Over the Fourth of July weekend we scheduled a weekend in Berlin with my in-laws - including ma, pa, bro and sis-in-law. Mostly, these get-togethers revolve around Sophie - with sightseeing in a hip European city as the backdrop.

The weekend began a bit inauspiciously with a 5-hour drive to Berlin (normally taking only about 3 hours) in pounding rain and sprinkled with several “entertain the baby” stops. The urge to maximize one’s German autobahn experience fades dramatically with a little sweetheart in the back seat, so we lounged in the right lane and let the speed demons whiz by. Our waterlogged spirits were lifted upon arrival in our 19th floor rented Berlin apartment - it provided an awesome view over the city and was fully stocked with 4 happy family members ready to dote on Sophie.

Here is a pictoral presentation of the weekend:

Prior to hitting the road on the afternoon of July 4th, the 2 Americans in our house show their patriotic spirit:

At the apartment in Berlin…

While Opa entertains Sophie…

…the two very mature Einfeldt brothers spend some quality time together.

Sophster is decked out in her freedom garb:

As a memorial to Russian-supervised days on the “wrong” side of the Berlin Wall, here is the old pedestrian traffic signal from East Germany:

You would not believe how much time is spent in German metro stations trying to figure out the ticketing program (every city is different, of course):

Happily ticketed and validated, we wait for the next U-bahn train:

Sophie’s very first experience in a subway:

We took a Stadtrundfahrt (city bus tour) like real tourists… here we pass by the famous Potsdamer Platz:

…and a piece of the Berlin Wall:

A gratuitous tourist photo at Checkpoint Charlie:

Sophie makes friends everywhere…

You NEVER really leave the American sector…..!

The Berlin Rathaus (town hall):

Old meets new:

Hey, what’s Condi doing in Berlin?! The Amerikafest comes to the Pariser Platz (behind Brandenburger Gate)…
(actually it was just a video)

A view of the Brandenburger Gate:

The new US embassy opened this weekend to much fanfare (hence, the Amerikafest). Unfortunately, no regular humans without high level diplomatic clearance were allowed to in:

Here at a biergarten on Under den Linden (the famous street of East Berlin) we enjoyed a “Weisse Berliner” which is a beer with some fruity green syrup added - actually very refreshing. These flags flew overhead, which I thought was apropos:

Later, Soenke’s dad selected a very - ahem - interesting traditional German neighborhood restaurant, with a menu hailing from the area of Thuringen (a region in central Germany). Soenke ordered the mouth-watering schnitzel…

…and my gulasche was even more appetizing (gulp…):

At least I know now that I will never have to take a culinary tour through Thuringen!

I also had a nice video from our apartment balcony, but it seems to have disappeared.

All in all, a very delightful weekend !