Shannon Lubell

Festival of Lights

This year marked the 15th Annual Festival of Lights in Berlin. {“Let There Be Light”, Berliner Dom} Each year in October, Berlin turns into a city full of light art. The colorful displays on the famous landmarks turn the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS into one of the best known light art festivals in the world. {HackescherContinueContinue reading “Festival of Lights”

Malta

It’s a country made up of three tiny islands in the Mediterranean Sea roughly 50 miles south of Sicily. And for the first week of Herbstferien, or Fall Break, we stayed at a family-friendly, all inclusive resort on the beach there. {Waiting at Tegel for our first of two flights} {Benny, with Sammy the Sloth,ContinueContinue reading “Malta”

Eiscreme

It’s become an addiction. More than just a treat. But a way of life. {Ben & Jerry’s} When we go home from school via the M1 tram, we exit at Rosenthaler Platz. We then walk past two ice cream shops to get to our street. The old standby, Süsse Sünde, as well as Ben &ContinueContinue reading “Eiscreme”

Abenteuer Spielplatz – Adventure Playground

As our boys grow older (nearly 7 & 9 now), regular playgrounds are holding their interest less and less. They still like going, but need higher slides and more to climb to keep their interest. While we feel the playgrounds in Germany are pretty impressive, our boys are getting used to them and want more.ContinueContinue reading “Abenteuer Spielplatz – Adventure Playground”

Meißen

On our way home from the Czech Republic back in July, we spent the afternoon in Meißen (Meissen), Germany, just outside of Dresden. {Meißen gets two thumbs up} You may have heard of Meißen. It’s claim to fame is porcelain production. This is due to the extensive local deposits of china clay (kaolin) and potter’sContinueContinue reading “Meißen”

Barfuß Park – Barefoot Park

Since we have a driver with a German license (me) and have several car share companies at our disposal, we have been taking weekend day trips outside of Berlin. In fact, frugal me was super happy when Sixt offered their car shares for €0.09/min, or only €5.40/hr. Which includes gas and insurance. What a steal.ContinueContinue reading “Barfuß Park – Barefoot Park”

Lost and Found

Dave and I are known to complain about the bureaucracy here in Germany. We joke with friends about needing an official stamp for everything. But you know what? Once you are “in the system”, things seem to flow quite seamlessly. For example, we can ride the subway, commuter train, tram, bus and even water taxisContinueContinue reading “Lost and Found”

Einschulung

On Saturday, 34,000 children throughout Berlin celebrated their Einschulung, or ceremony to commemorate the first day of Grade 1 at school. And Isaac was one of them. https://www.archer-relocation.com/einschulung-in-berlin/ {Isaac waiting for his Einschulung ceremony to begin at school} Einschulung is a big-deal celebration to welcome first graders into school. Before first grade, they are inContinueContinue reading “Einschulung”

Teplice, Czech Republic

Opera. The reason for this trip. Dave’s first cousin’s daughter, Maya, would be performing in Mozart’s The Magic Flute in a sleepy Czech town just a three hour drive from Berlin. And we weren’t going to miss it! {The boys adore their cousin, Maya} {Holy Trinity Column} First settled over a thousand years ago, TepliceContinueContinue reading “Teplice, Czech Republic”

Portugal

This has been our first full summer as Berliners. Like many Europeans, we have been fortunate to have traveled to many places including new cities and even a few new countries. {Ready for take off} But instead of getting in the car or on a plane and heading to Florida or to the Grand Canyon,ContinueContinue reading “Portugal”