If you would've told 12-year-old Claire that one of her best friends and cousin would be coming to visit her where she lives in Berlin, Germany and that we both have cute, healthy baby boys, I don't know if I would've believed it!
Whitney has been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember (with scrapbook pictures to prove it)! We grew up spending our summers at Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood pool, "the club". Picking raspberries in their backyard garden. Road trips to St. George creating secret code languages to pass the time. Attempted Harry Potter marathons. Pen pals while she was in England and I, Brazil. & so many countless memories. I love her!!
A few weeks ago, she flew out to Berlin to see where we live and it was SO FUN. The weather was beautiful which was a big plus too. Finally starting to feel like spring!
Most of the things we did together were first-time experiences for me too which was fun. This picture was walking through the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe on our way to the holocaust museum.
Beautiful buildings on Museum Island. I still have yet to go to a museum. I love reading about history in books. As for museums... My attention span is short.
The Reichstag! Lots of symbolism here. This is the government building where parliament works and meets daily. Onlookers can enter the building (after going through some security measures), and ride up to the dome at the top of the building. The center of the dome is glass, allowing you to look down and watch parliament working. Symbolic that the German government is very open with what they're doing within their system.
One of my favorite, favorite things - flowers. My orchid is going 3 months strong!
Cemetery behind the Berlin Wall. This was a big family plot we found.
In the mix of Whitney's visit, this little baby turned 4 months old! It definitely feels like he's been around for 4 months because I can't remember life before him haha. Logan's a good little sleeper, we've figured out a good routine that helps him sleep through the night (I hope it lasts!). He's almost rolling over all the time on his own, and loooves to laugh.
On our way home from a luxurious McDonald's dinner (it is better in Europe!), we stopped by a small chocolate store/museum. They had the cutest chocolate eggs for Easter and a pretty impressive chocolate display of Berlin monuments.
Whitney and Brandon collect ornaments so we were on the hunt for a Berlin one. We had already gone to a couple of souvenir shops with no luck. After our chocolate museum, Whitney spotted this store through their window. It was a shop exclusively for ornaments, Christmas decor, and cuckoo clocks. What are the odds?!
We watched our fair share of WWII and Berlin-related movies including Race and Bridge of Spies. The Glienicke Bridge is where one of the negotiations took place for an American soldier coming home. We had planned to visit Potsdam, Germany (formerly the capital of Prussia), and passed over the bridge.
It was super windy and cold that day but we braved the weather and walked around the Sanssouci Palace and gardens. I need to go back and take another picture now that everything is green and bloomed!
Lots of fun drinks and treats in Europe. One of Logan's new favorites is Lemon Coke.
East Gallery Wall. This stretch of the Berlin wall has 105 murals painted in the 1990s from artists across the world.
Our friends Suzy and Troy live in the apartment building behind the Wall! Such a cool place to live. There are different church bells in this area that you can hear from their balcony.
Grateful to have someone to help with this guy during stake conference! I was hoping we could sit on the back row by the door and keep Logan in the stroller as long as possible. Thankfully, our plan worked and he did great.
Our translation headsets weren't working great but the last speaker was in English so that was nice!
I love her!! I love the church. It really is Jesus Christ's church.
Whitney served her mission in England and had some European candies she was excited to find when we went to London. We happened to drive by the Haribo store and found the Bala Bala stix inside!
Pros and cons with people introducing us to new things here... Pro, they're super good and now I'm addicted. Con, they're super good and now I'm addicted. I loooove sugar.
Looking back now, I still can't believe we did what came next. It was A LOT of travel for me and this little guy, but we wanted to see London through the eyes of someone who adores it. We said bye to Justin for a few nights and flew to the U.K.!
After flying back to Germany alone, I had a lot more confidence in myself and Logan. We had Whitney this time too. I'm so grateful for good, patient people. I sat by a nice lady who didn't mind that Logan's car seat was probably taking up some of her arm space on an already crowded flight.
As we were putting money on our oyster cards, another nice lady came up and gave me her ticket that would get us to our flat for free.
The tube stop that our flat was at didn't have an elevator. Us weary travelers had two suitcases, a stroller, backpacks, and a sleeping baby. A nice family took one look at us and started carrying our things up the stairs. Grateful for good people. & it feels good to be on the other end and offer service. <3
We loved having Whitney in Germany and hope Brandon and Wesley come next time!