Inside our apartment, Jeff is officially a teacher at JFKS Berlin and Bikes

I realized I never posted any photos of our apartment inside with some furniture together. We are slow to fill it up, which is very nice. I love the space it is open and bright and airy, so incredibly thankful.

OUR BEDROOM

                                        ONE BATHROOM, WE ARE GETTING USED TO.

HALLWAY TO OUR FRONT DOOR, FROM OUR BEDROOM

LOOKING FROM OUR BEDROOM, THROUGH THE LIVING ROOM TO THE BALCONY

    

                            DINGING ROOM AREA

REST OF DINING ROOM AREA, DOOR TO LEFT GOES THROUGH HALLWAY INTO KITCHEN ,DOOR ON RIGHT GOES TO MILO'S ROOM

LOOKING BACK INTO LIVING ROOM FROM DINING ROOM

MILO'S ROOM

I didn't take a photo of Lexa's Room, but it is on the other side of Milo's room.  She is making it her own, including clothes all over the floor. I will add a photo  a different day.  It is strange not to have things on the walls just yet, as we had so much of my Mom's artwork at home, you take those things for granted that you see everyday on your walls.  Probably because it has been hanging there so long, you don't stop to enjoy it as much as when you hung it up.  Anyhow, we are being selective on what we bring in as we do not want to accumulate a bunch of stuff. Since we will not be able to have American visitors, we don't need to worry about extra places to sleep at this point.  Hopefully soon!

We did get our hammock in the mail..... Our other boxes are still stuck in customs, with shoes, beads and books. Who knows how long this will be. In the mean time we will enjoy all the things we have here. 

Jeff has signed is official contract to be a 5th grade teacher at JFKS Berlin! Yay

I got to be there as we were also doing all the paperwork for visas, residence permits, insurance etc.  We continue orientation for all those paperwork things this week. Then next week he will be prepping for school and gets kids on the 17th of August. 

We having been walking a lot, may have mentioned that before, it has been fun. One day we walked over 9 miles. The bikes speeding by on their designated areas, looked pretty nice. We have now all gotten bikes and are loving it. I need to take more photos. Lexa and I went for color and style, probably should have thought through, gears, back brakes, etc, but we didn't so....

I also learned that sometimes the bike has too much in it and will tip over. Causing lots of frustration and then some laughter as I stood outside the store recognizing my shopping needs to change here. My plan is to put my bag in my SMALL cart, not the big cart, and what fits in my bag is all I bring home. If I need to make a second trip it is not far away, and what else do I really have to do.  

I still had to put the paper towels on top and I had a backpack filled with wine, water and apfelschorle (sparkling apple juice) TOO MUCH! I ended up walking my bike home as I was afraid if I tried to get on I would tip over. There were 2 six packs of Raddlers at the bottom of my bag. (they are half beer half lemonade, popular summer drink here)

Speaking of shopping, it is different, as I have no idea what things are. I am holding my phone with the google translate app up all the time. Our friend had her birthday this past weekend, so I attempted a vanilla buttercream cake as that is her favorite. It didn't turn out too bad for a first try. 

This is funny. I was looking for baking soda, as I brought baking powder from home, but not soda. Found out the difference is that the American baking power is dual action and the baking powder here is single, so you need to double it. Not that I am a baker, but good to know. Anyhow, our friend said they had baking soda and they would leave some out for me.  As Lexa tells the story, "we ride our bikes up to the apartment, and I am thinking they will have a bag with the box of soda, but no, my mom digs inside the plant hanging on the front area, and pulls out a small plastic bag of white powder, and turns around to get on her bike" Needless to say it did look a bit suspect. It wasn't baking soda at all it was baking powder too, so I had to figure out what baking soda was here.

  

 BAKING SODA

Lexa and I went on a bike ride and found a market that happens every Saturday super close to our place. I had taken a short video but it is no attaching.  This is the flower store right by the market. There was live music, fresh pasta, fresh fish, dried fruits, refillable soap and lotion, food trucks, and a few art vendors. 

I didn't bring any of my coffee mugs from home, as I just didn't have enough room, so have been using an IKEA mug which just isn't the same as a handmade mug. (Thank you Liz for making several of mine for me) We found a potter and I got this and it makes me happy to drink out of it in the morning. It is the little things!