Life is about learning.

After waiting a week, we finally heard back from Parliament booking. And just our luck, the dome is closed this week for cleaning. Do they really think people want to go up when the dome is closed? Oh well...the weather was perfect and we had fun. But the dome would've been cool too.

The hot balloon in the distance is around the Checkpoint Charlie area, it is another option to get a great view of the city. Pay 20 Euro/person and you go up and then back down, pretty creative idea for tourists.

Love this picture.

Looking inside the dome.....grr... just a tad bitter that we couldn't climb it.

After Parliament, we headed over to a restaurant for dessert, recommended by a friend in Indiana. It was so fun to eat outside...until those that we sat around finished their meal and started smoking...(something I was a tad worried about with the eating outside idea).

Favorite picture to-date of Brycen.

This is one of the 30+ pictures Brycen took while out. He adores playing with the camera these days.
Yes, we went for just dessert but once I saw the meal a certain sister-in-law recommended, I had to try it.

AND...it was delicious. Pork steaks with the funniest looking noodles I have ever seen and mushroom sauce. Heavenly, completely loved it. And already dreaming of my next plate of it...

Our desserts. They were out of Bryce's first choice of Apple Streusel. Loved my ice-cream but their milkshakes are different from what we are used to (not nearly as thick).

A view from Brycen's angle of the world.

So, "officially" eating-out in Berlin was fun but we learned alot. It was very apparent from the beginning that the waitress wasn't too fond of us, and frankly--the feeling was mutual. I've noticed for the most part, people here can speak English but they either completely loath having to do it or they love it and don't mind at all. Two opposites ends of the spectrum that makes me very nervous during the first few seconds of waiting for the German correspondent to speak for the first time.

Like when we went to eat at the booth right outside our hotel, that man was the kindest-most helpful man we have come across. He described everything to us in English and even tried (even though he didn't have to) to compare the things they had to offer, to the things that we would be used to eating. Very nice man, we LOVED the experience.

But you could tell this waitress...hated us (understandable, from my many years of cashiering experience, foreigners aren't fun and can be difficult--but for me it was always because I never learned Spanish)) and from her facial expressions, I knew we must have been doing everything wrong.

So after googling "eating out in Germany"--which I'm not sure why I never thought to do it, before going out--we learned alot:

1. You seat yourself.

Which we would've done but we walked up and the waitress looked like she was waiting for us to tell her something.

2. A glass of water isn't free.

Germans don't drink tap water and could be disgusted by the even mention of it. If you want "still" water, ask for "stilles wasser" and it can cost almost as much as a beer.

3. It's not usual for meals to be "shared". Everyone orders their own.

Which we would've done but we had already eaten dinner, so we shared an entree. The waitress seemed so taken back, that I made sure we ordered two desserts.

4. They won't bring you your bill until you ask for it.

After waiting 20+ minutes and clearly, being done with our meal--we finally asked for the bill which she promptly brought. Germans apparently, enjoy being able to sit and chat and do what I call, "people" watch (all chairs are pointed to the sidewalk, kind of like stadium seating for the street). I guess we are just so used to being pushed out the door and in a hurry to put Brycen to bed.

5. Don't leave the tip on the table.

I'm still confused to how you are supposed to tip since most people pay by cash and as soon as we paid, the waitress gave us exact change and took off, faster than I have ever seen someone, instead of lingering like I'm used to them doing...maybe...she didn't expect a tip? Or was the tip already included in the price??...not sure.

6. Eating out is so expensive!

Or we're just very cheap...which the latter is very possible. Since our "eating out" is usually Subway or the 2 for $20 meal at Applebees..

However, with our new-found knowledge and how good the entree was, we'll try the eating-out thing at least one more time before we leave.

As for today:

Brycen and I are headed to the zoo! He is SO excited.

Oh and Baby #2 is officially due 3 months from Monday!

Without seeing a scale for 6 weeks, I am slightly curious to see how much I have changed on this vacation.