Day 164: Lice-Free — Hop On Hop Off Bus in Berlin — A Friend Picnic Setup in Volkspark Friedrichshain

by Margaret · Published June 18, 2019 · Updated June 22, 2019

Despite a fun night last night, woke up grumpy and out of sorts. Here we were in a hot apartment, recovering from the lice situation, having done very little trip-planning for our time in Berlin and Teddy was suffering badly from his allergies.

The first thing we did was a full second pass at the shampoo and combing, which took several hours. It really seemed to do the trick. Finished up feeling much better about the situation – ding dong the witch is dead and the heads are clean. Whew.

Then we had to do school.

You know those dreams where you’re trying to accomplish something but you’re just moving too slowly and can’t do it? Your arms and legs feel heavy and sluggish? Like running from a wave or trying to punch someone (latter is one I usually have, strangely). That’s how this day felt.

Like, we just couldn’t get out the door of this stifling place and on with our lives to finally see Berlin because there were so many obligations.

It made for a frustrating round of school.

We ate a sandwich and walked out the door around lunchtime.

The slow-motion/no-progress feeling continued because the kids needed to run off some energy and we decided to first go to a playground before doing anything else.

There, Willa befriended an 8-year-old American tourist named Lila who was there with her mom and little sister. They live in Philly and are here for her dad’s work. We got their number and said we might meet up later in the week.

Just as we were exchanging pleasant farewells, James bellows in sing-songy, mock scolding tone: “Maaawwm, you forgot to tell them about the BUGS IN OUR HAIR!!!” I wanted to die. I explained the situation, emphasizing that this was something in the PAST that had been FIXED.

By 2 pm we boarded a red Hop On Hop Off sightseeing bus — a way for the grownups to at least *see* some of the landmarks we’d been so slow to get to. We knew the touring and history might be limited to that one ride since, while super family-friendly, Berlin’s history requires a return when the kids are older.

It was baking up there on that upper deck, but we were glad to see the Wall, Brandenburg Gate, etc. and get the lay of the land/basic history 101.

At one point we indeed hopped off and strolled through Tiergarten, Berlin’s largest park. The kids played at a playground for a while while we sat grumpily on a bench.

At 5 pm we went to Volkspark Friedrichshain, a lovely, leafy neighborhood park, to meet up with Leigh and Roberto and their son Marcello — an ex-pat family formerly of Brooklyn whom we met via email introduction from NCS alum Sarah Horne (we’d put out a call for intros on Instagram).

This was a great park, and they were awesome peeps. They packed some snacks and we’d brought some fruit, so after a spin around the playground, we spread out their blanket and chatted over hummus and cherries.

They picked up and moved here for a change of scenery — both work freelance creative jobs that allowed them that flexibility, and Berlin is especially welcoming of foreigners. It was interesting to hear their take on the place and learn about their experience (as always with these meetups).

We also grabbed some brats and beers from the nearby stand. The kids had a blast kicking the ball and climbing a tree.