Take #2

Last night, we went out to eat again, to a restaurant suggested by our hotel. It was definitely quite the different experience. It not only took longer, it was more formal, and thus, more expensive.

However, they were very comfortable and willing to deal with tourists and almost all the customers there were speaking a different language (other than German). French and English were the ones I heard. They also offered to seat us (maybe being more familiar with what we would be used to or that it was just a more formal atmosphere).

Not comfortable enough for us to ask for our usual (free) glasses of water but our waitress was very nice and it was a lovely evening.

Brycen has been amazing this whole trip. Always willing to go with the flow and has surprised us both by acting very civilized for a 2-year old, especially at such public settings. Maybe eating out can become an (occasional) family option back in Indiana, afterall.

One key to probably having such a happy camper: buying him Fanta. Back home, we rarely buy soda. It's definitely a treat in our household.

"CHEEESEE!!!!!!!!!!!"

Key #2: Let him play with the camera. It's amazing how much he loves it.

Yes, it took awhile and Mommy checked her clock often (cutting things very close to bedtime).

Our dinners...

Absolutely delicious....and big

We left very, very full. Are take-out boxes common here? Not sure...and we didn't take the risk of being looked at funny.

A few of the 50+ pictures Brycen managed to take during the evening. I think they're kinda fun.

Our favorite dessert over here. Delicious and can't beat the price.... after seeing the restaurant's prices, that is :)

Perfect size for the little man and loved much by all.

Brycen's Day

Yesterday we went to the Berlin Zoo and Brycen had a blast. He immediately started asking if he could ride every animal we came across.

At one point, the four giraffes all the sudden started moving in the same direction (maybe lunch time? Not sure) and I asked Brycen where they were headed. He said, "To church".

He had to settle for these kinds of rides.

Pink birds aren't something to see everyday, Brycen was pretty excited.

And he LOVED the monkeys. He is currently really into Curious George books and wouldn't mind watching monkeys all day. Especially the baby monkeys (excuse the above butt picture, it was the only one that turned out). The monkeys were in a very playful mood and started pushing eachother around and got Brycen very concerned. "Monkey just pushed...Monkey. Bad Monkey!"

These guys are always kind of fun. Very into pleasing the crowd.

My favorite animal when I was younger.

"Zebra" (picture taken on the "ra" part).

He also got a big kick out of watching the sea creatures. The Sea Lions and Hippopotamuses were very active and fun and would come and swim right by the glass. Brycen loved it. "Big!" was definitely an accurate size description of the Hippos.

The petting zoo. I let Brycen buy alittle food to feed the horse. He loved the idea of it but quickly hated the feel of the Horse's tongue and made Mommy do the rest.

Was very into petting each and every animal though.

Mommy and this one have something in common.

I was amazed at how comfortable and calm the animals were. Kind of acted like house pets. And it was a really good thing that the petting zoo was one of the last areas of the zoo that we hit because after leaving there; Brycen not only asked if he could ride every animal we saw, but if not...if he could touch it...feed it.

Mommy's idea of how to get Brycen to sit so Mommy could rest. This whole trip has been lots of walking...

I was overall, very impressed with the zoo. Perfect size and very beautiful with lots and lots of exhibits. For every animal, there was always an option to go inside or outside and see above and under water (if applicable) and even go over the mountain (as in the case of the mountain goats).

It was also nice that Brycen is still considered "free" so we bought the best deal, combined zoo/aquarium ticket for Mommy and had quite the full day.

With the tiniest jellyfish I have ever seen.

Brycen got pretty attached to this turtle that would follow him along the glass.

And he loved seeing ALL the bugs. And I loved that they had these handy bars for him to stand up on so 1) I didn't have to keep picking him up and 2) So I could keep my distance away from the bugs. .....Hate bugs.

Overall a wonderful day, with this being my favorite part:

Life is about learning.

After waiting a week, we finally heard back from Parliament booking. And just our luck, the dome is closed this week for cleaning. Do they really think people want to go up when the dome is closed? Oh well...the weather was perfect and we had fun. But the dome would've been cool too.

The hot balloon in the distance is around the Checkpoint Charlie area, it is another option to get a great view of the city. Pay 20 Euro/person and you go up and then back down, pretty creative idea for tourists.

Love this picture.

Looking inside the dome.....grr... just a tad bitter that we couldn't climb it.

After Parliament, we headed over to a restaurant for dessert, recommended by a friend in Indiana. It was so fun to eat outside...until those that we sat around finished their meal and started smoking...(something I was a tad worried about with the eating outside idea).

Favorite picture to-date of Brycen.

This is one of the 30+ pictures Brycen took while out. He adores playing with the camera these days.
Yes, we went for just dessert but once I saw the meal a certain sister-in-law recommended, I had to try it.

AND...it was delicious. Pork steaks with the funniest looking noodles I have ever seen and mushroom sauce. Heavenly, completely loved it. And already dreaming of my next plate of it...

Our desserts. They were out of Bryce's first choice of Apple Streusel. Loved my ice-cream but their milkshakes are different from what we are used to (not nearly as thick).

A view from Brycen's angle of the world.

So, "officially" eating-out in Berlin was fun but we learned alot. It was very apparent from the beginning that the waitress wasn't too fond of us, and frankly--the feeling was mutual. I've noticed for the most part, people here can speak English but they either completely loath having to do it or they love it and don't mind at all. Two opposites ends of the spectrum that makes me very nervous during the first few seconds of waiting for the German correspondent to speak for the first time.

Like when we went to eat at the booth right outside our hotel, that man was the kindest-most helpful man we have come across. He described everything to us in English and even tried (even though he didn't have to) to compare the things they had to offer, to the things that we would be used to eating. Very nice man, we LOVED the experience.

But you could tell this waitress...hated us (understandable, from my many years of cashiering experience, foreigners aren't fun and can be difficult--but for me it was always because I never learned Spanish)) and from her facial expressions, I knew we must have been doing everything wrong.

So after googling "eating out in Germany"--which I'm not sure why I never thought to do it, before going out--we learned alot:

1. You seat yourself.

Which we would've done but we walked up and the waitress looked like she was waiting for us to tell her something.

2. A glass of water isn't free.

Germans don't drink tap water and could be disgusted by the even mention of it. If you want "still" water, ask for "stilles wasser" and it can cost almost as much as a beer.

3. It's not usual for meals to be "shared". Everyone orders their own.

Which we would've done but we had already eaten dinner, so we shared an entree. The waitress seemed so taken back, that I made sure we ordered two desserts.

4. They won't bring you your bill until you ask for it.

After waiting 20+ minutes and clearly, being done with our meal--we finally asked for the bill which she promptly brought. Germans apparently, enjoy being able to sit and chat and do what I call, "people" watch (all chairs are pointed to the sidewalk, kind of like stadium seating for the street). I guess we are just so used to being pushed out the door and in a hurry to put Brycen to bed.

5. Don't leave the tip on the table.

I'm still confused to how you are supposed to tip since most people pay by cash and as soon as we paid, the waitress gave us exact change and took off, faster than I have ever seen someone, instead of lingering like I'm used to them doing...maybe...she didn't expect a tip? Or was the tip already included in the price??...not sure.

6. Eating out is so expensive!

Or we're just very cheap...which the latter is very possible. Since our "eating out" is usually Subway or the 2 for $20 meal at Applebees..

However, with our new-found knowledge and how good the entree was, we'll try the eating-out thing at least one more time before we leave.

As for today:

Brycen and I are headed to the zoo! He is SO excited.

Oh and Baby #2 is officially due 3 months from Monday!

Without seeing a scale for 6 weeks, I am slightly curious to see how much I have changed on this vacation.