Willkommen!

Emery and I arrived in Berlin on Saturday afternoon after 20 hours of travel. We got our passports stamped, picked up our luggage, and walked straight through customs without one person asking any questions or asking what we had in our bags. We didn't fill out any paper work at all. Strange. Casey was waiting for us just outside of the baggage claim, and we were off!


For those who don't know, we are here to visit my sister Brittney and her family: her husband, Casey, and her two daughters, Ellie and Peyton. So, of course the first order of business upon arriving at Brittney's and Casey's apartment was to give Britt a big hug, give Ellie a big hug, have Harley run around and jump up on me (Harley is the dog), and to meet baby Peyton. It was so fun to see them all.
Ellie is adorable, smart, funny, and tall. She has such a fun personality and constantly surprises me with the things she says and does. She is attending kindergarten here (preschool) and has both a German teacher and a British teacher. This has resulted in her speaking German and British English as well as her American English. The combination of words and phrases that she uses can, therefore, be very amusing. She almost always counts in German. She says things like "lovely" and "brilliant" from time to time. And actually, due to watching Diego (from Dora the Explorer) on TV, she also yells in Spanish, "¡Ayudame! ¡Ayudame!" when she plays a game she made up where she pretends to get stuck in the corner.

I brought one full suitcase with me on the trip filled with things for Brittney, Casey, Ellie, and Peyton. So, after our arrival, we took some time to unload treasures from the U.S. Brittney was excited to have pants that fit her. (Peyton was born 8 weeks ago, so Britt is glad to have smaller pants rather than maternity clothes.) Ellie was excited to have new clothes, ballerina outfits, and Nutter Butters. Casey was thrilled to have his Capn' Crunch cereal and Hebrew National hot dogs. Everyone was happy.


That evening, when Casey went to basketball practice, Brittney, Ellie, Emery, and I took a walk down the street (Kurfurstendamm, aka the Ku-damm) to grab a Berliner Currywurst (a hot-dog on a roll with katsup, dijon mustard, and curry powder) and a cinnamon and sugar crepe for dinner. We ate on the benches next to the Kaiser Wilhelm church.


So far, I like Berlin very much. It doesn't feel as foreign to me as other European cities have. Everyone speaks English, for one thing, but it also seems like a very easy-to-navigate, clean, safe city. I think I'm gonna like it here. :)

P.P.S. Check out Brittney's blog for more Ellie stories. I love the Poker Face story! Check out Emery's blog for more information and details about our trip.