Our Easter Break

Our Easter break was awesome! After packing all morning on Friday (April 6th), I piled the kids in the car, picked Richie up from work and we headed for Hamburg. We stayed there three nights to visit some friends. About a year ago I met a girl with locks like myself at a worship conference in Siegen Germany. We immediately hit it off and have now been to visit each other. We live 6 hours apart! She's living in Hamburg with her family. Being near the water we got to have fresh fish. This is something I haven't had in a while. I loved the fish soup I had along with the cod & lentils at this little dive of a restaurant by the water.

My friend led worship Easter Sunday....playing drums. It was awesome, and the last song had a Reggae feel. Loved it! Afterwards, we had a soul food Easter meal. It was quite chilly outside but the kids played outside all day and night!

One of the crazy things is, my friends old neighbor is a Gifaldi too. We got to meet him while visiting there and he is somehow a distant cousin to Richie. His grandmother still lives in the town that Richie's grandfather is from in Italy!

Cod with lentils and potatoes. yum!

at the fish restauant on the water...it was a dive...but the best fish!

where they roast the coffee beans. we just had to get a cup.

Distant Gifaldi cousins

In Bamburg

Josiah took this picture

Easter morning

Nothing says soulfood like some greens

After Bamburg we drove to Berlin. Just a short two hour drive. We stayed in a cool little hostel! 6 beds and our private bathroom and cheap! Loved it in Berlin. So much to see and the town is still split in sections because of the where the wall used to be. Of course you can travel there easily now, but you can tell which side used to be communist...the buildings are all uniform looking. It was a great field trip for our kids too. A large portion of the wall has been painted by various artists. It was incredible to touch the Berlin wall that I read about in textbooks in school.  It was fun to teach our kids a little about history. Hopefully, we are all a little more thankful for our freedoms. I know I am.

our favorite food
We got to have Pho Ga (a couple times in Berlin)

Josiah eats his whole meal with chopsticks...until the end where we drink the broth from the bowl.

Just how Pace left it. 

at the Berlin wall

the kids had so much fun

The boys loved this one....it might have something to do with the dragon. ;)

Where's waldo....

our family photo

pretty in pastels...love this.

What the.....

Memorial to the ones killed trying to escape communist Germany

The Ten Commandants at a memorial site

Pace fell asleep in my arms. I loved it.

Hot chocolate from a coffee shop around the corner. They were hyyyyped up afterwards.

Holocaust memorial

In front of German's Parliment

I had enough....and richie was like the popparzi snapping photos from the auto. 

He ate it all...by himself

so did he

nice richie....niiice.

i like the bike seat

on the train heading to the Berlin zoo....the boys side

the girls side

life

Checkpoint Charlie

we walked passed a hair salon and we got josiah a hair cut

elee couldn't contain himself

while we were there i got mine trimmed up too

the have Dunkin Doughnuts in Berlin!!! one my many weaknesses. that night, we had dessert first!

can you guess who picked what?

this was taken moments after we lost Pace's leet (blankie)...we didn't even notice we lost it on the train. i'm so sad. it was his Thomas the train blanket. ;(

we walked a long way for this Indian food. Soooo yummy. 

Richie had us stop to take this picture. makes me smile.

Berliner Wiess (strawberry flavor) 

Kloster Brau in Neuzelle (Monastery Brewery).... 

Richie stocked up some Baltic Porter, Asparagus beer, and Potato beer

The last leg of our trip was a quick drive to Poland to the town where Richie's grandmother is from. There wasn't much there. We were definitely outsiders in that little village. The pizza place was welcoming and we were convinced that the girl that worked there called her friends to come 'check us out'.  It was the largest pizza I've ever seen but very tasty. We got there so late at night that we decided to stay the night and not take the eight hour trip back. I'm glad we did. We got to stay at the Sheraton ( a five star there) in the nearest city for really cheap. The clerk was so nice and even upgraded us to a 'clubroom' room. Free wine, water, espressos. Um, even a scale in the room and toothbrushes with toothpaste. I've stayed in great hotels before, but when you travel with kids, you sometimes forget about the luxuries. It was a great way to end the trip.

Luna made this diamond ring for me

a super large Jesus statue?? 

A coke in Poland

The town in Poland Richie's great grandma is from

at the pizza place in Szczyniki 

josiah took this picture 

The largest pizza i've ever seen

our nice bathroom at the Sheraton...a luxury from the Hostel