RTW - week 14 (recharging)

I am beginning to think that my blog posts could probably only consist of travel days, since we always have so much going on, typically some funny stories, and always some obstacles to overcome.

Germany is no exception.

If you read my last post in Rome, you know we had an early morning trying to get to the airport. We, of course, opted for the super early wakeup and $3 euro trip to the airport.

Thankfully, because we started our day at 4am, we managed to hit up all three busses on time, and since no one else in their right mind is up at this time, our luggage wasn't a huge concern since the busses were empty. It ended up being a really successful trip, and we were pumped we saved the $77 euros.

After a 2 hour delay with the flight, we land in Berlin and at this point Bryan and I are on cloud 9. We booked a car from the airport, making our lives so much easier, we get a house with a backyard and even our own bedroom. Did you hear that?! We get our, OWN BEDROOM. No more sleeping on a couch!! Nothing could go wrong 🤔

We arrive to be told that our car is no longer available. Turns out the rental agency was overbooked and we are left with 2 options, cancel or wait 4 hours for an upgraded car with an added rental price of $350 euros.

We decide that we would rather save the money, so we let the guys behind the desk off the hook. That are, at this point, being screamed at by 10 other livid customers.

Thankfully, Berlin has fantastic public transportation (Hunter is in awe 🤣 and already mapping it out in his brain) and our house isn't that far from downtown, however it does leave us on the subway for another hour and a half before our 1km walk to the house itself.

After a very tiring, hot and confusing day, we finally make it to our house, which resembles a gingerbread house in a community of other gingerbread homes surrounded by a forest, which I am sure, must be enchanted.

The kids even have a beautiful treed park area behind the house that the older two can go together to play. (They are however, under strict orders not to follow any breadcrumbs off into the forest.)

We have hundreds of trails leading outside our backyard into the Grunewald Forest and several swimming lakes near by. Our favourite lake, Krumme Lanke even has it's very own rope swing which is a huge hit on those hot afternoons.

Sadly, we aren't getting to see much of Germany, but we are getting a real look into what it looks like to actually LIVE here.

The change of pace doesn't seem to be bothering the kids though, I think it's just myself that is feeling a little antsy.

Why is it so hard to take it slow?! This break is a necessary recharge though as we are still feeling pretty sluggish being on the road for so long.

We took the train to Potsdam to see the sights there and opted to rent bikes. Such a fun way to see a small city and thankfully Berlin is so bike friendly, that even Lily (who hasn't biked in almost a year) felt at ease on the streets.

We biked over 20 kms in total that day, seeing some of Potsdam's most famous sights. Stanssouci Palace and Park, the historic windmill, the New Palace, city square and of course logged some hours in their beautiful gardens and parks.

Have you tried a bike tour before? This was our first, and we loved it - definitely going to be doing that again!