soviets. Soviets? Why, you may ask, is there a memorial to such a repressive regime? Because, if you recall, it was the Red Army that took Berlin from Hitler eventually leading to the end of World War II. In essence, many Soviet soldiers gave their lives to end Hitler's rule. That's before they took over the eastern half of Berlin. The memorial is in Russian and there are some Soviet tanks and cannons that Thing 1took interest in.
So, here we are in a park and Thing 2 tells us she needs to poop. I mention this because this is beauty of traveling with small children. Just before entering the park we all used the bathroom. In fact, we PAID to use the bathroom! Now, the Cat was doing a mad dash to prevent an accident (even though she was in pull ups). There was a Starbucks near the Brandenburg gate so he was heading there when out of nowhere he encounters a city toilet, the kind that stand alone, doors opening when you pay the fee. These are far nicer and cleaner than the Parisian variety. But, you better finish using it during the alloted time or the doors will pop open. Thing 2 used the toilet and an accident was averted.
We usually try to dissect the city in quarters, but since we were also doing things with the kids that were scattered everywhere it was a bit difficult to do. With portions of the Metro under construction, we used the taxi several times to get to wherever Bus 100 did not go. So, we found one on the road adjacent to the Tiergarten and headed to Checkpoint Charlie.
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie was the only museum that we adults took in. This was made easier by the fact that Thing 1 actually took much interest in the Wall history. This museum is rich with information about what it was like to live in East Berlin and the innovative ways people tried to escape: in hollowed engine compartments, hanging from the bottom of trucks/cars, swimming underneath the river Spree, in suitcases, via harnessed pullys from a building in the East to the ground on the West, and by underground tunnels dug by East berliners themselves. There were so many stories documented here that it felt somewhat like the Holocaust Museum in DC. Thing 1 was fascinated with what people will do to be free. It was quite a history lesson.
When you leave the museum, what is left of the actual checkpoint is a recreation. Initially, I was not going to pay to have a picture taken with some fake soldiers, but Thing 1 really wanted one and it was 1 Euro so we caved. There is also a stand where one of the "fake" soldiers will stamp your passport with one or many stamps of your choosing. The guy engaged the children and talked to Thing 1 a great deal about the history of the checkpoint. We bought two fake visas for the kids with the different visa stamps and had our own passports stamped with US and Soviet stamps. My tourist passport expires soon, so now I have a reason to keep it.
We walked around the area and found a marker with a trace of the Berlin Wall on it. Despite this, I was beginning to think that the part of the Berlin Wall that I wanted to see, the East Side Gallery, was becoming more elusive with our time constraints. Again, it was dinner time.
After having dinner at the Champs Elysee of East Berlin (Unter den Linden) the other night, we headed to the Champs Elysee of West Berlin - the Kurfürstendamm or Ku'Damm for short. Like it's Parisian counterpart, this street is lined with shops, restaurants, clubs, the Kaiser Wilhelm (bombed out) Memorial church, some interesting sculptures and lots of curry wurst (a hot dog with curry sauce) and döner Kebabs. It is named after the Kurfürsten or "electors" of the Holy Roman Empire.
We spent the rest of the evening strolling along the Ku'Damm and eventually taking a cab home since the Metro station was closed. No East Side Gallery for me tonight.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Berlin: Day 3 - Monkey Business and a TV Tower
The rain stopped and while the day started out overcast, the sun eventually came out. It was the only day of our entire trip where we actually saw the sun. Most people would probably take in the many historical attractions Berlin has to offer, but not us. We ended up on Bus 100 to the Berlin Tiergarten-Zoo.
I like zoos. Animal behavior fascinates me and on this trip I caught some interesting videos of baby bird bathing, and a hungry ram "ramming" its horns into a fence trying to escape.
There was a petting area with some goats and for some reason, someone thought of putting some geese in there to make it interesting. Geese are not the most friendly creatures. Thing 2 was trying to feed a goat and a goose who was upset that s/he was not being fed nipped at her and freaked her out. She was very cautious petting all the animals after that. The most entertaining was a fenced in ram. It too was rather upset that the goat on the other side of the fence kept getting fed by the kids and it started to "ram" right into the fence with it's horns.
My only pet peeve about this zoo is that there was no personal guide map. We spent about 4 hours there and didn't see it all. But out of all the zoos we have been to, this one was certainly worth it. They have a great array of animals and today they were all active. The kids really enjoyed it.
Walking around the zoo was quite exhausting. We took Bus 100 back towards Alexanderplatz and decided to make the line for the Fernsehnturm otherwise known as the Berlin TV Tower. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the tickets are timed and while they say it is only a 30 minute wait, they lied. We got there around 3 which I thought would be a great time to see panoramic Berlin during the daylight hours. However, by the time, our ticket number came up, it was almost 5pm and the sun had set. If you like taking in city views and pictures of the city, I would not do the TV tower in the later afternoon. It is actually better to get there when it opens at 8 so you can get a good view and if you are lucky, you may be able to have coffee in the rotating cafe. It was jam packed at 5pm.
The city view really wasn't that spectacular in comparison to Paris for example. The TV Tower is the highest structure in Berlin, so nothing really stands out from that high. I could barely see the Brandenburg Gate - yet another reason to go during daylight hours. By the time we finished descending, it was about 6pm and time for dinner. We were close to our apartment so we picked up some food and took it back "home" to eat dinner and called it an early night.
I like zoos. Animal behavior fascinates me and on this trip I caught some interesting videos of baby bird bathing, and a hungry ram "ramming" its horns into a fence trying to escape.
There was a petting area with some goats and for some reason, someone thought of putting some geese in there to make it interesting. Geese are not the most friendly creatures. Thing 2 was trying to feed a goat and a goose who was upset that s/he was not being fed nipped at her and freaked her out. She was very cautious petting all the animals after that. The most entertaining was a fenced in ram. It too was rather upset that the goat on the other side of the fence kept getting fed by the kids and it started to "ram" right into the fence with it's horns.
My only pet peeve about this zoo is that there was no personal guide map. We spent about 4 hours there and didn't see it all. But out of all the zoos we have been to, this one was certainly worth it. They have a great array of animals and today they were all active. The kids really enjoyed it.
Walking around the zoo was quite exhausting. We took Bus 100 back towards Alexanderplatz and decided to make the line for the Fernsehnturm otherwise known as the Berlin TV Tower. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the tickets are timed and while they say it is only a 30 minute wait, they lied. We got there around 3 which I thought would be a great time to see panoramic Berlin during the daylight hours. However, by the time, our ticket number came up, it was almost 5pm and the sun had set. If you like taking in city views and pictures of the city, I would not do the TV tower in the later afternoon. It is actually better to get there when it opens at 8 so you can get a good view and if you are lucky, you may be able to have coffee in the rotating cafe. It was jam packed at 5pm.
The city view really wasn't that spectacular in comparison to Paris for example. The TV Tower is the highest structure in Berlin, so nothing really stands out from that high. I could barely see the Brandenburg Gate - yet another reason to go during daylight hours. By the time we finished descending, it was about 6pm and time for dinner. We were close to our apartment so we picked up some food and took it back "home" to eat dinner and called it an early night.
Berlin: Day 2 - Rain, rain, go away!
Berlin is a city full of history - this, of course, means nothing to young children. We try to plan our days to include at least a few hours of stuff kids enjoy and even then I cannot avoid one of them complaining about something.
This morning we awoke to a drizzling rain, the kind that lightly falls all day hardly ever ceasing. I hate rain unless it is in FL where it is hot and rain is a welcome relief. I especially hate rain when it is already cold outside. So, breaking my rule of saving all children activities for the end of the trip as my bargaining chip for good behavior, we boarded the train for LegoLand Discovery Center at Potsdamer Platz. We figured this would be a good way to spend a rainy day.
After one train stop, everyone exits at Alexanderplatz. We follow suit only to learn that beginning today, on the first full day of our trip, there is construction work taking place at the following 2 stations. I specifically chose this apartment because of it's proximity to the U2 line (here's to you Bono!). The U bahn solution: bus everyone to the Spittelmarkt station on a U2 labeled bus so they can then continue their journey on the U2 line. We were at the tail end of the morning rush hour which in Berlin seems to last all day. This specific round of bad luck does not surprise me since this month has been all about throwing me for a loop.
We get to LegoLand a little after 10:15. After a quick snack at the next door Dunkin Donuts, we made the line for tickets in the rain. Our coats/jackets were soaked by the time we actually got inside.
LegoLand is a glorified Chuck E Cheese with more sophisticated activities. There is a 4D movie, a slow moving Lego Dragon ride, an Indiana Jones jungle expedition, a model building workshop (kids were taught how to make Halloween pumpkins), a testing center where you design/build a vehicle and then test it on a track, a huge jungle gym and the proverbial gift shop at the exit. The kids had a great time, but I really could have skipped the whole thing.
As we leave and head across Potsdamer Platz, we see a large crowd gathering in front of the Ritz Carlton. Josh was curious so we headed over. This is where social psychology can be viewed at it's finest. I asked someone why the crowd had gathered. No one really knew. What I found all the more interesting, but expected, is that more and more people, having not a clue as to who was coming out of that hotel, kept lining up and waiting with all the other clueless persons.
I wasn't going to wait around for a celebrity when I didn't even know who it was. But, my goofy husband was eager to find out who everyone was waiting for. I joked with him that for all we knew, it was Hannah Montana.
The Ritz started giving out purple balloons to the kids. It had some writing on it. I kept telling the Cat to find out what the balloon said. Guess who everyone was waiting for? He finds out and comes up to me asking me who is Miley Cyrus? For any parent of a tween girl (or if you watch the Disney Channel for any period of time0, you would know that Miley Cyrus is Hannah Montana.
I really couldn't care less (sorry to my young cousins who are big fans), but the tweenager whose parents asked me what was going on was thrilled to hear this news. the Cat in all his Peter Pan-esque glory wanted to stay because if Miley is coming so is Billy Ray and this would be a double celebrity sighting. Not that he even cares about either. I couldn't care less about either. I bribed him with coffee at the Starbucks across the platz and he caved.
After our coffee break we headed back to the Brandenberg Gate to continue walking where we left off the previous evening. But, it was persistently raining and the kids were tired. We paid the extra money to hop on one of those sightseeing buses for a 2 hour tour of Berlin. Thing 2 caught a nap while we became more oriented to the city. Despite the price of 15 Euro per person (children free), it was well worth it for Thing 2 to get a nap.
The only reason to board one of these buses is to get the commentary as you ride around. If you don't care abotu the commentary or already know what you are looking at, hop on Bus 100 or 200. These stop at all the tourist areas beginning/ending at the Zoo and Alexanderplatz. We rode Bus 100 for the remainder of time in Berlin due ot the U-bahn situation.
By the end of the tour, it had stopped raining, so we continued from the Brandenberg Gate onto Unter den Linden, a very pretty street whose name literally means "under the linden trees." The trees were practically bare, but they were lit up from beneath and the whole street was quite nice. The street is lined with restaurants, shops, luxury car showrooms like Ferrari and Bentley and the massive Russian Embassy complex. According to the tour guide on the bus, the mammoth complex doesn't just hold the Embassy, but houses a school for the Russian children whose parents work there as well a pool and other perks. The guide called it "a city onto itself."
We found a restaurant called Maredo's which is a chain of Argentinian-like steakhouses. The food was good although it is not authentic Argentinian cuisine. But, it was a family restaurant despite the candle light. My kids actually ate some thing other than chicken nuggets - their German counterpart wiener schnitzel.
The streets perpendicular to Unter den Linden house several Embassies including the British and French which are closest to the gate. After the war, the city of Berlin was divided in four with the Soviet sector to the East and an American, British and French sector to the west. Interestingly, today, those four nationalities are the closest in location to the Gate.
We ran across the Berlin Store on Unter Den Linden and found their prices for some things to be quite reasonable compared to other places we had passed by. Berlin isn't the tourist trap that Prague is, but it has it's fair share of traps.
Thing 1 passed out shortly after that store visit. Since it had stopped raining and we really didn't have an opportunity to walk earlier, we walked the mile and half back to our apartment. On the way, we passed Bebelplatz. This is another place where a profound statement was made showcasing a bit of history.
Bebelplatz is surrounded by the Staatsoper (State Opera), St. Hedwig's Cathedral and a Library. To anyone who has not read anything about the square, you may simply pass it by. But, it is here that the Nazi's held a massive book burning in the 30's. A simple memorial was made underground. The only way you will notice it is by walking onto the square and making your way towards to the other groups of people looking into the ground. Once you get there, you will find a glass square and when you look inside you see a white room with empty bookcases. Enough said!
After getting back to the apartment and putting the kids to bed, the Cat and I ended our exhausting day with a bottle of champagne to mark our 7th wedding anniversary.
This morning we awoke to a drizzling rain, the kind that lightly falls all day hardly ever ceasing. I hate rain unless it is in FL where it is hot and rain is a welcome relief. I especially hate rain when it is already cold outside. So, breaking my rule of saving all children activities for the end of the trip as my bargaining chip for good behavior, we boarded the train for LegoLand Discovery Center at Potsdamer Platz. We figured this would be a good way to spend a rainy day.
After one train stop, everyone exits at Alexanderplatz. We follow suit only to learn that beginning today, on the first full day of our trip, there is construction work taking place at the following 2 stations. I specifically chose this apartment because of it's proximity to the U2 line (here's to you Bono!). The U bahn solution: bus everyone to the Spittelmarkt station on a U2 labeled bus so they can then continue their journey on the U2 line. We were at the tail end of the morning rush hour which in Berlin seems to last all day. This specific round of bad luck does not surprise me since this month has been all about throwing me for a loop.
We get to LegoLand a little after 10:15. After a quick snack at the next door Dunkin Donuts, we made the line for tickets in the rain. Our coats/jackets were soaked by the time we actually got inside.
LegoLand is a glorified Chuck E Cheese with more sophisticated activities. There is a 4D movie, a slow moving Lego Dragon ride, an Indiana Jones jungle expedition, a model building workshop (kids were taught how to make Halloween pumpkins), a testing center where you design/build a vehicle and then test it on a track, a huge jungle gym and the proverbial gift shop at the exit. The kids had a great time, but I really could have skipped the whole thing.
As we leave and head across Potsdamer Platz, we see a large crowd gathering in front of the Ritz Carlton. Josh was curious so we headed over. This is where social psychology can be viewed at it's finest. I asked someone why the crowd had gathered. No one really knew. What I found all the more interesting, but expected, is that more and more people, having not a clue as to who was coming out of that hotel, kept lining up and waiting with all the other clueless persons.
I wasn't going to wait around for a celebrity when I didn't even know who it was. But, my goofy husband was eager to find out who everyone was waiting for. I joked with him that for all we knew, it was Hannah Montana.
The Ritz started giving out purple balloons to the kids. It had some writing on it. I kept telling the Cat to find out what the balloon said. Guess who everyone was waiting for? He finds out and comes up to me asking me who is Miley Cyrus? For any parent of a tween girl (or if you watch the Disney Channel for any period of time0, you would know that Miley Cyrus is Hannah Montana.
I really couldn't care less (sorry to my young cousins who are big fans), but the tweenager whose parents asked me what was going on was thrilled to hear this news. the Cat in all his Peter Pan-esque glory wanted to stay because if Miley is coming so is Billy Ray and this would be a double celebrity sighting. Not that he even cares about either. I couldn't care less about either. I bribed him with coffee at the Starbucks across the platz and he caved.
After our coffee break we headed back to the Brandenberg Gate to continue walking where we left off the previous evening. But, it was persistently raining and the kids were tired. We paid the extra money to hop on one of those sightseeing buses for a 2 hour tour of Berlin. Thing 2 caught a nap while we became more oriented to the city. Despite the price of 15 Euro per person (children free), it was well worth it for Thing 2 to get a nap.
The only reason to board one of these buses is to get the commentary as you ride around. If you don't care abotu the commentary or already know what you are looking at, hop on Bus 100 or 200. These stop at all the tourist areas beginning/ending at the Zoo and Alexanderplatz. We rode Bus 100 for the remainder of time in Berlin due ot the U-bahn situation.
By the end of the tour, it had stopped raining, so we continued from the Brandenberg Gate onto Unter den Linden, a very pretty street whose name literally means "under the linden trees." The trees were practically bare, but they were lit up from beneath and the whole street was quite nice. The street is lined with restaurants, shops, luxury car showrooms like Ferrari and Bentley and the massive Russian Embassy complex. According to the tour guide on the bus, the mammoth complex doesn't just hold the Embassy, but houses a school for the Russian children whose parents work there as well a pool and other perks. The guide called it "a city onto itself."
We found a restaurant called Maredo's which is a chain of Argentinian-like steakhouses. The food was good although it is not authentic Argentinian cuisine. But, it was a family restaurant despite the candle light. My kids actually ate some thing other than chicken nuggets - their German counterpart wiener schnitzel.
The streets perpendicular to Unter den Linden house several Embassies including the British and French which are closest to the gate. After the war, the city of Berlin was divided in four with the Soviet sector to the East and an American, British and French sector to the west. Interestingly, today, those four nationalities are the closest in location to the Gate.
We ran across the Berlin Store on Unter Den Linden and found their prices for some things to be quite reasonable compared to other places we had passed by. Berlin isn't the tourist trap that Prague is, but it has it's fair share of traps.
Thing 1 passed out shortly after that store visit. Since it had stopped raining and we really didn't have an opportunity to walk earlier, we walked the mile and half back to our apartment. On the way, we passed Bebelplatz. This is another place where a profound statement was made showcasing a bit of history.
Bebelplatz is surrounded by the Staatsoper (State Opera), St. Hedwig's Cathedral and a Library. To anyone who has not read anything about the square, you may simply pass it by. But, it is here that the Nazi's held a massive book burning in the 30's. A simple memorial was made underground. The only way you will notice it is by walking onto the square and making your way towards to the other groups of people looking into the ground. Once you get there, you will find a glass square and when you look inside you see a white room with empty bookcases. Enough said!
After getting back to the apartment and putting the kids to bed, the Cat and I ended our exhausting day with a bottle of champagne to mark our 7th wedding anniversary.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Berlin: Day 1 - Finding our way
So, we arrived in Berlin without incident. We checked into our apartment. It is a great 1 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, flat screen TV's with a USB machine where you can plug in your Ipod to watch your programs on the TV. We haven't had time to use this nor do I understand why people would watch TV while on vacation. I'm happy just with the BBC while I get ready to go in the morning. The apartment is clean with a fully stocked kitchen (wine glasses included).
We are staying in east (formerly communist) Berlin. While aesthetically, the area is not as pleasing to the eye as the western part of the city, the location (a few feet from the U-Bahn) can't be beat. There is also a CVS type shop right across from the apartments that sells just about everything you could need as well as a 24 hour mini mart place that sells water, soda, wine, beer, champagne and snack foods.
After settling in, we headed over to Potsdamer Platz. Not at all what I expected. I am used to the "platz" being an open square. This one is home to a massive entertainment complex, the Sony Center. There are restaurants, a movie theater, IMAX, and some shops. The LegoLand Discovery Center is also here. Two American chains, Tony Roma's and Dunkin Donuts were present as were Starbucks (you can easily find one within a mile anywhere you are) and Haagen Daz.
Potsdamer Platz has plenty of places to catch a bite to eat. I usually see candles in restaurants and automatically assume children are not appropriate at the establishment. However, in Berlin it seems that candles are used at tables in every restaurant regardless of who they cater to. So, if you go with little kids, have no fear.
After having dinner, we headed down the street toward the Bradenberg Tor (Gate). On the way we passed the Memorial to Holocaust victims. This is a interesting memorial consisting of concrete slabs of different shapes beginning small and growing tall until it becomes a bit of a maze. I am not sure what the sculptor/designer's interpretation was but I had a feeling of being consumed by the slabs of concrete the further we walked into it. You literally get lost within the memorial. For me, it stood more as a symbolic representation of the Holocaust as something that started out on a small scale and grew to the point that the human mind cannot fathom. So, if this was the sculptor's intention, he did a great job in conveying his message. There is alot of critiscism about the Memorial only commemorating Jewish victims of the Holocaust instead of being all inclusive of the Roma, homosexuals, political prisoners, etc that died at the hands of the Nazis. I can see their point.
We continued walking towards the Brandenberg Gate, passing the massive and new US Embassy complex before reaching the gate. Berlin was having a Festival of Lights where the important attractions were lit up including the gate. The Berlin wall ran right along the Brandenberg Gate and beyond. The gate itself was located in East Berlin. The Quadriga statue on top faces the East. It's hard to believe today that the wall kept the West from the gate. The location of the wall is marked by a double line pointing out hte course of the Berlin Wall. Large slabs of the wall are found across the city lining the area of the wall's original location including where we went earlier at Potsdamer Platz. In fact, until 1989, Potsdamer platz was an empty area divided by the Wall. Souvenir shops sell "pieces" of the wall. Some have ceritficates of authenticity attached to them. Whether real or not, they are a bit of an expensive novelty - almost 13 Euro!
After reaching the gate, the kids were exhausted and we were not oriented enough to find the nearest metro. We got in a taxi to head back to the apartment to get everyone bathed and into bed ASAP.
It was the best night's sleep I had in a while.
We are staying in east (formerly communist) Berlin. While aesthetically, the area is not as pleasing to the eye as the western part of the city, the location (a few feet from the U-Bahn) can't be beat. There is also a CVS type shop right across from the apartments that sells just about everything you could need as well as a 24 hour mini mart place that sells water, soda, wine, beer, champagne and snack foods.
After settling in, we headed over to Potsdamer Platz. Not at all what I expected. I am used to the "platz" being an open square. This one is home to a massive entertainment complex, the Sony Center. There are restaurants, a movie theater, IMAX, and some shops. The LegoLand Discovery Center is also here. Two American chains, Tony Roma's and Dunkin Donuts were present as were Starbucks (you can easily find one within a mile anywhere you are) and Haagen Daz.
Potsdamer Platz has plenty of places to catch a bite to eat. I usually see candles in restaurants and automatically assume children are not appropriate at the establishment. However, in Berlin it seems that candles are used at tables in every restaurant regardless of who they cater to. So, if you go with little kids, have no fear.
After having dinner, we headed down the street toward the Bradenberg Tor (Gate). On the way we passed the Memorial to Holocaust victims. This is a interesting memorial consisting of concrete slabs of different shapes beginning small and growing tall until it becomes a bit of a maze. I am not sure what the sculptor/designer's interpretation was but I had a feeling of being consumed by the slabs of concrete the further we walked into it. You literally get lost within the memorial. For me, it stood more as a symbolic representation of the Holocaust as something that started out on a small scale and grew to the point that the human mind cannot fathom. So, if this was the sculptor's intention, he did a great job in conveying his message. There is alot of critiscism about the Memorial only commemorating Jewish victims of the Holocaust instead of being all inclusive of the Roma, homosexuals, political prisoners, etc that died at the hands of the Nazis. I can see their point.
We continued walking towards the Brandenberg Gate, passing the massive and new US Embassy complex before reaching the gate. Berlin was having a Festival of Lights where the important attractions were lit up including the gate. The Berlin wall ran right along the Brandenberg Gate and beyond. The gate itself was located in East Berlin. The Quadriga statue on top faces the East. It's hard to believe today that the wall kept the West from the gate. The location of the wall is marked by a double line pointing out hte course of the Berlin Wall. Large slabs of the wall are found across the city lining the area of the wall's original location including where we went earlier at Potsdamer Platz. In fact, until 1989, Potsdamer platz was an empty area divided by the Wall. Souvenir shops sell "pieces" of the wall. Some have ceritficates of authenticity attached to them. Whether real or not, they are a bit of an expensive novelty - almost 13 Euro!
After reaching the gate, the kids were exhausted and we were not oriented enough to find the nearest metro. We got in a taxi to head back to the apartment to get everyone bathed and into bed ASAP.
It was the best night's sleep I had in a while.
Under the radar
Our road trip to Berlin turned out to be better than expected. The fact that half of it took place on an actual autobahn and that we managed to stay under the radar of German police made it quite uneventful.
You see, we don't have a Polish/EU license. We were supposed to get one when we got here, but my dear husband didn't think this was important. We have applied for one now, but the license wasn't ready before we left. We don't even have the international driving permit. So, technically, we are driving illegally here.
Normally, this doesn't bother me. However, our diplomatic tags are not the same as EU tags and are not recognized by the German authorities. Slightly Cracked and Thrify Expat have been pulled over twice for this reason. And, while we followed their advice and got our diplomatic corp sticker and PL sticker to identify what country we are traveling from, I still worry about trying to communicate with German polizei. Our car is now parked in a garage across the street so we are safe for a few days. I'll be relieved if we can get to the German border without getting pulled over.
You see, we don't have a Polish/EU license. We were supposed to get one when we got here, but my dear husband didn't think this was important. We have applied for one now, but the license wasn't ready before we left. We don't even have the international driving permit. So, technically, we are driving illegally here.
Normally, this doesn't bother me. However, our diplomatic tags are not the same as EU tags and are not recognized by the German authorities. Slightly Cracked and Thrify Expat have been pulled over twice for this reason. And, while we followed their advice and got our diplomatic corp sticker and PL sticker to identify what country we are traveling from, I still worry about trying to communicate with German polizei. Our car is now parked in a garage across the street so we are safe for a few days. I'll be relieved if we can get to the German border without getting pulled over.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
UN Day 2008
Today was UN Day at the American School. Like last year, it is a day where the school celebrates the diversity of its students and teachers. During the two weeks leading up to UN Day, the kids make presentations to their classrooms about their home country (or State) so that the children learn more about where their classmates come from. This year, instead of representing his many nationalities, we let him focus on the USA since we will be moving back there this summer. He specifically focused on FL. Trying to get Thing 1 to focus and actually work on this was worse than a root canal. It didn't help that Thing 2 was starved for attention and kept asking me to give her "homework" too. Between sorting through pictures, online resources, a little typing and a little writing, we managed to put a poster together.
At home, he chose a picture atlas to read from every night and we covered the countries he had learned from during the day. Thing 1's classroom is made up of children from the USA, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada, and Mexico. We talked about Columbus’ “discovery” of America on Columbus Day. He learned why Columbus called people in America “Indians” and why today most people in Central and South America speak Spanish. Quite a history lesson, but after all, history is one of my favorite subjects!
Every year, country tables (staffed by parents) are set up in the gymnasium and main hallways. Each student is provided a “passport”. Each table has a country stamp, for example, the American stamp is the Statue of Liberty, Germany is a castle and so forth. The children visit the different tables and answer questions about the country (based on their age), receive all kinds of goodies and get their passport stamped.
This year, the 1st graders were paired up with a 5th grader. They thought this was pretty cool. Thing 1's 5th grade buddy happened to be his best friend's brother. So they went around the world together. I supervised 5 pairs of twos and Thing 2.
On the day leading up to UN Day, it is best to fast if you will be indulging in the festivities. Every year the cafeteria closes for that day. Parents provide dishes from their home country to share with the classroom. You literally can spend the entire day eating. My favorite of the day was "Nanaimo Bars" brought in by Thing 1's Canadian classmate. His mom was even good enough to include the recipe which I photographed (see below) so that I can replicate. Try it for yourself – a bit messy, but it is exquisite.
Each country table also provides miniature edible treats. For example, you can try Irish Cheddar Cheese at the Ireland Table, Belgian Chocolate at the Belgium Table, Croissants in France, and tea in India, China, and Japan. Our USA table provided chocolate chip cookies and Hershey’s kisses.
Thing 1 had fun answering questions about country flags, capitals, animals, etc. He visited every table. To give you an idea of the school demographic, there were tables for the USA, Poland, Lithuania, Mexico, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Kenya, New Zealand, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Brazil, South Korea, Israel, France, Ireland, Canada, India, Portugal, South Africa, Great Britain, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Japan and Malaysia. And that doesn’t include the countries that did not have a table because they did not have enough people to staff one, like Spain. We almost didn’t have a USA table because most of the US moms were either already room parents or they had small children who would not sit at a table for hours. Luckily, an Embassy mom with older children stepped up and we just provided her with supplies for the table.
Thing 2 joined the children in their trip around the world. We call her and another boy’s brother, the 1st grade room sister and room brother. They mostly played with balloons in the gym while the older kids visited tables. Thing 2, however, spent more time going table to table and collecting edible goodies. The child was eating every treat she could find. I even caught her stuffing her jean pockets with some treats. She also very rudely (but childlike) put back something she tasted that she did not like which I had to then take and throw out. She’s definitely a “foodie.”
As fun as it was and as much as we will miss this, I am quite pleased that these two UN weeks are over. No one realizes how exhausting it is for parents to put these things together. And I only had one at the school! I saw moms with 3 or 4 kids trying to split themselves into 3 or 4 so they could participate in each child’s experience. That’s 3 or 4 different meals for 3 or 4 different classes. They could start a catering service for all that trouble!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Trash Bandit strikes again!
Last month, I wrote a post about our neighborhood trash bandit and my attempts to thwart him. Well, this morning, he declared war!
I now have a lock for my trash gate and still the bastard managed to reach through the gate, open the trash can, slice open the bag enough for him to sift through it. He didn't make a mess, but had the trash collector come by and tried to collect the bag, it would have surely thrown trash everywhere. I had to go out this morning and put the broken bag into a new bag.
I have now placed the cans against the wall with the opening facing the wall and I am planning on lining the gate with a flattened cardboard box. If that does not work, I will be collecting dog poop from my dogs and setting up a dummy bag right at the top for him to dig his hands in. I'm inching closer to surveillance.
I now have a lock for my trash gate and still the bastard managed to reach through the gate, open the trash can, slice open the bag enough for him to sift through it. He didn't make a mess, but had the trash collector come by and tried to collect the bag, it would have surely thrown trash everywhere. I had to go out this morning and put the broken bag into a new bag.
I have now placed the cans against the wall with the opening facing the wall and I am planning on lining the gate with a flattened cardboard box. If that does not work, I will be collecting dog poop from my dogs and setting up a dummy bag right at the top for him to dig his hands in. I'm inching closer to surveillance.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
If you give an expat free coffee....
...they will come to your event. Mom's may find this title familiar if you have read "If You Give A Mouse a Cookie...?" by Laura Numeroff. My fellow expats (both American and international) have kept the java (or shall I say kawa) drip flowing since we arrived and most likely way before. What is it about caffeine and the expat?
Before moving here, I would have my usual Cuban expresso (still do) and that was usually sufficient. The only time I would stop at Starbucks was after a sleepless night with the kids. Now, it really doesn't matter whether I sleep or not - I am not working (although it does feel that I have 2 full time jobs with no paid leave in sight) so if I am really that tired, I can snuggle up with Thing 2 for an afternoon nap.
But, here, in the expat universe, everyday is a coffee morning both informally and formally. In the past 30 days alone, there has been one for the American Friend's of Warsaw, the International Women's Group, the PTO Board Meeting, the UN Day Planning Meeting, the ES Counselor meeting, the Parent Advisory Committee Meeting, the Mums and Tots Committee Meeting and that's not even touching upon all the java flowing through the Mums and Tots playgroups. Seriously - if you are low on coffee at home, look up a website and I am sure someone is giving up free coffee around here on any given morning.
I think my nervous system has become so accustomed to this intake that it takes even more to keep me going. Earlier this week, I had a double (Cuban) expresso since the Cat wasn't home to consume the other half. Still that did not stop me from wishing I had a calculator to sell movie tickets to a student at the PTO store ( I worked it out in my head eventually). A double just won't do anymore. So I had another coffee courtesy of another PTO mom.
Today it was coffee with the 1st grade room moms and if I didn't want to go to that one, there is always the one for the American Friends of Warsaw. Thursday there is nothing scheduled but then there's the parent-teacher conference at 8:30am - gotta be bright eyed and bushy tailed for that one. And now Friday, my one day of morning rest this week, Fran Drescher (aka The Nanny) will be in town for a breast cancer awareness event. I bet you there will be coffee! It's like heroin - if you need your coffee fix - you will find it free of charge somewhere in Warsaw.
Of course, this isn't why we attend these events. We enjoy socializing. Problem is that this coffee social thing is giving me some side effects. Today, I actually noticed my eye was twitching and I couldn't stop it. So, I was either really strung out on caffeine or I have Parkinson symptoms.
Wouldn't it be great if we took this concept and changed it to cocktail evenings? Not the fancy kind, but just a group of moms (preferably without tots) getting together for wine or tequila shots. Kids love relaxed parents not anxious caffeine induced ones. Angry drunk people need not stop by.
I am now so irritable and in withdrawal that I had my children choose who they wanted for the evening: Happy mommy or angry irritable mommy. Unanimously, they chose happy mommy. Good choice! Amazing how giving them choices works! They are on their best behavior which is a good thing because right now I don't think my brain even cares about who hit or scratched who.
Before moving here, I would have my usual Cuban expresso (still do) and that was usually sufficient. The only time I would stop at Starbucks was after a sleepless night with the kids. Now, it really doesn't matter whether I sleep or not - I am not working (although it does feel that I have 2 full time jobs with no paid leave in sight) so if I am really that tired, I can snuggle up with Thing 2 for an afternoon nap.
But, here, in the expat universe, everyday is a coffee morning both informally and formally. In the past 30 days alone, there has been one for the American Friend's of Warsaw, the International Women's Group, the PTO Board Meeting, the UN Day Planning Meeting, the ES Counselor meeting, the Parent Advisory Committee Meeting, the Mums and Tots Committee Meeting and that's not even touching upon all the java flowing through the Mums and Tots playgroups. Seriously - if you are low on coffee at home, look up a website and I am sure someone is giving up free coffee around here on any given morning.
I think my nervous system has become so accustomed to this intake that it takes even more to keep me going. Earlier this week, I had a double (Cuban) expresso since the Cat wasn't home to consume the other half. Still that did not stop me from wishing I had a calculator to sell movie tickets to a student at the PTO store ( I worked it out in my head eventually). A double just won't do anymore. So I had another coffee courtesy of another PTO mom.
Today it was coffee with the 1st grade room moms and if I didn't want to go to that one, there is always the one for the American Friends of Warsaw. Thursday there is nothing scheduled but then there's the parent-teacher conference at 8:30am - gotta be bright eyed and bushy tailed for that one. And now Friday, my one day of morning rest this week, Fran Drescher (aka The Nanny) will be in town for a breast cancer awareness event. I bet you there will be coffee! It's like heroin - if you need your coffee fix - you will find it free of charge somewhere in Warsaw.
Of course, this isn't why we attend these events. We enjoy socializing. Problem is that this coffee social thing is giving me some side effects. Today, I actually noticed my eye was twitching and I couldn't stop it. So, I was either really strung out on caffeine or I have Parkinson symptoms.
Wouldn't it be great if we took this concept and changed it to cocktail evenings? Not the fancy kind, but just a group of moms (preferably without tots) getting together for wine or tequila shots. Kids love relaxed parents not anxious caffeine induced ones. Angry drunk people need not stop by.
I am now so irritable and in withdrawal that I had my children choose who they wanted for the evening: Happy mommy or angry irritable mommy. Unanimously, they chose happy mommy. Good choice! Amazing how giving them choices works! They are on their best behavior which is a good thing because right now I don't think my brain even cares about who hit or scratched who.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More on Socialized Healthcare
I found this great article comparing US and UK Health Care. It kind of reaffirms my earlier posting on socialized health care. The author is a New Yorker who is now living in the UK. She describes treatment for her same condition under both systems.
Both systems have their flaws, but I will take ours any day over substandard care. My main problem with the US falling into the socialized health care trap is that I don't want to receive substandard care. I don't want to be penalized for seeking private care if I can afford to do so. I don't want to lie on a gurney in a hall for days until a bed becomes available. I don't want to die of a serious disease because a specialist cannot fit me into his/her already overflowing schedule or is too busy to spend adequate time with me because he has so many other patients to see. And privacy? Well you just have to forget about that under socialized medicine.
Don't take a Michael Moore film edited to show you only one point of view at face value . Further, if Mr. Moore were living under this plan and became seriously ill, he has the money to fly to any other country where we can receive private care without penalty from his own government. This cannot be said for the rest of us peasants!
Voters who want socialized health care need to seriously investigate what this really means.
Both systems have their flaws, but I will take ours any day over substandard care. My main problem with the US falling into the socialized health care trap is that I don't want to receive substandard care. I don't want to be penalized for seeking private care if I can afford to do so. I don't want to lie on a gurney in a hall for days until a bed becomes available. I don't want to die of a serious disease because a specialist cannot fit me into his/her already overflowing schedule or is too busy to spend adequate time with me because he has so many other patients to see. And privacy? Well you just have to forget about that under socialized medicine.
Don't take a Michael Moore film edited to show you only one point of view at face value . Further, if Mr. Moore were living under this plan and became seriously ill, he has the money to fly to any other country where we can receive private care without penalty from his own government. This cannot be said for the rest of us peasants!
Voters who want socialized health care need to seriously investigate what this really means.
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