ah Berlin!

I know I am back in Berlin when, at 11.30am as I am walking towards Alexanderplatz from my apartment, 2 boys stumble out of a bar and straight into me with shotglasses full of Jägermeister and say "take one for the team young Frau. Here! Jägermeister is good!!"
me - "it's a little early isn't it??"
them-"that all depends.. for me it is getting a little late. this will be our last drink before we go to bed.. come on! join in!"

I left them to their Jägermeistering but felt that I was at home again :)

Yesterday Ferdinand's TV channel went to air in Poland (sorry I can only find articles about it in Polish). The whole family was up at 5.30 to go to his office and celebrate with a big breakfast. It was fun but I was exhausted. Later the kids and I went to the Köllowitzspielplatz in the middle of this really cool area of cafes and markets and things. I was astounded by how many english speaking nannies (all male!!!) and kids there were and by how well behaved they all were - turns out they were all jewish kids and there is a big synagogue right round the corner (found out after talking to one of the nannies after Jakob decided he wanted to throw sand in all the other kid's eyes.... sigh!). Afterwards the kids wanted to go to their favorite "spielplatz" (playground) - the wasserturmspielplatz. I have been there with them before and it really is the rich kids playground (ie none of the deadly (literally) play equipment you'll find in Neukölln) -there was a big sign up in front of the entrance though about the wasserturm and it turns out it was a small concentration camp.. and that there were lots of people killed there. Never ceases to amaze me how crazily close the history here is and how strangely it all fits into the present.