We’re leaving Dresden too soon. I could easily stay here another couple days. There are more museums, but also I would love walking these streets, splaying at the park and eating simple food on tiny back streets. This city has charmed me, and I’m sad to say goodbye so soon.

We work some this morning before packing up. Before getting in the car, we eat lunch on the corner at Cafe Continental. It’s basic food. Nothing special. But our host recommended it, and they serve breakfast until 4! The kids and I get a special kick out of ordering breakfast for lunch.

Then we are on our way, kids watching iPads and adults listening to the Reply All podcast. It’s only a little over 2 hours to Berlin.

We get to Berlin before our host can meet us, so we walk down the street to check out our new hood. In two or three blocks, we are at the edge of a huge park. All sorts of people are hanging about. It reminds me of San Francisco.

An NGO sets up a special play area for kids in the park every Friday, and it’s a blast. There are so many families enjoying the park, now with gymnastic equipment and different strange balancing toys. Oly is nervous at first and won’t let go of my hand, but after awhile both kids are running from one thing to the next. It’s fun watching them try new things.

We then walk to the adjacent space filled with different types of tricycles and other movers. It reminds me of Sweden, where every park has such equipment, but these are even more unusual. Lillian tries many different ones and isn’t really satisfied with any of them. Oly loves being pushed around on a cart that he steers. He’s great at it!

Finally it’s time to meet our Airbnb host. This seems like a really amazing neighborhood. A bit gritty, but with tons of kids and interesting shops. The building is old, and we’re told we can’t use the elevator. That’s a letdown given that the posting listed an elevator. That makes a big difference when the apartment is on the 4th floor. We have a lot of heavy luggage.

Two roommates share the apartment, and their stuff is everywhere. I kind of like getting a picture into how people really live here. It’s much better than a sterile environment. But things like the huge pile of recycling in the kitchen are not my favorite. I say no to Lillian sleeping in the room with the balcony, and Lillian has a little cry over that. Other than that, we’re happy to be in our last home of this trip. After Berlin, we’ll be back in Sweden, at the Palssons’ summer house.

After Stefan finishes carrying all the bags up to the apartment (yes the poor guy did all the hard work while the kids and I stayed in the apartment), we walk a few blocks to dinner. Spaetzle & Knodel is a cute place. We sit outside, even though no one else is out there.  We order some beers, spaetzle and schnitzel. Soon the place is packed. 7:15 seems like the perfect time to arrive on a Friday night! We also got some interesting people watching. It’s an eclectic neighborhood, and almost everyone is carrying a beer walking around.  

Lilian, Stefan and I play crazy 8’s while Oly plays with coins. Both kids are very interested in tangible money lately.

The food is really good, and the atmosphere is cool. It’s a great night, and I love that we only have to walk a few blocks home. Both kids are exhausted and go straight to bed. Now some quiet time.