Reflections regarding Friday August 23, 2024 in Berlin, Germany

Following the drama of our transit adventures from Paris, we were exhausted when we arrived at Berlin’s main train station at 7:00AM. Groggily and disoriented, we disembarked from the train and, as had become our custom, immediately stopped at the toilets. Chaim navigated us to our next train that took us to Alexanderplatz just two hundred meters from our hostel. We crossed the desolate square, noting that it had several small carnival features, a cool world clock with all of the time zones, and several cafes. Finally, we arrived at our hostel. I was a wee bit scarred from our bedbug experience and did not want a second round. When we arrived at our room, I made Chaim help me check for bedbugs. I was convinced I fad found one. He disagreed, but, realizing that I was in “crazy” mode, he chose not to argue. I told everyone not to put their bags down and to wait. While they waited in the room, I went downstairs and let the kind concierge member know that I thought I saw a dead bedbug. He was very understanding and changed our room.

Back upstairs, we did it all over again, checking for bedbugs while trying not to fall asleep standing up. To be fair to the hostel, they clearly did everything in their power to avoid bedbugs. The floors were wooden, the curtains were made of something other than cotton, and they had shelves and hooks high up along the wall. Everyone was relieved when I determined there were no bedbugs to be found. Still, I made everyone keep their bags zipped shut and nothing was allowed to touch the ground, including shoes. Then, we went downstairs for breakfast where we were offered warm milk. As Americans who have only ever been offered cold milk with our cereal, we found this both odd and funny. It was another great opportunity to talk about cultural differences.

After breakfast, Chaim went to work; the boys read, slept, and played on their screens while I took a much-needed nap. It was hot outside and steaming in our room with no airflow. We continued our new custom of wearing as little as possible while draped in a wet shammy as we rested. Two hours later, I showered to help myself wake up and get rid of the layer of sweat I now had all over me. The boys didn’t mind not going out. They were loving their unexpected screen time and were mildly annoyed when I nudged us out.

I decided to take the boys to Berlin’s Jewish Museum. There was a child’s museum, but we arrived six minutes after the final entry time. As they say, Germans love their rules. We were not allowed to enter. The boys handled their disappointment like champs. We walked across the street to the adult building. This was the first time they were entering a museum that talked exclusively about Jewish history. I was surprised to see just how interested they were. Amichai and Eitan could have stayed all day. I appreciated getting to use some of my MA in History knowledge to explain medieval polemics and disputations to the boys while walking through the museum. When the twins had their fill, we caught a bus home so that we could begin getting ready for Shabbat.

Back in February, my friend Tamar connected me with Anna, a good friend of hers who lives in Berlin. Although we never had the opportunity to meet Anna, she did not hesitate to jump on Whatsapp and help us find hosts for Shabbat. We learned our Friday night hosts would be Pasha and Avital, and that our Shabbat day hostess would be Nechama. I had all of the information we needed to get to shul on time. I must not have gotten enough sleep though, or I was nervous about another Dublin experience, because I was getting frustrated pretty quickly. We were running behind schedule and I wanted to take the train to the shul to save us a 30-minute walk. Since the community was bringing in Shabbat early, I was nervous that davening/prayers would be over before we arrived and we would miss our hosts. Rushing through the Alexanderplatz Station was not my best moment. It would have gone a lot smoother if I had shared the information with Chaim who was now in charge of navigating us there.

We arrived at the shul with plenty of time. The community was very welcoming and our walk to our hosts was quick and easy. Dinner was delicious and conversation was easy, even though we had to speak a mix of English and Hebrew to communicate; it felt like hanging out with old friends. Friends whose children could already speak FOUR languages! Pasha and Rabbi Shlomo, another guest, were extremely knowledgeable of the community and helped us gain a broader sense of how the Berlin community had regrown in recent years as well as understanding more about the city itself.

While we were immersed in conversation, the boys were so excited to play with toys again. Matanel and Shai could barely tear themselves away from the LEGO he was building and Eitan was thrilled about the indoor mini-basket and basketball. Turns out, time to play with toys was still extremely important to them. Eventually, they chose to eat. Matanel ended up eating THREE pieces of schnitzel, which is a huge deal for him. Normally, I need to beg him to eat just one piece. My jaw dropped. Clearly, I was going to need that recipe!

We left about 10:30PM. Rabbi Shlomo and his daughter walked us a third of the way home and bid us goodnight. Like in Dublin, we walked through bar crowds on our way back. However, this time it felt far more civilized. Everyone was out talking and enjoying each other’s company. No one appeared the slightest bit drunk. Perhaps it was still early in Berlin. Or, maybe they can hold their liquor better. Either way, I appreciated the calmer and more relaxed atmosphere. It felt safer. We felt safer. Home by 11:00PM we passed out in our underwear and with our shammies to cool us down.