It was a long time in coming, but the first Wolfson clan meetup was an incredible experience to finally be together face to face as a family. Yes there was fantastic food and drink (exquistely selected bagels, fish plate, bloody mary’s, etc.), but the real show was introducing Kai and cousin Sydney. It’s obvious that this is the beginning of a fanastic friendship that will be the beginning of many adventures in the years to come.
Spring is here in Berlin! Some shots from the sights in Volkspark Freidrichshain which in conveniently a brief walk from our place.
We’ve spoken to a lot of our friends about how children friendly Berlin is, but today events took it one step further. As a new parent, before your child turns 6 months you can get a year pass to the zoo for you and your child for 20 euro (note that a regular adult admission is already 13 euros). So we are now both card carry members, and proud. It’s a fantastic zoo which is perfect for spring days like today. Be prepared for many more animal kingdom photos to come.
Just chilling out…
A tour of our suite…
We had multiple reasons for a celebration, most notably Chika’s birthday and Yukie’s last week with us. We had been evaluating quite a few scenarios — renting a car and driving to world class spa outside of Munich, going to Venice, visiting a castle outside of Hannover — but after weighing all the options and requirements (7 hours in car seat for Kai wasn’t going to cut it), we ended up going back to Vienna (or as the gate attendant instructed us “Wein”) where we had traveled to over the summer with my parents. We knew we liked the city, it was easy to walk through, just over an hour flight, all with fantastic architecture and history. What sealed the deal was finding a last minute package which made it the perfect choice.
Everything went our way this trip. We had easy flights (there and back). The hotel allowed us to upgrade to a MASSIVE 2 room suite for a mere 75 eur per night. We were able to get 2 opera box seats for the sold out Vienna Opera (it was actually a ballet of Don Quixote, and was excellent) which Chika treated me and Yukie to. The weather was fantastic, and we spend most of the time strolling the city and even made it to the top of the gardens at the Schönbrunn Palace. We discovered an amazing new place for cakes, Zum Schwartzen Kamel, which we visited multiple times. Our only subpar experience was at the Palmenhaus for dinner, which severed a well-done lamb filet (had to send it back) and served a salad for Chika which we specifically said could have no milk product, yet used yogurt to connect the cracker bowl to the plate. We survived.
We are already thinking about when to make another trip. Hopefully sooner that later.
It was a beautiful morning in Prenzlauerberg, after a late night of work. I was craving fresh bakery goods (unfortunately my craving the day before was denied due to sell out of my favorite cinnamon/sugar crusted croissant). So I decided to go for a morning run with Kai. With Chika’s help I strapped him on, and while he was a bit fussy at first, we were soon cruising the hood in the fresh morning air.
It was the first of many bakery runs for me and Kai. But a special journey as it bring backs golden memories of some 40 years ago when I used to go on bakery runs with my dad, riding in on his shoulders and getting a free cookie from the man behind the counter.
A powerful memorial to Holocaust victims, Stolpersteins are markers placed outside the residences of people who were deported and executed. In our neighborhood in Prenzlauerberg these markers are on almost every block. It is frightening to be so close to this awful history, yet at the same time it is empowering to be living in the same place. We are still here joining, with the voices of the past.
Last Friday we passed a ceremony as new plaques were laid down. It’s good to see that more people are being remembered.
Sorry for the absence — it’s been a hectic few weeks. In three weeks, I traveled to 3 cities (Helsinki, London, and Ulm/Germany) for anywhere between 48 and 72 hours. In London I went from the airport to the hotel/hotel meeting to the airport, without every stepping into the city. But the storm is over, and getting back to normal. And getting excited and prepped for our USA trip coming up in ~4 weeks!.
But enough about me. Kai is growing into his wonderful self. Even though he’s been in and out of a cold for almost 3 weeks now, his smile factor is 90%. I think that is because Chika’s mom has been here since late February and he is enjoying the trifecta of attention. Hopefully things in Japan are coming back to normal real soon, but we can’t help but be happy that we got to enjoy the extra company and help around the house with Kai (plus we knew she was safe with us — Chika’s sister Megumi is also safe and sound in Kanazawa right now).
It’s hard to make up for Sunday’s in New York. Great brunch scene, shop until you drop, traffic free central park (if you ignore the bicycle maniacs), museums and galleries galore, and even my favorite bodega style tailors on the Lower East Side are open.
Today we started out hitting a new brunch spot, Cafe Nola’s am Weinberg, a Swiss ski-chalet themed cafe in the middle of a park. It was a beautiful crisp winter afternoon, sun bright, air fresh, Kai pleasantly sleeping in his Bugaboo. Arriving a little late, we still were warmly welcomed and even got to bring the stroller in next to the table, even though the cafe was almost full (and was within 30 minutes packed to the hilt and overflowing to the tables outside). The brunch was a well prepared smorgasbord of savory bites — dozens of cheeses, quiche, eggs, yogurts, muesli, breads, not to mention both buttermilk AND potato pancakes — plus hot lunch entrees like curry and pasta. All chilling in the sunshine lit space for hours. We just couldn’t break away.
Finally, we realized that Kai would need to eat soon, so we took a stroll over to the Museum Island to visit the Bode Museum. Inside, we were escorted to a secret changing area hidden behind a green door in one of the halls. After a bit of roaming about with Kai, everyone was completely exhausted so we decided to make our way home.
If every Sunday was like this, NYC could be under some serious pressure for the best Sunday city.
While Thursdays are yoga class with mom, Fridays are music class. Swimming class also starting soon.