The grand Re-Cap continues! Neil had to start actually working but luckily we were in Europe. The general schedule in the Berlin hub is to start work around noon and stay until 8-9 pm. Then should the mood strike, everyone goes out for doner kabab (google it). So that meant that there were a few mornings we could do stuff with Neil. Tuesday was Zoo Day so he rode the bus through the city center with us and dropped us off at the gate.

I forgot to tell you! You know how some places sport painted cows or horses or pigs? Berlin has painted bears like ^^^. By the end of the trip we had counted at least 31 unique bears. It was fun to drive around all the embassies and see some of their bears (the US embassy’s bear looked like the statue of liberty with lots of stars).
Anyways, the Berlin Zoo is amazing. I reserved a wheel chair because I knew it would be a lot of walking. Oddly enough the Berlin zoo is actually quite small area wise, but they have a huge number of different species. We saw panda babies up close and Naomi got a video of them playing and falling off a ledge. We almost died from cuteness. And they had an epic playground. Also, since Neil dropped us off and then went to work, I got to navigate the buses to get us back to the hotel. And I managed it all by myself.

The next day we went thrifting and then got to drop Neil off at the office. We checked it out and met some co-workers. After that we headed to a Manga store just for fun. Layna had to contain her enthusiasm about shopping. She loves it. Really. Then Neil met us half way at a Korean chicken place called “Angry Chicken”. It was delicious. And so, so angry.

Thursday was one of the things I was super excited about. In Berlin there is an island in the middle of the Spree River that is home to 5 different museums. Naturally it is called Museum Island. I figured visiting all five would do my girls in so I decided on the Neues Museum. They have a fantastic Egyptian collection including the famous Bust of Nefertiti. Funny thing: this day and the previous day there was a public transportation strike so no busses or trams. That meant I got to add an adult life skill I had previously neglected…riding Uber. Naomi thought the whole thing was super awkward but we survived.

We ended the day wandering down the street to a very cool old park. Naomi drew on her phone, Corra attacked the pirate ship play structure, and Layna took over the swings. It was a lovely way to wind down.