{ one week }

Dear Friends & Family,

I can't believe it's been over a week since we've left the US. It's very easy to lose track of what day it is here. Especially when my mind is aware of what day and time it is in California. Right now it's Friday evening here, but everyone is just waking up there.

Last night we came home late after an evening out with John's co-worker, Tim, and his girlfriend, Kelly, who are both from the US. They treated us to Austrian food, which they said is the closest if not the same as German food. When they asked around for the best German food in Berlin when they first moved here, all the expert Berliners suggested a restaurant that turned out to be an Austrian place. So they vouch that it's legit.

Tim and Kelly took us to Austria, a gasthause, or a guest-house, as they consider themselves. We sat in the back room by candlelight and hit it off with the couple. They've lived here for over a year and are continuously learning German, and they suggested two schools for John and I to check out. When it came to food, John and I decided to get a bacon salad which was refreshing and amazing, and so good! We then shared the large classic wiener schnitzel. The thing was so huge, it was the only thing on the plate!...until I lifted it up, and there was a potato salad underneath. This is why John and I always share. We weren't even able to finish the plate.

{ classic style schnitzel }

{ under the very large schnitzel was a very good potato salad }

The nice thing about restaurants in Berlin, they do not rush you. You are allowed to stay as long as you like, and when you're ready to pay, you just flag down your server, and once they give you your bill, you just tell them how much you want to give including tip (where 10% is considered a good tip). 

Earlier in the day, John and I went to register our address at the citizen's office in the town of Zehlendorf (which I thought was our neighborhood of Dahlem, but we are actually in between the two). We signed in, and they gave us a number (just like the DMV), and said we would be called in two hours...So we walked around town and realized the street was much bigger than we had first explored. There's an H&M, a few delicatessens, a Starbucks, two organic markets, and a few other cute shops. We found a Thai place and decided to try it out. It was the only Thai place we've seen that actually has Pad Thai on the menu (that we recognized). 

{ pad thai was a little different, but still enjoyable }

{ tom yom with mushrooms }

{ this shop was adjacent to the bookstore }

{ enjoying german book covers }

We also got our first mail the other day! If you send us mail, please make sure to include the countries, or they will not send it to us. Also label it with "Prindle". Our address is for the entire building. There is no apartment number, only names on mailboxes and doors. 

{ i love getting personal mail...hinthintnudgenudge }

John and I were so busy running our errands and meeting people for dinner, we didn't realize it was two months since our wedding! See? We've lost track of the day here. Yesterday already feels like it was a week ago. I'm glad I took a photo of us (technically after midnight) on the U-Bahn. This was the latest we had traveled home, and we realized they do not come as often the later it gets in the evening. It starts off 3-4 minutes apart, and by the end of the night it's 15 minutes apart. We bought our monthly passes, so we don't have to feel like we have to see everything with a day pass. This works for buses too (which also come by often). Public transportation is great here! 

{ wife & husband }

xoxo,

The Prindles.