Berlin

I have been insinuating lately that WF is on the small side.  Charming, but small.  So, it seemed like it was time to get out of Dodge for a couple of days, and what better cure for small-town antsy-ness than Germany's largest city? 

So, in a routine that is familiar to us from our year in Munich (want a blast from the past? Here's my old Munich blog), we packed a little backpack and  hopped on a train for exciting things ahead.
Oh wait, that was then. This is now.
That little backpack is actually the diaper bag.  Then there's the large backpack with our clothes, as well as the pack n'play and the stroller.  Oh yeah, and the two little girls that go with all that.  And "hopping" is not exactly the word I would use to describe the movement of all the aformentioned gear/daughters from platform to train.  Erik was also clearly stuck in our "old" way of European train travel as we were packing, when I told him all I was bringing was a clean shirt and pajamas. He looked at the bag and asked, (totally sincerely, mind you), "What's all that other stuff then?"  Hmm. Remember those two kids we have?
Despite all that, it was exciting, thrilling, and even fun to get on a fast train with our girls and bop around Berlin for a couple of days. Erik was invited to give a lecture at Humboldt University in the center of Berlin, so the three of us girls decided to tag along to make sure he didn't get too lonely or sleep too well.  I love Berlin, gray November skies and damp, bone-chilling cold and all.  It's not just the big city hustle, the Brandenberg Gate, or the availability of Starbucks and Thai food.  There's just a sort of cool edginess to the (former) East Berlin that remains even 22 years after the fall of the wall.  And while we have never been cool or edgy, we did have fun 6 years ago soaking up some of that scene.
After wandering through the hip district around Oranienburgerstrasse while pushing my two kids around looking for a place for dinner and feeling a bit out of place, I was glad we did.  This time around, there wasn't much time for that kind of thing.  Instead, I found myself making a bee-line for a giant coffee at Starbucks to bring me back to the land of the living after a sleepless night.  Sleepless for different reasons than I might have had years ago.
ANYWAY, it was still a great trip, and yes, traveling with kids is still possible, worth it, and fun.  However, if you're out there and thinking about having kids, and thinking about taking that trip you've always wanted to take, do it. Now. Yes, you can travel with kids, but it ain't gonna be the same.

Clara's view of Berlin. Kind of looks the same as Wolfenbüttel!

Don't judge me too harshly. I was really excited about this.