After a week with a heavy dose of real life, we decided to play tourists again for the weekend and took a look at Berlin leuchtet, visited the Naturkundemuseum and enjoyed being here- enjoy the photos.
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Germans are not big rule benders. They have rules and ways of doing things and they stick to 'em. That fact has been very in my face these days as I negotiate doctors offices and post offices. Even if you have all of the information but it isn't in the right format this will most likely cause the person "helping" you to need a schnapps at 8:45 in the morning. Or at least this was true for the receptionist at F's orthodontist's office yesterday when I presented her with an insurance letter instead of an insurance card causing her to loudly declare that she needed a drink.
Today at the post office when I picked up a package addressed to my children but didn't have any proof that they were my children (besides our passports which contain photos and come on- have you seen us- they are clearly MY children,) the women behind the counter agreed to make an exception (yahoo.) But next time I will need to present their birth certificates- they take this stuff seriously! But maybe this is all my problem. As part of my work I recently did a change style assessment- a set of questions that measures and categorizes your adaptability to change and my results were interesting. Some of the characteristics associated with my score include:
But aside from a few bumps with the status quo, I am enjoying the city. It's been a bit grey and wet this week and I love how the grunginess and color of the neighborhood really pop. Today, after what felt like a long week, we opened our long weekend (Monday is a holiday) with an Ausflug to the Spreewald to go punting on the river Spree. We took the train to Lübbenau where we were met by our punter Dirk- a friendly man who offers private (smaller ) tours in English and German. We were also accompanied by Yang a friendly Chinese chemist who lives in Thüringen and was making his own Ausflug.
It was a great day, the weather cooperated with only a quick rain shower as we started off and then clearing skies. It was fresh enough to appreciate the cozy blankets, tea and mulled wine provided by Dirk but not too cold. It was relaxing, quiet (so nice to hear no traffic for a few hours) and a side of German life that none of us had ever seen before- small villages, farms and houses built on small canals. We will certainly return again perhaps this time for a weekend stay at one of the lovely Ferien Häuser we passed on our tour. |
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