What a weekend! Ask any Berliner, and we’ll all tell you that this weekend was the first real “summer” weekend in Berlin (nevermind that summer doesn’t start for a couple weeks), with temperatures in the 70s and 80s every day. It was glorious. And relaxing. And it feels strange to be writing a “weekend update” considering the fact that I am on maternity leave and M. is on vacation now, and so every day is kind of a weekend for us now. But anyway.
Things got off to a great start on Friday, when T. & C. treated me to brunch at Kopps, which I’d been wanting to try for awhile (the only other visit having been for my birthday dinner three years ago). It was a bit of a “baby shower” for me, since Germans don’t really do the baby shower thing, and I don’t really have many close friends here (or at least people I would feel comfortable inviting to buy me things). After a few hours of leisurely brunching, C. and I walked through Mitte to Dussmann, where she got a new book and I got a journal. Then we made a stop at Starbucks to treat ourselves to frappachinos, before parting ways. Then next stop was the Turkish Market, where I met up with L. & N.. I got cherries, and the guy selling them to me asked if I was having twins (no, I’m not). Then we went to Katie’s Blue Cat to cool off and catch up, before parting ways at 6pm neared.
I was on my own for the evening, as M. went out with co-workers, but my Knapsack vinyl pressing was delivered that day, so it wasn’t all bad. I spent the evening starting a new book (“Girl in a Band” by Kim Gordon), editing photos (finally finished our 3,000+ photos from Portugal), and eating ice cream (and leftover quiche) for dinner. It was a productive one.
Saturday was a scorcher, so M. and I made our way down to Treptower Park, armed with sunscreen, cherries, our Kindles, a blanket, and water. We spent a couple hours sitting by the little lake there, Karpfenteich, which has a lot of grass, a lot of shade, and not too many people (at least not before 5pm). Once the load groups of drinkers began to arrive, we headed off to do a bit of shopping, then went to Sfizy Veg for pizza. Back at home, we both enjoyed ice cream and watching some TV before heading to bed.
Sunday was for sleeping in and eating a late breakfast. We then swung by the Überlin HQ to pick up a massive cat scratching post/jungle gym that James and Zoë gave us for free (and which the cats have really enjoyed exploring in the past day). Then we went to Freckles to meet up with cousin J. and her boyfriend G., who were in town for the weekend. We enjoyed some vegan cake and drinks, and then got dessert part two at Marille & Vanille, before walking to nearby Viktoria Park to hang out. All in all, a really nice afternoon with a really fun couple. We parted ways when they went to our mother-in-law’s for dinner, while we went to nearby New Friends for a quick and inexpensive bite to eat. The rest of the evening was pretty quiet… we did some cleaning, hung out with the cats, read, etc. I must admit, it was really nice to know that we could sleep in on Monday and have no major obligations awaiting us when we woke up. And now that I’m 39 weeks and 1 day, the countdown is really on!