Back in Action

Two weeks of being back in Valencia since our vacation!  If you read my last 3 blogs detailing our trip, you’ll know that we had an amazing trip to Germany.  I still beam retelling of our time when people ask.  I didn’t mention though that we stopped in Barcelona for about 4 hours during our plane to train exchange.  We hadn’t prepared for what we were going to do.  So after we made it to the train station and locked up our bag in a locker we saw a fancy old building in the distance and decided to walk that direction.  It turned out to be the Palau Nacional, a gorgeous Italian-style building sitting on top of a hill which allowed us a beautiful view of Barcelona just as the sun was setting, leaving us with a glorious sunset to enjoy from the top of the hill!  And believe me, after all those stairs we had to climb to get up there, the beautiful view was a duly received reward!  From there we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium which was quite near to the Palau. This was actually really cool for me because the 1992 Olympics were the first I recall watching.  We had just enough time to make it one time around the stadium, stop for a few pictures and head back to the station.  Jake and I were both very excited about this brief visit, and plan to go back someday soon to see a little more.  

We pulled up to the Valencia train station around 11:30pm.  Unfortunately the metro system was closed for the night already. So we decided it wasn’t that far to ride bikes. We dispersed our stuff between our big duffle bag and tote bag my mom sent to Germany for me for Christmas.  (Thanks, Mom!!)  Jake, of course, carried the majority of the stuff, and it was pretty amusing to watch him try to ride with 30-40 pounds worth of duffle bag in his front basket throwing off his balance and blocking his view!  Luckily, no bike accidents to end our journey.  We made it home around 12:30am, and felt so pleased to be home.

The next day, we went first thing to the bank to pay our rent.  However, we were surprised to find everything closed.  It was Monday!  Why was it all closed?  Not until later did we realize how silly we looked desperately pulling on the bank and store doors trying to see if anything was open.  Turns out that January 6th is one of the biggest holidays of the year. Around here, Dia del Reyes is as important and highly celebrated as Christmas.  Kids get the majority of presents on this day in celebration of the Kings, or Wisemen, bringing gifts to baby Jesus.  We had no idea.  Had we known, we would have left a little food in the house for our return.  With no grocery stores open we ended up eating rice all day because we had literally nothing else.  At dinner time we caved and found ourselves a Chinese Restaurant open.  So we ended up celebrating Dia del Reyes with Chinese take-out and curling up to an alien-invasion movie.  

I started back with my English lessons that Wednesday.  I think I’m enjoying teaching a little more now that I have a bit of a system and rhythm to it.  Plus, I’m getting to know the families which is nice.  One girl, who I thought hated the lessons, and thus disliked me, wrote me a little note (in Spanish) saying that it’s hard for her when I only speak to her in English because she doesn’t understand.  But then at the bottom she wrote that she loves me.  That made me feel good, and I think I’ve begun to figure out how to bond with her a little more.  Another little girl is the happiest, cutest, brightest little girl in the world.  She is only 6, but not afraid to try to speak in English.  She laughs at everything, and can’t stop smiling and giggling.  She puts me in a good mood every time I’m with her.  Her dad is a police officer in Valencia, and does not speak any English.  However, he is patient with me trying to understand his Spanish. Last week, he was talking to me for about half an hour after the lesson telling me what cities I need to go see in Spain before I leave.  He was pulling up pictures on his phone, and so excited to tell me about these beautiful places.  This was 2 days after returning from Germany, and I thought I wasn’t going to remember any Spanish when we got back.  Well, with this conversation I was thrown back into the fire.  He even suggested that Jake and I go with their family to Sevilla over Easter Break since Jake would not have school.  I’d actually consider the offer if he still remembers by April. Their house is far away in the suburbs, and they have to drive me to the metro station each week after the lesson. I actually really enjoy this time to practice my Spanish because all the other parents speak to me in English.  Last Thursday, he told me that we couldn’t have a lesson the following week because he would be out of town all week at a police training.  I asked him what kind of training.  He said training for public protests.  He demonstrated/explained about using those plastic transparent shields to protect themselves and push back protesters with the those rubber pellet guns.  I tried to ask him if they were expecting some kind of major public protests soon, but I couldn’t figure out how to ask it in Spanish.  But it certainly got me thinking.  I know many are unhappy here with some policy changes and budget cuts they’re making because of Spain financial crisis.  We’ll see I guess.

I’m still teaching my adult conversation class at an English school, and really enjoying that.  We have a good time together, and I love how the students participate in my lesson plans.  I’m figuring out a rhythm for that class as well.  Every week we do a vocabulary, dictation, and pronunciation exercises followed by a time of personal sharing, role playing, or a group activity. Apparently one student told my contact how great my class was.  :)  Though this is my lowest paying gig and the one I prepare for the most I’m happy for the opportunity.

This week, I also taught a violin lesson to one of my former Spanish classmates.  He was telling me how he trying to teach himself the violin, and I told him how I used to play and teach the violin.  The following day he started asking me how to change the strings because he broke one.  The next day he asked me how to hold the violin properly.  And soon I was drawing out violin charts and finger patterns for him during our break.  Right before I left the school he asked if I’d be willing to give him some lessons here and there after Christmas break.  I told him to contact after the break if he wanted.  So that he did.  We had one lesson this week, and it was a little strange for me being the first time teaching an adult.  But it was fun for me, and I realized how much more comfortable I am teaching beginning violin than I am teaching beginning English!

Speaking of new jobs, we have some very exciting news!! Jake received a Graduate Assistantship in the ICC (International Career Center).  They announced this open position at the end of last semester.  Just a few weeks after Jake and I were discussing that we think he could handle a campus job.  Last summer they sent out an email for the open graduate assistantships, such as working the computer labs, library, etc.  Since Jake didn’t know where he’d stand in the program and whether he’d be struggling with a big learning curve or not, he decided to not apply for any jobs.  We wanted to make sure he could invest as needed into his coursework.  Well, Jake has proven himself to be on par with his classmates and up to speed with the workload and learning curve.  Knowing all the campus jobs were already filled, Jake went to talk to the Dean to let him know that if anyone dropped out of their campus position, Jake was interested in an assistantship.  A couple weeks later, this position pops up in the ICC.  Jake was so excited because he knew he could be one of the top candidates.  A) He understands career development having been in the workforce for the past decade, and B) he was the student out of all of Berklee to attend nearly all of the ICC meetings last semester.  Granted the free pizza and coke did help lure him to the weekly meetings.  But hey, looks like his scavenging, along with interest in career development paid off!  The position is all about helping to connect students with work opportunities after they graduate.  So basically, he’ll be getting paid to network for 10 hours a week!  He was really excited after his interview last week once he learned about the project he’d be working on.  So we are super excited for this opportunity along with the extra cash!  

So things are looking positive around here, including with our friends both from school and church.  Last week we went out with two couples for some drinks and appetizers.  The married couple, Jared and Gabi, who live 3 doors down from us are becoming close friends.  They are from Missouri, I believe, and planning to move to LA after this year.  Gabi is my contact for the English School job and some other jobs I’ve interviewed for.  Alessandro and Emma are the other couple who joined us.  Alessandro is from Italy, and Emma is his girlfriend who lives here working as a translator, though she’s from the UK.  We mesh so well with these couples, and I’m super excited for these blossoming friendships.  Then last night Jared and Gabi had a big crew of the film scoring people over.  Of course being only 3 doors down, we were the first to arrive.  But instead of that awkward state thinking “when are the others going to arrive”, it was almost a relief have a little time to hang out, just the 4 of us.  When the entourage arrived we continued having the best time.  I had so many amazing conversations last night, and I’m really surprised that I feel nearly as connected with these people as Jake.  It almost feels as if I’m the one going through the film scoring program with them. Jake has been so good at bringing me into all his projects, so I feel invested along with him and all his classmates.

Last week when we arrived back at church after our 3 week hiatus, I was overwhelmed by the warm welcome back, as if we were actually missed.  People I don’t even know very well were asking about our trip, and the people we do know well seemed overjoyed to see us.  I was actually a little nervous coming back, wondering if after Christmas the newness of our foreign American presence would be worn off, as if people’s warmth and kindness may be tempered by time and familiarity.  I was so wrong.  It feels like time and familiarity has not tempered, but amped up people’s warmth and kindness.  At church Bonnie invited Jake and I to go watch a Flamenco band and dancer at the bar on Thursday night.  So Bonnie, Maria Elisa, Jake and I went. When we walked in and Jake and I both had the same feeling… it could have been a Covela show that we were going to watch.  We literally could have been in some club in LA or Phoenix.  However, there was a great audience for this small Flamenco band and a fabulous Flamenco dancer.  I was captivated the whole time.  The 4 of us had such a good time together.  I just love being with these girls so much!

On Wednesdays, I’m going over to Maria Elisa’s house to work on Spanish before I go teach my English classes.  It’s so gracious of her to take this time with me.  I was in a bad mood all day on Wednesday.  But after leaving her place I was so happy and inspired.  She’s the type of person who has a confidence and radiance that just makes you gravitate toward her. She’s the life of the party, yet one who is always encouraging and embracing others.  I have to say we are very blessed with the friendships.  Now we’re just trying to convince MariEli that she needs to move to Los Angeles since she’s out of a job right now, and trying to figure out what’s next for her in life.  

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that this morning was also special in church because I got to sing in the worship band. They are now rotating vocalist from the choral group into the worship band each week. Today was my first day, and it was a lot of fun. I’m sure congregation thought it was funny that I can’t speak in Spanish, but I’m sure happy to sing in Spanish if asked.  Luckily, I think everyone gathers that it’s a lot easier to understand repetitive and simply-phrased songs than it is to catch even a little dialogue of native speakers.

So tomorrow, Jake starts his new classes, and I, no longer having Spanish classes every morning, will continue attempting to carry out my newly organized morning regiment of spiritual, physical, educational, and professional development as I pursue more edifying uses of my free time this new year.  We’re off to a good start this new year!

Disoriented New Year's & Hamburg Juxtapostion

Well, it’s our last evening in Berlin, and of course we’re spending it on our computers with some warm gluhwein one last time before we leave.  Now, I need to recall the third leg of our trip after returning from Prague.  We’ve gotten to do so much. Thus are rather tired at the end of this trip, but in the best way possible.

When we arrived back in Berlin, it was slightly strange returning from a vacation within a vacation. But I was really grateful to even have a little more time with my family.  On December 30th, I had a great morning just lounging and chatting with the fam while Jake slept in.  Once we finally got out of the house we went to scope out some well-known shopping spots and passed by the New Jewish Synagogue.  Then we wandered over to Nikolaiviertel (Nicholas’ Quarter) to see Nikolaikirche (Nicholas’ Church).  

We arrived back home just in time to meet guests of the Antals, who had been invited over for the afternoon.  These are friends they met through Ian’s Berlin musicals as a kid, and they’ve stayed in touch since.  Mark is a composer, particularly of musicals, and his wife is an actress.  Jake and Mark were sat next to each other so they could chat about composing, and of course I couldn’t help myself but to listen in and contribute to their conversation.  Jake and I have several times since found ourselves coming back to that conversation and reflecting on some things Mark said.  He was very knowledgeable and it was very interesting to hear a little of his experience in and passion for the world of musical composition.  Hopefully we’ll be able to meet him again someday.  This was also a nice time for Sarah and I to get to know each other a little more since we were sitting next to each other.  She is super sweet and easy to talk to.  I look forward to more time with her in the future as well.

Later, after the guests left, we sat down for one more family meal before the Antals left for Lisbon in the morning.  Ariane made a delicious turkey pie with the leftover fixin’s from Christmas and thankfully, there was plenty left over for Jake and I to enjoy later!!  

The next morning everyone was up bright and early to leave for the airport.  Jake and I got up to see everybody off and catch any last instructions necessary for our stay (alone!) in the house.  After they left, I was kind of melancholy already missing the family I don’t get to see too often.  I made Jake sit through about an hour’s worth of memories recalling all the instances my Berlin family came to the states and my love for them regardless of the miles!  I also couldn’t help but reflect how much David, more than ever before, reminded me of my grandpa.  So Jake had to hear another hour’s worth of me retelling stories of my grandpa.  I shared my stories through tears of sweet memories, while my kind husband just looked me in the eyes, patiently listening with sincerity. I apologize for talking so much, and he responds by telling me how much he enjoys it. :) What a winner I have!

Considering this was our 3 year anniversary, we took the liberty to be rather lazy.  After my 2 hours of talking at my husband about family and memories, we went downstairs to make some lunch.  Somehow we sat there and talked for another 3 hours. I love these moments. And fyi... this time I didn't talk the entire time. :)  When we came back upstairs to get ready for the day, Jake encouraged us to write down our individual goals for 2014 while our recent conversation was still fresh.  

We finally got out of the house to do something for New Year’s Eve. (We figured our anniversary celebration was pretty much taken care of in Prague.)  We had read that the Brandenburg Gate held a huge New Year’s Eve party with thousands of people.  So we were intrigued enough to try to check it out, at least for a short while, though we had already made plans to go to Anita’s New Year’s Eve party, which seemed much quainter and preferable. So 30 minutes or so at the Brandenburg Gate to say we were there, and then off to Anita’s party.  Unfortunately, when we got to the Brandenburg area,we saw people getting their bags checked as they tried to enter on Unter den Linden (the main street leading up to the gate).  Jake had a bottle of Gluhwein that we were bringing to the party, so we went around to another street where he dropped the bottle in a bush to be picked up later, and we moved toward another entrance.  Well, looked like we missed our chance to get in because they wouldn’t let anyone in at any other entrances. We walked all they way around the Holocaust Memorial and to Postdamer Platz trying to find an entrance, but had no luck. Apparently, there were already too many people there. So finally we decided to head out to the party.  Of course we had to go back to pick up our gluhwein in the bush.  We got to our drink just in time to snatch it right before some girl ran over to vomit right where we had our bottle stashed. It was only 9:30pm and she was already tossing her cookies.  Happy New Year!

We made it to the party, and Anita greeted us with hugs and introduced us to people.  We chatted it up with Anita and new friends.  It was as we expected, quaint and delightful.  We hadn’t intended to stay too long since we wanted to be home together for the turn of the new year and the fireworks.  However, breaking away from a nice conversation is one of the hardest things for me to do.  So we left a little later that we had anticipated.  But still with enough time to be home right around midnight.  So we thought.

Unfortunately, we got a little confused at the metro stop and ended up taking the U-bahn instead of our familiar S-bahn route.  No biggy… I thought.  This route would just take a bit longer, which unfortunately meant we'd be on the underground train instead of on the balcony at home when the clock struck 12am. Oh well.  We enjoyed the energy and excitement of people on the train, who all rushed out with fireworks in hand, when it turned midnight.  And we even caught the initial fireworks when the train went above ground for awhile.  It was actually really nice. However, when the time came for our stop, we were in for a rude awakening!!

When we came up from the metro at about 12:15am, we felt like we had entered a war zone.  There were fireworks going off in every direction and every second.  There was so much smoke in the air that we could hardly see 10 feet in front of us!  And to make matters worse… we didn’t know where we were.  Nothing looked familiar.  We apparently had gotten off at the wrong stop and we had no idea of we had gone too far or not far enough.  We had forgotten our Berlin map since we hadn’t needed thus far.  We started walking around trying to gain our bearings but no luck.  The loud booms and smoke everywhere were discombobulating enough, not to mention the fireworks be thrown near our feet and in the street and above our heads constantly.  It was quite intense for us, particularly because we weren’t expecting this ruckus of a celebration!  

Jake, in desperation, finally decided to try the GPS on his phone even though we hadn’t been able to use our phones without major roaming fees since leaving Spain.  We didn’t think the data was working here for us.  But thankfully, our location popped up on his screen and we were able to use the GPS to get us back home.  We made it home around 1am, and we had a fantastic laugh over this adventurous New Year’s Eve.  On the flip side… we certainly did not miss the fireworks!

The next day we slept in late and enjoyed being cozy at home.  We eventually got out and went to Postdamer Platz since we saw some fun stuff happening there the night before. Sadly we didn’t do the sledding or the ice skating there since we weren’t sure it was worth it at this time when our vacation funds were running slim.  But we enjoyed one last Christmas market and another side of the city we hadn’t made it to yet. We also enjoyed a little family time over skype and watching the movie Amadeus in our nice cozy bed.  We found the movie amidst David and Ariane’s DVD’s and we couldn’t help ourselves after being right in the place the movie was filmed just days before.  

On January 2nd, we had one last out-of-town excursion to embark upon, thanks to David, Ariane, and Rachelle for getting us tickets.  We headed out to Hamburg early that morning and arrived around 10:30am.  We had plotted out a walking tour for ourselves the night before.  We got there and headed out to the famous Red Light District, some nice churches, the Harbor Promenade, the Old Warehouse district, and more.  However, we kept saying, “It’s all so modern.”  We were expecting another Berlin and Dresden.  I was getting disappointed thinking I plotted out the wrong tour for us, and we were going to miss everything historical.  Finally at about 3:30pm we made it to one of our stops, the Church of St. Nikolai.  We were instantly taken by this church in ruins with nothing but it’s tall tower and a few of the sanctuary walls left.  It was bombed badly in the war, and never rebuilt.  A captivating, yet eerie place.  We saw for a few euros we could got up to the top of the tower, and also see the exhibit in the church basement.  Desperate to see things more historical on our trip, we bought the tickets.  We started with the tower, expecting to get a bird’s eye view of all the churches and historical buildings that we couldn’t see from our ground view by the port.  Yet again, I was surprised by what I didn’t see.  Most everything still seemed so modern even from this new aerial point of view.  So then we headed down to the exhibit.  The church had been described as a memorial to all the victims of war.  Of course I understood that the place had been bombed, and there were German citizens that had suffered and been displaced from the war taking place on their territory.  But I had no idea what I was about to see.

The exhibit revealed the devastating “Operation Gomorrah” carried out by the Allies.  I had no idea that nearly the entire city was destroyed by a series of air raids and a huge firestorm that burnt the city to a crisp.  I read that nearly 43,000 citizens were killed and 37,000 wounded.  We looked at before and after pictures of the city, and were stunned.  After the bombs and firestorm, the bustling city's houses, churches, factories and other buildings were completely leveled.  Literally nothing left but the foundations.  No wonder everything was so modern!!  The city had to be entirely rebuilt!!  It was such a heavy, intense, yet good exhibit.  We felt a little embarrassed for wandering the city complaining about the lack of historical structures.  But we came out with much more respect, and in a strange way grateful for these jarringly juxtaposed perspective about the city within the margin of an hour or so.  It made it even more impactful.

We wandered a little more hunting for some dinner, but couldn't find what we wanted in time and ended up grabbing a quick at the train station where there were many options!  After 8 hours of walking the train ride home was blissful.  Our day in Hamburg was intensely memorable.

The last couple days in Berlin we felt very comfortable, finally gaining some confidence in getting around.  Of course as always, just in time to depart.  On the 3rd, we went out and walked through Tiergarten and saw the Victory Tower.  We went back to the Brandenburg Gate approaching it from the west side for the first time on our trip, and again relaxed at home.  Today, we got out earlier and got a day pass to Museum Island.  We stood in line for over an hour to get into the Pergamon Museum, but it was worth the wait.  Then we went to the Neues Museum and we were practically overwhelmed by all the artifacts!  It’s rather difficult to take it all in!  Then we got a bite to eat, enjoyed a little concert by a superb street violinist.  (We sat there for 20 minutes listening… and I think we inspired others to stop and do the same.)  Then we headed out to the TV Tower and Alexanderplatz and headed home.

Our trip is sadly over.  But Jake and I are both incredibly amazed by all the things we got to do and see, not to mention all the love and family we got to soak up.  What a perfect way to send off 2013 and welcome 2014.  Tomorrow we’re headed back to Spain with mixed feelings.  Spain feels like home and it also still feels like an extended vacation.  It's strange to return from a vacation to a "longer vacation." However, it is nice that there is a part of us now in Valencia which makes it feel like home. That, we look forward to returning to as we prepare for this next semester and all the new experiences it will bring our way.

Happy New Year and new experiences to all!

2nd Honeymoon in Prague

We’ve had an absolutely amazing trip to Dresden and Prague from Berlin. Ariane accompanied us to the train station early on Friday morning (after getting up even earlier to make us lunches for our journey!) to make sure we got on our train ok.  We had a nice quiet ride to Dresden, where we spent the afternoon walking around the city.  We were able to drop our backpacks in a locker at the Zinger Palace, and gave ourselves a tour of the grounds and courtyard. Wow!!  Really an incredible place to see.  We continued our self-guided tour to the Frauenkirche, an absolutely beautiful church that they say “has literally risen from the city’s ashes,” as this landmark only was recently rebuilt.  Lonely Planet Review said it well, “A spitting image of the original, it may not bear the gravitas of age but that only slightly detracts from its festive beauty inside and out.”

We got some bratwurst and glühwein, and headed back to the train headed for Prague.  We shared a 6 person train compartment with some vacationing Polish-Americans around our age, and enjoyed a few laughs together.  The view from the train of the German/Czech countryside was incredible.  After arriving in Prague we only made one circle before heading in the proper direction for hotel.  When we got up to our room, we immediately thought there may be a mistake.  We opened the door, took a few gulps, and dropped our bags in amazement.  It was the most beautiful hotel room we’d ever seen, with the biggest bed, and more chairs and seating space than a family of 8 needed.   We freshened up, and went down to the front desk to ask about some good places to eat dinner, where to exchange money, and while we were at the questions, Jake asked if his mom had upgraded the room since he knew that he had not originally selected such a lavish room. [As a Christmas gift, Chris (Jake’s mom) generously paid for our hotel room in Prague.]  But the hotel clerk said, “No she didn’t, we did.”  They said, no one had taken that room for the next two nights, so they upgraded us.  They also told us that it was the biggest and nicest room in the entire hotel!  We felt like King and Queen of Boutique Hotel 7 Days in Prague.  

We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant and quickly realized that our money seemed to go a lot farther in the Czech Republic, which was also a nice perk. The next day, we had a fabulous breakfast in the hotel, and then we met up with Jan, an acquaintance of Jake’s from school, who lives in Prague.  How convenient!  Jan saw Jake’s FB post about going to Prague and offered to show us around.  It was very special for us to have Jan, a local, taking us to the important sights, telling us about the history and culture, as well as having the human connection of discussing shared experiences at Berklee.  He took us to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch, and pointed us to things we should see the next day that we didn’t have time for.  He spent the entire afternoon with us, and then got us back to the hotel just in time for Jake and I to get ready for our romantic evening together!

We had a romantic dinner for 2 (an additional surprise Christmas gift from Chris and Rich!) planned in the hotel restaurant at 5:30pm and then tickets to the opera at 7pm.  The hotel was absolutely amazing to us.  They day before, after we returned from dinner our first night there, the front desk clerked stopped us, letting us know that we had a romantic dinner scheduled. She said we just needed to let them know what time we’d like to do it the following evening. So we said, we’d like to do it before the opera and have an early dinner.  Suddenly, the front desk clerk realized that we had a problem.  The dinner lounge didn’t open until 6:30, and we had to leave for the opera at 6:30.  So we asked what time it closed… maybe we could do a late dinner afterward?  It closed at 11pm.  So she told us, that they would have it ready when we got back.  We went back up to our room, and looked up how long the opera was… and apparently it typically runs around 3.5 hours.  Uh oh… that means that it would not get out until 10:30, and we wouldn’t be back at the hotel until 11pm… right when the dinner lounge was closing.  So Jake went down again to inform the front desk, and see if we could switch it to a lunch instead.  But the lady said, “No, it’s all planned, we can’t have that.”  So she ended up calling the chef to inform him of the dilemma, and asked him if he could come in a little early around 6pm, which he was fine with.  So Jake came back up and informed me that we would have a quick dinner before the opera.  A minute later, we got a call in our room from the front desk and apparently the chef had asked more questions, and when hearing that we had to be at the opera at 7pm, he said, “No, they will be too rushed.  Tell them to come at 5:30pm instead.”  So the hotel opened the dinner lounge an hour early, plus they brought in the chef and a waitress early just for us.  We had the entire place to ourselves, a personal waitress, and a delicious gourmet meal.  We couldn’t finish our wine and dessert in time, so they brought it up to our room after our return from the opera.  Remember, I said we felt like King and Queen of the hotel because our fancy room?  This experience certainly topped off that feeling!!  

After dinner, we scooted out to the opera.  Earlier that day we read through the plot summary and scene descriptions of Don Giovanni so we would be prepared to follow the story, and it really helped to enjoy it even more.  The opera house was beautiful, and we got a kick out of imagining Mozart right in front of us conducting as if we were attending the debuting show over 200 years ago.  The performance was great.  There was a special notice in the halls apologizing for the vocal quality one of the women performers who was apparently sick.  Of course, we didn’t see this until the intermission and had to ask each other which performer was the sick one because they all sounded fantastic.  Only at the curtain call could I really tell that this one girl was not doing so well.  The show was great.  It was fun too, because one of the songs in this show, “Batti Batti”, I sang in high school, and recently sang it a few times in our apartment in Spain for practice.  I’ve never sang it in front of Jake, but he had obviously heard me through the walls, because he looked at me right when he heard the song begin.  It made me feel good that he recognized it.  I’ve watched several clips of this song on YouTube, so it was fun to see a live performance and the differences in direction.  It’s a fun one!

The entire day in Prague was soooooo wonderful, we had to keep pinching ourselves.  It truly felt like we were on our honeymoon or something.  Just so special.  The next day we checked out at 11am, and luckily we were able to store our bags at the hotel so we didn’t have to carry them around for the next 5 hours until our train left.  This was just the right amount of time for us to go out again, see some sights that we didn’t have time for with Jan, do a little souvenir shopping, and navigate the the crowds of tourists.  I was so surprised by the number of tourists.  Hoards and hoards of tourists. It was incredible.  More people than at Disneyland on a perfect summers day.  It was like we were at the Superbowl or something...but that many people all throughout the city!  But it was kind of cool, because since everyone was a tourist I didn’t feel stupid gawking at all the old buildings and beautiful skylines.  We had fun weaving our way through crowds as we made our way through the Old Town Square, crossing the Charles bridge and up the hill to the Prague Castle.  I particularly wanted to return to the area near the castle because Jan had mentioned that the movie Amadeus had been filmed in this part of the town. I thought that was really cool, and we were amazed by how few changes and touch ups they probably had to make to set the scene properly for the movie.  Prague looks like one of the places I see in paintings--a time warp back to the 18th century with quaint cobblestone streets, well restored houses and shops freshly painted in classic colors; and seen in the distance are spires and towers of the many centuries old churches and monuments refurbished or kept through the ages. Truly amazing.  We now have a treasure of pictures and memories from this utterly perfect trip thanks to David, Ariane, and Rachelle for the thoughtful train tickets and encouragement to experience as much of Europe as we can while we’re here.  And thanks to Jake’s parents for the amazing hotel and romantic dinner.  And his siblings for the thoughtful gift of tickets to Don Giovanni.  All in all… a priceless experience.  

(Jake has an album of pictures of this trip posted on his FB page. You can check it out if you're interested.)

Christmas in Berlin

I am writing this on New Year’s Eve… over a week since our arrival in Berlin.  So much has happened… so many joyful moments, delightful conversations, and warm memories to keep with us.  I am stalling as I write trying to think back on our trip so far. I’ll start with the first few days here through Christmas.

Jake and I took a train to Barcelona, and from there flew to Berlin.  The travel day felt actually quite long.  We were filled with anticipation to see family, and also I think filled with slight nerves about managing the train stations and making it to the airport.  We’ve really never traveled much by train, and we were not completely sure how to get to the Barcelona airport from the train station.  Luckily, after asking around helplessly we managed to get on the 20 minute train ride to the airport after arriving in Barcelona.  We did not plan for time to see Barcelona, so we’ll have to make that trip again some day this next semester.  For now our sights were on Berlin.  We were relieved once our train dropped us off at the airport and we went inside.  However, the angst came back as we walked down the airport mall passing every terminal except ours, and then we reached the end!!  Turns out we had to go outside and around quite a ways to find the EasyJet check-in.  It seemed separate from everything else, and I was getting really nervous for a bit.  It was so far that some people took a shuttle.  Luckily, we found it and checked-in with enough time to grab some copas y tapas (wine and appetizers) before our flight.  Though our flight was only 2 or so hours, Jake and I both felt like it was a good 4 or 5 our ride.  We were just ready to be in Berlin safe in the comfort of home and family.

All was well when we saw Rachelle’s beaming face greet us at the airport.  She even brought us water and a snack for the ride into town.  Which of course was another bus and metro ride before arriving home.  But that’s ok, because we were supremely more relaxed with Rachelle by our side.  David and Ariane welcomed us with happiness, hugs, and a hot meal!!  What a wonderful end to a stressful travel day.  As always we talked and talked, and headed to bed quite late.  

The next morning we slept in, enjoyed a late lunch together, and David then took Jake and I for a tour of Berlin.  Well, at least part of Berlin.  :)  As many know, there is A LOT to see in Berlin!!  So much history!!  So many sights!!  And of course having your own tour-guide-historian-uncle by your side makes everything so much more interesting!!  We went to the Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate.  We saw the Berliner Dom, Neue Wache (a guardhouse for the East Germans during the Cold War, which now serves as a war memorial), and Bebelplatz (where the Nazi book burning ceremonies took place).  David pointed out an old theater where Ian had done a few shows as a child.  This area was East Berlin before the wall fell, and it was not until Ian began to do shows here did this area become a familiar and comfortable place.  I found that interesting.

After seeing the sights, we planned to go to one of the many Christmas markets nearby.  They are all over town--little winter wonder lands full of crafts, souvenirs, food and drinks, sometimes rides for kids and I even saw a mini petting zoo at one.  I was pretty cold by this point because I didn’t layer up enough our first time out (California girl!).  I was really looking forward to entering the market with all the warm crowds, food and fires going, and store fronts to block the wind.  However, David saw one more special thing that he wanted to show us before we hit the market and I’m so glad he did.  Around the corner was the church where he was confirmed into the Anglican church not too long ago.  It was an old building, but absolutely stunning inside.  We sat down in the front pew reliving the moment together.  It was a really special moment for me with my uncle.  After that we finally hit up the Christmas market and bought a small Berlin ornament to remember this special day at every Christmas to come. :)  When we arrived home, we had another wonderful family dinner prepared graciously by Ariane and Rachelle.  

On Christmas Eve-day, everyone in the house had a little work to do before their vacation to Lisbon, so Jake and I went up to the Charottenburg Palace and walked the grounds.  I remember the palace and the gardens when I was here 17 years ago, and I was looking forward to going there with Jake.  Though it was not nearly as warm and sunny as I remember, we had a good time walking hand in hand enjoying the view and each other.  We also wanted to go see the Olympic Stadium from the Berlin Olympics in the 1930’s.  We took the metro there, knowing we could not get any tours on Christmas Eve.  Everything was closed as we suspected so we just walked around those grounds and neighborhood in the area.  We were again pretty cold at this point having been outside for so long.  I saw what looked like a cafe or something in the distance with many lights, and I told Jake I wanted to go there on our way out.  We had been in search for glühwein (mulled wine) that we had seen at the Christmas market but never bought.  I suggested that this place with lights might have some, or at least something warm to drink.  But as we got closer, we were disappointed to find that it was actually a circus not a cafe/restaurant.  Out curiosity we got a little closer to see if we could see anything inside.  The tent was open into the foyer area, and we could see an elephant inside.  We thought that was interesting, and there was not ticket booth or persons collecting tickets outside, so we went into the foyer.  There we saw concession stands with balloons, souvenirs, food, and… glühwein!!!!  What luck!!  So we bought ourselves a couple of cups.  As we looked around, the entrance to the main tent was wide open and there was still no one selling tickets, so we went in to sit for a bit while we finished our drinks and warmed up.  The tent wasn’t too big and there was simply an elephant with a line of kids behind it waiting to get on it and take a picture.  So we figured it was actually just another fun Christmas market type of venue and kids were taking pictures with an elephant for fun.  So we watched this take place for about 10 minutes while we relaxed from our afternoon of walking and standing.  All of a sudden the elephant was cleared out, the lights went down, and an announcer started opening the show!!  We sat there for another 2 hours enjoying a full circus production with a tight rope walker, trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, animals including: elephants, a giraffe, zebra, a hippopotamus, and a rhinoceros!!  We couldn’t believe what we had just wandered upon. We loved it!!  And it just cost us two cups of glühwein!!

We had a fun story to share when we got back home.  Ariane, David, Rachelle, Jake and I had nice Christmas Eve dinner around 8pm that night, and then we all headed out for the 11pm Christmas Eve service at David and Ariane’s church.  It was neat to share this service with them at their church.  We were grateful to take communion since the Anglican church invites all believers to join in the sacrament.  Ariane and Rachelle had to coach us through the process before the service since it is carried out so much differently than the way we’re used to, which actually made communion this Christmas Eve very memorable for us.  I’ve always loved attending the late Christmas Eve service and being able enter into Christmas day at church with God in focus, and it was even nicer to do together as a family.  We left church about 12:30am, and went straight to bed.  At least some of us did!

On Christmas morning, we came downstairs around 11:00am and the living room door was shut.  Anita had just arrived as well.  Anita and her mother, Maria, are long time family friends (aka family) of the Antals.  Maria was out of town on Christmas, so they invited Anita over for Christmas morning family time, which was great because she’s a super fun hang. I really enjoyed meeting her and spending the morning together.  So once we all arrived there was a grand opening of the doors into the living room revealing a beautiful Christmas tree that had been set up and decorated overnight, just like when the kids were young.  A family tradition I had always heard about, but never witnessed first hand.  Everybody then crowded on David and Ariane’s bed enjoying croissants and tea talking and laughing.  

Anita stayed a couple of hours and then had to get on her way.  We all got up and stretched for bit.  Rachelle had to run out to “meet a friend and exchange gifts.”  Ariane was excitedly awaiting a 2:00pm skype date with Ian in New York.  At 2:00pm Rachelle raced back into the house grateful that she made it back in time for the call.  David, Ariane, and Rachelle were crowded around the computer while trying to connect with Ian.  When Ian came online it sounded like he had just gotten up, and he said Sarah was still sleeping.  It was pretty early still in New York.  They weren’t able to get his image on screen which I know the frustration of all too well now after many Valencia video chat attempts with my parents. All of a sudden Ian interrupted and said he couldn’t hear them anymore, and the connection was breaking up.  And boom… they lost him.  Ariane seemed quite disappointed as she attempted to try again… but nothing.  :(  Rachelle mentioned that there was probably too much traffic online since it was Christmas and many people were possibly trying to also video chat.  Ariane tried one more time, and got Ian again, the connection continued to break up with Ian’s voice going in and out.  And suddenly the voice coming from the computer began to get ever so clear and while getting louder from the other end of the house.  And before my mind had put together what was happening Ian and Sarah burst in the room and jumped on the bed.  Ariane kept looking back and forth from the computer screen to Ian as if her mind was still trying to figure out how her little boy jumped out of the computer screen and onto her bed.  I was watching all of this take place from the sofa while welling up with tears.  It took me about 15 seconds to figure out that I should be capturing this moment on video.  So I have a little video, but it doesn’t start until after the initial shock has subsided slightly. Here's a link to my YouTube page if you haven't seen the videos yet.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZMLBZMzWIXevo5KZP3tWBg

This was such a wonderful surprise to witness, and though it wasn’t really for me, I was intensely overjoyed as well for the opportunity to get a little time with another cousin who I hardly ever get to see.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Ian in the context of home and family, and it was striking to see the level of energy he brings to a room.  It was so fun!  And of course, this was my first opportunity to meet Sarah as well finally!  I was so grateful for this opportunity to get to know her through the events and family time of the next few days.  

The rest of the day was filled with even more energy and laughter than before with Ian and Sarah in the mix.  Ariane and Rachelle made a delicious turkey for Christmas dinner, and again we had an absolutely perfect evening talking and catching up.

The day after Christmas began with another slow start.  Jake and I have gotten really good at relaxing.  The family had a light lunch together, and then we all did different things in the afternoon.  Jake and I went to the Story of Berlin museum, and as always I took way too long reading nearly every single thing so we had to rush back to the house to by 7:00pm.  David, Rachelle, Ian, Sarah, Jake, and I had plans to go out to one of the favorite Christmas markets together that evening, while Ariane stayed home finally taking a moment to relax herself.  We all shopped around for a couple of hours, ate some bratwurst and drank some glühwein.  On our way back we stopped at the Holocaust Memorial and the Chancellery building. It was a fun evening out with 6 of us together. We didn’t get home until pretty late, so Jake and I went right to packing up our things for our Prague trip, then headed to bed ready for our next adventure.