Fur Alle

After breakfast at Restaurant Bastard with Avi, Hannah and Anika, we strolled over toward Gorlizer Park. Turning up Forster Str. we spotted this play house on the parkway. It was right in front of a kita (daycare) so I assume it was made by and used by that facility, even though they're only a block away form one of great parks of Berlin.  Selah took the sign's invitation and walked right in the little green door and made herself at home. On the right it had a little open air deck/gathering room. To the left was the enclosed pallet house. Inside were a few games and puzzles. Hanging from the ceiling was a disco ball, which captured the afternoon sunshine nicely. It even followed the neighborhood's green party leanings and was capped with a green roof. 

Selah on the pirate ship

We all like the ship playground in Gorlitzer Park. Dawn noted how its a little bit sunken and encircled by big trees giving it a protected feel. There's also an arc of square stones and a small deck along the edge for parents to sit in the shade. Like most Berlin playgrounds the material underneath is all sand as opposed to wood chips or plastic. It makes it so you can plop down anywhere in the space and start digging and building. Selah likes to play with the pulley and sifter. Here she is making a cake. We found an old, broken, red pail that we used as a sand/sugar sifter. 

The central feature of the playground is a big wooden ship. It got me thinking, most of the play vehicles I'd seen were ships. Why? Why not more busses and planes and cars? I think its because ships offer more imaginative play. 

• Multiple levels, top deck, low deck, below deck.
• Moving parts
• Its the travel method of fairy tales
• wind and ocean
• tall masts
• 
  

Settling in to Berlin

We have settled in to our apartment in Berlin, and in spite of the yucky, Chicago-in-September weather, we think we are going to like it here. After a transcontinental flight heavy on the motion sickness for Selah (which, unfortunately, is kind of a non-event), we spent the first couple of nights in the Hotel Machteller. The room was Euro-charming, located above a food market with stalls for fresh food and lunches, with a balcony that looked out on a playground plaza with cool fountains. It was the perfect place to nap off the jet-lag, and felt very much in the spirit of the city.

We are here, in large part, for the playgrounds, and they do not disappoint. Standouts so far include the two playgrounds in Hasenheide, one next to a petting zoo, one themed after The 1001Nights. These are surrounded by majestic trees that make you feel as if you are in a fantastic children's landscape, far from the city. The very urban Machteller playground, with it's fountains, is no slouch either though, and the few other neighborhood "kinderspielplatzen" we've visited all have unique charms. Part of what's nice is that every playground is set in sand--we speculate that Germany and Berlin have very tight animal control.

It's been most wonderful spending time with our dear friends Hannah and Avi and their baby Anika, and Ben and Jenny with baby Juno. Other highlights so far include: an amazing grilled feast and chill apartment party hosted by Ben & Jenny; seeing the GOLDEN HAT one rainy day at the Neu Museum; dadly rockers and beers in returnable cups at the citywide music festival; a pizza dinner with Hannah & Avi near the famous "party bridge" (Admiralbrüke), with nearby electro-spazz one-man street performer; walking with Avi, by the Brandenburg gate and into the Tiergarten park, where we checked out the herd of sacred, international boulders. an excellent art-rock concert at Kantine am Berghain; friendly lunch with all the babes, cooked by friend Julian at Kremanski; lovely tea in a tatami room at Matcha, near Hasenheide.

Now to buy some boots in preparation for the Copenhagen weather!

Tchuss!