And I’m on my own! Well, the kids were still with me of course 😊 We woke the next morning to see that Erik had left quietly and was on his way to Boston. We checked the weather and realized that this was the only day of the week that was calling for sunshine. So we decided to head out to the park. We found a great big one in the middle of Hamburg called “Planten Um Blomen.” We decided to pack up a picnic lunch and head into the city. I figured out the transportation stops and we set out on a journey. After two trains and a little bit of walking we found the park – and it was huge! We started walking through it and came upon a Chinese inspired area. It was beautiful, calm, and serene. But the kids were excited to play so we continued walking to the Spielplatz (playground). The kids had a blast exploring the unique playground – complete with waterslides! It was a little hectic as there were a few school groups and some of the kids decided they were hungry so we walked back to the Chinese Garden for our lunch. After a delicious lunch of sandwiches, pringles, and fruit, the kids voted to head back to the park. We are all relieved to see many of the school groups had left and so the kids changed into swimsuits and played in the water area. I found a quiet spot and got some work done and even read a few pages of a book! It was so nice to sit back and relax after all of our activities in the previous days.

We played for another hour or so, met a lovely family from Oregon, and let our swimsuits dry out in the sun. Then everyone voted to explore Hamburg’s Minitur Wonderland. We took another bus to this tourist attraction near the harbor in Hamburg. Minitur Wonderland is the world’s largest miniature train in the world. This place is unreal! It is 3 floors of miniature scenes from around the world. Some of the highlights we saw were the Vegas strip, the Grand Canyon, an ocean scene, penguins in Norway, an active volcano, and an airport with planes that take off and land. There was even a chocolate factory that produced real pieces of chocolate for you to eat!

After exploring the whole world we found our way to a bus stop and it was time to figure out dinner.

The next day we woke up and it was raining – HARD. The kids decided it would be a good “down day” and I agreed! We laid around in our pajamas and played video games all morning! We had to figure out some lunch but didn’t want to go out in the rain. I remembered the Domino’s Pizza and the kids thought delivery sounded great! I went online and thought I successfully ordered our lunch. I followed the “pizza tracker” until it said “delivered.” Wait – what? We didn’t have any pizza! I called the pizza shop and asked about my pizza to which the man on the phone berated me for giving a wrong phone number and not putting my name outside my door. WHAT?! Didn’t he realize I was alone with four kids in a foreign city in which I didn’t speak German AND it’s raining?! No he didn’t, so I took a deep breath and asked him if I could meet him outside for the pizza. Luckily he said yes so I went and waited in the rain. Twenty minutes went by and I gave up to go inside. Just as I was shutting the door I saw the Domino’s sign. Hallelujah! Pizza at last. I tipped him well and we gratefully ate our yummy pizza! We were all a little bored by this time so we decided to head to the mall. We did some grocery shopping where we found an orange juice machine just like at the cafe! We bought food for dinner and wandered around a bit. We bought a Minions movie as our internet was too slow to stream anything. Back home we went to cook dinner and watch the movie. All in all a much needed “down day.”

Ready to explore Hamburg again the next day we headed back to the city. This time our destination was “Klick” – a children’s museum. I have to say this was the most “educational” children’s museum I have every seen! The kids had fun exploring the “medical” area complete with crutches (what’s with kids and crutches?) and a dental chair. Then Sam found the “mother.” It was a huge stuffed mother in which you could climb inside her uterus. Samantha found this hilarious! We continued to explore the museum and found a bank section which allowed you to make your own money and perform various banking tasks. Katie especially liked this area. We ventured downstairs and found a room with tons of babies! The whole room was about caring for infants and continued a wide variety of things. It was interesting to compare cultures and see the different baby items they had including a special bucket for bathing and lots of baby slings! Katie even found a pregnant doll with a baby side! The next area took us “back in time” and contained household items from the turn of the century. Juliette, Sam, and Charlie had so much fun doing laundry the old fashioned way. We finished up our day at the museum playing foosball. We must have played over 10 rounds! I think we need to look into one of these for home!

We were all getting a little tired and I was worried about rush hour traffic so we headed out to find the bus. We found the correct bus station with the help of a grandma and her granddaughter. She shared a bucket of blueberries with the kids – it was so nice! Unfortunately it was a very long bus ride back to the main train station (almost an hour!) and we hit right at rush hour! It was a hectic scene but everybody stayed together and we made it back “home.” The kids all agreed they wanted “Ciao Bella” for another meal so we enjoyed pizza and pasta one more time! Delicioso!

The next day we were headed for Berlin. This was the part of the trip I was most nervous for! I have not done a lot of international traveling and only rode on a long distance train twice – both times with Erik to lead the way. But I was prepared! Each kid had a buddy and we had a plan. We headed to the Hamburg Haupbahnhof and had lunch. Everyone agreed on KFC and I just wanted everyone fed so I happily obliged! After lunch we figured out our platform. There was no where to sit with our luggage so we just headed down to the platform. We managed to get all of our luggage down to the platform and even found some seats to relax. And then…..Charlie “I have to go to the bathroom!” UGH! Juliette graciously offered to take him and in my desire to not carry luggage back through the station I allowed them to go. It seemed to take FOREVER! Finally they came back – without finding a bathroom and with a story that a policeman told them to “find your mother.” Oops. About now Samantha decided she too needed to use the restroom so we decided to make a family trip. Up the elevator we went, found the bathroom and journeyed back down. This time the platform was swamped! People everywhere and rushing to leave the platform. I soon discovered our platform had changed. The line to the elevator was tremendously long and our train was leaving in a few minutes. I took a deep breath, gave the children directions and we schlepped our things to the other platform. Fortunately our train was delayed so we did not miss it! The train arrived and we got on. Hurray – success! Wait – wrong train car, we’re on the other end! So we were forced to push our luggage through very narrow aisles to find the correct car and the correct seats. I won’t make that mistake again!

The train ride went smoothly and the kids enjoyed the views out the window and of course some video games 😊 I was determined to get everything right so I was trying to listen for our stop. I heard “Berlin” and instructed everyone to get ready. We disembarked at the “Berlin” stop and exited onto a not very busy platform. Not busy because we were in “Berlin – Spandau” not “Berlin Hauptbahnhof.” I quickly figured out we could take a another train which by the grace of God was on the same platform. We loaded onto the next train and made our way to Berlin! Once there we easily found the bus we needed to take to the apartment office. One bus ride and a wrong turn or two by walking and we made it! Went to the office and received our keys. The desk gave me a map to our apartment – evidently this apartment was part of a huge complex! We walked a few more blocks as it started to rain. The troops rallied and rushed into our building. Our apartment was on the 8^th floor. We entered the elevator and as usual everyone started fighting to push the button. Except there was no 8^th floor button – it only went to seven! I was just about to give up when I decided I was going to push forward. We rode to the 7^th floor and got out. Thank goodness there was a staircase going up and I sent Katie on a mission to figure it out. She came back with a big smile saying our apartment was at the top of the stairs. We lugged the bags up the last flight of stairs and into our Berlin home. Whew! What a day. I have to say this day stretched me to my limits but I was so proud of my team and what we did. Everyone worked together and dedicated themselves to reaching our goal. Now – time to relax!!