ADVENTURES IN BERLIN::DAY 17, PREPARING FOR TOMORROW

It was cold this morning. Autumn is around the corner. I put on my jeans and a sweater and, mistakenly, the other new shoes I bought right before we left for Berlin. The shoes were a bit large and I ended up getting blisters from only the short time I spent walking around this morning. The subway and bus were crowded with school children. School has already begun.

I wasted time trying to locate the same coffee shop as yesterday morning. First of all, I exited the bus a few stops too soon...about 2.5 km away. Secondly, when I entered the name of the coffee shop, I failed to specify "Kurfürstendamm" and ended up with a point on Google maps which no longer existed. In the end, I found the place and savored my cappuccino before heading back to the apartment with a quick stop at the Wednesday farmer's market to buy more quail eggs for breakfast.

It was no surprise that the family was not ready for breakfast. Since I cannot sit still for any length of time without accomplishing something, I left to walk back around the corner to the farmer's market for a few fresh herbs, large eggs, and veggies. We ended up eating all of the quail eggs I purchased. All two dozen of them. The kids love them. I love them and know that, sadly, I will not get to eat them back home.

After breakfast, my husband and I left the kids at Oma's while we took the subway to Wittenbergplatz. We spent most of our time on the fourth floor of KaDeWe at the toy section after stopping by the luggage department to look for a rolling carry on suitcase for me. Carrying a backpack, a purse, and a large bag (which was really a cheap zippered bag used for shopping) was hell for me on the flight here.

Saffron had asked for a unicorn. I managed to find a small stuffed Steiff one, but of course anything labeled as Steiff is stupid expensive. So, we settled for a Schleich figure and got the other two kids a figure as well...although different ones. For Seena, I found a funky fairy. For Sagey, I found an elf. All in the mystical scheme.

Earlier last week, I found a paper making kit from Kosmos that I thought Saffron might like. Particularly using all of the flowers she picks to preserve the memories of our Summer in Berlin. We also got a Ravensburger Tip Toi puzzle for all of the kids and a Playmobil kitchen set as Safforn's other gift...something that goes with Seena's birthday gift and will be part of their Christmas gift this year.

We also visited the sixth floor of KaDeWe...the gourmet food floor. We looked at the cakes in hopes of finding one for Saffron's birthday, but they all looked too complicated...especially for the children. If the cake has fruit in it, the kids pick it out. Too much frosting and complicated flavours also do not appeal to them or me and my husband. So, we decided that I should make the cake. Since my ricotta cake from a few days ago was a big hit, I decided to make that one. I omitted the almonds on top and purchased a sheet of rolled out marzipan to top the cake. We stopped by the chocolate section of Kardstadt and selected a few chocolates in the shape of zoo animals to use for topping the cake.

The kids had fun at the playground this afternoon and I had a desire to eat some pommes. I had hoped that my husband would join me while the children were with Oma, but he was busy with configuring his mom's apartment with a router. Now accessing the Internet with our iPads will not be so painful.