Maybe we were just lazy the entire time we were in Berlin. It’s our last stop, so maybe we really need it. No matter the reason, it’s very nice.

We have a slow morning after our big night last night. The kids tell us all about their amazing adventures with the babysitter. Lillian practices her ballet to ABBA.

We meet Ana and Andrew around noon at the Bauhaus-Archiv Museum. We grab a coffee and small sandwich before entering the exhibit. There’s a chill in the air, but it’s still nice to sit on the patio.

The Bauhaus is a good size museum, basically just one large room, and … they have audio guides! It’s a cool space dedicated to the Bauhaus movement when artists and artisans made an effort to mass-produce beautiful, functional pieces for the modern home. It’s an interesting piece of history, but also this place is filled with things that are lovely to look at. Unfortunately photography wasn’t permitted, so no photos of inside the museum.

The kids are ready first, so Stefan plays with them in the pretty green space behind the museum. They collect chestnuts, planning to roast them later. The unchosen ones are used for bowling.

When everyone is done at the museum, we all walk about 15 minutes to a beautiful park. Leaves fall softly from the towering trees. The kids try to catch them as they fall. It’s magical. We pass a playground we decide must be visited later, after lunch.

Ana leads us to an enchanting beer garden in the middle of the park. It sits by a lake where row boats are rented in summer. Inside, stoves create a lovely warm atmosphere. We opt to sit outside, where  it’s still warm enough to enjoy sitting under the trees. We choose a seat next to a large sand pit, filled with plastic sand toys. In no time the kids are engrossed in play, which affords us peaceful adult conversation. So nice. And rare.

Lunch is good, though nothing special. We still opt to stay for another few drinks while the kids play all afternoon. It’s one of the most peaceful and relaxing afternoons we’ve had all summer.

On the walk back, we stop at a large playground. We let the kids play for just over 5 minutes before continuing on. 

Instead of an Uber, we opt for the bus. The public buses are double decker here, which provides a nice view as we wind our way through the city. The swaying of the bus lulls Oly to sleep in no time.

We get off in Kreuzberg, near our dinner spot, but we have an hour to kill. We find a really cool place to grab a drink, with a large window looking out on the street. Oly snoozes, and we play some cards with Lillian.

We have dinner at a cool Turkish place, Hasir Ocakbasi. It’s a great ambience and the food is delish. The kids’ chicken is my favorite.

After dinner we go over to our hood, Friedrichshain. We pick up some fancy vegan popsicles for the kids and walk back to our apartment for wine and cards. The kids go to bed nicely and we have some adult time playing cards and drinking yummy red wine we brought from Bordeaux. The night drags on as we all try not to fall asleep. Eventually we have to call it a night. Sad to say goodbye to our friends, but so very thankful we had this amazing time in Berlin with them.